Bill Poster

Thanks Sheryl The more I think about it , I'm getting even more convinced that the pain I am currently suffering from is because I have shingles ( herpes zoster ) and the more I read about shingles , the more I'm starting to become worried and stressed out , especially what the future may hold.

Thanks, if the actual pain is being caused by shingles and not the spine , that should mean once the shingles has cleared up , and I can can stop the shingles drugs , then the pain should stop ?

Thanks Sheryl While the hospital doctor was examining my left arm , he noticed an area of red spots , but never commented after seeing them. A day after my visit to the hospital , those red spots started to cover more area on my left arm , so I decided to visit the local clinic and show those red spots to the doctor. The doctor immediately said that the spots were due to a viral infection , and prescribed a drug called '' Aciclovir '' 800mg , along with some topical ointment called '' Mupirocin ''. While talking to the local clinic doctor about my red spots , the doctor mentioned that these type of red spots ( which I think is '' shingles '' ) may produce a type of nerve pain symptom , that is similar to the trapped nerve pain the hospital doctor diagnosed . So after hearing what the local clinic doctor said about the possibility of my red spots ( viral infection ) producing similar nerve pain symptoms , Vs the symptoms the hospital doctor diagnosed ( Trapped nerve ) , I'm now wondering which medical condition , Red spot area ( viral infection ) Vs ( neck trapped nerve pain ) , is the actual cause and culprit of the pain Below is from the internet ..... [ However, you can have shingles that do not produce a rash and merely present as pain. The pain is very like the pain you would experience from nerve damage. You can have numbness, tingling, and burning from the shingles, and this may lead some to believe that the pain is from a pinched nerve ] Could it have been that I was suffering from '' shingles '' before I went to see the hospital doctor , and that condition was producing the nerve type pain , and not the neck problem. I'm a bit confused.🙄 Thanks.

My sentiments exactly . I don't know what we would do with her

Thanks, The doctor only prescribed 4 Clonazepam tablets , only to be used as necessary , And like yourself I think those Clonazepam tablets ( which I have been. taking ) may be the cause of me feeling a little drunk. I am now going to stop taking those Clonazepam tables , and see what the difference may be. The other thing I forgot to attach was the X-ray report which I have now included.( photograph X ) Thanks

