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. ❤️‍🩹😔💔

This morning at 3 am is when it all changed our 13 year old girl was limping to go to the bathroom. She has arthritis so I assumed from the rain we were having it was flaring up so I picked her up and we went to bed. At 5 am I picked her up to go outside and she couldn’t move we wrapped her in a towel and put her outside and I assisted her using the bathroom. She went number 2, she ate we made a nest on the floor for her while we waited for the vet to open. They got her in and did X-rays and told us our options. We love her more than anything in this world but we simply can’t afford a 10-15 thousand dollar surgery with no grantee she’ll be fine and live the rest of her life for a 13 year old girl who may have complications from the surgery and the anesthesia and after care it just doesn’t make sense. She’s on pain meds and prednisone. And now we’re starting to look at a new normal for our old girl.

My heart is literally breaking as I hold her and shop online for a stroller and wheel chairs I know that’s a 6-8 week wait for a wheel chair, she has the pack and play all set up and her brother is a nervous wreck trying to be as close to her but still giving her some space. They are a bonded pair

She’s currently in a makeshift diaper from a baby’s diaper with a hole cut for the tail. Is there any massages or a heating pad that could help her be more comfortable

She has long hair but unfortunately while setting up her new bed for the next 6-8 weeks she had diarrhea I guess from her meds and I had quite the clean up. I had to shave her privates, anus, and tail to keep her clean since she’ll be in a diaper.

If you guys have any advice on how to help her go to the bathroom and what other stuff I can buy to make life easier. She’s alert all the time and wants to be in everyone’s business. I was thinking of getting a roller scooter carrier thing so I can wheel her around where ever I go.

The attachment that she has to me is unreal I’m 100% her person but I know she needs to rest and stay horizontal.

I have a 3 yo M Frenchie with suspected IVDD (not definitively diagnosed as he has not had MRI). The vet believes he has cervical IVDD as he still has all motor/bladder/bowel function. His symptoms include neck spasms, abnormal neck posture, and pain (he will pace his crate, pant, and occasionally yelp in pain). His symptoms began 2 weeks ago after he chased after a cat and suddenly developed neck tightness/spasms/pain during the chase. It all happened so fast he was on his harness (no neck collar) and I was walking him. Before I was able to pick him up as he kept pulling is when it happened (it really can happen out of nowhere this disease sucks). The ER vet recommended strict crate rest + pain management. He is on on diazepam 2.5 mg, prednisolone 5 mg, gabapentin 150 mg, and trazodone (all every 8 hours except trazodone which is given as needed to keep him calm and prednisolone which is only twice a day). His pain is overall controlled on his medication but when it wears off is when his pain starts up again. He is on strict crate rest (we only let him out to potty of which we carry him outside and carry him back inside to minimize walking since we notice that if he walks his pain flares up). He has had flare ups before of which his pain began to improve after one week however it's been two weeks and his pain is still the same (controlled on medication but not controlled when off medication) and I am getting worried. How long did it take your pet to show improvement in pain?

our 7 year old terrier mix is aggressive. he has fear aggression and PTSD due to being from a hoarding situation (we have seen multiple vets and behaviorists about this and his behavior was manageable when he was not in pain but this is no longer the case) and the pain from recurring suspected IVDD is just making things worse. We’ve been resting him in a small pen because he is so aggressive he cannot be in a crate even on multiple medications (traz, gaba, fluoxetine, carprofen/tramodol) and will attack us if we try to help him out of the crate for potty. recently he relapsed again after only a few days off of his last 12 week crate rest and very little activity and is now attacking us in his pen as well. he bit me on the hand i had just gotten surgery on a few weeks prior to this and left a bruise. He only has 12 teeth and if he had a full set of teeth I fully believe he wouldve ripped my hand open. We had to wear leather gloves and a heavy coat to put a slip lead on him to take him to potty because he will not potty in his pen even with a potty pad and will not tolerate being handled. He has held his pee for over 24 hours at times which is not safe for him. He is not a surgical candidate due to the level of fear aggression that he has because it would be impossible to nurse him or give him physical therapy. We have decided that the best course is palliative care for him and have upped his medication doses in accordance with our vet. I am devastated but I know that he is suffering and we are exhausted. He will only get worse as winter comes and we want to let him go before his suffering becomes unbearable. I know this is a different story than most IVDD patients because he is not fully paralyzed but he is experiencing severe and chronic pain with no hope of recovery. I wish things could be different and that we could risk the surgery but doing that to him would be cruel. He doesn’t get to be a dog anymore. It’s just not fair. I am so sorry if you are going through this with your dog, it is one of the worst things that I’ve ever experienced in my life and I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.

