Angie's Theo 9/2018 surgery 6wks- Chi/terrier GRAD 10/30

It sounds as though Theo may be having an adverse reaction to Bu Yang Huan Wu that's making him restless and irritable. One of the ingredients - Chuan Xiong (Ligusticum) aka Lovage - acts as a diuretic so that may well be why he's peeing more since he started it. Please speak to the vet about these reactions to these herbs ASAP.

You're right to be very cautious about Double P II. Double P II is derived from the classical formula Da Huo Luo Dan. Herbs containing aconitine such as Double P II are toxic to the nervous system. Aconitine excites the vagus nerve and central nervous system first, and then leads to successive inhibition, and finally death because of paralysis ... Herbs containing aconitine include Aconite (Chuan Wu), Aconite (Cao Wu), Aconite (Fu Zi ), and Aconite (Xue Shang Yi Zhi Hao). It has been reported that 0.2 mg aconitine per patient by mouth caused toxic reactions in people, and 2-6 mg per patient orally could kill a human. Signs of toxic reaction are tremors and numbness of lips and limbs, excessive salivation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, anxiety, disorientation, convulsions, dyspnea, paresis or paralysis, fecal or urinary incontinence, arrhythmia, coma and death. Fu Zi is the most commonly used herb containing aconitine in veterinary practice.21 ...The most commonly used herbal formulas that contribute to GI upset are Ku Shen Si Wu, Stasis Breaker, and Double P II (modified Da Huo Luo Dan).
www.tcvm.com/doc/TCVMNews2010SummerR.pdf

If Theo is able to wag his tail when hearing a happy voice or when given a treat or when someone he knows walks into the room, then he must have deep pain sensation in his tail since the brain can communicate with the nerves to the tail.

Angie, when you can give that sniff and pee test to get proof of bladder control. He he can smell an old pee spot and then make the decision to release urine there...that is proof. Slings can press on the bladder kinda expressing. So relax the sling when he sniffs or use your hands on his thighs to give support to his weak legs if needed.

Those both sound like very positive signs to me.

I believe Theo is beginning to heal.

Ask your vet if they have accupuncture packages. It's usually cheaper and if you don't need all of the treatments I believe you can use them later.

Worth asking.

Today was hard. If I weren’t self-employed, I’d probably be fired for missing so much work.

I woke up to Theo howling like a lunatic. I rushed to his crate & he had pooped & gotten it on his feet. He HATES urine to touch him, much less feces. I took him to the bathtub and put him on pee pad & expressed him. Then I tried to clean him up with wet wipes, then a wash cloth and ended up giving him a bath. It was all in his nails. This was around 6am. This is ok. I am thinking, I’ve got this. I have poop all over me & he also started peeing on me when I picked up to take to express him. I swaddled him in clean towels & put him in his stroller & stripped his kennel. All that..done. I had to have him at vet school between 7:30-8:30am for drop off.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned I have a 90 pound female Boxer (6 years old & resource guards) and a 17 pound male Boston Terrier (11 years old & blind).

It’s time for pills & breakfast. I feed everyone. During all this rushing around I forgot a MAJOR RULE, Petra the Boxer must always be locked in another room at meals. Anyway, to make a long story short, she jumped over me and attacked my Boston (Igby) and I had to breakup a fight. Theo was in his crate egging them on. It was horrible. I broke it up. This has happened before. We took the Boxer to aggressive classes & even sent her to a 6 week boot camp for bad dogs three years ago.

My husband works the overnight shift - so now it’s 8am and he walks in the front door & I immediately hand him Theo & tell him to please take him to his therapy. I was covered in poop, pee, & blood. Igbys muzzle was lacerated & his lower eyelid was bitten. I put Petra outside when I pulled her off of him & so now I could examine Igbys injuries. I peroxided his face, wiped myself off & took him to the closest ER vet.

He needs stitches! And since it is so close to his eye they wanted to do general anesthesia. He has an eye specialist already at the Vet School! No way I was letting the ER vets do eye surgery. So they cleaned him all up, gave him an antibiotic and gapapentin & a cone of shame. Told me if it got worse to schedule surgery. I ended up going to work & leaving him with my husband for the day. I left work at 4pm to go pick up Theo from rehab.

