Has anyone here had success with a chiropractor for their babies' back?

cheryl186 · August 26, 2009, 07:42:34 PM

I am so discouraged. I haven't posted about Winston in awhile because I thought things would improve and I could just post how well he was doing. Well, there have been several trips to the vet...a couple setbacks....Monday before last we made a trip to our vet and he was placed on Dexamethasone for inflammation and "Orbax" an antibiotic and was given a shot of Prednisone in the butt with vehement comments from the Vet that they were sure this would take care of the situation and they would not have to see him again. I was to continue the tramadol for pain. Well, Winstonn is better than he was then but he has not been doing as well as we expected...maybe back to about 70%. Just not himself, walking slowly, has discomfort. Took him back to the vet tonight and they do not want to give him any medication for pain, inflammation, etc. as he was on the Rimadyl two times from the Care Center and then the Dexamethasone the last time. At this point since he is peeing and pooping on his own and eating/drinking, etc., and does not seem to be in lots of pain (he does yelp sometimes when you pick him up but not all the time) they are recommending we proceed with Chiropractic visits asap...and are not recommending surgery. I have already called the Chiropractor they recommended (who is in Oldenburg, Indiana almost an hour away) and have asked for the fastest appt. I could get. They said I was on "time constraints" and things could either get worse or improve, but they have had great success with this particular Doctor who has done wonders with patients they have referred...Dr. Haverkos. At this point we are still to monitor his activities and make sure he doesn't twist or turn the wrong way as the disc could slip further ( I guess the inflammation, swelling has stopped and the disc is out of alignment)....if the disc slips further, he could become paralyzed in which case I do know how to proceed, with the myleogram and surgery...which we are more than willing to do for our baby. Basically at this point, I am feeling really low....praying the chiropractor works which I assume will always continue with adjustments occasionally, etc. Who/anyone here had their baby to the chiropractor for this type of thing? I need a pep talk....It doesn't appear the disc is giving him lots of pain, just discomfort, so I assume it is not out of alignment a lot and hopefully this is as bad as it gets. We have noticed that for years he has kind of yelped very intermittently when picked up ( has acted totally normal otherwise), so this could have been a situation which has been going on for years with the disc being out of alignment. Any information is greatly appreciated....I just thought of something....he is usually so "squirrley" at the vet, sometimes I worry he is going to hurt himself...Does the Chiropractor help contain them in any way so they don't move around too much and hurt themselves??? This is all new to me....

Dee Dee and Hallie · August 27, 2009, 01:02:03 AM

OH Cheryl I just figured no news was good news...I just hate to read this. Poor baby boy. (and poor Mom!).

I have not taken Hallie to a chiropractor but years ago I did take Fred my Great Dane. He had a bad case of spondylosis. I can't say it really helped him a lot but his wasn't a disc issue. I only did it a couple of times because I was worried they were manipulating his fragile spine due to the extensive spondylosis he had. (again totally different worries than disc). So I don't have any experience other than that but I have heard some great things about doxies and chiropractors especially when you get a good one and it sounds like you have. Have you considered acupuncture? I did that with both Fred and Jessie and again it's hard to say how much it helped but they seemed to enjoy the treatments, got very relaxed. I did acupuncture myself this year and it didn't hurt.

I am curious why they don't want to do surgery on him did they say? I also don't quite understand the disc being out of alignment, did he mean it was herniating (or a slipped disc)? Or did he mean the vertabra itself was out of alignment? I have heard of chiropractors able to manipulate a slipped disc back into place. Is that what they meant maybe?

