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Post by oreosmom on Oct 24, 2013 0:13:53 GMT -7
Wow! What a state of shock we are in, and what a blessing to find this website!
Oreo is a 15 Lb. Shiz-Tzu who never had any spinal problems before.
Sunday every thing was fine.
Monday Oreo started acting strange, wouldn't put his paws up on the bed to be lifted up. Wouldn't come out from under bed. Later same day wouldn't get up. Wouldn't eat. Had tight stomach and shivering. We were just ignorant--actually did not know that Shiz-Tzus were prone to spinal problems! Thought (WRONGLY) let him rest overnight and see if he perks up in the morning. Tuesday morning he wouldn't use rear legs to walk at all. I figured why take him to our regular vets when they would probably just refer us to a specialist? So I took him to the emergency vet hospital in our town and found out it was really too late--he had no deep pain sensation in back paws. Would we consider surgery? The vet said we had the choices of: do nothing with a likely bad outcome, euthanize, or try surgery........ With no deep pain sensation in the back legs he said the chances of ever walking were 5-10 percent. I think he did not want to give us false hope, and was trying to be sympathetic with which ever way we were leaning. I guess surgery while still having pain feeling in the pads is much more reasonable and successful. Well, if I had a six year old child, would I just say euthanize them if they were in an accident, and may not walk again? I discussed it with hubby, and the only thing we could think to do was give him a chance. If his life became painful and unbearable for us all, we could change our minds later if we HAD to. I was crying and scared. How could we take care of our suddenly handicapped "Child"? Would it be unfair to keep him here just because we would miss him?
He had the surgery right away Tuesday morning.
The vet called Tues. afternoon and said he did fine, and I'm not exactly sure if he had a herniated or ruptured disc, it's all happening so fast, I forget to ask all the right questions sometimes. I know he is a board certified surgeon, but I don't think he is a neuro or orthopedic surgeon. I would have preferred this, had I known what was going on, but I do know he said he had seen this many times at the 24/7 emergency hospital we took him to, and at least they were available to help him right away.
Wed. I went to see him and he seemed OK but very quiet, and didn't seem to care that I was there. I think that is normal for 24 hours after surgery. They said he's not eating yet and I tried to give him some special food but to no use.
He didn't have pee accidents, somehow He managed to go even the morning of surgery or maybe he was getting dehydrated at that point. They are going to show me how to express his bladder and I have read up on it, on your wonderful site and watched a video.
I am overwhelmed with things so I will continue to read your site until he comes home.
Does anyone know of success in a case like this with laser treatments? How much might it cost and how soon should we try it? If there is a thread already on this topic please direct me........The surgeon said he doesn't think it's useful. He is going to try the deep pain test tomorrow, but of course he didn't have it before surgery, so......
I know I had another question but right now I'm so tired I just need to go to bed.
Thanks for any suggestions about the laser.
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Marjorie
Moderator~ 
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724 
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Post by Marjorie on Oct 24, 2013 6:59:06 GMT -7
Dear Brenda, How well I know the shock of an IVDD episode! You did exactly the right thing. You took him for immediate care and surgery - Oreo is one lucky boy! My Jeremy also had no deep pain sensation and had surgery. It took weeks before he had the slightest movement in his hind legs. I got him a cart but he soon left that behind and was walking. Each dog recovers differently but don't give up hope that Oreo will walk again. Even if he doesn't, he can have a wonderful life. www.dodgerslist.com/index/SDUNCANquality.htmThere is a window of time where surgery is considered to be successful. That window of time is 12-24 hours from losing deep pain sensation (DPS). Even after that window of time, surgery is often successful. The spinal cord is very fragile, the more hours after the window, the less chance of a complete recovery. It would seem that Oreo lost deep pain sensation sometime Monday night and you had the surgery for him on Tuesday so it would appear to me as though you did have the surgery in time. Don't take the surgeon's low estimate of 5-10% to heart as no one, not even surgeons or neurologists, know how much recovery there will be or when it will occur. Give it some time before you rush into getting him a cart. Oreo will need 6 weeks of crate rest following surgery so you can see at that point how he's doing and if you'd rather spend the money on PT, acupuncture or a cart. Laser therapy and acupuncture can be helpful in getting the nerves to regenerate and can be started right away. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingacupuncture.htmAnd water therapy is great, too, after the stitches are out. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy.htmHere's Dodgerslist page about what to expect discharge day. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/surgery.htm#dischargeHere is a list of questions to ask on discharge day, too. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/dischargequestions.htmAlso these two pages would be helpful for you to read: www.dodgerslist.com/literature.htmwww.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingsurgery.htmBe sure to get his recovery suite ready for his home coming on Monday.. Here are some links to show you how: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cratesupplies.htm www.dodgerslist.com/literature/EmergencyCrate%20Training.htmHang in there. You've done exactly what Oreo has needed so far. And we'll be here to help you through the rest of it. So take a deep breath and spend the time while Oreo is in the hospital to rest up and do lots of reading on IVDD. Blessings to you and Oreo and prayers for a speedy and complete recovery for him. |
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StevieLuv
Helpful Member 
Conservative Treatment 3x. It really does work!
