crys
New Member
Posts: 5 
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Post by crys on Apr 5, 2013 11:25:52 GMT -7
Wasnt sure where to put this because Im new here...and its not really an emergency since we HAVE seen a vet. But we dont know how to proceed. I believe she is in stage 4, maybe 5...the vet didnt say and I wasnt aware of different stages until I did my own research.
Anyway, she lost her ability to support herself on her front legs first. Then her back legs started to go, but now she can somewhat support her upper body with her back legs (and us holding her front up a bit). She still has feeling in her back legs, and seem to be stronger than they were a week ago. Still not a lot going on in her front legs. She's not always stiff in the front legs like some I have read about who have the disc rupture or issue in the neck like she does.
Surgery was not an option for us, still isnt, and either is any kind of expensive care. We were prescribed a pain med and an anti-inflammatory and sent home. The vet said a "fair number" get better with crate rest and meds. This is what we are hoping for. I have read stories of doxies that have regained leg use after anywhere from 5 months to a year. This is good news, BUT, I think most were given steroids...our little Carmen was not. I did know that it was imperative or I would have insisted. Our vet said steroids were contraversial, so he did not give them. I wish I had know how important they were, but I didnt until I started to do my own research.
Can our girl still recover even though she is a week into her issue and she was not given steroids?
She still goes potty (on a towel in her crate), pee and poop, so I dont think her back region is too bad off. She still wags her tail, and her appetite is still good...she simply cannot walk due to her front legs being immobile. She can hold her weight up on her front paws for a few seconds only before toppling over to her side.
We are heartbroken and cannot afford any fancy treatment right now. She is 13 years old, and we have had her for 11 of those years. She is a red smooth mini doxie, and her name is Carmen. My husband rescued her from a vet office where she was dropped off because her deaf owner was going to college and couldnt take her...so he brought her to the vet office with a note asking for help. They took her in and my husband happened to be working a side job as a courier for a path lab picking up biological samples from vet offices. We love her so much and see so much life left in her eyes, and she still barks at nothing and at everything, and wags her tail...we just cannot put her to sleep without fighting first. Please help and tell us what we can do.
I apologize if this is in the wrong area.... |
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 5, 2013 11:38:22 GMT -7
Crys welcome to Dodgerslist. We are glad you found us. It is in the cards for Carmen to get back to enjoying family life after her recovery period. I'm very glad to hear you are reading as that is one of the most important things an owner can do. We have a few questions that will better help us to give you and Carmen support.
-- Is there still currently pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant/slow to move head or body, tight hard tummy?
-- What are the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mgs and frequencies you give them? Pepcid AC should be on your list as a protector of the stomach lining while on any anti-inflammatory.
-- Do you find wet bedding or leaks on you when lifted up? That answers helps us to verify if Carmen still has bladder control. Being able to pass the sniff and pee test is proof of bladder control. Outdoors does she sniff an old pee spot and then release urine, attempt to squat? Going potty inside her crate is to us a big sign she does not have bladder control....so help us to understand the details on how and why she goes in her crate. Do you carry her outside to potty every 4- 6 hours?
-- How are the back legs, wobbly. Do the paws knuckle over?
-- Eating and drinking OK?
-- Poops OK - normal color no dark or bright red blood?
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crys
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by crys on Apr 5, 2013 11:58:36 GMT -7
Thank you SOOO much for replying so soon. Its such a releif just to have someone I can ask questions to.
Occassionally she does tremble, but not constantly, its intermittant. Yelping will happen once in a while when first moved in the morning, after she has been sleeping. She will bark or growl in the middle of the night, and for some reason I think she wants to be turned over, and after I turn her over she is quiet again until morning...when I turn her in the middle of the night, there is no yelping. Most of the time when she is moved, she does not yelp, just once in a while.
Her appetite is good. No problem at all there.
She is drinking fine.
Her back legs were wobbly when we first brought her home from the vet. They are no longer wobbly, and not knuckling like they were....I also feel a great deal of resistence when I push gently on her feet. And she kicks me when I tickle her pads.
Her front legs are a different story...they still knuckle a great deal. At first they could not support ANY of her weight, even in a semi sitting postion. Now if we place her in a sitting position, and make sure her front feet are not knuckled, she can support herself for thirty seconds approximately.
