1st May 2006

My dog, Gemma, has spondolitis in her back ...

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Question:

My 11-year-old dog, Gemma, has spondolitis in her back. She’s not doing very well and seems to be in a lot of pain when walking and getting up. The vet has given her prednolucotropin and, occasionally, cartrophen injections as well as two steroid tablets daily. I’m worried that the treatment might be worse than the disease. What do you think the best course of action would be? I want to make her last few years as pain-free as possible, so any advice would be gratefully received.

Answer:

Spondolitis is an old age change of the spine, which usually doesn’t cause permanent pain or lameness. It is much more common for dogs to present with bouts of back pain that improve on treatment over a few days or occasionally weeks. It may be that Gemma has additional problems that are causing the continual discomfort when walking and getting up. Prednolucotropin is a combination of a steroid, prednisolone and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), cinchophen. It is a good painkiller but you must be careful when using it in combination with additional steroid tablets, as I am sure your vet will have discussed with you. The data sheet for cartrophen states that this drug should not be used concurrently with steroids or NSAIDs, or within 24 hours of such administration. Again, I am sure your vet will have discussed this with you. There are a number of different types of NSAIDs and some drugs respond better to some than others. If Gemma is still in pain on her present medication, it may be worth trying her on another type of NSAID. You should perhaps discuss this with your vet. We have to be very careful with patients on long-term medication to ensure that it is still doing the job it was prescribed for and not creating other problems.