Posts: 1,335
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Post by StevieLuv on Oct 24, 2013 10:31:14 GMT -7
Oreo is one lucky boy to have parents that are so devoted to him!! Keeping you in thought and prayer (((hugs)))
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Post by oreosmom on Oct 25, 2013 1:05:08 GMT -7
Hello again! Marjorie and StevieLuv thank you for the words of wisdom and encouragement! The time and love you spend on this forum to help others in need is beyond awesome! I went to visit Oreo today at the hospital. He seemed improved since yesterday, recognized me and gave me some kisses!  Earlier in the day the Doctor called and actually said he could go home today, but two days post-op seemed a bit soon to me! I was torn between wanting him home and not feeling ready. I am concerned about too much excitement at home from the other two dogs and the humans. Is it reasonable to get a small supply of sedatives to keep on hand if he needs them for a few days to calm down? He is used to being very active and will need to get used to being in the crate all day. He is the alpha dog, and will not be happy about the others getting the free reign of the house without him. Although we have crates they are not ready yet. Also, the main concern about his lack of urine control. The hospital vet tech attempted to train me to express his bladder and I was an Epic Fail!! He was very patient, knowledgeable and explained things well; it was me who had the problem. Oreo was placed on his side and he seemed very uncomfortable when we were poking around. I thought I could feel it at one point, but when I thought I was squeezing the bladder, nothing came out......later I started thinking of all the "worst-case" scenarios: I would squeeze his little internal organs the wrong way and injure him, his bladder will fill up and get infected, or it will fill up and leak out, and he will never regain the control of his bladder even if he does walk again. Anyway, me and my wonderful supporting 18 yr. old daughter are going to bring him home tomorrow, and before we leave I will try again to learn to do it. Someone in the house needs to learn with me, as a back up for when I'm occasionally not there. The Doctor also said he he retested his back toes for deep pain sensation and he thinks maybe there is a little bit there; Oreo kept turning to look at him when he pinched them. I told him that the time frame when Oreo was unable to walk, as well as the time he lost feeling was a little blurry; its possible that we brought him in sooner than we/they thought. (Not getting my hopes up, but Yay!!) Tomorrow I will also be calling to get prices of local vets who do laser therapy. There are some small handheld types that are available for purchase, but I would need to research these to avoid getting ripped off. Does anyone know if any of the handheld cold laser infrared devices are legit, or just a scam? The purchase price may be reasonable when you consider the cost of ongoing treatments. Thanks again. |
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Oct 25, 2013 9:06:17 GMT -7
No need to feel like a failure for not getting the expressing down in one try, Brenda. It really can take some practice. It took me quite awhile to get the hang of it. It's a very good idea to have someone else in the house know how to do it, too - good thinking. Here are some tips on expressing that I hope you find helpful: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm Please let us know how it goes. There are some very helpful tips here to help calm Oreo in the crate, such as putting a towel over the top of the crate to create a den-like feeling or lowering the top of the crate with cardboard to prevent jumping up: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/EmergencyCrate%20Training.htmUsing any oral calmer in combination with a Pheromone diffuser seems to work best. It takes several days for these to start working - it isn't immediate but they are a much better option if you can avoid heavy duty prescription sedatives. Of course always keep your vet in the loop on all things you give your dog. Farnum's Comfort Zone with D.A.P. www.petcomfortzone.com/dogs.html [pheromone diffuser] with one oral calmer from below: Oral calmers: 1) ANXITANE® S chewable tabs contain 50 mg L-Theanine, an amino acid that acts neurologically to help keep dogs calm, relaxed www.virbacvet.com/products/detail/anxitane-l-theanine-chewable-tablets/behavioral-health 2) Composure Soft Chews are colostrum based like calming mother's milk and contain 21 mg of L-Theanine. www.vetriscience.com/composure-soft-dogs-MD-LD.php [Composure] 3) Rescue Remedy is a liquid herb combo to help with relaxation www.bachrescueremedypet.com Plain Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) with no additional medications added. Buy at your grocery store or pharmacy. Get the dosage from your vet. The wrong dose can have dangerous side effects, so your vet needs to prescribe the proper amount for your dog. I'm not familiar with the hand-held laser devices so hopefully someone else will be able to guide you as to that. Very good news that there might be deep pain sensation! Prayers that you'll see improvement soon, Brenda. Please keep us updated and let us know what medication Oreo is sent home with tomorrow. |
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