please help ruptured disc

[marymathews19]

I have a 3 year old blue tick beagle named zippy that in the matter of one day became lame in the hind legs and can't walk... she just drags them.....my husband took her to the Veterinarian and he immediately said that she had ruptured disc... needed surgery or put to sleep.... and to take her to Tulsa...(we live in small town in contry)....what i don't get is he didn't even take any x-rays...but he did give us 3 shots of cortisone for her to be give everyday for the next 3 days and that should have 40% chance of sucess, he did asure us that she was not in any pain.... how the crap does he know this and why should he treat her without fully examining her...i have one more question ... I have a bottle of prednisone and would it be ok to give her a quater of one to see if it would help.... anything is worth a shot... I cant afford 2500.00 surgery, please someone give me some good news

[bustersmom]

I am so sorry that you are going through this terrible ordeal. Unfortunately, you came to a forum that is pretty idle. I'm new here and feel sorry for those that come here for help and get none so I've been giving people my two cents worth and providing helpful links.

If I were in your shoes, I too would be wondering how a Veterinarian could diagnose a ruptured disc without imaging and a physical exam. Did you happen to ask him or her how he or she could identify the problem as being a ruptured disc? To answer your question regarding Predisone, this is actually the treatment of choice as treatment for a ruptured disc almost always includes this drug which is an anti-inflammatory that helps shrink the herniated disc and the swollen tissue. I was surprised to read that approximately 90% of all ruptured disc cases are handled with medical therapy alone and that sugery must be done within the first day or so following the injury to be effective.

All of the above information can be found at Intervertebral Disc (Ruptured Disc) Disease in Dogs

I hope this helps.

[vandy160890]

I am very sorry to hear this news for you.
I think the best choice for you is to allow the pet doctor to do surgery on your pet & clear the rupture disc. I can understand the risk involved in it & your feelings with your pet. But this step is the only chance to save.

[dracopop]

I am sorry to hear about your dog. How can that Veterinarian tell it's ruptured disc when he didn't perform a thorough check(x-rays and other test) on the dog? I think it is best to have her checked by other veterinarian to be sure if she really has a ruptured disc.

[crystalrojan]

Originally Posted by bustersmom

I am so sorry that you are going through this terrible ordeal. Unfortunately, you came to a forum that is pretty idle. I'm new here and feel sorry for those that come here for help and get none so I've been giving people my two cents worth and providing helpful links.

If I were in your shoes, I too would be wondering how a Veterinarian could diagnose a ruptured disc without imaging and a physical exam. Did you happen to ask him or her how he or she could identify the problem as being a ruptured disc? To answer your question regarding Predisone, this is actually the treatment of choice as treatment for a ruptured disc almost always includes this drug which is an anti-inflammatory that helps shrink the herniated disc and the swollen tissue. I was surprised to read that approximately 90% of all ruptured disc cases are handled with medical therapy alone and that sugery must be done within the first day or so following the injury to be effective.

All of the above information can be found at Intervertebral Disc (Ruptured Disc) Disease in Dogs

I hope this helps.

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I'm sorry to hear your story and I believe this article could really help ease your worries.

[Dirky47]

Well, You can ask for help in any animals organization. Their duty is to save animals lives.