Pain getting up and walking up stairs

Charlie'sMom

Charlie'sMom

New member
I know I haven't been around as much lately, life has gotten super busy for us, but Charlie needs your collective expertise ...

A couple of times before, when he has overdone it playing he has had trouble getting up from a laying position, and going up stairs, it usually lasts for a day or 2, then goes away on its own with a bit of rest, then slow walks for a day or two.

This week he started having a but more trouble getting up/walking up stairs, but there is no real reason it got started, it just popped up one day. Also, it seems to be getting worse instead of better.

You can manipulate/massage all his joints, paws, and spine without any pain response, but we have having to help boost him up out of a laying down position. He can go down stairs just fine, but he has trouble, and whines coming up stairs. Once he is up he can walk around just fine, no limp.

I am working crazy hours at work this week, and there is just no possible way for me to get him to the vet before saturday, because work is so busy right now I can now cancel a shift.

Is there anything you guys can think of that I could do to help him, and do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone?
 
B

BLCOLE

Active member
I just got my third Newf about 1 month ago. She is the first one who could navigate stairs. She just turned 6 on May 2.

Has Charlie been X rayed to see that he is okay orthopedically? The first two that didn't do stairs had pre existing orthopedic problems when I got them. Maybe a good thing do do for the future...
 
Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
Wonder if he has elbow dysplasia resulting in some arthritis? He probably needs his elbows xrayed at some point.
 
Pipelineozzy

Pipelineozzy

New member
If he's going DOWN with no problem, I wouldn't suspect elbows first...as they take the load going down. But yup..it's time for xrays and serious palpation by a vet if he's fairly young and having this kind of trouble.
 
Ginny

Ginny

New member
I agree that a thorough vet visit is in order. I wouldn't worry about waiting until you have a day off to get him there; just as soon as you can. First order of business would be x-rays.

One of mine started to have trouble rising, OFA hips are good. It turned out that she'd knocked her pelvis out. The indicator was a raised area on her spine. I took her to the reg. vet who x-rayed and had no explanation. It was a chiropractic vet who diagnosed it. He realigned her and after some rear strengthening exercises, she's fine. I noticed a roached area of the spine on another of mine. Took him to the chiropractor - same thing. As a control, I also had him examine another of mine - he found no misalignment or need for any chiropractic adjustment. Both of these dogs are boat jumpers and I wonder if that hasn't been a contributing factor. I mention this because I think a misaligned pelvis is far more common than realized.
 
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Charlie'sMom

Charlie'sMom

New member
Well, Charlie just seemed to get worse overnight when I was on night shift, so this morning we got him into the vet. He had thorough palpation and manipulation, and showed some pain in his shoulders and hips so he is having a series of x-rays done under sedation today. I am just about to try to get some sleep as I am in for my 8th 12 hour night shift tonight, and I am just exhausted.

I will keep you guys posted. Thanks for the advice/ideas.
 
Charlie'sMom

Charlie'sMom

New member
Well, Charlie has arthritis in his shoulders and elbows, very mild in his shoulders, and mild in his elbows. His rear end and spine all look fine on x-rays. We are not sure that the pain is from the arthritis, and he has been given a week do deramax to try to alleviate any pain and inflammation he has, we are also resting him for the few days. We are hoping this does the trick, and that we can wean off of all meds within a few weeks.
 
Lori

Lori

New member
Sorry to hear about Charlie's arthritis. Hopefully the meds will help him. Chance had pain from arthritis too. We used Tramadol for quite a while. It helped him a lot and it's not an NSAID, so he could be on it long term.

Hugs to Charlie, feel better boy.
 
Charlie'sMom

Charlie'sMom

New member
This seems to be getting worse rather than better - even on 150 mg of deramaxx, he is yelping when getting up from lying down, walking up stairs, and even every couple of hours when he is lying down he is crying out in pain. There is no emergency vet in my town, and I am stuck until Monday. I am not sure what to do - other than maybe try 225 mg of deramaxx tomorrow - can anyone help out with some pain control methods that could work until I can get him back in on Monday?
 
Lori

Lori

New member
Sorry to hear Charlie is feeling worse. Can you call the nearest emergency vet (or the one your vet sends clients to when they are closed) to see if they have any suggestions or how much more Deramaxx you can give him? Maybe they can call in a script to a human pharmacy near you for Tramadol. It's a human medicine too, also called Ultram. Just be sure NOT to get Ultracet because it is Tramadol and Acetaminophen, which is bad for dogs.

Some info: http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/tramadol/

Other than that, I used to put the heating pad (on low) on Chance for short periods of time. I would have to sit by him so he wouldn't try to get up. I would also gently massage his problem areas.

Hopefully others here will have advice for you. Please give Charlie a hug from me.
 
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Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
What happens when there is any emergency, does your vet recommend someone?
I would not let him do stairs.
 
Charlie'sMom

Charlie'sMom

New member
They can call someone in for an emergency, but when I called the service, they told me that this isn't an emergency because his life isn't threatened. The only other option would be a 3 hour drive, but he is really uncomfortable in the car. We called in today, and that is where they recommended to try 150 mg today, then 225 mg tomorrow if necessary.

Unfortunately, in our house, him doing stairs occasionally is unavoidable. We have minimized it, but he needs to do them to go outside, there is no way around it.
 
DAWNMERIE

DAWNMERIE

Active member
I just had Vin read this thread and he mentioned Lymes, I don't know how prevalent it is in your particular area but has he been tested? (Sorry that your going though this and I hope he feels better soon)
 
Charlie'sMom

Charlie'sMom

New member
DAWNMERIE said:
I just had Vin read this thread and he mentioned Lymes, I don't know how prevalent it is in your particular area but has he been tested? (Sorry that your going though this and I hope he feels better soon)
Click to expand...
Lymes isn't prevalent in our area, and we haven't taken Charlie anywhere where he would have contracted Lymes. Thanks for the input though! I am willing to look into anything really at this point.
 
Ivoryudx

Ivoryudx

New member
How is Charlie today? Be VERY careful at increasing the Deramaxx to the 225 mg, that is a HUGE dose and it could compromise his liver. If he is not responding to the Deramaxx at 150 mg. its probably not the right type of relief he needs. Meaning its more of an anti-inflamatory than a pain reliever. Something like Tramadol may help more and can be used with the Deramaxx or Rymadil.

Massaging to feel for tightness, or sensitivity may give you more of an idea of what your dealing with. Check his neck, legs, shoulders, hips, spine and see if you can feel tightness, or visually any slight nerve spasms down the spine. This may help you to give your Vet more information, or where you could alternate ice/heat if you think it might help.

Also be sure and check his feet/toes/toenails. Use a flashlight, to check for inflamation, redness, etc.
 
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