Sorry it took so long to come back with an update… it's been a crazy week.
We had the MRI done on Tuesday, they confirmed that he has multiple issues with his spine. This is a relief for us as it confirms that his symptoms have a mechanical cause, rather than the terrifying prospect of a systemic storage disorder (no treatment for that). Since the problem was detected on the MRI, no spinal tap was done... we're really glad about that too. I can't imagine how painful and uncomfortable something like that would be, especially for a little dog.
Here's what they found:
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A 'minor' birth defect in one of the vertebrae which is putting pressure on the spinal cord.
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Two swollen discs, one of them right on top of the birth defect, and one of them 2 discs up (swollen, normal, swollen+defect).
We're starting off with what they're calling a 'medical management' strategy: a 2 week course of steroids and 3 weeks of extreme rest to give the steroids the best chance to reduce the pressure on his spinal cord:
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He only gets to leave his crate to go outside and do his business, or if we have him cuddling on the couch. No jumping on or off of anything, no running, no B 500, nada. They even told us to keep his various toys away, any of the ones that he likes to grab and try to shake around, as that would stress his neck.
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They told us to stick with the harness only any time we are walking him with the leash, no more leash attached to the collar (ever again)... this isn't a big deal though... the harness works a lot better anyway.
I'm sure the fellow B owners out there will know how difficult the extreme rest is going to be. We feel terrible having to keep him in the crate (you all know the sad face I'm sure... it's heartbreaking), though we do spend even more time on the couch with him than we had in the past. We just have to be ultra-paranoid to make sure he doesn't jump off... so far so good!
He's also on an antibiotic for the UTI, and a 10 mg dose of Famotidine (generic Pepcid), once per day. The antacid is to try and reduce the stomach discomfort that results from both the steroid and the antibiotic.
He's definitely enjoying his twice-daily peanut butter + pills.
They warned us that the steroids would make him very thirsty and that he would likely have a few accidents. They weren't kidding... there have only been a few accidents, but we have to take him out 5 times as often to pee... he seems to have a never-ending supply of it now.
So far it seems that the antacid is working for his stomach, no diarrhea or vomiting yet.
It's only been 4 days so far for the medications, but it does seem that there is slight improvement when we take him outside walking. He isn't knuckling over on his front paws anymore on the sidewalk and has lessened in the grass as well... so no more bloody scrapes on his little toes (he is such a trooper, we had to tend to his paws very often after even short walks because of the knuckling over).
That's it for now... We're praying that the steroids do the trick and we won't have to even discuss 'plan B', which includes two different back surgeries of varying risk and difficulty. So far it looks like they might be working!