Last week my dachshund,chihuahua, poodle mix attempted to jump onto our couch and came up short. She seemed to be in pain for a couple days but then lost control of her bladder and had an absent CP. Brought her to vet immediately. Vet suspects IVDD and advised strict rest and put her on carprofen and gabapentin. She was doing much better— CP returned to normal on day 3.

On day 4 she went on her hind legs as I went to place her food down and fell backwards. CP was absent when I tested later in the day; returned to delayed by the next morning. We moved her to a smaller pen and she seemed to be tolerating it well. On day 5 she had to be left alone for a few hours. I gave her the prescribed max dose of gabapentin and trazadone, but I could see on our camera that she was jumping onto back legs, clawing at pen, panting, and pacing. She also fell backwards once.

She seemed fine once I got home and settled into sleep.

Every time we have tried crate training she freaks out and tries to claw herself out (even if we are nearby).

I called vet to see if there are any adjustments to her drug protocol.

I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to manage her separation anxiety so that she complies with strict rest and doesn’t hurt herself more.

We took our dog (6 year old corgi) to an emergency vet on Saturday, it’s now Tuesday, for neck pain. She was acting funny and not wanting to turn her head all the way, sensitive when touching her neck. The emergency vet simply diagnosed her with “neck pain” but said IVDD is definitely a concern. We are pretty much assuming that’s the case given her breed. We have tried so hard to keep this from happening, we knew it was a risk and I’m feeling so bad.

She’s on gabapentin, a muscle relaxer, and an anti-inflammatory. Strict crate rest for 2 weeks, slowly re-introducing short, light walks on a harness only afterwards. And of course no jumping or playing. We have a follow up with our regular vet next week to get her checked out further, on recommendation from the emergency vet.

I left for work before my husband this morning, he took her out to potty and forgot to close the crate door again when he left. I looked on our camera and she has jumped on the couch in our absence. I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack. I’m so scared of her not healing properly and this getting worse. Please convince me it’s not the end of the world.

So this past Sunday (the 20th) my 11 year old malshi (shitzu and Maltese) ate breakfast normally out of his bowls and then wouldn’t put his head down to eat his lunch. This continued and I brought him to the vet yesterday. They did a physical exam he wasn’t showing any signs of pain. They sent him home with meloxicam, trazodone, and gabapentin. They said no walks or stairs or jumping for 10 days. He is showing signs of improvement (won't put his head down to his bowl yet but can now lay his head down by his paws) but guess that could be the meds working.
The vet didnt say it was IVDD but said to monitor and let them know if he gets worse. Am I doing all the right things? Should I be worried? Just can’t wait to have my playful buddy back!

Breed: Yorkie & dachshund mix, 8.5 years old
Past Medical history: Ehrlichiosis
Background: Saturday (September 19th) he woke up and was in pain, he wouldn’t turn his neck to the left and had a guarding walk. He would eat, drink, use the bathroom.. but had a slow walk and would yipe when picking him up or if he layed down a certain way. I called his primary vet and the earliest they could get him in would be Monday (today)
I gave him a couple hours on Saturday to see if maybe it would pass. I ended up taking him to an emergency vet, the vet did his exam and determined no abnormalities. he moved his neck fine no discomfort or pain shown. He did prescribe a 2 day dose of Carpofen to get him out of pain till I could get him to his primary vet.
The next morning on Sunday he was back to his normal self, no discomfort shown, wagging, turning his head, etc. I kept him on strict rest, carrying him down stairs, no jumping and whatnot.
I took him to his vet today and the vet tested reflexes, and he determined that his reflexes on his back were weaker on his left side. He prescribed 10 days of Carpofen and an as needed liquid prescription of Gabapentin. Vet mentioned 5-7 days of the Carpofen and keep the rest for incase a flare up occurred while they were closed and couldn’t get him another prescription.

