Groot waiting patiently for his turn
Groot’s pain episodes last about ten minutes and consist of screaming in pain, whining, holding up his rear left leg, not putting weight on the left leg, and returns to normal after rest. At this time, the episodes occur about once a month. His neurology consult at the University of Minnesota -Lewis Small Animal Hospital on September 10, 2025, found mild muscle atrophy of left pelvic limb, pain around the lumbosacral joint, and weak in reflexes controlled by the sciatic nerve. We have a temporary pain management plan where his gabapentin is increased to 600mg three times per day, carprofen remains at 100mg twice a day, and adding amantadine (200mg per day) to increase the management of nerve pain.
- Ultimately, Groot needs an MRI that will cost a minimum of $4500.00, with sedation and aftercare. It is needed to definitively determine if there is lumbosacral stenosis (LS)/chronic intervertebral disc disease, sciatic nerve compression and inflammation, and other causes of inflammation affecting the sciatic nerves.
- The repair and treatment for LS is both medical and surgical:
- Medical: pain medications (listed above) or recurrent epidural injections ($1000 each injection, base cost)
- Epidurals include sedation and frequency of injections can range from a few times a year to monthly.
- Pain medications are not a long time solution as the condition progresses
- Surgical: involves making a window in the bones of the vertebra above the area of greatest compression and removing a portion of the associated disc to further relieve compression on the spinal cord. The base cost for Groot to have this surgery is $8500 under the most routine conditions.
- While we wait to secure funds for the MRI, we have chosen to use pain medications to temporarily manage his symptoms:
- Carprofen, Gabapentin, and Amantadine
- Carprofen is an NSAID and his organ functions will need monitoring with long term use of this medication.
- Gabapentin and Amantadine both target pain associated with nerves. We began half his dose of Amantadine on 9/17/2025. A week later, we will increase to a full dose and then follow with the prescribed increase in Gabapentin.
- Carprofen, Gabapentin, and Amantadine
The pain medications are a short term bandaid while his spine disease continues to progress and his sciatic nerves remain compressed.
Assessment from Groot's Neurology vet:
Disease of the lumbosacral region is common in older large and giant breed dogs. In order to definitively diagnose LS disease, an MRI of Groots thoracolumbar spinal cord would be needed. Groot was strongly ambulatory on neurological examination with only mild deficits today. We discussed that treatment for LS disease includes both medical and surgical options. Surgery involves making a window in the bones of the vertebra above the area of greatest compression as well as removing a portion of the intervertebral disc at the LS space in order to further relieve compression on the spinal cord. Typically, in dogs as large as Groot, we also need to fuse the lumbosacral joint with metal implants at the same time. The goals with surgery are to relieve any pai and prevent progression of hindlimb weakness. Due to this, if surgery can be pursued when clinical signs are still mild, there is a greater chance for long term mobility in these dogs.
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Groot resting after a busy day at the UMN clinic
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