Mysterious pain

[NewtoNewfs]

We have a distressing mystery on our hands. Last night, Brun started whining in the middle of the night, refusing to lay down. She hadn't eaten that night or pottied. She was still not herself in the morning, so we took her to an emergency vet - fearing a blockage or another serious reason behind it.

Lots of tests and no real answer. The doctor said all her vital signs were great; xray showed nothing; ultrasound showed nothing either; blood tests ok too. Meanwhile, she ate and drank but ONLY while her bowls were elevated - she would not eat or drink anything from the same bowls if they were on the ground.

They sent us home with tramadol for pain and instructions to wait a few days and see what happens. The tramadol allowed her to sleep soundly, but she woke up whining again tonight (her tramadol dose would have worn off during that sleep). We gave the medicine again, and I hope the pain meds will kick in soon, but does anyone have any ideas about what it could be?

We are wondering whether it could be a neck or back pain because she won't eat or drink unless the bowl is elevated. Maybe she pulled something or has a bad muscle soreness? Crowd-sourcing for any ideas or advice anyone might have. We hate to see our little girl unhappy! :-(

 

[NewtoNewfs]

Relatedly, any vet recommendations in Northern VA/DC metro area?

I should mention that Brun is almost 5 years old. She is otherwise a healthy, normal, loving Newfie!

 

[Jeannie]

My Chase has a problem with her neck. I'm not sure what it is called but basically to relieve the pain she needs to have a vertebrae removed. I refuse to do that at 10 years old. When it is acting up she will stand and pant. If she lays down or stands up she screams. Once she is either up or down she is OK. To relieve the pain I have to give her tramadol, previcox, gabepentin and a muscle relaxer at the same time. Luckily it only acts up if she is too active. I always feed her in elevated bowls.

Chase will scream if I turn her head to either side. Have you tried turning her head side to side. Even though Chase screams when I do this I have to to stretch everything out.

 

[Angela]

Some people refer to it as "Newfie neck". It happens every so often to my Newfs and a trip to Jane, our doggie chiropractor works wonders along with a few days of anti inflammatory pills. We use Metacam.

Usually they are slow to get up, appear stiff and are reluctant to turn the neck. Have no idea why it happens though.

 

[Bailey Boy]

I loved Dr. Verna and Dr. Vaughn when we lived in Gainesville. Dr. Verna used to practice in Haymarket Va but moved I believe also practices holistic meds now. She does acupuncture I believe that might help your little girl.

 

[Sierra Newfs]

I'm so sorry to hear about you going through this. It's so hard when the answer of how to help isn't yet clear.

You are fortunate that one of the best groups in the country for orthopedic and neurological issues is located nearby in Annapolis Junction, MD. It's the Veterinary Orthopedic Sports Medicine Group. http://www.vosm.com

Best wishes for Brun!

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Snuffles has had neck problems....always within days of falling on his face. Chiropractic vet thought maybe whiplash. Said it can take up to 2 weeks to manifest itself. Deramaxx worked wonders.

 

[Lori]

Chance had neck problems. Vet would give him a shot of dexamethqsone and we did a heating pad for a short time, only with me right by him. Eventually we had x-rays done and found out he had spondylosis, and several of his vertebrae were fusing together. We managed the pain with Metacam, Tramadol and acupuncture.

 

[NewtoNewfs]

Thank you all for your input! It has been hugely helpful. Our girl was back to herself by Sunday evening and has mostly been herself since then. She seems to have some pain occasionally, especially when waking up in the morning, when she will whimper and groan a little (though nothing as bad as before). The tramadol seems to relieve that.

The vet never could point to anything except possibly one of her hips, which was showing signs of arthritis on an x-ray. We had a referral for an orthopedic specialist, so we will go that route and do whatever preventative or treatment options are recommended. She doesn't seem to have any trouble getting up or laying down, so I don't know if the hip is the cause of her recent pain or not. We only asked them to take a look at her hips because they were already x-raying for blockages and we wanted the information while they were already at it.

We did recently move and Brun has to navigate stairs at our new place. We are minimizing her exposure to them, but we do worry that the stairs have contributed to whatever injury she might have. Then again, she has also been exercising more lately and might have injured herself or aggravated her hip that way.

More ideas are always welcome, but I wanted to update and say thank you to everyone! The NewfNet community has always been a tremendous resource for us.

 

[victoria1140]

Try massage all along her body.google tellington touch as that can help a lot too