Hayley and I went in this morning to see the specialist -- she has shown nice improvement since her last vet visit, and is lowering her head on her own and no yelps since Thursday, so we are encouraged by that.
She had a neuro physical exam and a couple of x-rays to rule out tumors or infection, and everything looked good there. She does have arthritis in her spine. Doctor feels like it's probably a bulged disc and has recommended we give her some time to see if she continues to improve. If she has another bout, we'll do the myelogram, spinal tap, maybe CT route, to see if surgery may be in order.
I feel pretty upbeat about everything, especially since she's clearly been feeling better the last several days, but we'll certainly keep her quiet and under careful observation to watch for any changes.
Anyone have any experience with bulged discs? Did you do surgery? Treat with meds? We opted to go without any pain medication for a while at least to make sure she doesn't hurt herself again.
Thanks
another neck/back update ... bulged disc?
Re: another neck/back update ... bulged disc?
just my humble opinion...before you consider surgery, get a second opinion and if it agrees with the first then go back to the first for the surgery as long as he/she/it has done thmm before...the surgery is usually fenestration or scooping out the disc but it is not an easy decision to make...