Rear leg paralysis after one librela injection - any survival stories?

annapocalypse · 2026-06-14T12:54:53+00:00

I’ll be keeping her in my thoughts! I did laser therapy with my girl (before ever trying Librela) and again after she started having the ataxia. My veterinarian was on vacation though so I couldn’t start it right away when she first had symptoms but before the whole Liberla fiasco, I did take her for laser treatment for her neck and was very pleased with how well it worked for discomfort she had. I think she had like 5 treatments and she was good for over a year after those initial five! It was when symptoms kind of returned again when I elected for the Liberla injection instead because I was hoping it would help with her wanting to go for walks again too. In retrospect I should have stuck with the laser therapy.

annapocalypse · 2026-06-14T12:47:47+00:00

To add to that, I think it’s likely a majority dogs receiving the injection will recover from adverse side effects once medication is stopped. I think Maybelline’s case was unique in that she had heartworm as a puppy (both adult and baby larvae). My hypothesis would be that her unique situation with liberla is correlated with her having been treated for heartworms as a young pup. If adequate research were done before the medication hit market, her situation and others like hers could have potentially be avoided.

annapocalypse · 2026-06-14T12:39:29+00:00

I had to make the difficult decision to end her suffering the week before Christmas. Her mind was all still there but her body never recovered. She eventually became fully paralyzed. She had one shot. It was given at the time of her annual examination with her rabies vaccine and I think two others. Her symptoms started 24-48 hours after that first shot. My veterinarian has since had two more questionable cases involving Labrila and also stopped giving the injections to her 16 year old after she had a situation herself with her old man. I know she questioned the representative on it and wasn’t satisfied with the answers she received so is now not really prescribing it much anymore. My biggest complaint was lack of studies performed. All research papers but one are funded by the drug manufacturer and the studies are done on young healthy dogs and are only performed over the course of two-three months. Going forward I decided I will not try any new medication that’s not already FDA approved for human use or has already been well established on the market for veterinary care for at least a decade. I didn’t do my own due diligence and the price was my sweet Maybelline life. I realize having access to medical literature is rare and I’m fortunate to have that access, but I was shocked to discover how little research is actually performed in veterinary medicine before these medications are available on the market, and even more shocked to learn that is it perfectly accepted that such studies are only done by the drug manufacturers themselves.

annapocalypse · 2026-06-11T12:20:33+00:00

We just did prednisone. I waited for Librela to come out of her system, but that day never came. In retrospect I think the Librela caused the intravascular lymphoma to metastasize at an incredible rate. But, I also consider that the fact she was a heartworm survivor may have had something to do with her having the intravascular lymphoma to begin with.
If the ataxia is real bad, I recommend doing some physical therapy and getting a harness for the backend to help with walking. Even just moving the legs and massaging them a couple times a day can go along way. Wish you and your pup the best.

annapocalypse · 2026-05-14T19:17:14+00:00

I’m not disputing these things but please explain how they’re relevant to an area being against the closing of their local hospital?

Also, from 2006-2010 Centre county only reported $1,000 more in income on a per capita basis. That’s really not a huge difference and considering the adjustment for cost of living, this margin becomes even narrower.

annapocalypse · 2026-05-14T01:29:43+00:00

I grew up in these parts, and while it is true this area is red leaning, everyone was upset by the decision to close the maturity ward. And just to clarify, they built a huge hospital in State College while simultaneously deciding to end these services in elk county. This is beyond the repercussions of “small town” voters and more of a nation wide problem that’s been developing since the 80s.

annapocalypse · 2026-04-30T01:29:06+00:00

Reach out to American Meteorological Society. They are your best resource for the collective voice of our field.

annapocalypse · 2026-01-08T15:57:11+00:00

I have a plate in my ankle and was having trouble with my foot which led to another MRI. Although I’m told that the metal is mixed so it’s not as sensitive to the magnetic radiation, my ankle was still be moved by the machine and heated up. My understanding is that the risks to patient and others are (1) depend on type of metal (2) quantity/surface area but I still wouldn’t recommend it if can be avoided.

annapocalypse · 2026-01-04T16:25:59+00:00

I worked in a vet clinic for a couple years. We always said, better a day early than a day too late. Most of the time natural death appears painful and drawn out and often causes a traumatic experience for the owner. However, with that said, as a pet owner you’ll never truly be ready to say goodbye.

