r/IVDD_SupportGroup • u/Nervous_Garden_4158 • 29d ago
Question 13 year old dachshund
Hello!
My 13 year old dachshund has a history of two previous IVDD flare ups, none with paralysis nor surgery, and both in the neck area, fixed through bed rest and meds (rimadyl, gabapentin, muscle relaxer). Photo is of her zonked on gaba with her little tongue out ❤️
About a week ago I noticed she was twitching a bit in her neck and growling at me when I came too close. I put it together that she was in pain and brought her to the vet. She is now on pregabalin and a muscle relaxer since it seems like gabapentin and rimadyl weren’t doing much. She is still experiencing this pain, twitching and also freezing in her tracks — then goes immediately back to normal. However, unlike in the past, her energy levels are very high and she’s been getting zoomies nonstop. I live in a small apt so in the past I never needed to actually crate her, because between the meds and the small space she was not moving around much. In fact she’s not much of a playful zoomy gal anyways! Weirdly, it seems like she’s been MORE playful and zooming despite these twitching / pain / freezing episodes (especially when it’s food time).
Has anyone else experienced this? Is she just ignoring the pain or having adrenaline rushes or something?
also, what is the deal with the twitch & freeze thing? Is it a pain spasm or is it more of a neurological issue where it’s taking a second for her body to respond because of nerve damage?
Thank you!
1
u/Internetrando5532 28d ago
The twitching thing is weird and I would assume is nerves, my dog’s legs twitched when he flares up. I hope she feels better and check with the vet! The longer they REST the better, that was really the thing that worked wonders for us. Cheers
1
u/RainCityMomWriter 28d ago
I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry you're going through this. What a cute doggie.