Moving her head. She seems to do this without too much trouble, but definitely not like she used to. She can move it down to eat and drink.
Wetting her crate: She has never really been very well potty trained, Im sorry to say...not sure why so she has gone on beds occasionally prior to this, so for us its hard to tell with her. We, do take her outside often. She has only gone outside ONCE since this has happened though and that was yesterday. Everytime I take her out and place her on the grass, she just lays and looks around or barks or sniffs the air. I even placed her in a location where my other dogs had just went pee at and nothing.....
BUT...on two occasions AFTER bringing her in and placing her in her crate she has cried loudly and panted and wiggled around a bit, right before urinating on a towel..so I kind of feel that she knew she had to go and was upset that she was in her crate...but we werent sure what was going on and didnt take her out again when she was acting that way. I have spent up to an hour with her outside on the grass without her on going pee. Yesterday my husband was out for a few minutes and she went. So, I dont know....
Oh and poop seems normal too.
I dont have her meds with me right now as I am at work. Her tummy does not appear to be tight or hard. How much Pepcid AC should I give her?
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 5, 2013 12:18:58 GMT -7
Crys, feel free to edit a post to add additonal information...it saves space and scrolling. Without details on the meds til you get home, we at a disadvantage to make any helpful comments other than to say I believe the med(s) is wearing off in by morning and thus you see the pain. Do not have any patience with pain, it should be covered dose to dose. Your vet needs to know pain is still showing through. I'm guessing Carmen has a UTI and it is painful to urinate and she likely does not have bladder control. This means you need to manually express her bladder. So you will need to bring her in for a urinalysis to see if she needs to be an anti-biotics and you will need a hands on top of your hands expressing lesson. This video and tips will help you get more out of the lesson. Make sure she gets a 1/4 liquid an hour before the lesson so you have something to practice on. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm You are also finding poops in her bedding? You will be able to express for poop too. Being a " reader" is essential with this disease. This a very good overview to get you quickly up to speed..from there delve into each of the Disc Disease 101 core readings to be fully informed for now and after crate rest. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm Be ure to read the Neck Disc Tips link www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm for the extra things you can do to help Carmen such as attaching her bowl inside the crate at head height so she does not have to bend her head. At potty time IF she does have bladder contro you would only take her out for 1-2 minutes... if nothing you would try again in an hour. If she does not have bladder control you will need to express her bladder every 4-6 hours to keep her dry. Let us know how the vet appoint goes this afternoon after work and what the vet says. p.s Pepcid AC Phrase the question to your vet this particular way:" Is there a medical/health reason for my dog not to take Pepcid?" If there is no reason, we follow vets who are proactive in stomach protection by giving doxies 5mg Pepcid (famotidine) 30 minutes before the NSAID. |
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crys
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by crys on Apr 5, 2013 12:36:13 GMT -7
Thank you. I will list the meds later on. She does not have a vet appointment today. We have 4 dogs, (three of them doxies)who have used up our care credit so the initial visit to the vet for Carmen when the problem was discovered has tapped us out at the moment. We are hoping to be able to make a visit in a week (when her meds are gone).
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 5, 2013 13:23:26 GMT -7
Can you bring in a urine sample, to verify there is no UTI with a urinalysis. If she has a urinary tract infection they can move up to the kidneys quickly and become life threatening.
If she leaves poops in her bed, can't sniff and pee. If she leaks on you when lifted then she likely does not have bladder control and needs to be expressed every 46 hours. There are two reasons for expressing:
1) A bladder can overflow some urine due to reflexes... this is unhealthy as the urine that does not void becomes a breeding ground for bacteria (UTIs)
2) It takes the bladder being overstretched to a certain point before reflexes kick in to allow urine to overflow. The stretching will cause bladder tone to be ruined and when nerves can again communicate with the bladder it will be not function correctly.
Let us know if you can drop a urine sample by the vet. Also inquire if a vet tech shows you how to express, what the charge would be. Many times there is no charge since your vet has already been seeing Carmen for this disc problem. Never hurts to ask and explain your financial situation and what you are observing for pain, likley loss of bladder control.
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