What happened.

On 12th July 2013, Friday, I came home in the evening to a howling dog. Pea has never howled but there he was, under the dining table, yowling in great pain. All distress signs were in place, ears down, tail between the legs. His right paw was knuckled up high and I assumed that he has had broken or fractured a bone. I was so afraid to hold or even touch him. No one was home. I brought him to our vet who noticed that his paw was swollen. We had an x-ray taken but there wasn’t even a hairline crack. So we went home with painkillers and inflammatory meds.

Over the weekend between 13th and 14th July, we went back to his doctor on two other occasions as Pea was still shaking (i.e. trembling violently) and exhibiting strange neurological behaviour such as a head tilt. This behaviour led us to conclude that the swollen paw seemed to be a secondary issue as we might be looking at a neuro problem such as brain tumour. On the third trip, steriods and seizure medications followed pain meds.

Second diagnosis.

On Monday, 15th July, I sought a second diagnosis at a holistic veterinary centre. Pea goes to this clinic for skin issues. Pea was actually admitted last November when he trembled in pain. We did a full blood test during that November trip but everything was fine so we went home. This time, the doctor conducted a spinal x-ray. Results showed that Pea’s discs are compressed over almost the entire spine - on C5-6, T12-13 and L1-5.

Highlighted in blue are Pea's slipped discs.
Credit: Universities Federation of Animal Welfare

What followed was the decision to relief his pain by administering high-dose Vitamin C and Vitamin B directly to his vein. Pea had a catheter inserted in his paw and had to be injected 3 times daily with 7 types of syringes. I agreed to accept the diagnosis because previous painkillers did not work on him. I also agreed to have him take injections through the catheter because most of the injections were based on high-dose antioxidant vitamins such as Vitamin C and complex-B and not steroids. 

However, I was not prepared for the complexity of the procedure. There were 3 injections in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and 3 more at night. The painkiller could be injected at once but not the Vitamin-based injections. Only 0.25ml can be administered every 2 minutes so I needed one person to hold Pea down while I injected 0.25ml every 2 minutes for the entire 30ml. In between each injection, I needed to diligently flush the catheter to prevent blood clots. Due to the complexity of the jab, it took more than an hour to administer all the injections each time. Gingko and Neuroforte (Vitamin B) were also dispensed.

Vitamin B on the left with Vitamin C on the right.
Painkillers are not pictured.

These two weeks in July were the darkest periods of my life. Aside from my husband. I have not feared losing anyone to death but Pea was slipping away.... I was losing him!  Whenever I slept for a few hours, I woke up wishing it were all a nightmare. Watching him experience regular pre-seizure episodes hurt me so deeply I wondered if I should consider putting him down. I was not ready to say goodbye but I know I will never put my best friend in pain. Thankfully I sought a second opinion. It turned out to be a life-saving measure and I hope more people are aware of this holistic, non-steroid program designed by Dr. Ly.

Acupuncture treatment.

In the recovery process, Pea has to be confined in a play pen to limit walks. He is to be placed strictly on an anti-slip mat. The doctor says Pea feels pain when he is on tiled floor or parquet, and no cushion, towel, comforter or pillow can relief this pain except an anti-slip mat.

Between 15th to 24th July, Pea was administered painkiller injections for 5 days and Vitamin-based injections for 10 days. The catheter was removed on 25^th July. Our doctor recommended acupuncture. We could have acupuncture done at the holistic centre but after a bit of research, I decided to bite the bullet and bring him to the most well-known acupuncture veterinarian in town who used to work at our local zoo. According to the doctor, Pea requires acupuncture treatment twice weekly for four months. This is Pea's friendly Dr. Oh.  

We are now on the second treatment and Pea looks more alert. The last pain attack was on 29^th July. He is currently on Chinese herbal medication. Acupuncture has to be conducted twice weekly and carry on for four months.