Pain relief for ligament tear when homeopathy does not seem to be enough

[LilF]

Blossom with her torn ligament seems to be having a bad day. Last night before bed I gave her the arnica 10M and took some myself as well. She woke up moving ok (and I seem to be having the best day with my knee in a while) but now she seems depressed and walking not as good as this morning. She reacted a bit to another dog walking by---just getting up faster than normal. But she seems depressed and did not even want to be outside like always. I came in to pet her and gave her a mix of Rhus Tox, Ruta and Arnica. I gave that yesterday also. A couple weeks ago I gave her that carbonica remedy and he said to give it in 3-4 weeks. So I guess I should layer that on too? I feel like I am all over the place with these remedies. I have yet to schedule another consult because he is booked through the first 2 wks of June. I pet her for as long as I could bending down without getting my own symptoms. I would take her for a ride but that made her worse last time even though she enjoyed it. I don't know what else to do. She is done with the snuffle mat in 2 minutes. Going outside seemed helpful but now she doesn't want to go. Her muscles must be getting weaker just walking around the yard. This is so unfair to her...she loves her walks. I was considering a Gabapentin but then she might damage it even more masking the pain. There is no end in sight....she seems to keep sliding back. She doesn't understand why she can't go for a walk or why she has pain. She just accepts things the way they are but I can see her sadness.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

How about tripling her snuffle mat usage with freeze dried hearts (while also decreasing the size of her big meals).

 

[GinnyW]

It's important that she does NOT overuse the leg - as in "best if she doesn't use it at all". Even were she to have a surgery, crate rest is vital to good healing. Each time she overuses or stresses it she is slowing down healing or even undoing healing. We cannot judge her progress by observing that one day she uses it and another not so much - progress will ONLY happen to the extent she does NOT use it or put appreciable weight on it. I would say, gently, that if you want her to heal you must keep her from any unnecessary walking - otherwise, she may well become lame for life. Of course, were she to wear a brace, this would immobilize the joint, and it wouldn't suffer damage or slow healing. BTW, the Orthopet products are well-thought out and would keep her safe. So, see if you can keep her happy being still, playing stationary games, getting a lot of loving touches, and keep the yard time down to just relieving herself. Yeah, no one likes being restricted, but it is absolutely necessary for a trouble-free future. Just love on her a lot....

Also, homeopathic remedies do not work like pain pills: one dose speaks to the entire vital force for quite some time. It would be wasteful and ineffective to dose every time you see a little pain. Remember that each dose affects the system and causes a real change in how the body functions. But a dose given too soon is, at least, wasted, or it can obscure the initial well-chosen remedy which is still active. They don't "wear off"; the system is still working with the remedy's information. And, following this logic, don't change remedies or give different ones together or in close succession. It just muddies the waters....Homeopathy is an art of restraint....

Okay, I'm done.

 

[LilF]

It's important that she does NOT overuse the leg - as in "best if she doesn't use it at all". Even were she to have a surgery, crate rest is vital to good healing. Each time she overuses or stresses it she is slowing down healing or even undoing healing. We cannot judge her progress by observing that one day she uses it and another not so much - progress will ONLY happen to the extent she does NOT use it or put appreciable weight on it. I would say, gently, that if you want her to heal you must keep her from any unnecessary walking - otherwise, she may well become lame for life. Of course, were she to wear a brace, this would immobilize the joint, and it wouldn't suffer damage or slow healing. BTW, the Orthopet products are well-thought out and would keep her safe. So, see if you can keep her happy being still, playing stationary games, getting a lot of loving touches, and keep the yard time down to just relieving herself. Yeah, no one likes being restricted, but it is absolutely necessary for a trouble-free future. Just love on her a lot....

Also, homeopathic remedies do not work like pain pills: one dose speaks to the entire vital force for quite some time. It would be wasteful and ineffective to dose every time you see a little pain. Remember that each dose affects the system and causes a real change in how the body functions. But a dose given too soon is, at least, wasted, or it can obscure the initial well-chosen remedy which is still active. They don't "wear off"; the system is still working with the remedy's information. And, following this logic, don't change remedies or give different ones together or in close succession. It just muddies the waters....Homeopathy is an art of restraint....

Okay, I'm done.