They said Theo is the same as he was last week (on Thursday) & also that he has improved muscle tone. I asked them about the stretching when he wakes & they said it could be a reflex. They told me he hates the hydrotherapy, but it usually takes 3 times before they aren’t scared.

I drive home. Igbys eye is much worse. I called his eye specialist. I have to be there (30 mins away) tomorrow at 8am.

I can’t believe this. I am so stressed out & exhausted. I’m sorry I am complaining and whining - like this is my diary. But, I think you all understand & most other people probably think I’m crazy. How am I supposed to keep Petra separated from the two little ones? She is big & thinks she is little. I feel so stressed out. I’m never going to re-home Petra. But, I think I’m going to have to set my house up like North Korea & South Korea. No intermingling.

Angie, today was a tough one for you, no doubt about that!!! North and South Korea sound like a plan.

Good news!! Today is day 36 since injury/surgery. I was expressing Theo and barely supporting him on one side and he attempted to cock his leg and pee came out!

Afterwards, I was wet wiping him down from the pee & he decided he was going to make a run for it. I was supporting him in a standing position with one hand and he just started walking (very drunkenly, but fast & his back legs were properly placed) he zoomed from the bathroom into my bedroom. I think he went 2-3 feet before he spun out!

Yesterday, we took our little Igby to Animal Eye Care Specialists in Cary, NC and he does NOT need surgery. They changed his meds & told us to bring him back in ten days. He seems fine.

Today will be Theo’s fourth electro-acupuncture treatment. Feeling optimistic.

I want to post a video of Theo in hydrotherapy. How do I do that? He walked more this AM at home on the yoga mat, trying to steal Igbys breakfast. The NCSU Vet School just sent a video of him underwater walking!

I know this is late but I'm so sorry to hear about your super tough day/week Angie. I think this is a proper space to vent because alot of us don't have just one pet to take care of and some like yourself have multiple special needs pets. I totally get the struggle of giving most of your attention to Theo while still needing to provide time and attention for the rest. I have two others dogs as well. I'm with you in spirit during these trying times. I'm glad that you didn't need to get surgery for your sweet Igby. 

Most importantly, congrats on the wonderful improvements with Theo. So exciting to see his and Bean's progress daily. Her improvements seem to follow suit after Theo's almost like clockwork. I have some updates and will post shortly but I just wanted to send out some virtual hugs to you and your family for having the courage to continue to get through this! And you will....Looks like Theo is soooo ready to get back to his life <3 Camille & Bean

Hi Angie, 

It sounds like little Theo is going from strength to strength. It's great he is standing on his own. Happy days. 

Is he loving the hydrotherapy? Sounds like that and the acupuncture are helping him on his way to recovery. 

I'm sure the pooping end of things will get into a more regular pattern as he gets back to his normal routine.  

thanks for checking in and keeping us all in the loop, great to hear about his progress

kind regards

Mary

We feed him the exact same amount at the same time every day. I set my alarm for the 5am poop this morning & wouldn’t you know it, he slept like a baby until 7am! Corn is a great idea. I will start that in the AM. I just picked him up from physical therapy (session #4) and now he likes the hydrotherapy. Today was the first time the specialist did NOT have to get into the tank with him. They said he did great all day & they have moved him to balancing ball activities. They said he tried to run away multiple times today & stressed the importance of us keeping him on STRICT crate rest for at least two more weeks. His tail wag has moved to completely upright & normal. They said they believe he will get back to 100% & they can’t believe the fast progress he has made. They sent me home with adorable little blue socks to make him wear during his sling walks, to help with traction & to prevent any scrapes. They also said he peed on his own (or started to) several times today & he has some bladder control & they feel it when they express him the rest of the way. I couldn’t wish for better news. This board has been an invaluable tool, resource, & comfort during a very stressful time. I would like to do what I can to help others, spread the word about DodgersList & with anything else we can.

