How long does it take for a pinched nerve in a dog's neck to heal?

Question

I have a shih tzu who became very sick very suddenly. She could not stand, walk or even sit. She could not lift her head up and when she did she was turning it to the left. I took her to the vet a week ago Thursday. She was diagnosed with an ear infection. The doctor prescribed antibotics and steroids. She became worse and I took her back on Friday. She said that she was not sure what was wrong with her because it felt like her lymph nodes on the opposite side were swollen. She was arching her back and circling to the left. She said to keep giving her the antibotics. She became even sicker and was crying out in pain, could not walk, arched her back and her neck was twitching. I took her back on Wednesday and the vet said she had a pinched nerve. She prescribed a muscle relaxer. That did not help so I called the vet back on Thursday and she gave her a pain medication also. This has been going on for 8 days now. (blood work was done and x-rays were taken), The vet said it could take 2 weeks or longer for it to heal. On Friday she was still in a lot of pain and I called the vet back. She said that she really could not do anything else for her but refer her to Virginia Tech and have an MRI etc done. She said this is very expensive and no guarantees. She said that she was afraid of increasing the meds because she did not want to overdose her. Has anyone gone through is before? How long does it take for the meds to work and the pinched nerve to heal? I am afraid she will not get better and I will have to have her put to sleep. I have to hand feed her chicken and give her water with a dropper.Please help

Answer 1

Pinched nerves hurt like h**l. I had one in my hand that took 2 months before I didn't feel it 24/7.  A neck nerve is going to be painful, I'd agree that at least 2 weeks will be the minimum for healing.  It's in an area that gets used by the dog constantly, so will be irritated all the time.

It's your choice on the MRI--ask the vet what it would tell to get one, if the benefits aren't that great,just stick with the pain killer and muscle relaxant.  Ask the vet if they know of any acupuncturist that works on dogs, many do, and this is right up their alley.

Nerves DO heal, it just takes time.  It's not something you'd need to consider putting a dog to sleep for.  When one of my pets had a throat operation I was hand feeding twice a day for over two weeks before he surprised me and took it without me coaxing him.  You do what you can for them.

Answer 2

Have you consulted with a chiropractic vet? Maybe you can talk to a chiropractor vet and get their opinion.

Answer 3

my rottie long ago had a similar problem and it took three weeks for the swelling around the nerve to go down and even then he didn't walk very well and it limited his life expectancy

Answer 4

I don't think you can count on it to just heal on its own.  I had a horrible pinched nerve last year, and the meds only masked the problem.  Finally I saw a chiropractor a few days a week for 3 weeks, and have had no problems since.

Did you know there are chiropractors for dogs?  Some human chiropractors will even see canine patients.  My chiropractor has actually helped a few dogs.  Try to find a specialist in your area.

Search for an AVCA (American Veterinary Chiropractic Association) Certified Doctor:

http://www.avcadoctors.com/search_for_av...