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Post by teambenandrosie on May 1, 2013 13:31:35 GMT -7
Rosie is a 5 year old Longhaired dachshund. On April 6th we woke to Rosie on the the bathroom floor shaking and in pain. Took her strait to the vet! Dr. put her on Crate rest, Tramadol, Methocarbamol, and Prenisone. She did pretty good for a few days still really painful. After about 2 weeks I noticed she was getting a wobbly rear end, took her back to the vet he took her off the prednisone and on Rymadyl. Three days later her pain was a little better but she stated to occasionally drag her rear right foot. Called the vet again, he called the specialist the next morning, took her there and right off to surgery. She had a large herniated disk at T11-12. I went and visited her the next day after her surgery, she was not standing and would not eat.She was moving her legs and going to the bathroom on her own. The Dr. said her pain is under control and she would be able to come home the next day.
Sunday morning the Dr. called to let me know Rosie is ready to go home, she is walking and ate her breakfast!
It was great to get her home. Our male dachshund Ben was sooooo happy to see her!
Know the hard part- after care and recovery.
She does not like us to do her leg exercises- pulls her leg away from us. We do them anyway.
It took me about 2 days to get use to taking her outside by myself with picking her up opening the door, closing the door and not letting the other dog out all with a leash and support.
On Monday(3 days post op) she is walking with more stability than before the surgery!
Tuesday- she is really starting to get bored! Constantly whining and unless we give her something to chew on or attention.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,598
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Post by PaulaM on May 1, 2013 14:21:47 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist. My name is Paula what is yours?
Can you fill us in on a few details: -- What did the surgeon direct for PT and for crate rest? -- What meds if any was she sent home on...dose in mg and frequency to give?
Likely if she is walking that is the reason she does not like you doing the exercises. LOL Often surgeons will call for controlled speed (leash, harness and sling) and supervised walks to and from the potty place as part of the PT.... let us know what your surgeon said.
Sound like Rose is doing VERY well so soon after surgery.
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Post by teambenandrosie on May 2, 2013 7:03:09 GMT -7
My name is Jennifer. For PT the Surgeon said to do deep knee bends, stretching and bicycles for the back legs 3-4 times a day and then walking as therapy. She was send home on 12.5 mg Rimadyl twice a day and 25 mg of Tramadol three times a day. She is to be on strict cage rest for 4 weeks. We have her staple removal appointment next Wednesday and then another recheck 6 weeks after surgery.
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Post by Sherry Layman on May 2, 2013 7:58:45 GMT -7
I'm so glad Rosie is doing so well. Your post-op instructions sound pretty routine. The crate rest period is vital for healing of that surgical area, not only the incision but internally as well so be patient and stick to it even when that 4 weeks starts to feel like 4 years.
The Rimadyl is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). These drugs are known to be very hard on the stomach. One thing you can do to help protect her stomach is to give it with food. But most importantly is to have her on a medication that will help protect her stomach such as Pepcid. Pepcid (or the generic famotidine) is sold over the counter and can be purchased at any Walmart or other drug store and is relatively inexpensive. Contact your regular vet and tell him she's been prescibed the Rimadyl by the surgeon and ask specifically if there is any health concern with Faith being on Pepcid. Many vets don't see the need for it so it's important that you ask if there is any reason she cannot take the medication. If he says it's safe then start her on it right away. Give her 5mg twice daily about 30 minutes before you give her the Rimadyl.
Sounds like things are going very well and Rosie is on the road to an excellent recovery.
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Post by teambenandrosie on May 9, 2013 8:09:01 GMT -7
Rosie had her staples removed yesterday! She is off the Tramadol and Rimadyl! They gave me a copy of her MRI and I am pretty sure she would have been paralyzed if we did not do the surgery.
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Post by Linda Stowe on May 9, 2013 9:26:01 GMT -7
Good news to hear she is off the pain meds and doing so well. Keep us updated on her progress.
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Post by teambenandrosie on May 17, 2013 7:59:29 GMT -7
Rosie is still doing great! The hardest thing right now is we have baby squirrels out and I have to check for them before taking her out! She was not very happy when I carried her out and there was one about five feet away and I had to take her back inside
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Post by teambenandrosie on Jun 4, 2013 14:34:23 GMT -7
Rosie's 6 week follow up is tomorrow! We are sooooo excited. She has never been this vocal in her life. Any suggestions on questions to ask at the 6 week surgery follow-up appointment? Thank you all so much!
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Post by Stevie & Cleopatra on Jun 4, 2013 15:11:04 GMT -7
Thank is so great to hear, I will be interested to see how Rosie does when she gets more freedom. We are 3 weeks in to Cleo's crate rest, and she needs to be entertained a lot!
