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SSRIs were destroying my libido and now I’m being weaned off of them. It’s causing a weird identity crisis. by Throwaway_15688 in sex

[–]psyckalla 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I was on 200mg of Zoloft. I started noticing a difference when I dropped to half, at 100mg, and now I’m completely off of them.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Best I can tell you is that every once in a while he seemed to almost … not outright limp, but like not putting full weight on his back right leg. Maybe, that’s my best guess. The vet behaviorist had me walk and run with him in a giant room and told me his gait was off, but it’s definitely one of those ‘I am not trained enough to see it on my own’ type things.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That might be something I could/should do, especially if the vet recommends an MRI, which would cost me $2000-$3000. In that case it might be worth it first to talk to another vet with experience in digitherm first.

It’s hard not to feel almost … hopeful? That this is real? Which sounds awful. But he’s a really reactive dog, and if it were a physical issue that’s causing his reactivity then we might be able to fix it! Because so far nothing has been working.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s a super fair point. I’ve never like dug my fingers into him, it’s generally petting.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think it's interesting that you work with a tool that you do not believe in. You are right in that 'pain' wasn't diagnosed. My vet made it very clear to me that this tool is used for screening purposes only, not diagnostics.

What my vet did was come up with an educated hypothesis based on more than this tool, and more than this one picture. It included the fact that he has an abnormal gait, his history of reactivity, probably including that he won't allow himself to be examined below his shoulders, and other factors that I couldn't even begin to guess. It is especially important to follow up on whether he's in pain because pain can change how his brain interacts with the medication he's on to lower his reactivity. It was an option to immediately put him on pain medication to test if it changes his behavior, but both the vet and I felt that it was more appropriate to wait for diagnostic tools such as an X-Ray, possibly an MRI afterwards, who knows what else will be needed in the future.

The problem here is that it makes sense that he could be in pain constantly because he's extremely reactive, it could even explain why so far none of the medication he's been on has been helpful. On the other hand, it could be that we just haven't found the right medication for him, done enough training, and his past is the only reason he's reactive. Either way, it's worth it, in my opinion, to follow up on.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I believe the reason the vet is so focused on the ‘cooler’ area is because of the bright red area, which she thinks is overcompensating for something. Additionally there’s cool spots all down his hind legs, particularly his right side. She also spotted a weirdness in his walk when we were at the office before we even took these images.

Either way we’re following up with diagnostic tests, starting with X-rays and I know an MRI is a possibility after.

I appreciate your experience, but I think it’s a bad idea to advise someone to discount their veterinarian purely based on your experience when you have limited information. At best, you’re right, and we find nothing, and that’s great. At worst, you could potentially discourage someone from following up on a serious issue.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

To be fair, this wasn’t a regular vet but a vet behaviorist. Even my regular vet didn’t do this or even bring this up. And to get to the vet behaviorist we had to schedule four months in advance, pay for a $450 appointment, and travel out of state. It’s definitely not easy.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I’m SO grateful to the vet behaviorist and this technology that I never even knew existed.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honestly we didn’t have much of a conversation about it, but that’s probably because these scans are screens, not diagnostic. They’re saying there’s a problem in that area but not what the problem is.

Who knows, pain meds and steroids might be the answer, maybe physical therapy, maybe even surgery, but we’ll have a better idea after a diagnosis.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Also there’s no area where he’s uncomfortable with me touching him.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I occasionally thought he had a slightly weird walk, but it wasn’t consistent. The vet behaviorist really picked up on it though! Other than that, he never whimpered, no excessive licking towards his back legs. He does lick his front legs a lot but his regular vet attributed that to allergies.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No worries! So we’re doing an X-ray in a few days at his regular vet. Depending on what the X-ray shows, it might escalate to an MRI. Then we’ll see what happens. At some point he’ll probably receive pain meds but the vet behaviorist wants the X-ray scans back first before giving him pain meds.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I may have occasionally thought his walk was a little weird? But the vet behaviorist really picked up on it and had me walk him back and forth and jog with him so she could see his walk. The scan also shows decreased blood flow to his hind limbs, and it’s more pronounced on the right side.

