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Izzie has appointment tonight - Think it's SM

Hello guys, long time no speak. I've been off for a while due to being in my last year of university so not really having a moment to sit at peace. Things until recently have been no problem, Izzie has been on the gabapentin for a few months along with the metacalm and we haven't had any issues - until this week.

On Tuesday, I noticed that she was a little bit timid to jump up on anything like the couch or into the car. This progressed onto Wednesday (yesterday) when she started crying when she would jump, or if we'd lift her. She hasn't been to agility in a few weeks due to us changing to a new venue plus with shifts, and I put it down to maybe her being a little stiff, she hasn't had a good run to stretch apart from her daily walks and the weather has gotten really frosty here this week. But today she can barely be touched, and she was a little frightened to climb the stairs - so we have an appointment first thing in the morning with the vets.

Trying to keep myself calm and thinking that it's possible she's maybe somehow pulled a muscle or that I'm right and it has something to do with the cold and her not having a long run/walk since Sunday.

Does anyone have anything they could tell me to calm my nerves, or is this sounding as bad as I'm making up it up to be in my head? I have no idea what the vet is going to say, and also worried that since it's a short notice appointment it probably won't be our usual vet who knows her history.

Thanks for listening guys, a very teary Mum over here :(
 
Not being able to jump or climb stairs is quite a common SM symptom. Your vet/neurologist may want to give Izzie a painkiller such as Rimadyl, which is usually very effective. It may, of course, be something different. My Oliver has spondylosis (osteo-arthritis of the spine) as well as SM, so I'm never sure which condition makes jumping difficult for him. If it persists with Izzie, it's worth getting steps to help them onto bed or settee (assuming she's allowed on them!) - they're not terribly expensive and really do help.

Hope you can get Izzie sorted.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Thanks Kate, saw the vet this morning and Izzie has slipped a disk :( she's on a months bed rest. When I went in my vet did think it was her SM too but after examining her he's certain its a disk. We have laminate flooring so think she's maybe hurt herself jumping off of the couch or bed. Definitely going to get those little steps you mention, thank you!
 
Another thing that's useful is a pet buggy. After the month's rest you'll have to start getting Izzie back into walking very slowly, starting with a few minutes a day. When Oliver had to have 6 weeks crate rest when his spondylosis first flared up, I found the buggy enabled him to go a bit further and enjoy watching the world go by and then get out at the park and have a little walk on the grass. They cost about £50, but you might be able to borrow one if you put up a notice in the local pet shop. I'm afraid it's a bit far to offer to lend you mine!

Laminate flooring is lethal! But I'm glad it's not Izzie's SM getting worse, crate rest works wonders with back problems. You can get the steps from the Hyperdrug website, they come as a flatpack which is very easy to put together.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
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