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Post by teambenandrosie on Jun 6, 2013 14:22:04 GMT -7
Rosie graduated from crate rest!!!!!!!!!!! She has been in a kennel since the first week of April. I have block off everything she could jump on and am in the process of placing ramps all over the apartment. After we got home from the vet she still went in her kennel. She is still crying/whining but not as much.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,598
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 8, 2013 10:05:12 GMT -7
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Post by teambenandrosie on Jun 11, 2013 8:54:25 GMT -7
We live in a very small apartment ground level so we have made a ramp for 4 inch step in and out of the house. I purchased a Snoozer pet ramp for the couch and made a block using cloth and wood so there is no other choice but to use the ramp. As for the bed right now Rosie is not allowed on the bed at all. Ben our male is very upset we took away the steps to get up and he has been throwing himself at the bed because he wants up. My parents are working a ramp for the bed.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,598
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 11, 2013 9:24:45 GMT -7
Sounds like you have made some very good provisions for your home. Nice to have such talented parents to make a ramp for Rosie and Benhttp://dodgerslist.boards.net/post/new/312
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Post by teambenandrosie on Jul 25, 2013 11:55:37 GMT -7
Tomorrow is Rosie's 3 month post-op. I am wanting to take her to a dog park. She is walking great! I took her to her vet 2 weeks ago for her annual check up and the vet noticed her fur but forgot she had back surgery(He normally does not forget things!) I know she will need to take it easy but when is it really ok for her to play and run?
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,598
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 29, 2013 12:55:11 GMT -7
It is fine for Rosie to play and run. Choose play that does not involved tugging and killing the prey head movements and running avoid zig zags and abrupt stops. Play doing nose work is great fun. Throw some kibble or small pieces of apple/carrot in the grass and let her find the pieces or even some into a saucer filled with water and watch her blow bubbles finding the treats. you can read more about after crate rest is over here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htmHave you made your home back friendly?
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Post by teambenandrosie on Aug 20, 2013 12:12:36 GMT -7
Rosie is almost 4 months post-op. She started going under our bed about a month ago. Sunday night she was acting like she was in pain again. We set up the cage rest again. We are not sure if she rubbed her spine on the rail of the bed or re-injured herself playing with her brother. I am so worried about letting her do anything anymore. She has already been on kennel rest for 4 months of this year.
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Aug 20, 2013 13:39:19 GMT -7
I'm so sorry to hear about Rosie's new problems. Has she been checked out by a vet or her surgeon since this new problem? Is she on any medications? When you say that she was acting like she was in pain Sunday night, how was she acting? And how is she acting now? Still in pain? In looking back through the postings, it looks like you've done everything you can to protect Rosie's back and to make the home back friendly. Unfortunately, with IVDD, it doesn't always take a specific incident to cause a re-injury. Sometimes the discs just degenerate to a point where they rupture.
It's good that you crated her as soon as you saw there was a problem. Please let us know whether a vet has confirmed that this is a re-injury. If so, she'll need to go back on an anti-inflammatory, pain medication & Pepcid AC to control the pain and bring the swelling in her back down.
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Post by teambenandrosie on Aug 21, 2013 9:42:13 GMT -7
The first night I started her on Rimadyl. She has a tense stomach and her skin would crawl when touching her back.Last night she was doing great no signs of pain or getting worse.I was able to touch her stomach and she was not tense. I was a practice Manager of a veterinary hospital for 6 years. I have not taken her back to the vet due to funds. Between routine and sick visits, we have been to the vet at least one time every month this year. I have not added it all up but it is somewhere around $4,500. I still can not believe the improvement in her overall happiness since the surgery.
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Aug 21, 2013 12:08:22 GMT -7
Since you've started her back on Rimadyl, please remember to include Pepcid AC as recommended by Sherry back in May. As a reminder, here is what Sherry posted then:
The Rimadyl is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). These drugs are known to be very hard on the stomach. One thing you can do to help protect her stomach is to give it with food. But most importantly is to have her on a medication that will help protect her stomach such as Pepcid. Pepcid (or the generic famotidine) is sold over the counter and can be purchased at any Walmart or other drug store and is relatively inexpensive. Contact your regular vet and tell him she's been prescibed the Rimadyl by the surgeon and ask specifically if there is any health concern with Faith being on Pepcid. Many vets don't see the need for it so it's important that you ask if there is any reason she cannot take the medication. If he says it's safe then start her on it right away. Give her 5mg twice daily about 30 minutes before you give her the Rimadyl.
You want to be proactive about protecting Rosie's stomach. It's much easier to prevent a problem rather than try to fix a problem that has already developed - and less vet costs, too. I do understand how vet cost can quickly mount up.
I'm glad she no longer appears in pain. You'll need to treat this as a new disc episode as she did have back pain again, so please continue to crate her.
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Post by teambenandrosie on Oct 9, 2013 10:56:30 GMT -7
Rosie is doing great! no signs of pain. She is so happy! we have been easing her back into normal dog activities, which has been working well!
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,598
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Post by PaulaM on Oct 9, 2013 11:02:05 GMT -7
Oct 15, would be the 8 week graduation date if you believe she had a disc problem on 8/20. Did you and your vet come to a different conclusion. The 8 weeks is to allow the disc to form good secure scar tissue. Is she currently on any meds…the Rimadyl, etc.?
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