HI Sheryl. Ive only just read your recommendation , I decided to make a trip to Nakhon Ratchasima and seek medical attention fro St Mary's hospital , which I had used many years ago. Below is an outline of what happened . When we arrived at the St Mary's hospital in Korat , it was was around 8AM. I had a St Mary's membership card and I gave that to the receptionist . We had to wait until the Orthopaedic doctor arrived at the hospital at 9 AM. My blood pressure + height + weight was taken , then I had to outline to a nurse what my exact problem was. We were taken to the Orthopaedic doctors waiting room , and again I had to outline to the Orthopaedic doctor's medical nurse assistance , just what my symptoms were. The Orthopaedic doctor arrived at 9AM , and a few minuets later we were shown into the Orthopaedic doctor office. The male doctor must have been in his early 30s . and he spoke good English ( which was a bonus ) . I went over my symptoms with the doctor , next he had me do some physical movements with my hands and arms , while doctor held both my arms . The doctor said that he thought my problem was related to a trapped or damaged nerve , some where in my neck region . So the doctor said that for him to diagnose my problem in more detail , I would need either an X-ray or a MRI Scan So off to the X-ray department .where a scan of both my front of chest + a scan of my neck area ( with my head looking upwards ) were taken. Back to the Orthopaedic doctor's office waiting area . We sat there for about 15 minuets , then we were taken into the doctors office, the doctor then went to his large computer monitor screen and pulled up both of my recent X-rays .I was sitting close to the doctor's computer monitor, and the doctor turned the computer monitor so that I could better see my X-rays . When I saw the X-ray impinges of my neck area , I was shocked and lost for words ( which is unusual for me ) In my mind after seeing the graphic X-ray images , I instantly thought the Orthopaedic doctor is going to say some thing like , your going to be paralysed in a few months, or I'm going to need major surgery on my neck and spine , which could makes thing better or possibly worse . The Orthopaedic doctor went on to say the spinal neck area shown in the X-ray, where it shows wear and tear , is quite common in people of my advance age. I then asked the doctor several questions about my apparent damaged neck vertebrae and what the future holds. He said that although my neck vertebrae appeared in worn condition , at this stage the best route would be to use a combination of drugs as shown below ( which he prescribed ) . 1. Gabapentin ( Gabapentin is approved to treat nerve pain (neuralgia) that results from nerve damage ) 2. Norgesic ( Norgesic (orphenadrine citrate, aspirin and caffeine) is a combination of a muscle relaxant, a pain reliever, and caffeine which increases the pain relieving effects of the other drugs, used, along with rest and physical therapy, to treat injuries and other painful muscular conditions.) 3. Celebrex . ( Celebrex is a medication that treats mild to moderate pain and inflammation. It treats conditions like arthritis. 4. Clonazepam . ( Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine medication used to prevent and treat anxiety disorders, seizures, bipolar mania, agitation associated with psychosis, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and akathisia. It is a long-acting tranquillity of the benzodiazepine class. ( To help me sleep ). After talking to the Orthopaedic doctor about my symptoms and him showing my X-ray images, the doctor then suggested that I now while in the hospital , to go to the medical rehabilitation room. Where I could have some type of electronic pressure therapy ( description may be lost in Translation ) So off I went to the medical rehabilitation room. Once inside the medical rehabilitation room, I was asked to put on a surgical gown and lay on a bed . The nurse read the details from the Orthopaedic doctor and asked me to lay on my side. The nurse then said that she is going to run and press the handheld device over my skin ( the areas of pain ) and I will feel light pulses of electricity and possibly a tingling sensation in the skin areas being being touched by the handheld device . I did feel an electric tingling sensation where ever the nurse was touching my skin with the handheld device .After around 10 minuets of that treatment , I was asked to lay on my back and a hot round pillow was placed under my neck area . I was told that I had to stay motionless for 20 minuets. After the 20 mindsets were over , I got dressed and the nurse guided us ( my self and Thai Wife ) to the counter were payment and prescribed drugs are issued.. While under going an X-ray, I did ask to be given a copy of the X-rat taken, which I received . So the bottom line seems to be that to control the substantial pain I have to take the Orthopaedic doctor's drug prescription and see how it woks out and then return to see the doctor on December 27th. .so far over a few nights I have taken all the prescribed drugs , and they have reduced the pain I was having by at least 90%. so now its a matter of wait and see how things progress. The side effects I'm now experiencing from taking the prescribed drugs, are a feeling of being a little drunk , and a bit unsteady on my feet, so currently I spend a lot of time laying in bed. The cost involved in a consultation with the Orthopaedic doctor was... Outpatient Medication - 960 Baht Stranded diagnosis imaging - 850 Baht Physical therapy (electric shock treatment ) 1,050 Baht First outpatient care - 650 Baht Other medical chargees - 150 Baht Total cost - 3,660 Baht MRI Scan = 10,000.00 Baht ( which I did not have ) I was told by the doctor not to get involved with any activity that may put a strain on my head or neck area. I did not feel any benefits from having the'' electric '' rubbing treatment Photographs included . 🙏 Comments welcome. 🙏

Hi and thanks, The only current symptoms I have are these... I have a feeling of a dull aching pain starting from the tip of my Left thumb , then travailing only under my Left arm , up to under my arm pit , ( which feels a little soar to the touch , but no marks on the skin ) then the dull aching pain travels up to the top of my Left shoulder , then along the top of my collar bone area , to a small area just under the rear of my Left ear. The above dull aching pain symptoms are continuous all the time . One thing I forgot to mention in my original post was , some years ago I badly cut my Left thumb ( where the current dull aching pain starts from ) and it needed stitches . After that Left thumb was stitched up , it always and still does feel a little numb to the touch . I am planning a trip to see a hospital doctor , I'm wondering after a doctor hears my symptoms , what sort of routine tests , may be involved. The nearest large city to where I live would be Nakhon Ratchasima . Thanks

Thanks, thats frightening , Ive had the same dull pain for over Four days now , so I was just thinking about the problem only being a trapped nerve .

