[discussion] [help] 7 y/o 80lb lab mix with immune-mediated meningitis and now a torn cruciateDog Talks

Welp. This year just keeps coming with the punches. I guess this ended up being a long post so thanks to those who read through it.

Our boy Hugo got diagnosed with immune-mediated meningitis back in August and we've been working with a neurologist on his treatment plan. Managing this and coming to terms with the fact that our pup would be on limited activity for at least 4+ months took some time however we were just getting to a good place with it and almost to the next phase of reducing the predinose he is on. We had to extend the first phase of predinose dosage due to him still showing pain symptoms but this last week and half was very promising and we were looking towards reducing his dosage down to 10mg later next week.

Well, on Tues the Hubs heard a yelp and then Hugo wouldn't put any pressure on his back leg. Having had a boxer in the past who tore her CCL and subsequently her other one, we knew the signs almost immediately. Our primary vet and their orthopedic surgeon confirmed it and a TPLO surgery is recommended.

Of course, his neurological condition makes this a challenge as the predinose is designed to suppress his immune system so his ability to heal is affected. So I'm now coordinating between our specialist vet the neurologist, our primary care vet, and the orthopedic surgeon at the animal hospital where our neurologist is based.

We have to hold off on any surgery for his torn CCL until he is on 10mg of predinose for a week with no pain symptoms. Our vets are recommending we do the surgery at the animal hospital versus our primary care vet just in case something happens while he is under anesthesia and they need the neurologist to jump in.

I'm thankful we have pet insurance as that helped with the cost of diagnosing him with meningitis (mri and spinal tap) and should help with the TPLO surgery. (Fingers crossed).

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for here. Just this morning Hugo had a yelp when lifting his head so of course I'm concerned that his meningitis is affected due to all the stress from this other injury. If we can't get him to 10mg of predinose without pain symptoms we will have to keep pushing back the surgery. With our boxer, we went the conservative route and had her on the injured reserved list as she was older and pretty chill. Hugo still wants to be active so the Meningitis was tough and this injury only adds to things.

And to top everything off, we are slated to remodel our whole first floor in November so I had plans to keep pups locked upstairs and leash them to go outside for their business. This new injury only complicates things as I can't carry Hugo down or up the stairs.

We love our boy and again so thankful to have pet insurance as it makes these decisions a bit easier. But can I just say that this all sucks. Plain and simple.

Submitted October 17, 2020 at 05:17PM by jhazedCO https://ift.tt/3m004hN