My dog's paralysis is worsening. Meds aren't helping. What's next?

Poor guy. : ( It sounds like he may have a severe reaction to the ticks or any number of underlying problems such as tick paralysis. He needs to go to a vet pronto for some much needed antibiotics to hopefully help stabilize his condition. I would recommend consulting with your vet for antibiotics (i.e. Doxycycline) and pain medication (i.e. Gabapentin) to help poor Max. I do hope that Max is able to fully recover from this illness soon! Best of luck moving forward. Take care.

There is more you can do for Dexter. He may improve with acupuncture for the neurological deficits and it can relieve his pain and help him relax and enjoy life. As far as the walking goes getting him specific exercises to retrain his legs will improve his walking. If there is a veterinary rehabilitation center near you they should be able to help you with these exercises and get you in touch with an acupuncture veterinarian. If they offer hydrotherapy, walking in the underwater treadmill will improve his strength and gait. Many dogs do get better so please continue with the medication and seek out some alternative treatments if you can. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Dexter.

T9 compression should not affect the upper limbs at all, Tick fever could cause these symptoms although it is quite rare. you should take her back to the vet urgently, she might need to have an MRI done at a specialist center.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Another surgery can be considered and there are always options to try before considering euthanasia. I would highly recommend you consider meeting with a board certified surgeon so that all the options can be considered. At that time they can discuss with you the pros and cons of these options and you can then make an informed decision. I really hope they can help Dexter!!!

Oh no! Poor Dixie! I think the big question is is this paralysis Dixie is experiencing related to arthritis? Because if she has a disk problem, or if her spinal cord is injured or degenerating, then adequan is not going to help her. If she has not already had X-rays, she needs them. Hindlimb paralysis sometimes means that the dog needs to have emergency spinal surgery. Adequan would only help her if she has some arthritis in her spine or other joints—- it doesn’t hurt anything, but certainly won’t cure a neurologic problem like back legs not working. This is a complex issue— if you’d like we could set up a consultation and go into this in more depth.

I am so sorry to hear that your pet has had what sounds like a neurologic disorder for a while now. The next best step here is to consult with a veterinary neurologist to hopefully get to the bottom of his pain and paralysis. Your regular veterinarian can refer you to a local neurologist for further advanced diagnostics and hopefully come up with a good treatment plan to help manage Richard's pain. If a neurologist is not doable right now financially, you can ask your vet to prescribe a neuropathic pain medication for Richard until you can get him in to be seen by the specialist. Also cold laser therapy or acupuncture may be helpful as well. Hopefully this can help make him more comfortable in the meantime. I hope that Richard is able to manage his pain well soon! Best of luck and take care.

Sorry to hear about Dakota's current predicament. Assuming that her two endocrine conditions are well managed, the problem with mobility is likely a separate problem entirely. A myelogram is certainly a decent option for discovering certain abnormalities in the spine, but the best way to rule these out involve a CT Scan or MRI. These are tests that are available only through a specialty hospital in most cases. If she has feeling in all of her limbs, I have doubts that the disease process is of spinal origin however, particularly if this has already been going on for a week. Other causes of lack of mobility are certain infectious diseases (tick borne diseases in particular), traumatic injuries to the spine (fractures to the actual vertebra), severe arthritis, and several different cancerous processes involving the bones and spinal cord. There are also degenerative neurologic conditions that can affected any of the limbs or the brain, ultimately resulting in mobility issues. I tend to lean towards an infectious process or arthritis since there is pain occurring from time to time. I would say that investigating this issue in more detail with your vet would be worth while, with some blood work and a check for tick borne diseases. Hope this helps!