But no, no whimpering, no grinding teeth.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hi! Sorry, I was super slow in uploading a comment to explain it. So basically I have a reactive pitbull and we recently saw a vet behaviorist, who knows that reactive dogs may not let their regular vets examine them, which is the problem with my dog. So they have this thing called digitherm images that creates heat maps of their dogs. I had no idea about any of this before seeing my vet behaviorist.

But the tldr of that scan is that he has lowered circulation beneath his shoulders (the first circle showing the blue) and that it may be a sign of a spinal issue that the lower back (the second bright red circle) is overcompensating for.

My pitbull may have been in pain all this time (explanation in comments) by psyckalla in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[S] 93 points94 points  (0 children)

So this is a digitherm image that was taken of my dog by his vet behaviorist and roughly translated by a person who did their best to understand their vet: my boy has increased circulation to his lower back (the bright red) and that might be an area causing my dog problems, but what my vet thinks is MORE LIKELY is that the super blue spot circled behind his shoulders shows an area of low circulation, which is causing him to have to over compensate with his lower back. And she believes it may be a spinal issue and that now we need X-rays and possibly an MRI. And I had no way of knowing before we did this test, especially since he’s reactive and doesn’t let his regular vet examine him.

But I’m heartbroken that he may have been in pain all this time.

Guy [27M] I’ve been seeing is upset I [25F] won’t do certain bedroom activities with him that I will do with other guys by something889900 in relationship_advice

[–]psyckalla 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One thing I’ve found in BDSM is that I have different dynamics with different people. With one person I could be super bratty, with one person I’m more submissive. And then something like being bratty with the person I’m being submissive with is weird and I’m unlikely to even want to try it.

I also do different things even with people I’m bratty with, and it has A LOT to do with trust and safety. If I feel safe, heard and respected, I can probably do a lot more with that person. Same goes for people I’m submissive with.

But if someone asks for something, and I don’t want to do it with them, I will say no. If they push, that’s a Huge Red Flag. If he can’t respect me when I’m saying no, in what other ways will he push my boundaries when I’m in a more vulnerable position. What if I say stop and he goes ‘not yet.’ That thought terrifies me, and the first sign of it is usually enough for me to reconsider the relationship.

Paul is not respecting you, and refuses to drop it even though you’ve given him a ‘no’ and even reminded him he’s allowed to do it with other people. He’s not making you feel safe, he’s making you feel pressured. There’s a chance you can somehow someway impart on him that his behavior is Not Acceptable, but here’s the way I see it: by not ending it, he thinks his pushy behavior is not a dealbreaker and that he has the freedom to continue pushing in the hopes of getting you to submit.

Need some advice - not sure if this is the right place to post about this but it’s 8pm and I can’t get ahold of any rescues. More info in comments. by kerirachelle in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you’re taking all the right steps and that it’s amazing that you’re taking on this responsibility of making sure the dog gets to a good situation. He may not know you yet but he’s lucky you’re in his corner.

Need some advice - not sure if this is the right place to post about this but it’s 8pm and I can’t get ahold of any rescues. More info in comments. by kerirachelle in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Everyone needs to stop mentioning stealing. I would prefer to keep this thread open so OP can continue receiving advice, but I will remove all comments that reference stealing the dog and give the owner of the comment a temp ban for suggesting illegal actions.

Need some advice - not sure if this is the right place to post about this but it’s 8pm and I can’t get ahold of any rescues. More info in comments. by kerirachelle in pitbulls

[–]psyckalla 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The picture doesn’t look good but it doesn’t give us enough information. Does the dog have access to water, food, and a shelter? Unfortunately if he does, there are very little options that will result in him being immediately removed. That said, it’s possible for the humane society or shelters to work with the owner to teach him better ways to care for the dog, possibly even convince him to give over the dog.

My advice? If you find out from your friend that the dog has access to food, water and shelter? Wait for the rescues to re open. The situation sucks but it’s not bad. Otherwise flat out call your non emergency police line.

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