Suspected slipped or bulging disc

My dog had a hemilaminectomy for an exploded disc in his neck 8 months ago from which he made a brilliant recovery. Now he's got a suspected slipped/bulging disc in his neck and is been treated with metacam, tramadol a muscle relaxant and rest. Has anybody else's dog had this problem and how long did it take to recover?

Hi My boy had a HNPE (basically disc fluid leaking and causing pressure on spinal cord) so same as your fella I guess.

His was between C5/C6 and he had a ventral slot put in and the fluid removed. This was in January and we are just recently off lead again and Im hoping we can reintroduce stairs as Ive been sleeping on the sofa since he did it!

The procedure went really well and they were really pleased with his progress and we were off pain killer etc but then he started showing lameness on the right side (originally left) and had another MRI which showed a small bulge on the right side which was thought to be pressing on the nerve (scar tissue possibly or more fluid) he was treated conservatively with Gabapenthin on 3 x a day for a month then 2 x a day for a fortnight then 1 x a day for another fortnight and touch wood it rectified itself.

The vet said that if it didnt sort itself out then we would have to go back in and put a screw in to hold the vertabrae apart (recently done on supervet).

We were referred to RVC at potters bar as our vets usual referral practive at solihull was too busy to see him straight way.

Is it at the same position as hemil? Given this is your boys 2nd episode I would def go for MRI if he hasnt already had one as there maybe be further instability that needs to be addressed.

When my boy did his he was in screaming agony the vet said that some dogs present paraplegic with no pain and can come right with a months rest but he didnt go off his legs and was in immense pain.

Specialist said they usually say 4wks melds and complete rest (only on lead quick wee etc in the garden then back in cage) before they would do anything else but we went straight to op as my boy was literally screaming in pain God love him

Aww bless him, your boy has been through it too! We had the screaming in pain when Max's disc had exploded. It took nearly a month to get him diagnosed because he hadn't got any lameness etc, just screamed when he twisted his neck and he'd just stand ridged for a few minutes. They put it down to an immune related thing, a kind of meningitis but not deadly, because Max had had Masticating Muscle Myositis' in his jaw and it can effect the neck later on down the line. So after countless call outs to the vets and me making the vet take him in to control the pain they eventually gave him an x ray and then he was referred to a vet miles away at Litchfield for a myelogram which didn't show anything. The vet then rang to say they thought he had a brain tumour,because he was going downhill quickly , and were taking him to another vet at Castle Donnington, the next day, for an MRI. That was the worse night of worry ever!! The MRI showed the exploded disc and they gave him the hemi to remove the disc material. He was a new dog when I picked him up 3 days later. HE was away form home for 10 long days. 6 weeks of cage rest and he was good to go. This time he's not crying, only once every few days if he catches himself out. He's on toilet walks on the lead only and confined to his bed. I've seen improvement but I know its going to take weeks. God aren't they a worry but I love my dog to bits and he always comes first in our household. He usually sleeps upstairs with me so I've been on the sofa too! Looking forward to him playing with his toys again! Fingers crossed for both our boys! Thanks for your reply!

My god you must have been frantic!! A whole month! It first happened out of the blue one evening vets first thing the following morning and he referred us straight down to RVC that day we got there and the little toad acted as if he was right as rain sent home iwth painkillers for a month. He was ragging his duvet when we got back so no painkillers then the following morning the screaming came back with a vengeance so we took him straight back down and they MRI'd then operated the same day (they did say we could be conservative for a month but i went for the OP) God am welling up just thinking about that morning trying to get him to the car by myself and sobbing all the way to Potters bar.

its a long road but youll get there x i still have flippin heart failure eveyr time he rolls over onto his back little swine or rags his duvet!

The gabapentin worked a treat its actually for epilepsy but works as a very good nerve pain killer might be worth a try if hes still painful xx

It was a nightmare as I'm sure you know all to well. It's horrible to have them crying and you feel helpless. I know exactly what you mean about the car journey. It breaks my heart thinking about it too! If mine starts the crying like last time I'll get him referred for an op straight away,not having him suffer like that again. I don't think anybody could understand what an emotional rollercoaster it is unless tthey've been through it with their dog. Hope your boy continues to do well and doesn't keep giving you heart failure! x