|
Post by Lisa & Lucy on Jan 2, 2020 10:55:58 GMT -7
Introduction -Weimaraner Post Surgery
QUESTIONS ☆ 1 Is there still currently pain? Not currently in pain. Does hold right back flamingo style and reluctantly puts weight on right front.
☆ 2 How much does your dog weigh? 70lbs! She is currently only taking gabapentin and trazadone. 1 gab every 8 hours and 2 traz every 8 hours. She has finished the cycle for all other meds (prednisone, amantadine)
[Moderator's Note. Please do not edit 70 lbs gabapentin ? mgs ?x/day Trazadone ? mgs ?x/day ]
☆ 3 -- Eating fine, drinking fine (while sitting). Will hold urine as long as possible - not sure if she has control over when she urinates. Refuses to do any business outside, although we take her outside several times a day to try and encourage her.
☆ 4 What breed? What is your dog’s name? Your name, too? Weimaraner, female, Lucy. My name is Lisa.
☆ 5We suspected a disc problem and treated conservatively with anti inflammatory meds and rest. She was periodically holding up one leg, flamingo style. After rest, she would return to her normal, active self with multiple walks each day. She collapsed on her front paws on November 11th in horrendous pain. We took her to Colorado State University Veterinarian Hospital for imaging and definitive diagnosis, per our regular vets recommendation. She had a herniated disc C5/C6 pressing her spine almost flat. She had ventral slot surgery (by neurosurgeon) to remove disc material. Full recovery prognosis was good, with the expectation she would be walking after 8 weeks. Otherwise very healthy, no other medical concerns or issues.
☆ 6 SURGERY November 13,2019 8 weeks of strict crate rest. Clinic PT every 2 weeks during post op visits, at home PT with certified canine PT once per week, we are doing 3x daily PT at home (exercises provided by therapist)
☆ 7 She will not urinate outside in squatting position (although she can hold a squat). She will hold her urine until she can no longer hold. We don't believe she has control.
☆ 8 She cannot walk. She requires harness support. She does have the ability to move her legs, both front and back. She can stand and support her weight fully, although a little unsteady. She can crawl from sphinx for treats and will shake both paws for treats. (all during therapy sessions)
|
|
PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,493
|
Post by PaulaM on Jan 2, 2020 11:15:33 GMT -7
Lisa, welcome to the Forum. reluctance to place weight on a limb can be a sign of discomfort. Have you discussed this this your vet, the surgeon? Tell us the details of her current meds. gabapentin ? mgs ?x/day Trazadone ? mgs ?x/day Are you finding leaks in her bedding, a sign of bladder control not come back yet? Do you express her bladder? Express for poop? MOre on express both with a video and tips: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htmIs she able to move her body up into a stand position by herself yet?
|
|
|
Post by Lisa & Lucy on Jan 2, 2020 11:31:23 GMT -7
Hi Paula,
Thank you for the quick reply. I've already discovered so much useful information on the forum. Thanks you for this!
Yes, the neurologists does not seem concerned about the reluctance to put weight on her right side. She will and can do it, but often chooses not to. Vet says right side is weaker and expects it to come back. We have seen some recent improvement with her willingness to shake with her right paw. We had to teach her this trick post surgery and she picked it up quickly. After about 1 week of working with her on this task, she is now lifting and shaking with her weak paw. BUT, we do often see more frequent nuckling on her right side, mainly front right. She will occasionally flamingo her back right paw, which she also did pre-surgery.
Meds: Gabapentin 300MG; 1 pill every 8 hours. Trazodone 50MG; 2 pills every 8 hours. She has separation anxiety, which has amplified since surgery. The vet recommends the traz for this.
[Moderator's Note. Please do not edit 70 lbs gabapentin 300 mgs 3x/day Trazadone 100 mgs 3x/day ]
No leaks in her bedding. She just holds her unrine for a very long time. We and our vet have tried to express her bladder with no success. The PT has been doing acupuncture once a week, which has definitely helped and allowed her to urinate 2-3x a day. But, each urination is a huge production. She cries and kicks her legs until she finally lets it go. We take her outside, use a peanut to support her, encourage her and nothing!
She is becoming more active. She can not turn herself over, move to a more comfy position, she can go from a sphinx sit or half sit to a stand...which is actually scary as we worry her front legs will collapse and she will face plant. With her harness on and on command she will often give us lots of assistance in getting to a stand. Not stable enough to stand on her own. Doesn't seem to have much interest in using a "walking motion" with her hind legs...although she can kick them like crazy.