I know I'm not being much help here just throwing the little bit I know about it out there and it isn't much. I wish I could give you more advice. I am just so sorry you and Winston are going thorugh this. It is horrible when our babies hurt. I hope someone else here knows more and will post. Hang in there Cheryl times like this seem like they will go on forever but they don't, this too shall pass and your boy will be better!!!! Keep us posted and give him a hug for me.

cheryl186 · August 27, 2009, 04:57:53 AM

Dee Dee, thank you for your response. The vet said they didn't want to recommend the surgery route yet because Winston is still functioning (eating, peeing, etc) and they have had successes with referring to this chiropractor (Dr. Mark Haverkos, whom I did google and he seems very good) plus the expense of surgery (which I will find some way to pay for :xfinger: if it comes to that). And Dee Dee, you ask such great questions. Last nite my Vet didn't even feel Winston's back because he said he didn't want to put him through undue pain....get into the chiropractor asap and he can tell us exactly what is going on with the discs/spine. Winston did have a very uncomfortable night and was having muscle spasms due to the pain. Around 3am I could not stand it any longer and I still have some Tramadol left over from 2006 when Zoe went down and I gave him about a quarter tab of that (actually I have dipped into that a couple of times)....I just couldn't stand to see him hurting. Actually, my back is killing me from all this stress. I hope I can get Winston in to see them today. We are going to work but my boss already knows the situation and I can leave as needed. I hope Dr. Haverkos has some remedies for pain.

Kari · August 27, 2009, 08:52:30 AM

I'm so sorry Cheryl! I was hoping he would get better on his own!

When we were dealing with Penny's back they recommended acupuncture. We never followed through on it since she ended up having surgery, but I do know people who have done in on their dogs and have had success. I haven't had any experience with chiropractors for animals. Sorry I couldn't give you more information! Rays headed Winston's way!

doxielady5569128 · August 27, 2009, 10:21:09 AM

I have never taken a dog to a chiropractor before. I'm so sorry that Winston is still hurting!!! I hope he can get some relief soon. I'm glad your boss is understanding. I'm sorry I don't have any helpful advice for you, but I will definately be praying for you and Winston!!

Big hugs to both of you!!

Delia and girls · August 27, 2009, 10:32:40 AM

Oh, Cheryl, I too am sorry to hear this! I don't have any experience with chiropractors and disc disease in dogs. I know how frightening and stressful it is to see your baby in pain. Please let us know what the chiropractor says and how Winston feels after seeing him.

Shumard4 · August 27, 2009, 02:07:06 PM

ok here's my 2 cents worth. I haven't personally used a chiro for my dogs but I love my chiro and couldn't function with out him. I have used the acupuncturist for the pups and highly recommend them. I have had great success. What you describe is exactly what we went through with our grand pup Hoover last summer. After years of trouble and yelping and us thinking he was just sensitive we finally got a vet to x-ray and found he had narrowing of the disk and that is was going to get progressively worse. I would get a second and maybe a third opinion. We opted to take Hoover to Tulsa for fenestration surgery even though he was walking. After surgery he went completely down. Imagine we panicked but the vet said this could happen. Anyway long story short he made a complete recovery and he is a much happier dog. If you need to talk I have been through this a couple of time and you are more than welcome to call me 417-394-9914

cheryl186 · August 27, 2009, 02:41:17 PM

Thank you all for your responses. Good news is my Vet has given us new prescriptions for Tramadol and Dexamethasone...phew! Also I have an appt. for Dr. Haverkos on Monday, 8/31 at 3:30pm. He is an animal chiropractor who also practices conventional Veterinary medicine. Sue, I will give you a call...thank you so much! Now, to keep him quiet until Monday. I am praying once Dr. Haverkos looks at Winston, that he feels he can help my baby without surgery. I am still at work, but will be on later tonight.