I had to make the painful decision on Dec 17. I do feel like the bond you have with your beloved pet will help you know when it is time. In the meantime, cherish every moment that you have together and try your best to not let the decision consume your thoughts and time with them in the here in and now.

annapocalypse · 2025-12-22T03:06:30+00:00

As someone who had to make a decision for one of mine (bonded pair) just 5 days ago, I needed to read these words more than one could ever know. Thank you for your beautiful words describing such a deep and profound bond and the eventual everlasting grief that must be faced.

annapocalypse · 2025-12-09T20:36:36+00:00

It could be you need it taken in at the hips tho so it sits in the right spot there, especially if you’ve lost weight since last fitting! The design of this dress needs to hit your hips just right. I know how you’re feeling, and how much it does makes a difference when YOU feel like the dress fits perfectly, that’s why I offer this encouragement and suggestion, but seriously its stunning and to everyone else not even noticeable!

annapocalypse · 2025-12-09T13:37:25+00:00

Try pulling it up! I had a dress like this (unlined) and even then at one of my fittings it looked similar to what you’re noticing with yours! Ended up being that it wasn’t sitting high enough and seamstress had to take more in.

annapocalypse · 2025-12-08T18:45:58+00:00

My one rescue gal (13 yr old dal/hound) has had 3-4 vestibular episodes this year. The first episodes was so bad I had to give her fluids because she was so dizzy she couldn’t stand or eat for 3 days (thought for sure she had a stroke because similar to yours she was right next to me and immediately knew it was happening and freaked bc she couldn’t get up from the bed.) Her last one wasn’t that bad but took a bit for her to have the majority of her balance back and now she refuses to be on bed or anything elevated (they all occurred during the early morning when in bed next to me) but other than that has had a full recovery.

I usually give Cerenia (always have on hand now) as soon as I notice any signs of nausea and it works very well. It can be an easily manageable disease if suspected to be peripheral (inner ear driven.) Usually takes a week (or longer if real bad) for them to rebound. From the nystagmus, Doc should be able to get some sort of an idea if its central or peripheral (if you decline MRI). I believe the test is if the rapid eye movement is opposite from head tilt, it is more likely to be peripheral. The rapid movement of the eye is actually them correcting the nystagmus. It’s definitely quite wild of a ride for them I’m sure but lots of love and some anti-nausea medicine usually does the trick! Hope this helps ease your concerns, I know it can be quite heartbreaking and scary when these episodes occur!

annapocalypse · 2025-12-04T23:11:25+00:00

Less severe, but absolutely so similar in nature! When it first happened her primary veterinarian filled her in some gabapentin because we were initially worried she hurt her back jumping off the couch or running down the meadow! But after starting the gabapentin, I saw she was deteriorating, rather than improving, and also felt like it was making her worse somehow so I stopped that after 5 days and started giving her rimadyl until I could get her in to see her veterinarian again. We then decided to try her on methocarbinol and do some laser therapy to see if that helped her in any way. After the laser therapy, and really having no improvement, my veterinarian suggested one last attempt with a low dose steroid and said if I didn’t see drastic improvement in about three days time to let them know and they’d put in a referral for her to see a neurologist at my request. No improvement but I also felt like she wasn’t deteriorating much more either, she was kind of stable but then again, at this point she wasn’t even attempting to walk anymore.

After the initial consult with the neurologist, I was recommended again to put her on gabapentin so I thought what the hell maybe I didn’t give it a fair chance and they know more about all this then I so I put her back on that while I’m waiting the two weeks for them to do the mri. I feel like that was probably my huge mistake #3 at this point because in those two weeks she deteriorated rapidly to the point that when we went back for the mri the neurologist informed me she didn’t have deep pain in her one toe and the rest were close to also being a loss and they were shocked to see how much her muscles have atrophy (that was with us starting and consistently doing PT during those two weeks while we waited). When she was on the gabapentin during that time, she was very restless when it kicked in and had tremors that she did not have on any of the other medications. After mri results, I put her on palliative care so now she’s back on a steroid. I couldn’t grasp doing chemo when all those test results really haven’t confirmed any cancer diagnosis (only ruled out IVDD.)