We are concerned she will not be able to walk on her own. She is very heavy and it takes both my husband and myself to carry her outside or move to another crated bed, etc. We also have a huge concern that she is not interested or able to control her bladder or bowel and go outside. We are 7 weeks post surgery this week.
|
|
Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,722
|
Post by Marjorie on Jan 2, 2020 12:04:34 GMT -7
It sounds as though she has pain when urinating. I would bring in a urine sample to the vet to have them check for a UTI. That can cause pain when urinating and sometimes no other symptoms of a UTI are seen.
You might want to look into trying her on a underwater treadmill if one is available in your area. Many of our members have found that type of therapy to be very helpful in getting those legs to move again. Acupuncture can be very helpful in giving nerves a jump start in healing so good to see that she's getting that type of treatment, too.
Nerves are very, very slow to heal. It took my Jeremy 6 months after his surgery to walk again and he was still very wobbly. I saw improvements in his walk for a year after his surgery. So hang in there. Stay strong, stay positive and never give up hope!
|
|
|
Post by Lisa & Lucy on Jan 2, 2020 12:25:04 GMT -7
Thank you Majorie!
She did have a UTI about a week after surgery which we treated with antibiotics and it cleared right up. She's been hesitant to urinate every since surgery. We have a follow up with her neurologist this week and I'll ask about another UTI. We've tried everything and she just doesn't want to go. The only thing that did help was the acupuncture.
We are going to ask her PT tomorrow about water treadmill. I know we do have this in our area (colorado) and I was wondering if it might be helpful to facilitate the motion of walking.
We are thankful for the improvements we have seen and keeping positive about her walking ... hopefully sooner than later! If she would even just help with her hind legs that would make things so much easier.
Thank you!
|
|
|
Post by Romy & Frankie on Jan 2, 2020 14:39:28 GMT -7
Reluctance to urinate because of pain does sound like she may still have a UTI. Perhaps the antibiotic she was given did not target the specific bacteria causing her original UTI. The only way to know which bacteria is the problem is with a urine culture, which takes some days to grow bacteria from the urine sample. Speak to the vet as soon as possible about starting a urine culture to make sure the right bacteria is being targeted.
Also, she may not really have control of her bladder yet. There are medications that can help with expressing. One of these medication is Prazosin, a bladder outflow relaxation agent to inhibit the internal urethral sphincter.
Another medication is Phenoxybenzamine which relaxes the urethral sphincter. My dog Frankie used Prazosin for a while after his surgery. I had a very hard time expressing him at first and this helped. I know how hard it is to move a larger dog. A "help em up harness" helped me lift Frankie for a while after surgery.
Have you considered a pee pad outside her crate so you won't have to move her far? You can either express her on this or encourage her to urinate herself. This helped me after Frankie's surgery. At first, he did not want to use it. I got a paper towel which had another dog's urine on it and placed this on the pad. Then he was willing to use it.
I agree with Marjorie about trying the underwater treadmill. This helped Frankie a lot. When I first brought him in, he could not stand. The buoyancy of the water in the tank held him up. The therapist knelt behind him and moved his legs in a walking movement. I believe this helped Frankie remember how to walk. After about two months of this, Frankie was able to walk on his own. Over time, he walked better and better. Shortly afterwards, he regained bladder and bowel control.
Nerve healing is slow. There is a lot of healing that can still take place for Lucy.
|
|
|
Post by Lisa & Lucy on Jan 3, 2020 8:22:57 GMT -7
Thank you for the insight. Lucy was on Prazosin after her surgery, but it did not help at all. The only thing that has helped to date is the acupuncture. I do agree and believe she may not have any control over her bladder function. She will kick and kick, squirm before going. We will quickly take her outside because these are the signals she has been giving us since her surgery...and nothing. Then, once back inside on a yoga mat, with pee pads, she'll go. We are going to talk to the vet today about possible UTI.
I appreciate you sharing Frankie's progress with the underwater treadmill. We will talk to our therapist this week (she is also a vet) about this going forward.
We have seen so much progress from Lucy since her surgery on Nov 13th. Of course, we'd like to see more, especially some indication of walking on her own and bladder/bowel control. We do use the help 'em up harness everyday to move her. We just have to remind ourselves everyday of how far she has come.
Thank you!!! This forum is so helpful.
|
|