Roberta · August 27, 2009, 05:47:00 PM

Hi we've never done chiro, but Amy had surgery the other year and then earlier this year she call it what you may, we thought it had happened again, but Charles said NO to the surgery so we took her back to pen for a few weeks and physio who gave us exercises and as we live in the country we could not get her back into the water treadmil. My thoughts on chiro's , is OK for humans they can say stop, they may make him worse, but that is just me. Another thing to try is bouin therapy.
Amy also pulled one of her front leg muscles and when we saw the vet here she said that to accept she will not be ever the same as before, let her walk when she wants, like Winston she sometimes yelps when we pick her up while out walking or humfs when sitting, what I do is restrict movement for the next few days and give her a dose of Medicalm the next morning (I give it then as it helps during the waking hours). We now have a pram for her so she can join everyone but maybe only walks for 10 mins and I think its less of a strain on their backs than holding.
We have made the house Amy freindly, no shiney surfaces, had rubber wedges made so she has not step issues, little barriers at room doors so if we are in say the study she cannot bolt to warp drive.
Muscle spasms what the physio said to us was start at the neck and sort of ruffle tickle massage down each side of the spine to the tail using one hand. Sort of thumb on one side and the fingers on the other sort of claw like. Do it a few times a day as it relaxes the muscles on each side of the spine, Amy loves it as we go eee ee as we do it photo is something like it. (this took 20 mins as doing it one handed and Oliver wanting to be in the shot)
roberta

cheryl186 · August 28, 2009, 08:46:49 AM

Thank you Roberta, I will try massaging his back down the spine as in your picture. I have many, many questions I am going to ask the doctor before I even let him do anything with Winston's back. I am glad that he is a regular veterinarian as well as a Chiropractor. I realize too that maybe my baby may not ever be 100% again but we love them anyway. In a good note, Winston is feeling much better today...we all got lots of sleep last night and he is eating well. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and thank you Sue for talking to me last night. You have helped me greatly!

Delia and girls · August 28, 2009, 10:14:36 AM

Cheryl, don't discount his full recovery. These little beings are amazing at their recovery abilities. I know that's not what is priority at this point but full recovery is still a very real possibility. Gretchen was completely down and, with surgery, is now 100%. It's been about 6 years. Please let us know what the chiropractor says.

Glad to hear he's not in pain and eating well. The pain is agonizing, I know.

cheryl186 · August 28, 2009, 10:30:22 AM

Thank you Delia....I am praying and hoping for 100% recovery. It was actually so much easier with Zoe as she went completely down and I knew what I had to do...myleogram and surgery....but I actually think this is so much scarier....Do we do this? Do we do that? Winston's last back episode two years ago was handled with medications and crate rest with no setbacks...so this for me is sooo much scarier!

cheryl186 · August 28, 2009, 02:04:58 PM

Dr. Haverkos called me at work today to talk to me. He answered all my questions I had for him, like what is there is disc material that is still leaking, etc. He assured me that whatever he will do for Winston on Monday will not aggravate his condition. He had a very deep booming voice, sounded very confident he could help my baby. He said he has seen many dachshunds with all different degrees of mobility and has had great success with them. I am so glad I got to talk to him today.

Dee Dee and Hallie · August 29, 2009, 01:36:06 PM

That sounds VERY encouraging! You are so lucky to have someone like that close by. I'll bet he'll do wonders for Winston! I'm so glad too it has given you a little more peace of mind in the meantime. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Did you get an appointment?

Madderoos Mom · August 29, 2009, 05:57:50 PM

We have a member of our Dachsie Meetup Group who is a dog massage therapist and who works in a Chiro ofc for dogs. They have had GREAT success on dachsie backs. If mine had a problem, I'd probably go the chiro route if that would appear to be most beneficial to the dog. If you don't mind, I'm going to tell Genete about this post and have her comment. In the meanwhile, loads of rays to Winston. Poor boy and poor mommy.

cheryl186 · August 30, 2009, 09:59:50 AM

Our appt. for Winston is for tomorrow (Monday) at 3:30 pm. I would love to hear Genete's comments....Thank you so much for the encouragement. It seems like time is standing still until we get him there. I slept on a sleeping bag with him next to his crate last night and he would walk the few steps back and forth occasionally. It worked out really well. We will sleep that way again tonight.

Madderoos Mom · August 30, 2009, 08:53:15 PM

Cheryl, haven't heard back. She might be doing events this weekend. She is with the Red Cross and does demos all over the place for doggy E.R. I hope she can chime in but if not before your appt, best wishes for Winston. I think you'll be happy with the treatment he receives.

papbouv · August 30, 2009, 10:26:22 PM

Do not know anything about Chiropractor's but sending Rays & Hugs good luck.