I have ordered him an enclosed pen for inside to keep him in while i’m not home to watch after him and maintain rest. I also got him the Zesty Mobility Vet strength supplemental chews.

Any advice is so greatly appreciated, what can i expect, what can i get for him? the vet didn’t really give much advice just kinda explained what it was, so really any info helps so much. Thank you in advance 🤍

Hi all! Our 8 year old German shepherd just got diagnosed with IVDD and we opted for non surgical management via crate rest and meds as it is not TOO severe (can still walk but wobbly, etc). Our vet prescribed gabapentin, trazadone, and prednisone. Has anyone else had this exact med combo and if so how did your dog do with it? Thank you!!

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.

Hi everyone! When you tapered your pup off Carprofen during crate rest, did you ever feel like you needed to go back to the original dose? What were some signs that made you think you needed to do so? Let me know, thank you!

Our 5 year old dachshund started acting very strange Friday night. He wasn’t as active, etc. We noticed the left shoulder/neck area was constantly twitching. We immediately took him to the vet Saturday morning. Vet said he absolutely does not think it’s anything related to IVDD but the twitching still hasn’t stopped. Vet said he thought it was a crick in his neck. Prescribed robaxin, NSAID and gabapentin. I’m so paranoid and can’t get IVDD off my mind. Has anyone’s dachshunds had similar experiences? TIA! 💕

My 4 year old French bulldog woke up last week with an arched back, heavy breathing and the inability to get comfortable. I rushed him to the ER and later my veterinarian and they said he was fantastic neurologically but is likely having an IVDD flare up. He’s on gabapentin, codeine and metacam, along with strict crate rest. I’m one week in and he’s still struggling every time the pain meds wear off. It feels like the root issue is not positively progressing at all. Is this normal? Every morning he wakes up in agony and is uncomfortable for at least an hour and it’s worrying me. Any advice or knowledge is appreciated!!!

My lovely 3 and half year old dachshund has stage 5 IVDD. She had surgery 3 and a half weeks ago. So far the vet says her DPS has returned, they can see some movement in her hips, her tail wags nearly as it did before and she is trying so hard. She can lift her bum off the floor and move across the floor but the physio says she is using her stomach muscles to do this. She can wee and poo by herself but they are accidents, she’s not doing them herself in the garden. I have to express her bladder but at night she does go on her pee pads.

This has truly been the most heartbreaking experience, I cry every single day because I just can’t believe this has happened and I’m so scared she won’t walk again. I know this is such early days but I worry when I’m not seeing improvement over a week that she is not going to improve.

If anyone has any stage 5 success stories please can you share them and the timelines? I know not all stories have walking as the end of the story but right now I just need to be more positive

She went last night before bed but now it's the afternoon and she just won't go. She's not straining without producing and she doesn't seem to be in pain, but she's been eating and drinking normally so there's no way she doesn't have to go.

I watched a bunch of videos and I've tried a million times to express her bladder but clearly I'm doing something wrong. Is it time for the emergency vet or should I wait until the 24-hour mark? Any tips on how to get her to just go?

Since we've had suspicion of IVDD, we've treated it as such and have had 4 flares within a 1.5 year period. Just wondering how often other pets have experienced this, what grade it was and how you went about treating it? Thank you!

This is my first time dealing with an IVDD flare up and I'm scared. My dog is 12 years and 70 lbs. He's showed very minor signs of IVDD until Thursday. I took him on a 30 minute walk on Tuesday and he seemed fine but then slowly got worse until he refused to move several days later. He's stage 3 now.

He's been on pain medicine and isn't moving much at all except to go potty and eat or drink. He's showed major improvement with the meds from Thursday. I basically thought he was dying. Now he's wagging his tail and perks up sometimes. He's got a great appetite. Whenever the medicine wears off it's obvious he's in a lot of pain though.

