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Post by dotmatt on Jun 3, 2013 1:50:44 GMT -7
Hi everyone! Dodgers List helped get my wife and I through the traumatic experience of our little 5-year old Tau having an IVDD spell back in October 2012. Even though we never posted here, the wealth of information on the boards and site and the personal experiences of members here really helped us keep things together when we really didn't understand what was going on around us. So the main point of this post is a belated thank you to everyone here for sharing and caring! If anyone is interested, here is Tau's story:Tau started having difficulty moving around on Saturday 29 September. We were worried, and kept her still as much as we could - we have another Dachsie (her half-brother) who had a spell the year before, but his was very light and a course of NSAIs had sorted him out in no time - but she had always been more active and we had actually found the remains of several books that she had eaten and assumed she had a tummy-ache. In any case, we had a birthday party that night but came home early to see she was still moving strangely, but was eating and drinking fine. We put her in bed and decided to take her to the vet first thing in the morning.
However, on waking around 6am (since our dachshunds wake us up every morning at that time to be fed), we found her dragging her back legs behind her - she couldn't use them at all. She had also lost bowel control. We are fortunate in having one of the best specialist veterinary clinics in our city nearby, so we phoned their emergency line and they told us to bring her in immediately. They're about 15 minutes away, and we were there in 10. Tau was examined right away, and it was about as bad as it gets - she had no deep pain sensation whatsoever, and the myelogram showed a totally blown disc that had put immense pressure on her spinal cord. The vet put her recovery around the 5% chance, if we operated right away. He also mentioned that it was a Sunday morning, so emergency rates would apply. Finally, he made us very aware of the slight chance of her ever recovering. My wife and I, both in tears, asked him what we would do.
Without hesitation, he said that if he were making the choice, he would do it. We said do it. She went straight into a three hour surgery.
I'm sure most people here who have taken the surgery option have asked their vets the same thing: when should we expect improvement? What should we be looking out for? When is she out of the woods? And we've all received similar answers: there is no timeline. There simply is no handbook to these kinds of injuries. Sometimes they get better, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they stand up and start walking 3 days later - and sometimes they don't. This uncertainty was the worst thing for us - we knew Tau was no longer in pain from the burst disc, and that she was in unbelievably good hands. They took her out 4 times a day to go to the toilet; the gave her massages every day to stimulate blood flow and feeling; they gave her physio twice a day to try to stimulate muscle growth and balance (she had lost 2kg's in the week of her surgery - which is a lot on a 7kg dachsie!)
But still, watching her drag her floppy, useless back legs around was heartbreaking. We visited her every day for the three weeks they kept her there, hoping for good news but always expecting bad. Halfway through her third week, the nurse phoned us excitedly to tell us deep pain sensation had returned - and we had hope.
We took her home and crated her for another 10 weeks. We took her out to go to the toilet 4 times a day, as she could not express her own bladder and bowels. We did physio with her 3 times a day (coming home from work at lunchtime every day as well!), and took her to water therapy twice a week. There was gradual improvement in her muscle tone, and after four weeks she started going to the toilet without us expressing her - although she had no control over it and we learned to read her expressions very well! We also became very handy with towels, toilet paper and animal odour remover!
It was around February when she started taking her first, tentative, incredibly wobbly steps. She still couldn't really feel her feet, so she scraped them a lot and had a lot of sores, first high up her legs and then down onto her toes. We installed ramps into and out of the garden, which she could slide down - this really helped her mood because it meant she could go out and bark at birds whenever she wanted  We also finally dismantled her cage/crate - I think the day we took it out, she jumped for joy and did laps of the garden, barking.
Which brings us up to today. She walks around about 80% of the time, gets up and down her ramps at breakneck speed, and is able to (with a running start) get up the soft stairs we bought for her to get onto the couch. She still has no bladder or bowel control, so we still go through a lot of towels. Her brother is much happier now that she can play with him, and she is much happier now that she doesn't have to be carried everywhere. We still do water therapy once a month for muscle tone, but she no longer scrapes her feet and is slowly learning how to reverse.
She'll never be the mad, exuberant little dog she was, but her personality is still 50x bigger than her body and we are amazed every day at the progress she has made. It makes the weeks of sleeping in the kitchen next to her cage and the mad rushes for toilet paper at all hours totally worth it! She's our little 5-percenter, and like my wife says, there have to be some dogs who make it, or else that 5 percent would be zero percent. We're glad we chose to operate, and wouldn't change our decision for anything. We're also lucky to have had the most wonderful veterinary team known to man.
And again, thanks to everyone here at Dodgers - it's a wonderful, caring resource.
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 3, 2013 7:15:07 GMT -7
Matt, thank you for sharing Tau's story…she is a success story no matter the degree of walking ability! We are glad lurking and reading at the main Dodgerslist web page was a good help to your family, that makes our day! Don't be shy to post again, lurking is an excellent way to learn. Posting to bounce things off of other members can also be very helpful as it may catch something you did consider. If you can recommend an IVDD knowledgeable vet, would you add to our directory to help another: dodgerslist.boards.net/board/10/guidelines-posting |
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Post by danielw90 on Jun 4, 2013 11:36:14 GMT -7
Inspring story! So happy for your little dachsie!
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Post by natureluva on Jun 6, 2013 6:43:57 GMT -7
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing Tao's awesome story! Reminds me of my own dog's recovery - took my Goosie 11 months after his surgery to walk again. His Success Story is found through the link below my signature. There you can see the progression of his recovery, along with what helped him the most. Goosie also had a Stage 5 (worst) disc rupture with no DPS or bladder control before or after surgery. He did regain bladder control (yay!) and can walk, but cannot scratch his ears or jump/climb stairs (not that I would let him!). He is completely happy and loves life. His surgery was almost 5 years ago.
Are you expressing Tao's bladder for her 4 to 6 times per day? Just wondering why you're going through so many towels! Does she dribble urine? FYI - acupuncture is wonderful for stimulating the nerves. I really believe it helped my dog's bladder control return more quickly. It is interesting that Tao can walk but does not have bladder control. Usually, when neurological functions return after a disc injury, they return in this order:
1. Deep pain sensation
2. Tail wagging ability
3. Bladder control
4. Leg movement
Can Tao wag her tail to exciting things, like being given a treat or a knock at the door?
I'm SO happy that Tao is happy. I think you did the right thing in getting her the surgery - and boy is she proof that percentages don't mean a thing!! Best wishes, ~Lisa
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We also finally dismantled her cage/crate - I think the day we took it out, she jumped for joy and did laps of the garden, barking.