The first paragraph nails exactly what is happening. roller coaster with the limping. if a neighbor talks to me over the fence or says hello to her she gets all wild. I usually put her in the car when someone comes to work at my house briefly. If I let her stay in the house she would really be wild. So if she has a surgery I won't be able to have anyone here fixing anything that is non negotiable to fix.. So yesterday I drove an hour there to the hospital and back again an hour to supposedly get an xray to help me make the decision about surgery. They tell me then that the xray would not tell them how bad it is. They only use xray for surgical planning purposes so I took her there for nothing. I thought they could do blood, nails and skin tag removal if they had to sedate her anyway but this did not get done again. They were unable to get blood from her. They even put a cone on her. I do not understand why she is so changed from 2023 when she had many many blood draws....and nail trims and when she had her spay and pyometra in october she did fine with those blood draws too. of course she is limping worse after the ordeal at the hospital again. i know my homeopath and others say homeopathics cannot make a condition worse but maybe it can bring on other behaviors. In the way back machine in 2022 when i was considering Thuja for her slow walking thinking it was a vaccinosis. I recall someone said not to give it to her as she could turn into a rabid animal.....hmmm, so that implies that she COULD develop behavior problems with the blood draw taking the wrong homeopathic and she has been on arsenicum, sulphur, arnica and now carbonica. So again SOMEthing changed her behavior for procedures that were easily completed before this year, 2024. If I have to keep her as quiet and inactive with natural healing, my thinking is i might as well just do the surgery and stop the ups and downs of her going back to square one. I asked the Dr. about a brace and another reason i wanted the xray to measure the bisection fo the tibial plateau for one of the brace options. he was not big on braces... i think he said they are hard to keep on. But i will check out Orthopet today. i have used braces myself with success.
So she is scheduled for Wednesday however she just went into heat yesterday. She is a bit more whiney and i was thinking this was not a good time to do it if her stress level would be higher (opinions?) but I would prefer to get it over with so she does less damage to it and lets get this healing and confinement over with. in 8 weeks. Question--how long is her heat cycle--when we speak of the cycle do we include the progesterone phase which means she is in heat for 3 months? or when would she feel less vulnerable with her hormones for a surgery if her cycle started yesterday? She keeps smelling some fluid she is emitting after sitting on the driveway----I thought there were no secretions in an OSS..... Anyway these are difficult times to navigate. i am doing ozone, PRP, and prolotherapy on my own knee for 8 weeks minimum to just be able to stay mobile enough to take care of her. i already told the doctor that I may not be able to do physical therapy on her and he said just doing the walking would be ok. How long does the stress of her heat last.... perhaps postponing it if I decide to do it, (opinions?) Thank you for your support and information--decisions are difficult considering too many facets. Wish my wheel wasn't broken along with hers.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

I would prefer to get it over with

Yes, I agree.

Is a board certified surgeon doing the procedure?

-how long is her heat cycle

The most active phase is about 3 weeks. It starts about 1 week before bleeding begins.

i already told the doctor that I may not be able to do physical therapy on her and he said just doing the walking would be ok.

Since you can walk her, I wonder if you are able to walk up and down hills?

 

[LilF]

Yes, I agree.

Is a board certified surgeon doing the procedure?

The most active phase is about 3 weeks. It starts about 1 week before bleeding begins.

Since you can walk her, I wonder if you are able to walk up and down hills?

yes, a board certified surgeon would be doing the surgery. My friend just went through this with her dog and the surgeon was wonderful. Her dog is perfect now---a year later----. i think she would still be in her active heat cycle if she has the surgery this wednesday. Although she is not bleeding she is still smelling where she sat last. The last few days i had contractors outside I was talking to and she barked her head off. When I came back in the house she was panting and all revved up. This happened a few times. This coming week they are rebuilding my deck with a lot of noise and commotion. Then in 4 weeks cutting trees....all during this post operative phase she is to be quiet. So THAT is what i am concerned about also...her excitement level and risk of damaging her implant.....Maybe July would be better as things would be quieter. So I found a rehab place that does a lot of holistic things, to name a few..... besides the usual laser, chiropractic and acupuncture, they do shockwave therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, underwater treadmills and resistance pool, therapeutic excercise, regenerative medicine like PRP i.e. platelet rick plasma, brace assistance. So I was going to feel it out monday and call. I am going to keep my mouth shut about her inability to even get her nails trimmed or get a blood draw and see how and if they would work with her. The vet i took her to originally said they would not do laser on her etc... due to her behavior but i won't mention anything and as i said I will shut up. Although i don't know how a dog would acclimate to a hyperbaric oxygen chamber...

The biggest puzzle for me is why she has gotten so excitable at the vets where they can't do blood or nails. I can't anesthesize her every time they do something. Nails not cut since October. I think my homeopath is not doing anything for her and I DO believe her symptoms changed for the worse with the wrong remedies, just my opinion though.

I can walk Blossom UP a hill but going down is the problem with leg extension for me. However, with my prolotherapy and ozone maybe that will improve. I can do the figure eights with her that they suggest and the sits/stands but just can't get on the floor to manipulate her leg. I will also use the BEMER on her daily.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Maybe July would be better as things would be quieter

Yes, great idea Lil!

And I'm very glad that you found a nice board certified surgeon for Ms. Blossom.

 

[GinnyW]

Agreed - and another month of the therapeutic measures will certainly get her down the road of repair - it's even conceivable that these less invasive measures might even obviate the need for surgery, as we discussed earlier. Best wishes on your own success, too