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Post by abenoit on Apr 1, 2013 7:38:37 GMT -7
Scarlet went down on 3/2. She had no use of either back leg but had full bladder and bowel control, wagged her tail, and had deep pain sensation. We immediately began 8 weeks of strict crate rest, only going outside to go potty. She did two weeks, 8 treatments, of laser therapy and 3 weeks, 6 treatments, of electroacupuncture. Neither did any good that we saw. She was showing no improvement at all when the three weeks was up and she had done strict rest and the therapies. Since then, she has shown some improvement.
She is not in pain and we are slowly weening her off of her pain meds. Some days she seems ok with this and some days she does not eat and seems more in pain. I decided to go back to the twice a day on meds and try to ween her off later. She is comfortable now and is moving her hips and lifting her legs when she potties. If I lift her rear end up, she will try to hold herself up. We are continuing crate rest and she graduates on April 26th. The vet said she is a very good candidate for a cart and to get a dragsak but not to use them until crate rest is over. Seems she is recovering, but we don't know how much use she will ultimately get.
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Post by Pauliana on Apr 1, 2013 15:05:47 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist to you and Scarlet. What is your name please? It can take many weeks even months for nerves to heal. Don't give up..Please read the success stories on Dodgerslist website to get an idea of the many different healing times.. All dogs are individuals and not all disc episodes or even healing time frames are the same.. Lisa (Natureluva one of our moderators) had her dog walk after 11 months of being paralyzed. There is still hope! Even so, dogs are perfectly happy with wheels so don't be downhearted.. It's in the cards for Scarlet to feel better. Here's a link to the success stories! www.dodgerslist.com/monthstory.htm |
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 1, 2013 18:04:42 GMT -7
Abenoit, welcome to the Forum. We could use your help by giving us a fuller picture and some important information so we can better help you. -- What breed is Scarlet? -- What are the exact names of all her meds, the dose in mg and how often you give them. If she is in pain, that is a sign that not all the swelling is gone and use of the anti-inflammatory needs to be extended. Have you reported the signs of pain to your vet. Is he showing any of these signs of pain: shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant/slow to move head or body, tight hard tummy, holding leg flamingo style not wanting to bear weight? Often it takes being at the anti-inflamamatory dose of prednisone (5mg 2x/day) for 1-2 weeks or even for some dogs more like a month before all the swelling is gone. On the taper the dose is lowered to less than the anti-flammatory dose and that is the time to assess just how well reduction of swelling is going by observing for pain. -- Not eating can be both a sign of pain and a sign that the anti-inflammatory is doing damage to the GI tract. She should be on Pepcid AC (Famotidine). If she is not, then assume the worse and get Pepcid AC on board tonight and keep the vet in the loop in the morning. We follow vets who are proactive in protecting the stomach by giving doxies 5MG Pepcid AC (generic name is Famotidine) 30 mins prior to the anti-inflamamtory. The focus with conservative treatment is letting the disc heal during the 8 weeks of 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out at potty times. Nerve healing may or may not happen during the 8 weeks as nerves are the slowest part of the body to heal. So there is plenty of time for nerve healing after crate rest. Your vet is absolutely correct... no cart, no drag bag until all 8 weeks of crate rest have been completed. At that time you can best assess where money is better spent... on PT or a wheelchair while waiting on more nerve healing to happen. ![]()  |
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