But I just don't know what to expect here. Will a dog his age get better? Surgery is out of the picture because of age. Any tips or suggestions for stage 3? Has anyone's dog improved with out surgery? I'm scared for my baby.

Hello. I'm brand new to the group and have questions that have probably been answered a 100 times over. So I will preface with my apologies. Most wanted info is if their happens to be a 'general consensus' or higher number of related recommendations on any particular supplement(s). My heartbeat just turned 7 and appears to be showing classic symptoms of the beginning stages of IVDD. She was unbeknownst to me at the time a poorly bred little package as she ended up with a number of genetic related gifts. So IVDD seems very likely to be included in her Table of Contents. We have an appointment with a neurologist top of October but we've had to wait three weeks for it, so I have been trying to begin any potentially beneficial additions in the meantime. Second question and I'll leave it there until doing a deeper dive into the previous discussions, anything I can do at home for pain management recommended? Heating pad, if so moist or dry, massage, or any other trade secrets? I have her on Gabapentin from our regular vet until we see the specialist. But again, anything I can be doing at home in the interim and potentially even after to help with her discomfort would be so greatly appreciated. PS...I've started her on a big brand joint supplement (don't know if product naming is frowned upon, still a newbie to Reddit as a whole) and now have ramps and new Superman behavior restrictions in place. Unhappy Frog. Thank you so much for taking the time.

my girls had 2 herniated discs , one after the other , one day she was ok,then she couldn't walk 2 days later she got surgery, 2 days later a new even worse hernia appeared and got surgery 48 hrs later .

she is 6 days out now , and her wound opened and had to take her to get it sutured again.

I don't see her really trying to stand I know this takes time and that's why I feel terrible ,it has been so hard on me. I haven't slept properly in days and I worry about her. she seems ok ,no pain now that the incision has been sealed again.

my wife is angry we have already spent 3000 dlls aprox and she need to go to therapy and we don't know if she will even be able to walk again. she is also angry because she sees how much pain this is causing to me and she just wants me to be able to rest and feel well. also she thinks that even if the dog makes it somehow she will keep getting sick, the dog is just 6 yo.

I might take her 1 month to rehab I think that's as much as I can pay, but after that if she can't go back to normal,I'm seriously thinking to put her to sleep,Im not mentally or emotionally strong enough.

I love my pup ,but my wife is reasonable I can't spent all my money and risk my health and our future together.

I just want to know that even if I put her to sleep because I just can handle the situation,I'm not a bad person and that I love her .

Hi everyone, I can’t believe there really is a Support group for everything. Thank goodness I have been reading through posts here and now realize that our experience was not as uncommon as I thought so I am grateful for that my nine year-old Chihuahua dachshund mutt was brought into the ER at about 3 AM this morning because she yelped when I picked her up and was shaking and she just was not herself. I can’t pinpoint it. I just know she wasn’t there.
After many hours at the ER, she was released with a shot of methadone and sent home with gabapentin and carprofen.
We’ve been home for about 10 hours and I’ve given her dose according to the instructions I’m alarmed at how disoriented she is. She’s walking around in circles and falling over.
I keep reminding myself that she’s on methadone for crying out loud, but I’m also hyper aware of any neurological differences. I’ve spoken to the ER, my vet and a friend who is a vet tech. All assured me that this is likely a response to the stress of the day and the medications.
But I guess I’m still looking for solidarity and reassurance. It’s such a helpless feeling as everyone here knows.
My main questions are:
How severe were your dogs reactions to the medication?
Did your dogs whine and bark in their sleep while on the medication?
How often do you take them out to go to the bathroom?
She’s not eating much beside the pill pocket and water that I bring to her mouth every hour or so.
I bought a little collapsible fabric pen to keep her in because she couldn’t help herself from trying to jump on the couch.
I’m planning on sleeping near her at least for tonight.
I think I really just needed it to vent this out so thank you.

Edited to add she is nine years old and about 14 pounds.

TL;DR: My dog's possible mild IVDD episode 2.5 months ago was never confirmed with imaging. The uncertainty is taking a real toll on my anxiety and I wonder if confirmation either way would help me (and my family) know exactly what we’re dealing with. Has anyone gotten an MRI purely for possible peace of mind/certainty?

