By My dog has had several hellish days over the past year and a half while overcoming paralysis from a hip injury. But nothing tried her and me more than taking a combination of prescribed codeine and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for a short period of time.
My last 15 months or so have been mostly focused on the recovery of my dog, who is now 5 years old. Delhi, an 18-pound Beagle and Jack Russell mix. Depending on the day you caught me, she’s named after a delicatessen, an Indian city, or my favorite answer: Australian basketball player Matthew “Delhi” Della Vedova.
Regardless of the false origin story, her past year and a half has shaped us both in a very big way.
On the evening of April 5, 2022, I was preparing dinner after taking Delhi to the park. As she was chopping green peppers, one of her favorite snacks, I noticed that she was walking awkwardly as if she had been drugged, crossing her hind legs with every step. As she walked, she trailed hard to either side, like a misaligned car.
In less than an hour, the condition of her hind legs will deteriorate. Her pain hit her, moaning and crying the only time I’ve ever heard her after a collision with an adult Bloodhound in her park. The pain persisted even when standing or lying down. Shortly after, she lost the use of her hind legs.
My girlfriend and I rushed the dog to a nearby animal emergency room. Her doctors immediately hospitalized her. About 30 minutes later, her doctor told her she had grade 4 IVDD. intervertebral disc disease, a disability caused by a herniated disc in her lower back. Due to the severity of her injury, Delhi had to undergo surgery the next day. From there she faces an uncertain future, having to wait months before she can walk again or control her bowel movements.
CBD is helping dogs recover
Requiring bed rest for six weeks after the operation, Delhi lay motionless while she was given drugs such as the anticonvulsant gabapentin and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug carprofen. I ground the pills into the wet food she feeds at her bedside every morning and evening.
After a month of recovery, Delhi was able to “walk” outside. Essentially, she hugs her lower body. HarnessShe was able to limp on the grass to stimulate her damaged nerves to heal.
Around that time, I began introducing approximately 2-4 mg of CBD into her regimen to reduce pain and muscle inflammation. We had previously tested CBD on her during her long journeys, so we were able to predict how she would react this time. In previous use, Delly never had a negative reaction to her CBD. She picked up a pump-powered oil oral dispenser from. green gorilla. Full disclosure: Green Gorilla sent me products once or twice long before this injury. And my dog liked it so I kept using it for this tackle. Choose the product that you and your veterinarian think is best for you.
We can’t say exactly what the early results have been, partly because she still has extra medications in her plan. But over time, as CBD became her only supplement, she noticed subtle effects, such as a thorough treatment session followed by deep rest and less body pain in a day or two. I was.
Muscle inflammation and pain will certainly become the norm as she ramps up her rehab efforts over the next few months. I knew Delhi was well taken care of at the rehab facility, water for dogs. One of the first things that reassured me about this place was its support for CBD. The facility recommended CBD and other medications and supplements to help dogs with motor skills and rehabilitation needs such as hips and knees.
Please take me off the line for a moment. If anyone is mocking the absurd, possibly boozy-like level I went to dog rehab, I hear you clearly. I never thought I would do this for anyone, let alone have the funds to pay thousands of dollars upfront for a pet. But thankfully I was able to make some money in my writing endeavors, and more importantly, I had pet insurance. It might sound like another bougie you don’t need. But believe me, pet owners. The effect is huge, saving us about $10,000 over the past year. Without that, I’m not sure this would have been affordable. I shudder to think what would have happened without it.
Back to topic. During my weekly therapy sessions over the summer, I found CBD to help control the pain of rehab. I thought it might help increase my appetite. However, my dog is a small food-powered goblin, so he had no problem eating during his recovery.
By June, two months after the injury, Delhi took his first steps after surgery. From there, she shattered her expectations to keep her doctors amazed.
We continued the CBD therapy, but stopped it several months later at some point in the fall when her recovery was good enough. Around that time, rehabilitation sessions began to occur at intervals of 2-3 weeks.
It took a lot of effort to get there. There were certainly setbacks along the way. Early in the recovery process, toilet accidents often happened to him multiple times a day. She still poops in bed and sometimes pees when excited, but we take that in exchange for her life.
He may never play a lot, climb stairs, or jump again, but he’s otherwise fine. Today Delhi can: walk/run, hiking, swim and further high five relatively easy.she is also wearing pink crocodile protective shoes When walking on concrete, they walk on their hind legs. I treated it with grip tape to make it more durable as it sometimes drags. They really make their neighbors happy.
…CBD intervenes when a prescription goes wrong
Delhi’s recovery journey has been long and arduous, but certainly worth it. But 18 Nov 2022 and he didn’t have his 2 days as he tried us out on the 19th. On this day, she was taking codeine and non-opioid medications for unrelated medical problems.