First I know that I should visit a doctor, but as the nearest city hospital doctor is a days journey away , before I make that trip , I thought I would ask here first to see if there's any thing I can possibly do / get an idea / relive my symptoms / any one had similar symptoms. I am 76 years old and in general good health . Four days ago I went to sleep at nigh time feeling fine , the next day when I awoke in the morning and got out of bed and stood up , then I could feel what I can describe as a dull ache / mild pain sensation ( not tingling ) that seemed to run in a line from the tip of my Left hand thumb and along under my left arm , up to the top of my left shoulder , then from the top of the left shoulder , up to just under the back of my Left ear. Currently the dull ache feeling is mainly situated around my left shoulder area. Currently I'm taking ibuprofen / paracetamol , which seems not to be making much of a difference I have not recently been physically active , so I think I can rule out an injury related cause . Other than the current symptoms , I'm feeling fine . I was wondering if my current symptoms could be due to a trapped nerve ( pinched nerve ) some where , that with time may subside and disappear on its own. So at this stage I'm wondering if there's any alternatives to ibuprofen / paracetamol , to reduce the constant dull pain that I'm experiencing , just to see if my symptoms slowly go away . Any advice or suggestions . Thanks 🙏 .

First many thanks to every one for your comments , its much appreciated. So I thought I would update our situation about Poo , its been 19 days since I last outlined Poo's condition and in those 19 days Poo's condition has sadly deteriorated to a point now where she has lost a considerable amount of weight , due to not wanting to eat any type of food , just drink water. As for the constant night time barking and panting , after giving Poo a range of drugs and cannabis oil , the night time barking started to become less and less, to a point where we as a family could finally get some sleep. The effect of giving Poo a mixture of drugs and cannabis oil , slowly wore off and Poo's night time barking sessions returned. Apart from the weight loss , due to Poo not wanting to eat , I noticed for the first time a lump on Poo's body , that lump under the skin was the size of a golf ball and felt soft to the touch. So on finding that soft lump on Poo's body I took Poo back to the local vet , where I explained to the vet about Poo not eating along with her weight loss and now finding the lump . The vet seemed to think the lump on Poo's body was possibly a benign fatty growth under the skin , but to make sure a biopsy needed to be carried out , which the local vet could not do. Outlining Poo's now deteriorating condition to the vet ( age / dementia / weight loss / lump / refusing to eat / difficulty in standing up or walking / constant barking at night time ) I asked the vet about the possibility of euthanizing Poo , so she would no longer be suffering from constant pain or the debilitating effects of dog dementia . The vet seemed to side step the subject of euthanizing Poo , and said in so many words , let nature take its course . Once back home I asked my Thai wife to telephone several city based vets and explained the situation about Poo and inquire if they would be willing to euthanize our Poo . None of those city vets seemed to be in favor of carrying out the practice of euthanizing Poo. So currently Poo is refusing to eat any thing and loosing weight , the lump under her skin seems to be growing in size and she cannot easily stand up or walk very far , she has returned to constantly barking at night time and now in the day time as well. She just lays on the tiled floor , constantly barking and panting . I am still giving Poo the range of drugs ( crush the drugs and mix with water and then use a syringe placed in her mouth ) . Its breaking my heart to see our Poo in such obvious pain and destress along with having a personal feeling of helplessness . I'm hoping to locate a vet who would be willing to put our beloved Poo to sleep . As I type this , in the back ground I can hear Poo barking and panting , it sounds like she is asking to be put out of her misery I'm sure that if I owned a gun I would have pulled the trigger by now . .

Hi and thanks , you are spot on about '' The eventual outcome is the same in either case '' .

Well I purchased a pain killer drug that I had not given Poo before ( meloxicam ) and last night I gave Poo that new drug, So last night after being given the meloxicam drug, Poo did not bark at any time during the night or early morning . I was surprised that Poo did not bark at all last night. So currently it seems that changing the pain medication to meloxicam has some how stopped Poo from constantly barking throughout the night . Weather Poo now not constantly barking ( after taking meloxicam ) is just a one off occurrence thing , I will not know until I give Poo the meloxicam drug , again tonight and see the outcome. Poo lives out side in her own kennel and has been a great guard dog . When Poo was constantly barking and I approach her , she instantly stops barking for a few minutes while I stand there, but then she will start her barking again even if I stand in front of her. So last night Poo was given Prozac ( to help her sleep ) + meloxicam ( to reduce her pain ) . This morning I place a bowl of her favorite food in front of her ( Liver + Tuna ) and she surprisingly ate it all. So could the root cause of Poo's constant barking actually be due to her feeling pain from her arthritis and may be nothing to do with dog dementia . .