Madderoos Mom · August 31, 2009, 08:55:57 AM

Cheryl, just heard from Genete. She will be posting today or Tuesday. I think she'll have some good words for us interestested in alternative treatment for our long doggies.

cheryl186 · August 31, 2009, 07:20:25 PM

Wonderful!! Thank you so much for getting in touch with Genete. I can not wait to read her comments.

Frankys_mom · September 08, 2009, 10:55:56 AM

Hi Cheryl...
don't know if you remember me & my kids.... I haven't been on much (no time!) since Delilah's surgery.
Just wanted to let you know that we did & do take Franky to a chiropractor. We go once or twice a year now.... started about 6 months to a year after Frankys surgery. Because of the way his vertebrae fused he sometimes "locks-up" and has pain & the chiropractor fixes him right up!
We love our Dr., who is actually a human chiroprator that has been certified for dogs and has vet clinic hours every month!

Best wishes for you and Winston!
Dawn
Franky & Delilah

cheryl186 · September 09, 2009, 08:30:33 AM

Dawn, of course I remember you all!!! Thank you for letting me know about Franky. That is very encouraging and I am glad the doctor can fix him right up....this field is amazing. It is a wonderful thing to watch and Winston did feel lots better after his adjustment and the acupuncture. Would acupuncture help Franky's back? We go back to see Dr. Haverkos on 9/21 at 5:30 (they called yesterday and had a cancelation so we moved his treatment up one week). I did refill Winston's Tramadol and Dexamethasone yesterday. He was very uncomfortable without the Tramadol and had some muscle spasms but wasn't as bad as he has been before without the Tramadol so I think we are making progress. This morning he actually felt a little too good with the Tramadol and "trotted" to his crate, so I may cut down his dose a bit. The goal is to be able to get him off the Tramadol and Dexamethasone eventually and that will probably take several adjustments and acupuncture treatments but Dr. Haverkos and my regular Vet said to hang in there, it is a work in progress and even if it takes awhile, that is okay. My regular Vet last night re-enforced that they have seen Dr. Haverkos do some amazing things with doxie's backs.... :xfinger: On another note, I am leaving on Vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina this Friday for ten days and hubby has promised (In Blood!!!) to take wonderful care of Winston while I am gone. Everyone has talked me into going for myself as this year has been very trying as I have been dealing with a lot....so I will be in the Outer Banks for ten days but I know my heart will be at home with my puppy and hubby!! Again, thank you Dawn for posting this wonderful news about how Franky's success with the chiropractor. I appreciate it very much!

baby doxies · December 18, 2009, 03:02:59 PM

Hello there! I work with the Red Cross Pet First Aid Program, do Pet Massage Therapy, & work with a Holistic Vet. I am Madderoos Mom's friend. I was asked to come on her & speak about a few things awhile back but lost this email & only recently found it. Sorry about that. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me right away either here or via email. Since I work with a holistic vet I have seen her do many things to help animals that involved little to no side effects with much results. I have worked with the pet massage therapy on many animals & have helped to heal animals with different problems over the years. I have seen the vet I work with do amazing work with Acupuncture & have pets (espec. Doxies) that are no longer walking return to walking again. I KNOW this works!! Take care all & please contact me if you want to. Thanks.

Madderoos Mom · December 19, 2009, 09:28:41 PM

Thanks Genete for popping in! Rreally friends, this girl knows her stuff!

cheryl186 · December 20, 2009, 09:59:06 AM

Thank you Genete!!!!! Dr. Haverkos has worked wonders with Winston......I must leave now to go to a program at the Cemetery for our loved ones buried there and I am taking my mom. We do this every Christmas to remember my dad...but I must say before I have to go that Winston is now back to normal!!!! The acupuncture and chiro adjustments have worked wonders and I recommend this to everyone who has a doxie who is having back problems.....We go back in February of 2010 for "maintenance" and will continue to do so for forever!!! Genete, I find this type of work fascinating and God Bless you for all that you do for the animals that need this!!! It is Wonderful!