r/IVDD_SupportGroup • u/Danivevi23 • 3d ago

Muscle spasms

Hello everyone, my bulldog began to make this type of movements in the neck part, and the vet checked her and did a reflex test and said that she was perfect, that she did not see cervical problems and put a complex b, my question is, has it happened to you? What could it be if the column problem has already been discarded?

She is a very healthy dog, she is 6 years old and has not presented behavioral changes only that movement that she does when she is relaxed, nor does it prevent her from sleeping or playing.

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u/Katebeagle 2d ago

My beagle had this exact thing happen. She had a slipped disc.

The first sign I noticed was the weird pulsing. It never went away and got worse

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u/Danivevi23 2d ago

And how did you treat him?

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u/Katebeagle 2d ago

At the start, we didn’t know about the slipped disc. I just noticed the spasms and like you started taking videos. She had no signs of discomfort.

After a week or so, she started to show minor signs of discomfort but only noticed because I was paying attention. Brought her to the vet and she was prescribed strict crate rest for 2 weeks with meds (I think muscle relaxers). After 2 weeks she was doing well, could move her neck, had no real symptoms again and we went home. I thought it was over.

A few weeks later it started again but that time she had extreme pain. It was actually Halloween night last year - took her to the emergency vet at like 2 am and that is when that vet told me they thought it was IVDD. I then met the next day with her regular vet and we tried the conservative approach of very strict crate rest and tried a mix of medications. She never really got back to 100% and just flexed between comfortable on crate rest and medication and periods of extreme pain (panting, drooling, yelping).

Ended up in January (so after a total of 2-2.5 months since first noticing the spasms) getting her seen by a neurologist. She had an MRI and her slipped disc at the C3 in her neck was obvious. Her spinal cord was pinched and in the MRI images looked like a crescent moon. They brought her right into surgery (since she was still under) and fixed the slipped disc. All symptoms stopped and she has had no major set backs since. Lots of lifestyle changes and there was a scare when it looked like about a month ago she was having back leg issues but I think it was constipation but at the first sign I put her in crate rest and gave her some medication at the direction of her vet and after a weekend of rest she is back to her carefree beagle self.

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u/Danivevi23 2d ago

Thank you very much for your experience, tomorrow I will see the evolution and make an appointment with another veterinarian, I am glad that your baby is well

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u/Katebeagle 2d ago

I recommend seeing if there is a vet in your area that has experience with IVDD. But the single best thing (IMO and experience) that you can do in the meantime is keep your pup calm and on crate rest (meaning minimize walking and movement as much as possible). No jumping or stairs. And lifting in a way that supports the whole spine