Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Western Medicine vs Eastern Medicine For Dogs

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Where to start?

Sampson had surgery to repair a full ACL tear just over 3 months (almost 14 weeks ago).  

I heard from a lot of people whose dog(s) had ACL surgery and was told it was nothing to worry about, their dog was back to running, chasing squirrels etc in no time.

That hasn’t been Sampson’s experience at all.

Western Medicine

The surgery itself went very well.  Sampson’s meniscus was intact, so the surgeon repaired the ACL and made a slight incision in the meniscus to keep it from tearing.  One week after surgery Sampson developed a seroma on his knee, which is basically an accumulation of fluid.  This was treated with hot compresses and it reduced the seroma within a couple of days.

His six week check up and x-ray showed the leg was healing well.

And yet, he was still not putting the weight he should have been on that foot.  When the surgeon examined him he diagnosed him with a strained or sore Iliopsoas muscle.  This muscle runs from the hip to the chest and is a very deep muscle.  It’s also very hard to treat.  The surgeon put him on Gabapentin and he seemed to be doing much better.  When he checked him three weeks later he said, “I think we just have a slow healer.”

Then ten days ago I noticed he was not putting weight on his foot in the house, in fact there were times when he was actually holding it up!  I mentioned this to his physical therapist who said, to speak to the surgeon, maybe it was time for him to go back in there and see what was going on.  Her gut was telling her that something just wasn’t right.

I was very upset.  Besides the fact that I don’t want to put him through another surgery so soon after the first one, as well as the expense of another surgery, I just don’t roll that way.  As luck (fate) would have it, I had a call into my own vet about Delilah and after we discussed that issue I asked her to spend a few minutes discussing Sampson.

There’s a reason I love my vet.  Besides the fact she leans towards the holistic side, she always makes me feel better.  Bottom line, she agreed with not going back in for surgery, she suggested I keep an eye on him over the weekend and if I didn’t see an improvement, she wanted to see him.

She saw him last Monday, she checked his knee extensively and said it seemed fine, she pressed into his Iliopsoas muscle and he whipped around like he’d been pinched.  Yup, the poor punkin, his Iliopsoas muscle is hurting him.  And because of this he doesn’t place his weight properly and because he doesn’t place his weight properly, his Iliopsoas muscle is sore.   Dr. Soutter said a dog with a “Psoas” muscle issue can be very frustrating.

So what to do?

Well to start with I’m stretching his hip out twice per day.  Holding his leg at the top of his thigh and supporting the bottom, I extend the leg and then gently guide it back. 

Golden-Labrador-Mix

One stretch, then some rubbies.

Labrador-Golden-Mix

Eastern Medicine

Sometimes I was told, sometimes Acupuncture can release the muscle, and as luck would have the owner of the practice could perform Acupuncture AND he had a spot available on Thursday!  So Thursday Sampson and I headed over to our vet’s office.  Dr. Atz examined Sampson’s knee, he asked a lot of questions and then he began Sampson’s acupuncture treatment.

It was hard to see him anxious about the treatment, but I knew it was our best chance at helping him, so I did the best I could to remain calm, and keep him calm and focused.  I gave him lots of treats and lots of rubbies.

Since he hurt himself, Sampson has been hard at work on some lick granulomas, so while we waited for the acupuncture treatment to be completed, Dr. Atz gave Sampson some cold laser treatment on his Granulomas. Dr. Atz also had a pill form of Body Sore, a Chinese herb that I’ve been trying to get him to take in powder form and I haven’t been having much luck.  These pills are smaller than a Tic Tac and all fit into a slab of liverwurst and down the hatch with no problem.

Has the acupuncture helped?

 Well it’s hard to say (and I’m afraid to jinx my dog) but we went from acupuncture straight to the physical therapist and for the first time in six months, Sampson went into the vet’s office and stood on his back legs with his front paws on the counter and announced himself, not once, not twice but three times.  THREE TIMES.

Then when we got home….

Golden-Labrador-Mix

He did this.  Yes, he climbed up on his couch.  BUT I notice he’s still, at times holding that leg up.  

It’s like we’re on a hamster wheel, the Iliosoas muscle is strained so he’s not putting the proper weight on his foot, BUT by not putting the proper weight on his foot, the Iliosoas is not getting better. 

I’m not really sure what we are going to do, but he sees the surgeon again on Wednesday, so stay tuned.

Elevated Liver Levels in Dogs

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Delilah recently had her annual exam.  In CT the rabies vaccine is mandatory every three years and we also vaccinate for Leptospirosis.  This was Delilah’s year for her Rabies booster, and since I don’t like giving multiple vaccines in the same visit, on her initial exam our vet made Delilah ‘legal’ with the rabies and I scheduled her Leptos vaccine for a couple of weeks later.  During her exam Dr. Soutter discovered Delilah had a broken tooth on the upper left side of her mouth.  We schedule her for a cleaning and tooth extraction next month.

