Nerve damage

[Tiffany]

Hello all,
for those of you that are not familiar with Eros he has nerve damage to his paw and chewed off one of his toes in febuary and has been wearing an E- collar ever since whenever we aren't with him or sleeping, Well we went camping last weekend and forgot his E=collar he didn't even touch it so my question is... Does anyone know of a test or something you can do to check if they are still feeling the bad feeling. or does it come and go? Any info on this would be helpful. If I could be sure that he is not going to chew himself it would be great to stop using his E-collar.
Thanks
Eros & Tiffany

[critters]

If you had an EMG (nerve conduction test) to compare it to, that might work, but I don't know about one alone. I'd give it a shot, though--perhaps letting him be free under supervision, then gradually expanding that if all goes well. Buddy's having a terrible time with "itchies" on his back, butt, and legs, and I'm pushing to use Neurontin before the same thing happens to him.

[Cindidoxiemom]

Hi Tiffany,
Well lets see. The best they can do is clamp down on the paw with some forcepts and see if the animal reacts. If they react, they have feeling...if not...the paw is probably still deep pain negative.

MANY times chewing on the paw is a sign that the nerves are regenerating. The animal feels pain or sensations that they can't explain and they chew. You might consider Neurontin...it is used for neuro pain and sensations, and might help.

I have heard of some pretty serious self mutilation cases, so until you know for sure, I wouldn't go without the Ecollar.
Hugs,
Cindi

[Tiffany]

Hello
Thanks for the reply, We definitely know that it was nerve regeneration because he couldn't use the paw before, he was walking on his wrist. He never weres it when were around and he doesn't really bother it any more then he does the rest of his body. but he never bothered it before he chewed himself the first time either and one morning we woke up to a nightmare. It set his recovery back by weeks. I really don't want to have to go through that again. HE was taking gabapentine but they don't really know if it works or not so you can't trust that they wont chew. He wore the E-collar while he was on it and then I read that it can impeed there coordination and even cause changes in temperment so I stopped giving it to him. He definitely has sensation its more sensative then his other paws. But I would like to know for sure and since I cant ask him I guess the E-collar stays. I'll have to keep dealing with that "Why are you doing this to me" look.=-)
Thanks
Eros & Tiffany

[critters]

Buddy will be using Neurontin as soon as I can get downtown to pick it up. The neurologist said to go for it, but that if it doesn't help in a week, it won't.