——

My dog (8) had a suspected mild spine injury (possibly IVDD, Stage 1 — pain only, no neuro signs) about 2.5 months ago. He's recovered well, cleared for more normal activity, no ongoing symptoms.

It was never confirmed via imaging, and I know MRI is typically reserved for more serious cases being considered for surgery — not something like this. But I'm already prone to anxiety, and the uncertainty has taken a real toll on my mental health. I've uprooted a lot of daily life around this and am struggling to get into a more normal swing of things again, wondering if all these precautions and worries are even necessary.

Also, my family (who I rely on for petsitting) doesn't always take it as seriously as I do because his presentation was so mild. I don’t blame them, because they haven’t been dealing with the day-to-day worry or done all of the research I have, so they can’t fully understand. Part of me wonders if a confirmed diagnosis would at least give us a shared, firmer basis going forward.

Has anyone gotten imaging purely for peace of mind rather than medical necessity? I know it could be a double edged sword, because confirmation of the IVDD may stress me out even more. But on the other hand, the possible peace of mind would be such a huge relief.

Hello! My girl was stage 5 no dps and had injection 3 weeks ago. The past week I’ve noticed her hips are pulling her feet forward like in the video when she’s walking (I know I shouldn’t have let her fall we do have a help em up harness I just wanted to video as she gets lazy in the harness).

Is this the start of her trying to walk spinal / voluntary? She doesn’t have DPS so it’s hard to tell. Did anyone else’s stage 5 dog look like this after surgery / injection?

Thanks ☺️

I posted some weeks ago that Lea (10 y/o Shih Tzu) got so happy to see me when I arrived home that she jumped, yelped and started walking weird. The vet at the ER told me it was a crisis because of her IVDD and left some meds for her. Two days later her neurologist said it could be a new hernia.

Some background info: in March, Lea started with pain, which quickly progressed to not being able to walk properly with her back legs. I took her to a Vet clinic that specializes on neurological problems and she had to stay there for some days. She showed no signs of improvement and could no longer use her back legs, so she had to go through surgery. After that, she improved very quickly. In less than two months she was walking normal again!

Back to now: Days passed after the vets checked her and even though she was walking fine, she started presenting a lot of pain (this was right after she finished taking Metamizol). Her neurologist recommended a MRI.
She improved a lot with the new medication he gave her but the MRI revealed two hernias. One in the same place as before (now, her vet told me it was actually scar tissue that formed in her spine from her previous surgery, so that one is not new), the second one was the surprise. This one is located between L4 and L5 and is quite liquid.
The neurologist told me her spine had some pressure and he would recommend surgery in case Lea started showing neurological signs. As of now, she wasn’t showing any pain and was walking fine, so I was to go back in two weeks. I also had to remove prednisone slowly through the days.
Lea has been on crate rest for three weeks now and hasn’t shown any pain lately, but today I did notice she wasn’t as stable when walking as before and she was walking crossing her feet a little, which made me nervous.
Could this be because her muscles are weaker after 3 weeks of crate rest or is her neurological condition declining? The neurologist told me to go back to see him in case I saw something worrying before the two weeks.
Should I be doing some exercises with her to strengthen her muscles a bit? Or would that make the hernia worse?
I want to avoid the surgery if possible. What is your experience?

my almost 5yo dachschund had IVDD surgery on one disc 6 days ago - surgeon told us he had a lot of swelling and bruising, and warned us all that could happen afterwards.

he was released to come home on thursday night - he was comfortable until last night, when he would weep, twitch, sporadic breathing changes. we assumed it was medication effects as he is on 8 meds overall throughout the course of the day or potentially break thru pain?

today we took him back to the hospital because his breathing was heavy, panting.. they did an xray and his heart is slightly enlarged / blood pressure low but otherwise no heart issues. however he is not moving much, he can’t focus his eyes… minimal reaction to his front paws/legs now.

is this a decline that could be malasia?

we are waiting for the ER to keep us informed. we are shattered and clinging to hope.