Rio saw Dr. Jonathan Anderson, a veterinary surgeon, on Monday afternoon. Dr. Anderson is the vet who diagnosed Rio's lumbar sacral disease back when he was in foster care. It was hard watching Dr. A poke Rio to get him to yelp in order to understand where it hurt. Rio pretty much yelped on each muscle group, which unfortunately gave Dr. A no information on what is really the problem.
He decided to take Rio back for a consult with another surgeon (the owner of the practice) and a neurological expert. Sadly they couldn't figure out why Rio is limping. Dr. A said we could run tests but it would be a "fishing" expedition, looking for anything that might be an issue. He really didn't want to do that, and neither did I want to pay for any unnecessary tests.
We had Rio walk up and down the parking lot to see if he would limp. He did mildly off and on.
At the end the recommendation is to take him off of his gabapentin and see what happens. Dr. A. said he would consult with surgeons from around the country to see if anyone else had any ideas.
For a treat I took Rio to the off leash park by Observatory Hill. He was limping like a champ. Why couldn't he do it at the vet's office? It's like the noise the car makes until the mechanic takes a look at it, then it hums along.
By the way, the vets office is brand new and looks better than my own doctor's office. Rio wanted to visit with everyone and go into every door. He was very tolerant of all of the poking and prodding. At one point he looked at me as if to say "make it stop, please" but we had to continue to see if we could figure this out. My heart was breaking.
So no news, good or bad.
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Makes me feel like the cure is worse than the disease.
ReplyDeleteI don't like to see Rio limping, but if there is no reliable diagnosis, then I'm inclined to just let him be, watch him for signs of worsening, and respond to those signs as needed.
The "take him off gabapentin" suggestion sounds like a shot in the dark, too.
I would agree with you on both comments, and would leave him on his meds.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I can hardly stand on my bad foot or walk on it after sitting,then when i start to walk it will get better but sometimes it will still be sore the next day,and may be sore 2 days when I'm on stares
I know its tied in with my back as I can feel it feels like a knot or tight feeling about 2-3 inches from the spine.
Rio could be the same as he has back problems,
Its tied to the nerves from the spine.
At least that,s my experience.
Rio cant tell you my back is feeling tender when he limps.
Any how just me take on this strange problem, to bad they can't pin down the problem
He can't tell us what's wrong so it's guess work for us and even the professionals.
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