During a routine checkup for heartworm preventive medicine, a Delhi veterinarian discovered that she had broken a tooth some time ago. Luckily she was in no pain but needed another surgery. Otherwise, there was a risk of further oral hygiene problems. The operation was successful, and although she was a little dazed, she was otherwise fine. I took her home that night and gave her prescribed 15mg codeine tablets and Metacam 1.5mg, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used for stiffness and pain in dogs, as per her instructions. I was.
The next morning, I woke up to find what looked like melted cocoa all over my dog’s bed.
By the time she was 8 months in recovery, it was a routine occurrence for me to see some accidents in bed. Due to Derry’s injury, she can no longer control her hips the way she used to. But what came out of her that night was so big and brownish-black in color that I never wanted to see it again. It then took over an hour to clean up the dog, bed and tub.
“But it’s okay,” I said to myself. “The worst usually happens overnight. The day only gets better from here.”
Yes, it didn’t happen at all.
I underestimated the effects of drugs on mammals. Let’s start with the usual suspect and cause of concern: opioids. Like most drugs, codeine has many of the same adverse effects on dogs and other mammals as it does on humans. The veterinarian’s discharge form noted that sedation may occur. You didn’t mention the list of other possible side effects, include:
- constipation
- collapse
- difficulty breathing
- increased excitement
- trembling
- seizure
Constipation was certainly not an issue for us. Two more incidents that day made this even more apparent. In our family, we call this day a “brownout.”
By the end of the night of the 18th, we knew drugs were causing her problems, whether it was codeine, Metacam, or both. My intuition said it was an opioid and not a NSAID. Foolishly, I blamed opioids on my instincts without researching. Because of course such evil would do something to my dog. However, after the third accident, I learned that the diarrhea and loose stools were due to Metacam. Side effect warning.
On the 18th, I informed the doctor of the abnormality. They were sympathetic, but suggested that I continue with the regimen, which should last for a few more days.They also noted that codeine is sometimes used treat diarrhea. I reluctantly agreed.
The next morning the dog seemed to curl up in the leaky soft serve chocolate ice cream machine again. By that afternoon he had peeed twice in the house and I was at a loss. Frustrated, determined to solve the problem, I pushed forward following the teachings of the Irish Catholic elders. First, we teased the situation, then we took action. So after giving Derry the nickname “Evil Anus”, I called the vet again.
Both I and her said we can’t stay like this. I no longer asked if CBD was an option. I insisted on it. I’m not usually the type to defy doctors. Mainly because I don’t know anything about medicine. This time, I had no intention of giving up. I didn’t need their permission, but it’s nice to have a medical opinion on my side.
To the vets’ credit, they didn’t push the CBD back. And although Metacam appeared to be the culprit, they didn’t specify which drug or its effects caused the diarrhea. The doctor then told me to do what an owner should do when taking any medication: keep a close eye on your pet and watch for signs of danger.
Thankfully, after switching to CBD, Delhi was pain free and was able to rest and maintain stomach contents.
Choose Your Treatment Wisely
I’m not saying metacam, codeine, and other drugs can’t help you recover. Large doses of medication may be required to relieve acute pain that cannabis probably cannot address.
Experts generally believe that opioids are the most effective for managing pain. short termin part Recommend less than 1 week of use. Metacam follows similar dosing guidelines, and most veterinarians suggest that dogs take Metacam for a few weeks at most, unless otherwise recommended.
And although looking at Metacam’s side effects list suggested that Metacam made my dog sick, I couldn’t help but shake off my opioid worries. We all know what it does to humans, so why shouldn’t we worry about dogs? At this point, I don’t care which one it was. I will do my best to avoid both.
Research continues to evaluate the effects of opioids on animals, but no definitive decisions have been made. However, in one recent study, Injectable opioids are more effective for dogs.Another study found that animals can become addicted to opioids.
It’s important to remember that I’m only speaking from my own experience.do not have high times Also, I do not provide medical advice to readers or their pets. It is risky to make any definitive statement, as the sum of the results of the laboratory research is currently inconclusive. As always, medical choices should be made by you and a trusted professional.
For my dog, I feel that CBD may help with their long-term recovery and maintenance. He probably wouldn’t have turned to CBD alone to treat his severe pain in the first few weeks, but now feels more than adequate to deal with future muscle soreness and muscle stiffness. Because IVDD is a lifelong condition, CBD may come back to life at some point to relieve muscle inflammation and body aches, or to help you rest. For now, she seems fine on her own, but her life doesn’t know what will happen next.