During her second visit we had a blood draw to check her thyroid level (she takes Levothyroxine) heart worm and I asked for a glucose check as she’s been drinking a LOT of water.

When Dr. Soutter called with Delilah’s results I was caught off guard when she said, “Delilah’s blood work is fine, except her liver levels are slightly elevated.”

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I’m not surprised at all.  I bet your liver levels are elevated too. You do put an awful lot of whiskey in our coffee.

Dr. Soutter explained that Delilah could have an infection in her liver or a bit of inflammation.  She said the levels weren’t high enough to prevent her from doing the dental procedure next month, but we still want to lower the levels.  She started Delilah on Amoxicillin and Metronidazole for antibiotics as well as Denamarin for liver support.

After I hung up from my vet I did the worst thing possible.  I consulted Dr. Google.  “What causes elevated liver levels in dogs?”

Words like Hepatitis , Liver disease and Liver Cancer came up and it scared the bejesus out of me.   And then I started thinking, what if we treat her with antibiotics and liver support and it turns out to be the wrong treatment?

I placed a call to my vet.

I told her everything.  And she told me to stop consulting Dr. Google.

The Denamarin will boost her liver and the antibiotics will take care of any type of infection.

Hepatitis is different in dogs than it is in people.  In people Hepatitis is viral, in dogs it’s bacterial.  She’s also almost certain it’s not liver cancer, she said typically with liver cancer the levels will be normal or very high and there will be other indicators.

The Denamarin is a combination of SAMe (SAH ME) and Silybin (Milk Thistle).

Here’s what the manufacturer’s of Denamarin have to say, “Administering SAMe (S-Adenosylmethionine), which is found in Denamarin, has been shown to markedly increase liver levels of glutathione,1,2 an important compound for liver health formed when SAMe is metabolized. The SAMe in Denamarin has also been shown to help protect liver cells from cell death3,4 and may help cell repair and regeneration.5

Denamarin also helps support your pet’s liver through the administration of silybin. Silybin is an active part of an extract from milk thistle, known as silymarin, and has been shown to support liver function by helping maintain a healthy oxidative balance.”

We will check her levels again in a month and if they are still elevated we will do an ultrasound.

Animals can’t speak for themselves to tell us when something is wrong.  Dogs in particular are very stoic and don’t always show us when they are hurt or not feeling well.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to not only have your pet physically examined once a year, but it’s so important to have their blood checked as well.  I’m praying it’s a simple (if you can call a liver infection simple) infection that we caught early enough to prevent it from becoming something more sinister.

You're a worry wart Mama, has anyone ever told you that?

You’re a worry wart Mama, has anyone ever told you that?

Sampson’s Saga Continues

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As I mentioned in Friday’s post, Sampson’s X-rays looked good.  The surgeon felt his Psoas muscle and Sampson turned around quickly, which indicated the muscle was tender.  The surgeon placed Sampson on some Gabapentin and wants to recheck him in two weeks.  He’s not ruling out a meniscus injury, but he wants to try the Gaba and see if it works.  I dropped Sampson’s walks down to about 15 minutes twice a day and am going to try and fit some cavaletti’s in when I can.   

On Saturday Sampson had his Physical Therapy and I shared all of this with the therapist.  What I took from that visit is she feels because of the way Sampson is ‘loading his knee’ that it very well could be a meniscus injury and this tosses me right over the freaking edge.

The biggest issue is I don’t want him to have surgery again.  First off, the meniscus surgery means he will have bone touching bone, which I think must be very painful.  I mean, they replace people’s knees when that happens, right?

Also, we are seven weeks into a twelve week strict limitations recovery.  In two weeks we will be three weeks away from (hopefully) having some restrictions lifted and Sampson getting back to enjoying more of his life.  If surgery is suggested it will probably be scheduled within a week or two, which puts us right on the verge of finished.

The therapist says that some dogs have the meniscus surgery and turn the corner and recover quickly, but how do I know that will be Sampson?  How do you know it’s the right thing to do?

But the bigger question is How.  HOW can I put him through this again?  How can I ask him to start over?

Oh Mama, you worry so much. I thought you were trying to be more like me?

Oh Mama, you are such a worry wart.  Don’t cross the worry bridge until you have to.

I’ve been struggling with this since Saturday and Saturday night I decided I’m putting my faith in a higher power.  I know some people do not believe in God, and I’m not here to sell you differently, if you believe awesome and if you don’t, we’re still cool.  But I believe.   And I believe in the power of prayer and the power of positive thinking.  So every night when Sampson and I lay down to sleep, I lay my hand across his leg and I pray for healing.   If you believe in the power of prayer, I sure would appreciate you keeping Sampson in yours.

Do any of you have any experience with a dog having ACL surgery and then needing meniscus surgery?  Or have any of your dogs had meniscus surgery?  If any of you can share your experiences, I’d certainly appreciate it.

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