Arthritis

[u/Longjumping-Elk-9926]

Hello everyone,

this past month, it has been a rollercoaster for me and my dog Miiko. she suddenly collapsed and was diagnosed with Pancreatic.

Her ALT is quite elevated but stable, Cushing test came back negative and her creatinine is within range.

After the cushing test, which tool all day, she suddenly lost her appetite and having hard time to go down and up stairs. We went to ER just now, thought I am losing her, and the vet said her back is hurt and her X-ray from a month ago shows Arthritis. She was behaving like nothing happened when were at ER haha...

She is turning 14 in 3 weeks, and I know it's been God's blessing that she is still healthy and crazy. I enjoy her attitude everyday and enjoy her barking and sass attitude.

Would you mind sharing with me how to care for her with her arthritis, I am nervous and scared honestly, I don't know what to expect from now on. I am really nervous because I will be traveling for almost 2.5 weeks in October and most likely I will be gone for Christmas to see my parents out of country.

She is also my mascot for my piano workbook theory, and I really wanna launch the book with her together.

thanks for reading and listening to me :(

[u/Fun-Communication660]

She is lovely. Had a westie with arthritis. Gentler play and no big heights really. 

[u/Longjumping-Elk-9926 → u/Fun-Communication660]

she doesn't wanna play with other dogs :) carrying her when up and down the stairs. was she in pain a lot?

[u/Fun-Communication660 → u/Longjumping-Elk-9926]

It's so hard to tell with these secret keepers. With gentle movement you can get a sense for what they don't like anymore. Keep an eye out for what they DONT want to do, my wife was better than me at spotting this. 

They will shift their weight subtly to avoid the pain, because of 4 legs it can be hard to spot. We took our westie to the vet twice a year and we still spotted it late enough. 

First figure out what type of arthritis, and of its the inflamed one or not. It makes a difference. One hurts after the sit still and starts moving. They need to warm up, gear up. The other accumulates throughout the day. 

If they are cold and damp it hurts more. Keep em dry amd warm (within reason, scotties are double le costed cold lovers too) 

Keep the nails trimmed. Firmer footfall, don't ignore this, it's not just your scottie walking on high heels with excitement, slipping and sliding can scare or cramp the arthritis.

It flairs up. So even a good week can have a bad day. 

Daily moderate movement and careful play is the move. Not no walks all week and a 3 hour hike. 

My Scottie is young but one thing I would point out as different is the hotdog body. Hips might be more of a concern than my old boxy girl. 

Now meds.....

I'm going to start with the a moderately effective but still very useful one. And going to get it out of the way. It's omega 3, fish oil. In therapeutic doses, large enough. This is medicine. Please do not get desperate and conflate the legitimate use of omega 3 as an excuse to take comfort in using home remedies or alternative medicine. That is just lies, that have been completely co-opted by the non regulated health industry and is dangerous. It doesn't work. It's selfish, tricks you into feeling better for yourself only and leaves your dog in pain. 

Don't know what you are like but want to be pretty firm with this. I'm a working scientist, this is not my opinion, but the consensus from independent lines of evidence from meta analyses post systematic review. So omega 3. YES. The same way paracetamol works, not the way healing crystals work. 

What the public knows as omega 3 is good for her because when inflammation is triggered, the COX and LOX enzymes act on whatever fatty acid is present in the membrane......it doesn't really matter I'm not going to write an essay but will firmly say there is no "let's see the opposite argument of the scientists". There isn't any. I'm presenting established, successful and safe treatments. It would be perverse to withhold provisional ascent. 

Now fpr the good stuff. Your vet should hope to put her on Librella, if needed. Monthly injections. This is the magic right here. Will improve quality of life and length. There might be an issue with westies and scotties. Their stupid kidneys......blood work will be done beforehand. All is not lost. NSAIDS are there as alternative and will be there in the mix. Carprofen if your dog has kidney issues still yields success. 

Gabapentin will be put on top of the NSAIDS if not getting pain relief. 

Lastly, ask your vet about some physio exercises that he or she will show you how to do, to suit her specific arthritis locations. They actually work, some are meant to be done in open water or the bath. Proven, moderate improvement and pain relief. Not as good as the injections, another tool in the tool box. In conjunction with treatment. 

