Dog in Pain - Unknown Origin

My 14 y/o mini dachsund has been in pain for about a week. I need
something, some therapy, herb, something to reduce her pain. Here is
some info:

Until the last month, she had been a little overweight and in good
health. Then she gradually lost energy and the last few days I have to
carry her outside, and just a bit of walking and routine peeing will
wear her out. She comes in panting and pacing. She looks to me for
HELP and relief, and I don't know what to do. I "sit with her" for an
hour and she gradually calms down. I may put her on the bed beside me,
and stay with her till she calms and sleeps. Then she will rest for
several hours.

I took her to Vet, thought it might be time to put her to sleep. He
said: no heartworm, listened and said her heart is good, he said her
tongue color looks good too. He thinks...maybe arthritis and
pancreatitis? Gave me some pills: an antibiotic and Rimadyl for pain.
I'm thinking: SURELY there are thousands of dog owners out there who
have seen this same syndrome in dachsunds or mini dox? What is it?
What do they do to relieve the poor dog's pain? Massage? Press on the
vagus nerve? Put her feet in ice water? Something immediate and
helpful, surely.

Does it sound likely that...she would walk in from a short walk in the
yard, immediately begin stressing and panting...from "Arthritis"? or
"pancreatis"? I like my Vet but I wonder if this is just a blind
guess. I had thought to myself, "Her heart must be bad, and she is in
pain and near death from that." The panting scared me, and she had
never done that before. Is it a fairly standard guess: unexplained
panting means PAIN?

I'm hoping that some folks will write back who have raised dachsunds
and will tell me what they do, in such cases, to lessen the poor dog's
pain? Thanks.

> I took her to Vet, thought it might be time to put her to sleep. He
> said: no heartworm, listened and said her heart is good, he said her
> tongue color looks good too. He thinks...maybe arthritis and
> pancreatitis? Gave me some pills: an antibiotic and Rimadyl for pain.
>
> Does it sound likely that...she would walk in from a short walk in the
> yard, immediately begin stressing and panting...from "Arthritis"? or
> "pancreatis"? I like my Vet but I wonder if this is just a blind
> guess. I had thought to myself, "Her heart must be bad, and she is in
> pain and near death from that." The panting scared me, and she had
> never done that before. Is it a fairly standard guess: unexplained
> panting means PAIN?

Never had a daschund, but unexplained panting doesn't have to have anything
to do with pain. Unexplained is just that...unexplained. I know it sounds
silly, but think about it. Anyways, panting can often be a sign of stress,
not necessarily pain (lots of dogs will pant quite heavily when they go to
the vet's, doesn't mean they are in pain).
Was she displaying symptoms when you brought her in? (i.e. the heavy panting
and pacing)

From http://www.swiftwaterfarms.com/swiftwater/p21Pancreatitis.htm

Symptoms
Common symptoms of the acute form of pancreatitis in dogs include a very
painful abdomen, abdominal distention, lack of appetite, depression,
dehydration, a 'hunched up' posture, vomiting, diarrhea and yellow, greasy
stool. Fever often accompanies these symptoms. Animals with more severe
disease can develop heart arrhythmias, sepsis (body-wide infection),
difficulty breathing, and a life-threatening condition called disseminated
intravascular coagulation (DIC), which results in multiple hemorrhages. If
the inflammation is severe, organs surrounding the pancreas could be
'autodigested' by pancreatic enzymes released from the damaged pancreas and
become permanently damaged.

Do those symptoms sound somewhat familiar (obviously she won't have all of
them, and they can be to varying degrees etc).

As far as the arthritis goes, how did he come up with this diagnosis?
Checking mobility of the joints?

What part of her is painful?

Anyways hope your pup gets better quickly.

Dale