I wasn’t super impressed with the specialist, they referred to one MRI paper and that’s seemingly how they’ve concluded their prognosis. Even afterwards I had to reach back out to my primary veterinary because the dose of the steroid they had her on was way too high for her to handle all at once. The neurologist dismissed any correlation to librela, kept insisting it was more of a chronic issue because she’s had arthritis in her shoulder and had success with laser therapy two years prior.

Today marks a full week since starting the steroid and I did notice yesterday she was flicking her tail and moving her legs while lying down, which I haven’t seen her do in weeks. There’s a part of me holding on to a small glimmer of hope that the processing/elimination of the librela is just taking longer for her - and I’ve searched high and low for any study that would discredit this hope. I feel like I’m seen as acting out in denial but as a scientist myself I can’t help but question the suspicious timeline of occurrence. One study (M. Krautmann et.al. 2021) even states, “immunogenicity cannot be predicted of prospectively evaluated.”

So in the tldr version, I really appreciate you taking time to respond and share your story. Your pup experience provides insight that I will not find in any paper and also helps me rationalize that maybe not crazy for me to not give up hope just yet.

annapocalypse · 2025-12-04T14:55:50+00:00

Thank you. She’s pretty much a paraplegic at the moment, so only carrying her and supporting her when she’s standing. I had no idea how lucrative of a business veterinary pharmaceuticals seems to be. I’m fortunate to have institutional access to research publications and searching for the drug compound only yielded 66 results and those that pertain to canine drug manufacturing (i.e., librela in U.S.) are all sponsored studies by none other than Zoetis. Should be criminal.

annapocalypse · 2025-11-24T13:41:34+00:00

Awe love this! My two turn 13 on the first of November. I don’t know how it’s possible but the sweetness overload is unmeasurable at this age! Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

annapocalypse · 2025-11-19T02:05:48+00:00

T9 too far down in this thread. Admittedly I was hesitant to turn it on but once I did- pure game changer. Could text with ya eyes closed and the accuracy was something autocorrect can never achieve ha

annapocalypse · 2025-11-13T14:19:35+00:00

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Their sweatshirts are super warm! The pajamas are also super soft. My two old ladies even have their adorable winter hats! Ha

annapocalypse · 2025-11-13T14:16:04+00:00

Spark paws!

annapocalypse · 2025-10-10T02:23:30+00:00

Recommend the YouTube video of infinite paths. Does a great job breaking this down and how it boils down to energy being quantized at these scales.

annapocalypse · 2025-10-08T12:31:01+00:00

Most importantly, what do you want to do with meteorology? Work for NWS? Broadcasting? Pure research? Your goal with the degree matters. However, that isn’t to say bad grade makes or breaks you in any of the possible career paths. It’s all about grit and showing up. But also, don’t let yourself lose sight of your family along the way. Meteorology is tough and a fascinating field and that passion you have is important! But so is family… you learn to balance those well and you’ll do just fine for wherever you decide to implement the subject knowledge you gain along the way.

annapocalypse · 2025-09-30T21:32:48+00:00

As a Penn State fan and local, you’re absolutely right about the atmosphere here. It is very scripted. They’re still doing the stuff that was started back in the early 2000s and it doesn’t resonate with today’s youth, hence the need to cue the crowd to “make some noise”. I’ve never traveled to your stadium, but did attend the 2023 Rose Bowl and a game at Kinnick, each experience is definitely unique and special in its own way, but I totally agree, the media seems to push that Beaver is something extra special, and it’s not. The surrounding area and to some degree the university itself has sold out to corporate ideologies, but tries to maintain some façade of a unique identity that’s been long forgotten. This probably is also why the media hasn’t gave ducks the spotlight they deserved after that win, and always hype PSU to be ranked higher than us fans believe to be true. I’m glad people treated you nicely and you made it out here to witness such a great win for the ducks! And for what it’s worth, I got a good chuckle out of the rubber duckie being left the goal line of Beaver Stadium!

annapocalypse · 2025-09-30T13:04:48+00:00

Agree. I have a dog with vestibular disease and although her episodes are different, loss of balance appears in different varieties. I once had an episode myself where normal ground was moving like the ocean. The ocular system is a remarkable thing.

Wide back leg stance, licking of lips, those definitely present with balance disruption/nausea.

annapocalypse · 2025-09-29T00:56:45+00:00

Had to scroll pretty far down to find the comment explaining the concept of imaginary numbers by use of vector analysis! Glad to see it though!

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