|
|
Post by Karleigh & Kallie on Mar 5, 2019 12:46:55 GMT -7
Kallie started rest on 2/3 so I think she still has another month left to go!
|
|
PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,528
|
Post by PaulaM on Mar 5, 2019 13:02:21 GMT -7
Karleigh, thanks for the correction. Was much cold medicine on my part, it seems to be able to read the calendar correctly!
|
|
|
|
Post by Karleigh & Kallie on Mar 11, 2019 10:27:53 GMT -7
Kallie is doing really well. Her walk has improved significantly. She's completely off all meds.
Now the issue I'm running into is she is jumping up on her hind legs against her pen to pop her head out. She still hates being in a pen. I don't want her doing this and I correct her every time I am home to see it, but she is also doing it when I'm not home. She still isn't jumping, but I think her being on her hind legs is still probably bad for her back.
I'm not sure what to do. I'm wondering if she's going to be safer out of the pen where she won't feel the need to do that.
|
|
PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,528
|
Post by PaulaM on Mar 11, 2019 15:34:48 GMT -7
Karleigh, you may need to put her in a wire crate when you leave the house as it is the securest kind of recovery suite. That way you can drape a blanket over the top and down the side of the crate. Drape down to the level of Kallie's eyes when she sits on her butt. That way should she go up on her back legs, she will see nothing! Quickly that should extinguish standing on back leg behavior.
You might be able to figure out a way to tie wrap some sort of top to the wire expen so you could drape a blanket over it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Karleigh & Kallie on Mar 13, 2019 7:17:27 GMT -7
Kallie has been getting laser therapy for 3 weeks now and this week we added acupuncture and WOW! I was pretty skeptical about these holistic treatments, but I was desperate enough to try anything and the past week or so has been incredible for Kallie.
She's been off all meds for about a week now. Her back right paw, which previously had been completely unresponsive in a proprioception test, is now flipping over immediately! Her back left paw was just a little slow, but is now flipping over immediately as well. She's not crossing her legs when walking either. I'm just blown away - I am now a full believer in laser + acupuncture therapy for IVDD!
|
|
|
|
Post by Julie & Perry on Mar 13, 2019 10:24:22 GMT -7
I too was a skeptic. However, since seeing amazing results with both my dogs using cold laser therapy I highly recommend it.
It's great Kallie's doing so well!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Karleigh & Kallie on Mar 31, 2019 18:02:21 GMT -7
Hey everyone! Just wanted to update on Kallie! She's been doing AMAZING. It's been almost 4 weeks off all medication - no decline since we've been off. She had a total of 5 laser treatments and 1 acupuncture treatment - Last week we did no treatment to see if she would decline neurologically and she's remained stable so I think we're going to stop with laser and acupuncture as well. I'm keeping her on the vetridisc supplement just for peace of mind - not sure if it does anything, but I figure it can't hurt. Looking at her today, no one would guess she's ever had back issues. She has no signs of any neuro issues or pain. No leg crossing, no wobbly walk, her paws flip over immediately when tested. She's SO happy to be free of containment - We took a long walk today, I was keeping an eye for any fatigue, ready to turn around if she tired out but we made it about 3 miles just like we used to and she showed no signs of even tiring out. She wanted to keep going! She's not making attempts to jump on my bed, my bed is pretty high to begin with. She has gone for the couch quite a bit so I'm going to make sure I have pillows stacked high on it when I'm not home to keep her off. I'm not letting her do stairs. She knows a lot of tricks, but I'm cutting out using all of her jumping/standing tricks. I'm also no longer doing any tug-o-war play with her, just fetch. Whatever I can do to limit strain on her back. Hopefully this is her last episode!  |
|
|
|
Post by Pauliana on Mar 31, 2019 18:22:45 GMT -7
Hi Karleigh! Here is the after crate rest article.. Lots of tips on how to handle a GRADUAL return to a new normal.. After crate resting for 8 weeks, a gradual approach is safer for Kallie.. Shorter walks are best for her to start with.. even though she wants to keep going.. Slow and steady wins the race in the long run.. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htmI am delighted that Kallie is healing so well! |
|
|
|
Post by Karleigh & Kallie on Apr 1, 2019 10:32:15 GMT -7
Looking ahead I will slow down a bit. She didn't seem to have any issues after the long walk (in fact, she was still surprisingly energized after). I was just looking to her for signs of when she needed to stop, but she's been go, go, go since her graduation so I guess I'll have to be the one to keep her from going too hard.
With her, it is very difficult to keep the energy down without medicine to intervene. She's 6, but is hyper like she's 1. At least I can rest assured that weight problems won't be a risk for her since she moves too much to gain weight.
|
|
|
|
Post by Karleigh & Kallie on Sept 15, 2019 6:49:55 GMT -7
I’m just making another post here to follow up on an update and hopefully give others some hope!
Kallie is doing GREAT! Looking at her now, you’d never be able to guess she was ever down! She is walking, running, having a great time, and completely pain-free. Her neuro function has improved significantly, almost back to where she was before going down. Very rarely, her back legs will cross slightly, probably residual nerve issues, but most people wouldn’t even notice (I am just always watching her back legs like a hawk). No dragging, no knuckling, no slow reactions to a proprioception test, just an occasional leg cross which she usually corrects pretty quickly - even this is still improving as time goes on.
Right now, she’s not allowed on my bed. She doesn’t even try to jump up anymore which I didn’t think I would ever be able to get her to stop. I carry her up and down the steps at my apartment. I no longer do any jumping tricks with her or ones with her standing on her hind legs. I have her on the vetridisc supplement as well - not sure if this helps but I have seen a lot of positive reviews and figured it wouldn’t hurt at the very least.
For us, the biggest game changer that brought on her recovery was a combination of laser and acupuncture therapy. I was skeptical of holistic methods at first, but now I’m a believer and will start that treatment a lot sooner if she ever goes down again.
And to think the first vet we saw insisted our only options were a $6000 surgery or euthanasia! Very happy we switched vets and took the conservative route.
I know there’s no way to really anticipate another episode, but we’re in the clear for now and taking it day by day! She will be 7 years old this December. Fingers crossed she can live out the rest of her life without another episode, but if another one comes up, I feel much better about managing it thanks to this forum.
|
|
|
|
Post by Julie & Perry on Sept 15, 2019 7:28:48 GMT -7
That's awesome! Go Kallie.
|
|