I don’t think we are at the place where I’m checking out & graduating to anything yet. I’ve been so exhausted I haven’t been able to update. I have been following others. I have to go back to see what I posted last on my baby’s health. It has been awhile.

I think today is day 49. I would have to go check his log, too tired. The Friday before Halloween we took him in for his 6 week neurologist re-Check. They haven’t seen him since surgery. He pooped all over me when we walked in. Then he pooped again all over the surgeon. He shivered the whole time. The doctor wanted to see him walk/do what he could do. He performed terribly for her, and she thought it was good. I explained he does so much more at home. She told me no one ever brings their dog back & she was happy to see we were trying. She said for us not to get our hopes up for anything better. Then discharged him. She told us to do whatever the Ortho said to do from now on. She said she was happy he was on the better side of the 50/50 she had given him.

Since then he had been to his 6th water treadmill (they call it hydrotherapy) and his 6th electro-acupuncture treatment. The Ortho said - more crate rest!!! More sedation. Don’t let him do anything at home. The holistic vet said, Friday Nov. 2nd that he can’t take anymore acupuncture treatments because he is doing better & hates it & starts howling when she turns on the machine.

We are really lucky so far. The ortho warned us that any jumping or anything at this time could cause complete remission.

He has started peeing a lot. He knows when to go. He freaks out when he has to poop. This is all great! I am still very scared & treating like a Faberge Egg. I have starting having nightmares. I have never had these before (except freshman year in college).

We have covered our house in yoga mats. We have all hardwoods. It helps him get traction.

We will do all that we can to support this site. Paula & others I will respond to your questions as soon as I can. Just wanted to give an update.

Did the ortho give you a specific reason why there should be 2 more weeks of strict crate rest and that Theo shouldn't do anything at home? Did he mean there should be no PT at home for another two weeks? Did the surgeon give you any PT exercises to do at home? It's the surgeon who knows best based on what was seen during surgery as to how long post-op crate rest should be. However, I see that the surgeon has told you to do what the ortho tells you from now on.

Theo has made some very significant improvements during the short 6 weeks since his surgery. Please don't take it to heart that the surgeon said that you shouldn't hope for anything better. My Jeremy's surgeon told me three months following surgery that Jeremy would never walk again but three months later he was walking. No one can say how much nerve healing there will be or how long it can take. 6 weeks is very soon in the healing process so there's no reason at all to give up hope.

Jumping is something that can no longer be done as it causes too much stress on the spine. Also no more going up or down steps/stairs when Theo is able to. IVDD is a life long disease so future problems can occur no matter how much we try to prevent it. That can cause a lot of stress for pet owners but those worries do recede in time. I was a mess after my Jeremy's surgery but in time I realized that he wasn't that fragile and there was no sense in worrying about what may or may not happen as it did't help anything. Some dogs only have one disc problem their whole lives while other can have several. Jeremy ended up having three disc episodes. The first was treated with surgery and the other two were treated successfully with conservative care.

Keep learning all that you can about IVDD as knowledge will help settle your fear. You'll know that as soon as you suspect another disc problem or see any sign of pain to immediately crate Theo to protect his spine and get him to a vet ASAP. Catching a disc problem early will help prevent nerve damage from occurring.

Try not to be frightened. It's been 6 weeks after surgery and Theo is doing very well. His spine has healed from the surgery by this point. While you still need to take some precautions, such as no jumping, no steps/stairs, no rambunctious playing, he doesn't need to be treated like an egg. Take a breath and try to start enjoying your boy again. Here's a page about future expectations that may be helpful to you:
www.dodgerslist.com/index/SDUNCANquality.htm

Hi Angie, just checking in to say hello and hugs to Theo. Bean and Theo seemed to be at the same timeline still, bad prognosis from neuro, but progressing nonetheless. That's a bit odd your ortho told you that Theo needed more crate rest - that doesn't seem to follow because they are usually already healed fully by six weeks. Maybe you should check in one more time with the neurologist to be sure, or ask the ortho why? Tomorrow we are seeing the PT to tell her about the post-op visit with neuro to see what she recommends as far as continuing water therapy. I hope that things are better this week for you and Theo.