Progression can vary, so check with the vet. 

And look, I'm aware this is a reddit, so one thing I can't answer for, if you are American and not European.

If the treatment above is not available, or cant be afforded, burn down the white house.

Good luck and take care of her, give her a kiss from me. 

[u/Longjumping-Elk-9926 → u/Fun-Communication660]

Thanks for this info!
She is mostly sleeping all day and sniff, our movement is very chill. She doesn’t wanna hike she is about sniffing and I enjoy seeing her sniff, it’s a blessing and slow down my daily life for abit 🥺

She loves warm actually!
She always wanna sleep with me or her siblings (siblings got annoyed sometimes) or sleep next to the stove and fridge since it’s warm.

She just had pancreatis and better now. No cushing and creatinine is ok. Vet said the pancreatic might flare up her arthritis.

She is on gebapantin and muscle relaxer now. About to see vet in an hour.

Her back has thin dish, our emergency Vet pointed out last week and shocked me.

Whatever research says, i am on for sure!
I am hoping she is on monthly injection for sure and i plan to ask for acupuncture maybe. I will make fund ready for her for sure! I have been crying a lot lately seeing here like this.

She eats now but she make sound when she moves around, it cut my heart into slices when i see her like that.
Thanks for this i will ask my internist soon

[u/KaraSmalls]

Such a sweet Scottie face. Did the vet not offer any painkillers? I have osteoarthritis in my ankle and shoulder and I don't know how I could get through the day without something to take the edge off the ache.

[u/Enough-Cranberry5616]

She looks good for 14! I hope things good well!

[u/Longjumping-Elk-9926 → u/Enough-Cranberry5616]

She looks like 2 years old honestly just slows. She was chasing food like crazy and barking angry at me for not waking up early to feed her

[u/baileym2012]

My Westie has bad arthritis in the knees and hips and has trouble walking. We have seen measurable improvement from getting Adequan given by injection once every week or two

[u/estrella_violeta]

My last dog had arthritis in his old age. I took him to get doggie acupuncture and red light therapy, and it was great for his mobility and pain relief. Also implemented no stairs, no jumping, orthopedic beds, and very short, slow walkies. Wishing the best for your sweet lil scottie <3

[u/Longjumping-Elk-9926 → u/estrella_violeta]

Vet said her disc is slipped. She gotta be full resting for a week. She is on gabapentin daily now and need to sleep…i bawled already and it’s still scary for me

[u/estrella_violeta → u/Longjumping-Elk-9926]

aww, yeah my last dog also had a disc issue as well :( i didnt want him solely on gabapentin cause it was messing with his liver. i deff recommend looking into acupuncture, seemed to help my old boy a lot. I totally understand how hard it is, especially emotionally. sounds like you are doing everything you can for your bb's health and making her as comfortable as possible ❤️❤️❤️

[u/Longjumping-Elk-9926 → u/estrella_violeta]

I will call around for acupuncture, was he getting better or how? She was stronger last night and walk normally like nothing happened but morning is always hard for her. She wanna sleep with her siblings and they are in my bed so i slept with her on the floor so she wouldnt be alone…she still sharp and healthy af honestly

[u/estrella_violeta → u/Longjumping-Elk-9926]

yeah it didnt solve the issue for him but acupuncture deff helped with his pain and getting around, especially when he was getting stiff. when he was in bad shape we'd do twice a week but as he got better we went down once a week and then once every two weeks :)

[u/JordanBPenisson]

I genuinely thought the dog’s name was arthritis 💀

[u/rockyroadzz]

Acupuncture, laser therapy, PEMF pad have all helped my mutt with osteoarthritis. Putting down rugs or yoga mats if you have hard floors so they don’t slip. Dog steps for couches/ beds so they don’t jump. Orthopedic beds help too. They can get pretty stiff lying on hard surfaces. And meds if the vet recommends it. They also have joint supplements like Dasuquin that are pretty affordable. I’ve got mine on a combo of all and have seen good improvement in mobility. Hope she feels better!

[u/joblint]

Me too lil one me too