Limping really bad :(

[LolaLover]

UGHHH! I'm so frustrated...Lola has been limping on her right rear leg since last Oct. We have taken her to our vet who said he thought she had a torn acl. We decided to go to another vet and get a second opinion and he thought too that she may have a torn acl. So we ended up taking her back to our primary vet and he had her x-rays done and talk about surgery and when they reviewed them the vet had said that he saw some hip dysplasia, and he thought maybe she had OCD in her ankle, however he thought that her acl was not torn after a through sedated exam and the x-rays. He wanted to be sure that she did have ocd in her ankle so he sent off the xrays to a speciality vet and they didn't think she had OCD, and that the x-rays looked pretty much unremarkable for anything......So now we are in a waiting game. We have no idea what is wrong with her, maybe the hip dysplasia, but this limping has come out of no where... This has been going on for a long time, and now I have no idea what to do. I hate seeing her limp and its hard for her to get around We have tried rest, pain meds... Etc. Any suggestions on what to do now, I feel like i'm at my wits end with this!

 

[Texas Carol]

Actually, it sounds like you've gotten great news, no ACL surgery! It takes
4-6 months to heal up from pull, sprain, soft tissue injury, no extra crating
for it as she'll stiffen up but no running, jumping, vigorous playing or long
walks until no limping. I'd put her on GlycoFlex (cartiledge repair & building)
Duralactin (anti inflamation) and if needs for pain, Tramadol & Robaxin ( a
muscle relaxant~often overlooked to prescribe). Keep on GlycoFlex for life,
& Duralactin for 6 months (longer if needed) and the last 2 meds 4-6 months
shorter or longer as needed. Let us know how Lola does.
~Good luck & GOD bless!

 

[LolaLover]

Thank you so much! I am very thankful no acl surgery! But it is just frustrating not to know whats wrong, I hope it is just a strain or sprain. It just breaks my heart seeing her limp around. I will try those supplements you recommended, she is on tramadol for pain, and I have her on Dausaquin chews.

 

[Texas Carol]

Thank you so much! I am very thankful no acl surgery! But it is just frustrating not to know whats wrong, I hope it is just a strain or sprain. It just breaks my heart seeing her limp around. I will try those supplements you recommended, she is on tramadol for pain, and I have her on Dausaquin chews.

My 6 y/o Cami just developed the same thing and the Vet said torn ACL.
Haven't found a Specialist yet to do sedated exam & x-rays and have her
on Previcox (anti-inflam & pain relief)...was on Tramadol. She doesn't act
in pain now but limping as you say & yes, difficult to see & bear for them
I'm praying Cami doesn't need surgery, it's a long, difficult recovery.

I've researched a lot and putting Cami on the same regime I posted to you.
Let's compare notes along the way, hoping & praying over our babies!

 

[LolaLover]

OHH poor Cami I know it's heartbreaking to see her hobble along. I hope that Cami doesn't need surgery poor thing. I'll keep you posted about how lo is doing, and I'll try these supplements too. Hoping the best for our babies.

 

[2BullyMama]

Carol has you covered...... best of luck with her. You also want to make sure you keep her weight managed too, it makes a big difference for them.

 

[LolaLover]

Thanks for the advice. We are trying to work really hard on her weight too.

 

[Rural mystic]

Here is the thread that I posted before the holidays where Ace injured his left rear leg.

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/showthread.php?33221-Lame-left-rear-leg

His leg gradually improved but he still favors it and often when standing he will just put his toe down on that leg and support all the weight on the other leg.
It's especially noticeable when he has been in his crate for a while and/or sleeping. When he first gets up and going he favors and still limps some on the leg and favors it.
The laser therapy seemed to be helping and if it continues I may get a few more treatments for him. I am also considering and likely will treat with some DMSO topically as well.

DMSO is somewhat controversial but it has been used quite a bit on horses and to a lesser degree on dogs.
I personally have used it on myself over the years with no noticeable ill effects and really helped healing on strained joints, shoulders and etc.
I use to do a lot of power lifting and would often experience inflammation in my shoulder tendons and rotator cuff and the DMSO really helped speed the healing.
I also have Ace on a joint supplement now.

