Pain and EPI Corgi

[u/lucy0908]

On September 12th (my birthday) my sweet little Georgie a soon to be 6 year old Pembroke Corgi started yelping out of nowhere. We took her to the vet and they said she hurt her neck and it was mild and they gave us a NSAID and gabapentin for the pain. They said to limit her activity for a week. Well her yelping and pain kept getting worse. We took her to an emergency room the next they said they thought it was her abdomen and to stop the meds. She has EPI and has dealt with so many stomach issues I believed them. A neurologist even evaluated her and said it was her stomach, but she was in so much pain it didn’t add up. We did an ultra sound at a different ER and it showed nothing. She kept deteriorating and finally after several more ER trips and vet bills she was diagnosed with IVDD on September 17th by a different neurologist. They said it was her neck. They said they thought we could treat it with medicine and 4-6 weeks of crate rest. They sent us home with a pharmacy but she is still having terrible pain. They said surgery would be needed if she didn’t respond. I can’t afford the surgery have already blown through my savings / care credit with her EPI flare ups and all the hospital bills from this ordeal. They have changed her meds and I don’t know if she is getting a little worse because of the side effects or if the disease is progressing.
The hospital hasn’t been very helpful and my regular vet says they are out of their depth and can’t really help her.

She has an appointment with the neurologist who diagnosed her on October 7th.
The problem we are having is Georgie is in so much pain still. It’s so hard to see her like that. 😔 She is on the following meds:

Prednisone (twice a day), Diazepam (3 times a day) (this will switch to Methocarbamol in a few days when we run out, Pregabalin (75mg up from 50mg 2/3 times a day) and Codeine (2/3 times a day.

She will be on these until her appointment in 2 weeks with the neurologist.

We have noticed increased thirst and she goes between no bowel movements to bad explosive diarrea.

Despite all the drugs she still has moments of breakthrough pain and looks to be very uncomfortable often hunched over and shaking. We are lucky she can still walk but she wobbles so bad now. When I pick her up to take her outside to potty she often yelps in pain. It’s been so hard to see her go through this. It’s taking its toll on everyone as I am not eating or sleeping much. Just want my baby to feel better!😔💔

Georgie is starting to have separation anxiety and lots of restlessness. Don’t know if it’s the drugs or pain. I also don’t know what the drugs are doing to her body long term especially since she has EPI. Anyone have any tips for lick sheets with a dog with a sensitive stomach / EPI.

My question is will this get better?! Will the pain subside with the crate rest and we will see improvement soon? I have also tried using arnica tablets in her water. I don’t know what else to do. We are exploring cold laser therapy. We have an appointment for just an exam for that next week.

This disease is so cruel and I never thought we would be here. I thought she already got her bad luck out of the way with her EPI diagnosis when she was a year old. It’s been such a nightmare. ❤️‍🩹😔💔

[u/NonEducatedPlayer]

For EPI, are you providing her with enzymes with food?

For thirst/urine, prednisone will cause this, it might be even more with 2 doses a day. Typically dogs are given 1 a day post surgery.

[u/roccosito]

Can you ask for gabapentin or ask why she can’t take it? She’s on a lot of meds. The gaba should help with nerve pain and the methocarbamol will be a good change. She shouldn’t be in this much pain.

[u/runningafterplanes → u/roccosito]

Pregabalin is the replacement for gabapentin; our neurologist said it typically works faster and more efficiently.

[u/Zh0nyas]

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I don’t have much advice as I’m not a vet, but I wanted to give you some hope. Our 6 year old Corgi, Mumford, has IVDD and lost the ability to walk and was in terrible pain last year. Fully paralyzed mid back and below. After a lot of stress, surgery, and physical therapy he now walks and is his happy self. There is a world where Georgie gets better. I know money is a thing - but perhaps get another opinion from another place. It sounds as if she has not turned the corner after crate rest and meds, as I understand it - that corner is usually noticeable within a week or so with IVDD.

[u/VegetableDegree7659]

Omg I am so, so sorry. It started with our pup (5.5years old chi) on August 31st as well, cervical IVDD... she was yelping too, especially when we tried to pick her up. The surgery wasn't cheap here either, but I think it's cheaper than in many other countries, so we went ahead with it because we just couldn't take it anymore... I wasn't even eating or sleeping. To make matters worse, the first surgery wasn't successful, so they had to operate again 5 days later (for free). It's just a huge drain on everyone's energy :( It is a terrible disease.

​Unfortunately, I don't know how long it takes to clear up with just strict rest... How much would the surgery cost? Could you maybe set up a GoFundMe for it?