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Post by Siobhan & Nanook on Jun 11, 2014 22:12:17 GMT -7
Hi there I am Siobhan and I have just found this website and am glad I have. Nanook is my little tan shorthaired mini dachshund. She is about 8kg [17.6 lbs] in weight. Almost 3 weeks ago we woke up to find that her back kegs were very wobbly. She didn’t seem to be in any pain but I rushed her off to the vet straight away. They poked and prodded her the usual way and told us to take her to a specialist as they thought she had slipped a disc in her spine. So I bundled her and kids back into the car and drove the hour to the small animal hospital at the university. At this stage they she still had deep and surficial pain responses but the vet said she was 99% sure Nook would need surgery. She was admitted and they elected to watch her for the night to see how she went. They confined her and she was happy and comfortable. Early the next morning I got a call to say that Nook had lost her deep pain response in her back legs and they were going to do the surgery. It was performed within 12 hours of her losing the deep pain response. The surgery went well without any complications. At first it seemed positive. They were marking on her back each day the point at which is stopped feeling sensation and the mark was moving down her spine a little bit each day but then that stopped. She is now 3 weeks post surgery, and is back home with us. She has no deep pain response. She is in confined quarters at home (but has managed to break out twice now to have a bit of an explore around the backyard (she has always been a Houdini) and I am doing the physio regime I was taught everyday. I am not very hopeful that she will walk again, but on the positive side of things she is not on any meds, and does not seem to be in any pain at all. Her personality is still the same and her top end seems to be unconcerned about the lack of activity down the back end. She is eating ok (although a little less that she is used to try and get weight down a little) and she is drinking fine. The vet showed me how to express her bladder which I am doing, but overnight and sometimes during the day (when I am away for hours at work) she is weeing on her own (more than a dribble) which I think is meant to be a good thing? I work 3 days a week and I have 2 young children and in this first week I am finding Nooks care a bit difficult. Washing her wet bedding and cleaning up any mess is just adding to my very busy days. I am hoping with time it will get easier, she is good little dog and deserves the best. We have not considered wheels for her yet as the physio said not to at this stage.
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,611
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 12, 2014 9:15:45 GMT -7
Siobhan, welcome to Dodgerslist. We are glad you found us too! Do know it is still very early in the nerve healing process potential. The things I would address is making sure she is always under control when outside of her recovery suite and of course not able to break out. LOL, what a Houdinin she is. There are still alot of repair jobs her body is doing and uncontrolled speed and darting can cause soft tissue injury.
The only way for us humans to know if there is bladder control is with the sniff and pee test periodically. Carry outdoors, set on an old pee spot to sniff it. See if urine is then released. Make sure the sling or your hands are not on the tummy area as that can press on the bladder. If urine comes out after sniffing, bladder control is returning. You should do a quick express check to verify there is full voiding until you are certain it is consistently happening. Let us know what you observe.
If she has no control, that means she can't move away from where she sleeps to urinate. The bladder just overflows when it reaches the overfill point via reflexes. Can a friend help you out, come over to express her, can you bring her to work or a vet on the day you have long hours? An overflowing bladder will stretch out of tone and not function correctly when the brain can again communicate with the bladder. Also overflowing will promote bacteria growth (UTI) as reflexes do not push out all the urine, the part remaining becomes a breeding ground. Are you expressing every 4-6 hours during the daylight hours? At night if last drink is at say 8 am and last express at 10pm she should be able to stay dry til 7am as the body produces less urine during the dark hours. The trick to staying dry is expressing often enough and at each session being able to feel the bladder as it reaches the last stage of flatness. You can almost feel the fingers of the other hand the bladder is so flat. Don't hesitate to expressing in the vet's office and have the vet tech check your work. This video is also full of excellent tips for expressing urine and for poop: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htmI would wait til she has completed all 6 weeks of post op crate rest before starting a diet. Just feed her the appropriate amount, avoid hi cal snack. Carrot, apple, low salt broth ice cubes to lick on are low cal snacks. Do you have her mattress set up to reduce your workload with trashbag, fleece? Great tips about this and others to make the crate rest period go smoother:http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cratesupplies.htm At the end of 6 weeks crate rest, you would be in a much better position to assess if money is better spent on more PT or a wheelchair. Nerves heal typically in the reverse order of the damage to the spinal cord. Where do you observe Nook on the list? Can she wag her tail. Have you tried the sniff and pee test? 1. Deep Pain Sensation (Only correctly identified by a specialist.) 2. Tail wagging with joy at seeing you or getting a treat or meal. 3. Bladder and bowel control verified with the "sniff and pee" test. 4. Leg Movement, and then ability to move up into a standing position, and then wobbly walking. 5. Being able to walk with more steadiness and properly place the feet. 6. Ability to walk unassisted and perhaps even run. Self education with this disease is critical. Knowledge is to make sure the right things are being done for best recovery. And for yourself, knowledge lets you step out of a very scary place…"the unknown" and the toll it takes on your emotions. Get ready to fight this disease with this current episode and in the future by knowing all things IVDD. Hope to hear you will be able to follow all the informative links and complete your readings in the next couple of days: www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htm |
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