Front leg Pain - Help!!

[RebeccaRose3333]

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Hi all,

New to the forum but hoping someone can help. My 13 yr old Northern Inuit x Lab has been limping on his front right leg for a couple of months, we had him x-rayed - which showed arthritis in his shoulder & paw (not elbow) but fairly normal for his age. So he was put on gabapentin & paracetamol. However this did nothing for him, he is holding the leg up (in a right angle position) even when lying down. He was then given a steroid injection which made some marginal difference with sleeping and walking but the effect wore off quickly. He has been so bad in the night, unable to sit or lie down. Yesterday he was put on Tramadol twice a day along with gabapentin, paracetamol and his normal Metacam.

The vet has a suspicion that he could have a nerve root tumour (which would not necessarily have shown on an x-ray) He thinks the pain he is having seems to be presenting differently to arthritis. However he said if we have an MRI and it shows the tumour- he wouldn't operate and it would be pain management anyway.

My questions I'm hoping you can help with are -

1. Does tramadol kick in straight away or can it take days to work?
2. Has anyone had a dog with a nerve root tumour and if so what treatment did they have?
3. Is there any other pain relief he should be trying? (the vet has mentioned Librella, however said if it's not the arthritis then it would have minimal effect anyway)

Can anyone help? With him not putting weight on his leg, his muscle is starting to waste. I'm thinking about hydrotherapy.

Thanks!!

 

[JoanneF]

I have no real advice but didn't want to read and run.

If the pain is coming from the nerve, could acupuncture help maybe?

 

[Flobo]

I also have had no experience of this, I'm so sorry... With regards to tramadol(my old dog was on it briefly), it usually takes effect within the hour I'd say, from what I remember. The combination of meds your dog is on may well take a day or so to take effect fully though, altogether. But I'm obviously not a vet. I know there is nothing worse than seeing your animal in pain and uncomfortable...
If you think your boy is still struggling I'd speak to your vet again, he may of started him on a low dose so you may have some wiggle room with dosage. I would, as Joanne mentioned above, contact an canine acupuncturist too and ask them if it could help with pain relief. No harm talking to your vet re the hydrotherapy, (or contact them directly).
Sending you and your boy every best wish...

 

[JudyN]

This is a very long shot, but is he better on some surfaces than others? I'm wondering about corns, which can make it very painful for a dog to walk on harder surfaces. However, they occur mainly in greyhounds and crosses, which don't have much fat on their pads and I suspect your dog has more resilient pads.

I do hope you can get to the bottom of this - good luck.

 

[RebeccaRose3333]

I have no real advice but didn't want to read and run.

If the pain is coming from the nerve, could acupuncture help maybe?

Thank you I appreciate it anyway. Feels very lonely at the moment. If only there were vet helplines like human ones! Thanks I will look in to accupuncture. It'd worked for me in the past

 

[RebeccaRose3333]

Thanks so much. No its pretty much the same on all surfaces. In fact he is wanting to lie on hard surfaces more than his bed etc which is unusual. You can almost see the jolts of pain in his leg

This is a very long shot, but is he better on some surfaces than others? I'm wondering about corns, which can make it very painful for a dog to walk on harder surfaces. However, they occur mainly in greyhounds and crosses, which don't have much fat on their pads and I suspect your dog has more resilient pads.

I do hope you can get to the bottom of this - good luck.

 

[RebeccaRose3333]

I also have had no experience of this, I'm so sorry... With regards to tramadol(my old dog was on it briefly), it usually takes effect within the hour I'd say, from what I remember. The combination of meds your dog is on may well take a day or so to take effect fully though, altogether. But I'm obviously not a vet. I know there is nothing worse than seeing your animal in pain and uncomfortable...
If you think your boy is still struggling I'd speak to your vet again, he may of started him on a low dose so you may have some wiggle room with dosage. I would, as Joanne mentioned above, contact an canine acupuncturist too and ask them if it could help with pain relief. No harm talking to your vet re the hydrotherapy, (or contact them directly).
Sending you and your boy every best wish...

Thanks so much, I really appreciate it. Do you know if you have to get a vet referral for accupuncture or can you go direct?
Yep I have been told his dose of gabapentin is quite low so I'm going to call tomorrow to see if we can alter it at all. I really thought the tramadol would make a difference

 

[JoanneF]

Do you know if you have to get a vet referral for accupuncture or can you go direct?

I think that might depend on two things. The first is about your knowledge and confidence in choosing an acupuncturist, the second is whether you want to claim on insurance.

 

[Hemlock]

The third is whether the vet is going to give permission for the acupuncturist to do the work, as it's technically an invasive procedure and so illegal if not approved by (any) vet. So it's a good start to enquire round your local vet practices to see if any have an arrangement with an acupuncturist.

 

[Flobo]

Feels very lonely at the moment. If only there were vet helplines like human ones!

We are all here for support and if you just want to offload or chat in general...if you want to tell us more about your boy we'd love to hear... Don't ever think twice about contacting your vet either by phone or email for more advice, that is what they are there for, we pay a lot for just a consultation these days so support and advice should be part of that consultation if the condition is on going...

 

[RGC]

For what it’s worth I had no problem in obtaining my vet’s approval to take Mabel to an animal chiropractor. Another (much experienced sighthound owner) recommended Beth (chiropractor) so I just demanded that relevant notes were conveyed. First of all Beth administered acupuncture which relaxed a very nervous whippet. If you know of such a veterinary specialist I would approach them directly to request exactly what they would require from your own vet and take it from there. In which part of the country are you located? Hope you reach a satisfactory outcome.

 

[Tinytom]

If he is insured I would have a MRI to find out exactly what the problem is ...

 

[RebeccaRose3333]

For what it’s worth I had no problem in obtaining my vet’s approval to take Mabel to an animal chiropractor. Another (much experienced sighthound owner) recommended Beth (chiropractor) so I just demanded that relevant notes were conveyed. First of all Beth administered acupuncture which relaxed a very nervous whippet. If you know of such a veterinary specialist I would approach them directly to request exactly what they would require from your own vet and take it from there. In which part of the country are you located? Hope you reach a satisfactory outcome.

Thank you, this is really helpful. I'm based in West Yorkshire. I didn't actually know animal chiropractors existed so I will look into this!

 

[RebeccaRose3333]

We are all here for support and if you just want to offload or chat in general...if you want to tell us more about your boy we'd love to hear... Don't ever think twice about contacting your vet either by phone or email for more advice, that is what they are there for, we pay a lot for just a consultation these days so support and advice should be part of that consultation if the condition is on going...

Thanks so much, I called the vet last night and for now he has doubled the dose of his gabapentin. I did say I felt like I was bothering them but he said not. So my Boy is called Eric, he's a northern Inuit cross labrador (an accident) but is the most beautiful dog. We get stopped on virtually every walk with people asking what he is! He's been the fittest & healthiest dog all his life. Still on 3 walks a day at 13 a few months ago. He loves footballs, squeaky balls, tennis balls! Loves the beach and swimming in any water. He's never seen a super cuddly dog & is quite independent but he's softened in recent years! He's got me through some very difficult times & is honestly my world!!

 

[Flobo]

Oh, Eric is gorgeous and it sounds like you have a wonderful life together! Thank you for sharing and I am so glad you spoke to the vet, fingers crossed the increase in dose will make him more comfortable.