Hi and thanks , I purchased some meloxicam ( Brand name - Melcam ) from the local pharmacy . ( see latest update )

First a big thank you to every one for your kind and understanding comments and advice , its really appreciated . Although the vet diagnosed Poo as suffering from both arthritis and dog dementia , those Two medical conditions can outwardly show similar signs and symptoms , which in Poo's case her primary symptom is her constantly barking , which according to the vet indicated a case of dog dementia .But the vet at the same time diagnosed Poo as suffering from arthritis , which in a dog can also produce constant barking due to the ever present arthritic pain . So a thought now running through my mind is this, is Poo's constant barking due to her feeling constant pain being brought on due to her ever present arthritic pain '' or '' is Poo's constant barking due to her suffering from the symptoms of dog dementia . So Poo's current symptoms are , she is constantly barking and panting throughout the night , she is limping a lot more that usual, and she is being given medication to help reduce any pain and induce sleep. I have attached a short video ( including sound ) showing Poo barking and panting , which she is constantly doing non stop every night and intermittently throughout the daytime. Any thoughts , suggestions or advice appreciated. . Poo1.mp4

So I have an old dog ( Bitch ) that I rescued about 15 years ago as an abandoned puppy , she has grown up to be a loving and loyal family member that we all care deeply about . Her name is Poo . The problem is that several months ago Poo started to continually bark at night time along with increased panting, for no apparent reason . At first I checked to see if she had any physical injuries or skin problems, but I could find nothing wrong in any of those areas . Poo's constant night time barking and panting then slowly progressed to include intermittent barking throughout the day time , again for no apparent reason . Over the following weeks along with the constant barking issue , she seemed to have lost her appetite. I changed her diet , but it seemed not to help . Poo's night time constant barking started to take its toll on myself and other family members and being able to get a good nights sleep started to become very difficult to near impossible. So I took Poo to our local village vet and outlined Poo's behavior . After the vet physically examined Poo , the vet's diagnosis was the Poo could be suffering from a combination of Two possible issues that can effect a senior dog . The first possible issue was Poo was suffering from arthritis and the second possible issue could be dog dementia . The local vet recommended that a blood test be done on Poo , along with an Xray , but the local vet did not have the facility to carry out those Two recommended procedures . So the next port of call was to take Poo to a city vets who had the facility to carry out those Two recommended procedures , the outcome was confirmed that indeed Poo was suffering from dog dementia and arthritis. The city vet prescribed the following drugs 1. Rimadyl ( to manage any pain ) 2. Trazadone ( to reduce anxiety ) The city vet did mention a monthly injection that could help with pain management called '' Librela '' at 3,500 Baht per injection. The city vet commented that there is no cure for dog dementia and only some symptoms can be treated to improve the dog's quality of life and also there is no cure for dog arthritis only pain management with medication . Poo was then given the prescribed drugs on a daily basis and at first her continuous night time barking began to slowly subside , to a point where myself and other family members could finally sleep for a few hours a night. Over the following months Poo's night time continuous barking slowly began to again increase in intensity and also more episodes of random barking started to occur throughout the daytime. So even with Poo now being given the medication as prescribed by the city vet , her continuous night time and day time barking was increasing , and of course myself and my family's sleep was again getting to the point where it was being continually interrupted .The other thing that became apparent was that Poo was now limping more and more , due to the arthritis and her appetite had not returned. Thankfully where we live there are no nearby neighbor's , who would no doubt not be too happy hearing Poo's continuous barking. As it seemed the prescribed medication from the city vet was now not having any apparent positive effect , I again talked to the city vet , outlining Poo's current symptoms and how the incessant night time barking had returned. The city vet suggested trying Three other options . 1. The drug Fluoxetine ( sold under the brand name Prozac ) 2. CBD cannabis oil ( may help dogs with conditions like anxiety and chronic pain ). 3. Gabapentin ( to treat anxiety and nerve pain ) So along with the original vet prescribed medication , Poo was now also being given items 1 / 2 / 3. Sadly all the combined medication had no real positive effect on Poo , and the same continuous night time barking and panting has over time only slowly increased , to a point where Poo's health is now rapidly deteriorating and we as a family are feeling helpless that Poo our loving loyal family member is now obviously suffering . I took to the internet and it became obvious that indeed Poo's behavior was as a result of arthritis and dog dementia , and the prognosis was that its only a matter of time before the dog's health deteriorates to a point where to end the dogs suffering its euthanized. So I talked to the city vet about Poo's current situation and the possibility of Poo being euthanized. to end her obvious suffering . The city vet's view was not very encouraging and it seemed that the vet's idea was just to let Poo pass away naturally . I'm just wondering if any one has gone through a similar experience with their dog , or if any one has any thoughts or suggestions . We as a family are heartbroken to see our loving and loyal family member Poo suffering in such a terrible way . .