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Post by bcjzwillis on May 21, 2013 10:25:33 GMT -7
My sweet Jazzmin (4 y/o mini longhaired doxie) was sitting in her favorite sunning spot (a chair in the window) and ruptured her disc when she jumped down. She had surgery on 1/30/13. She still had deep pain sensation and could wag her tail, but could not move her legs. It was a couple days post-op before she regained her control of bladder/bowels and was slow to start using her legs. She came home to crate rest for the standard 8 weeks and initially we saw gradual improvement in one leg and wobbly improvement in the other. After the crate rest we were told to keep her leashed to confine her movement and during this period she slipped (yelped in pain) and immediately stopped walking again. We did a round of pain meds, steriods went back to crate rest and saw some improvement but she did not recover to the pre-slip status. At her last appointment the surgeon said to do the leash restriction again for a few more weeks (that was till mid April)...
Currently, she still struggles terribly to walk (crossing legs, dragging feet) and has difficulty standing up from sitting position. She doesn't seem to have control of bladder/bowels as she will just start urinating randomly while sitting and often poops small turds if she gets excited (ie doorbell, etc). I take her outside repeatedly and all she does is walk a little and sniffs but doesn't go. I also can see moments of depression as she looks longingly up at the couch or stairs (where she use to lay) but she doesn't even try to jump on them (I don't think she's learned not to, I think she knows she physically can't). She also has tried to play with our other dog and quickly gives up.
This is so heartbreaking for me and our family. We had such high hopes the surgery would work and initially it seemed to, but our hopes are quickly fading. At this point we have several questions and it seems like every vet gives you different answers so how do you know what to do?
These are our questions:
1) How can we tell if she is feeling pain? It looks painful to see her walking like that. And we worry we are being selfish by making her live like this.
2) Would it be better to get her a wheelchair or is it better to keep her trying to walk?
3) Since she isn't going to bathroom when needed and diapers either fall off or are chewed off is there any other ways to keep from cleaning messes all the time or is this something we just have to live with?
4) I worry that our "family conditions" may also be hindering her progress. We have many stairs (inside & outside), wood floors (tried socks that didn't work and bought some runners but she doesn't always use them), a busy family schedule and her "sister" is a great dane. Would it be better (if possible) to find her a family that could really take care of her and not have all these possible obstacles and potential setbacks?
We're just clueless how to proceed at this point. Especially now that progress no longer seems to be made... Any help, ideas and suggestions would be SO appreciated!
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on May 21, 2013 11:17:18 GMT -7
Cynthia, I have guessed that the date of the slip was on March 27 where she had another disc episode and graduation date would be tomorrow 5/22. There should have been 8 weeks of 100% STRICT crate rest for from 3/27. The purpose of crate rest during conservative treatment is to let the disc form good secure scar tissue. Scar tissue only happens with little movement (No laps, no couch, no sleeping in bed with you, no meandering, scooting or dragging around during potty times. No baths, no chiro (aka VOM). In other words do everything you can to limit the vertebrae in the back from moving and putting pressure on the bad disc.
So in summary the purpose of crate rest is to act as a cast of sorts to let the disc heal… only limited movement of STRICT crate rest allows that to happen…there are no meds to heal a disc. Immediate neuro improvement may or may not come during the 8 weeks of crate rest… as nerve damage (crossing legs, dragging feet, difficulty standing up from sitting position and bladder control) may take more than 8 weeks to heal. Think in terms of months. Just like we help people to relearn to walk again, we do the same for our dogs.
Without dates, I have to say I'm not exactly clear on things….
1. Currently do you see 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? If there is pain, then she would need to be back on an anti-inflammatory, pain meds and crate rest. So let us know what you are observing.
2. What meds if any is she currently on (dose in mg, frequency and exact names)?
3. We do not recommend diapers as they can cause diaper rash, and dogs are disgusted having body wastes near them. With a dog that does not YET have bladder control, manually expressing for urine and for poop is a health issue and to make sure they are staying dry in between times. Jazzy is overflowing and that invites urinary tract infection (UTI). Depending on what meds we learn she is on, there would be differing lengths of time to express. If not on any meds you would express the bladder every 4-6 hours and has you become proficient you can likely extend that to every 8 at a max. Let us know how often you express for urine. Have you review this expressing material for the excellent tips and video?http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm
4. Where there is a will there is a way to keep all family members together… families just don't give up on each other. Once you have the expressing thing mastered, it will be a lot easier. Gates, ex-pens are all things to help you protect Jazzy from herself. You can do this and we are here to support you and share our idea of how we do things at our homes.
Look forward to learning more about Jazzy with your answers!
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