>->  > One morning he was in so much pain he could not stand.
 >->  > To get him outside I cut the sides down on some
 >->  > soft side luggage and hauled him outside with the
 >->  > handy
 >->  > handles.

 >->  > Upon seeing his good friend and my neighbor he stood
 >->  > right
 >->  > up and ran over to her.
 >->  > Later the same day he caught the ride to the Vet
 >->  > without a problem.

 >->  > Advised of this the vet said it was his adrenal gland
 >->  > kicked in
 >->  > when excited and he was prescribed a steroid which I
 >->  > administer on a
 >->  > very carefully determined minimal as required
 >->  > schedule.

 >-> That's interesting.  One of my options for arthritis pain was a steroid sh
 > ot in
 >-> each hip every six months.  I declined, but it appears to be worth thinkin
 > g
 >-> about, for future reference.

 > Steroids do work but over use causes risk.

 > There's additional risk when a steroid is injected
 > right into the spine.

 > That said, I've taken a very low number of steroids
 > over
 > a period of years for a number of conditions with good
 > result.

 > Less than 25 does in all.

 > Without availability of steroids for the dog he'd have
 > had to be put
 > down.

Yes.  One has to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

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