My dog's slipped disc isn't improving on prednisone. What now?

Hello. Your veterinarian was just trying to make things as simple as possible. The goal of the prednisone is to only reduce inflammation, & once this resolves, Slick should feel much better. What may happen is for the soft intervetebral disc to calcify, thus removing potential movement & subsequent pinching of the nerves. A calcified disc reduces mobility & thus pain, for the most part. An unexpected move or jerk could cause substantial pain. It is important to only walk Slick with a harness, & if need be, keep her on a good anti-inflammatory medication as needed. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Bentley! I'm sorry to hear that he's so uncomfortable. Steroids such as prednisone can sometimes cause weight gain, excessive panting, increased thirst, and urinary accidents in the house - so it's certainly possible that some of the issues you are seeing could be side effects from the medication. Since he isn't feeling any better after 5 days, yes - I would definitely recommend giving your vet a call or taking Bentley back tomorrow for recheck visit. It sounds like he may need a different course of treatment, or possibly some diagnostic testing to see if something else is wrong.

Prednisolone has anti inflammatory properties so it' s unlikely to cause a worsening of pain. I would continue it. Is the neck pain related to a disc herniation or is it muscular ? Any improvements? You should really consider veterinary acupuncture, it works very well helping both conditions !

I recommend to call your vet and tell them what is happening. It sounds like she is still uncomfortable. She may need a change in medications or additional therapy like acupuncture. Also have her ear checked for infection. Make sure you are strictly restricting her activity. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

We are not in a position to change or reduce dosage prescribed by your treating vet and you should contact your vets office to advise. It is likely they will half the frequency every few weeks until he is more stable but this must only be done under direction from your vet

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Unfortunately, intervertebral disk disease is the bane of all long backed dogs. The key to recovery is pain medication either in the form of a steroid like prednisone, or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as rimadyl, carprofen, metacam, etc. & STRICK rest. Ace must not jump, run, or be at all active while trying to heal. It can take 3 weeks for the disk to heal. You can apply alternating treatments of heat & cold by warming a sock with rice in the microwave ( make sure it is warm & not hot ), using it on Ace for 10 minutes, then apply a bag of frozen peas for 10 minutes. You can do this twice a day, but make sure there is a towel between the heat & cold, & move the application frequently to prevent hot or too cold spots. If Ace remains painful, you can ask your vet for an appropriate additive to Ace's medication. A muscle relaxant might be appropriate, or additional pain medications in the form of tramadol or gabapentin. These things take time. Hopefully, he will feel better by tomorrow. Take care.

I definitely agree that prednisone tapering should take much longer but if you have already switched him to Rimadyl you cannot give him the prednisone anymore. if you have not switched him yest you should do a much slower tapering over a period of at least 2 weeks, reducing gradually every 5-7 days.