 

[LolaLover]

Thank you for posting a response, anything helps. It sounds like it has also been several months dealing with Ace's injured leg. So did it turn out to be a partial acl tear then? The vet thinks that may be the case still for Lola but we are kind of in a just wait and see if it gets worse or better situation. This whole situation is just very frustrating, so many vet visits after things haven't gotten better and second opinions. UGH! I just want my baby to get better. Lola also has an auto-immune disease Masticatory Myositis so she has been on prednisone up until recently so we were unable to give any NSAIDS, just Tramadol. We now have Lo on Cyclosporin for her auto immune disease and fingers crossed things are going well so now we will be able to give her some NSAIDS for her leg. Maybe I will look into the laser treatments, we live in a small city so there aren't many speciality things here, but worth looking into. Did you think the laser made a difference with Ace???

 

[Texas Carol]

Thank you for posting a response, anything helps. It sounds like it has also been several months dealing with Ace's injured leg. So did it turn out to be a partial acl tear then? The vet thinks that may be the case still for Lola but we are kind of in a just wait and see if it gets worse or better situation. This whole situation is just very frustrating, so many vet visits after things haven't gotten better and second opinions. UGH! I just want my baby to get better. Lola also has an auto-immune disease Masticatory Myositis so she has been on prednisone up until recently so we were unable to give any NSAIDS, just Tramadol. We now have Lo on Cyclosporin for her auto immune disease and fingers crossed things are going well so now we will be able to give her some NSAIDS for her leg. Maybe I will look into the laser treatments, we live in a small city so there aren't many speciality things here, but worth looking into. Did you think the laser made a difference with Ace???

Glad for the update and have y'all & Lola in prayers and happy that Tim @Rural mystic...
is weighing in with his experience & insights. Cami just finished her Previcox so this is
very timely. She is limping slightly but it really takes months for them to heal. I really see
surgery for her as a last resort (she's 6 y/o) as it's a lengthy AND long recovery and also,
expensive~I'm on disability income and care (alone) for my Mother in late stage dementia.
GOD bless us all & our beloved bullies!

 

[Rural mystic]

Thank you for posting a response, anything helps. It sounds like it has also been several months dealing with Ace's injured leg. So did it turn out to be a partial acl tear then? The vet thinks that may be the case still for Lola but we are kind of in a just wait and see if it gets worse or better situation. This whole situation is just very frustrating, so many vet visits after things haven't gotten better and second opinions. UGH! I just want my baby to get better. Lola also has an auto-immune disease Masticatory Myositis so she has been on prednisone up until recently so we were unable to give any NSAIDS, just Tramadol. We now have Lo on Cyclosporin for her auto immune disease and fingers crossed things are going well so now we will be able to give her some NSAIDS for her leg. Maybe I will look into the laser treatments, we live in a small city so there aren't many speciality things here, but worth looking into. Did you think the laser made a difference with Ace???

Well the vet concluded that it may have been a partial tear but she seemed to think minor. I don't think they can make a conclusive diagnosis on a minor or partial tear because as you are aware what they use to determine a complete or significant tear of the acl is the drawer test and if that appears normal they can only rule out other things with the x-rays. And if everything else is normal and the drawer test is normal then I guess they conclude partial tear and or muscular or tendon strain. Ace continues to favor the leg, when he runs you wouldn't think he had a problem but when he first gets up from laying down, especially for a longer period he limps and if just standing he usually will not put the normal amount of weight on that leg but barely touches it to the ground while the other leg supports most of the weight.

Yes I do think the laser was helping, originally 6 laser treatments were scheduled but on the third he seemed so much better that I asked tech who was administering the treatment if it was necessary to continue and she said I would know by that weekend that if he started limping more that we could schedule some more treatments. Well that particular weekend he seemed fine but as the days went by he began to favor it. not anything like when he first injured it, but favoring it. It does appear to me that he has some atrophy in that leg as well which is disconcerting. So yes I do think the treatments help and may schedule for more myself if his limping continues. I do now have Ace on a joint supplement and I would suggest that too if your dog is not already on some. Keep me posted on how things are going

 

[LolaLover]

Thanks for the reply. Lola is on a joint supplement. I will look into those laser treatments, i'm willing to try anything that helps her. Thanks everyone again for the well wishes and support!

 

[aprilemari]

im following this thread because my Lola has been limping on her front leg (mild) for over a month. nsaids helped for the week i gave it to her but it gave her severe diarrhea. i might give it another try we have a bunch of metacam left.

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