Almost 12 year old Lab Mix - in pain

[vogsmom]

My lab mix, almost 12 years old was diagnosed as diabetic a little over a year ago. She has done really well with the insulin shots but in the past few weeks, she seemed to have a lot of pain in one of her back legs, she also had a droopy eye, but has cataracts and is almost completely blind. The vet couldn't find anything broken, but gave her a pain pill. She seemed to do a little better, but the past few days has slipped again. She whimpers in pain when she has to pull herself up to stand. It's almost as the back legs don't want to work, or the pain is to severe that she doesn't want to get up. She will get up to go outside, she will eat food (usually laying down at the time), and still wags her tail. Is there anything I can do, or is it time to think about putting her down. I am waiting a call from my vet, but haven't heard back yet.

[sojka123]

When you say "LegS" makes me think of a spinal cord problem (that would affect both back legs!) i.e...  Disc, instability or tumor.  Could be "body-wide" arthritis - very common in older large breed dogs.  I would not waste time or money on Acupuncture (few do it right and has little actual clinical effects).  Stem Cell therapy is expensive and has only a small percentage of effectiveness.  Your dog is not a good candidate.  Tick borne diseases are WAY at the bottom of the list.  Glucosamine and Chondrotin are also things that have dubious effectiveness and this dog is much past help of these drugs.  

Stick with NSAIDS and actual pain relievers prescribed by your Vet.  Doctor may even decide for quality of life a low level of steroid will do best.  If you want to take the diagnosis further, you will need to x-ray the SPINE and some of the affected joints.  Surgery is most likely out of the question also because of the dogs age and generally in severely arthritic joints there is no surgical correction.  

Severely arthritic dogs simply need TLC, NSAIDS, Pain relief , perhaps steroids and even physical therapy if practical.  

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

She may need multiple pain medications to break the pain cycle.  These include: NSAIDS (Rimadyl, Metacam, Previcox, and others), plus Tramadol, and Amantadine, and Chondroprotective agents (Glucosamine and Chondroitin combinations).  

Acupuncture is also very effective, as is Stem Cell therapy. She should also be checked for Lyme disease and other tick borne disease that affect joints.

All her painful joints should be X-Rayed because some joints may require surgical correction or stabilization.
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If all else fails she should have bloodwork to check for rheumatoid arthritis.