Carol's Alffey 3/2017 surgery - cockerspaniel- UK

Our fingers are crossed, too, Carol. The fact that he can push himself up and walk for a few seconds is a good sign of more healing to come. Keep up the good work with him and please do continue to keep us updated.

So were 1 year 1 month since injury.  alffeys getting stronger every day especially his left leg as that were worse, lots more wagging his tail can walk unaided for short periods still last inch of nerve regrowth to come on, sniffing and weeing but not constant.  do have video of him walking but not sure how to put it on here

Facebook is carol Twig Johnson:  www.facebook.com/carol.johnson.9883/videos/1973416296062019/

Pur on u tube as well

Did you find it

Carol, I did find the video on your Facebook page and it was a joy to see it!  Alffey is getting around great and such a beautiful tail wag.  Hopefully you'll see more improvement ahead.  Such a happy boy!  So glad for you both.

www.facebook.com/carol.johnson.9883/videos/1973416296062019/

www.facebook.com/carol.johnson.9883/videos/1973416296062019/

Healing can continue for a long time. Sometimes they can surprise us.

I have a cocker spaniel, too, weighing about 30 lbs and I lift him up and down curbs or I walk him to a spot where the curbing slopes down. Going up or down steps/stairs/curbs is too much pressure on the spine so to play it safe, try to avoid curbing, too.

I loved seeing his video! He's getting where he wants to go quite well.

Alffey is 2half years post surgery for grade 5 he's got feeling back in his feet n could walk wobberly now he's just been diagnosed with grade 3 disc on rhe other side of his spine surgeon is reluctant to operation because of previous operation he's sent spinal fluid off for testing any advice would be welcome

Carol, thank you for logging in to your existing account.

With the neuro symptoms relatively mild of knuckling, he could well heal under conservative treatment if the surgery is a no go.

There are several of those neuro charts in use all with different numbering schemes.  Best is if you describe what you currently see.

As damage to the spinal cord increases, there is a predictable stepwise deterioration of functions. When nerve healing begins, often it follows the reverse order.
1. √   Pain caused by the tearing disc & inflammation in the spinal cord
2. √   Wobbly walking, legs cross
3. √   Nails/toes scuffing floor
4. √   Paws knuckle under
5. Weak/little leg movement, can't move up into a stand
6. Legs do not work at all (paralysis, dog is down)
7. Bladder control is lost. Leaks on you when lifted. Can no longer sniff and then pee on that old urine spot outdoors.
8. Tail wagging with joy is lost
9. Deep pain sensation, the last neuro function, a critical indicator for nerves to be able to self heal after surgery or with conservative treatment. If surgery is not an option (for whatever reason) then the best option is conservative therapy.
     Surgery can still be successful in the window of 12-24 hours after loss of deep pain sensation. Even after that window of time, there can still be a good outcome. Each hour that passes decreases that chance. Precious hours can be lost with a vet that gets DPS wrong. Trust only the word of a neuro (ACVIM) or ortho (ACVS) surgeon about DPS. So if surgery is an option for your family get to a neuro or ortho asap.
      Recommended reading so you can discuss all options with the specialist— here's  quick overview of conservative treatment vs. a surgery: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingsurgery.htm#surgeryVSconservative

How much does Aiffey weigh?
Is there a reason he is not on an acid suppressor (Pepcid AC/famotidine) while on Metacam?

Carol, often surgeons are taught that the only treatment for IVDD is surgery. We have seen thousands of dogs recover without surgery through conservative treatment. The strict crate rest needs to be kept very strict for a full 8 weeks but heal he can!

Why was Metacam stopped? It can take 7-30 days for the swelling pressing on the nerves of the spine to resolve and until then an anti-inflammatory is needed. It's that swelling pressing on the nerves of the spine that causes pain and can lead to nerve damage so it's important to get that swelling down as quickly as possible with an anti-inflammatory. Alffey needs an anti-inflammatory.

All anti-inflammatories can cause diarrhea and have side effects. That's why we strongly recommend taking Pepcid AC whenever an anti-inflammatory is given. Please speak to the vet ASAP this morning about re-starting Metacam with the addition of TWO stomach protectors- both Pepcid AC and Sucralfate. If Alffie has any health issues such as heart or liver, then Pepcid AC may not be the best choice but there are other stomach protectors that can be given. Sucralfate works a bit differently than Pepcid AC - it heals any damage that may have been done to the GI tract by Metacam. With the addition of both of these precautions, Metacam can be started again.

Please let us know what the vet says after speaking to them this morning.

Carol, would you help us? It is a bit difficult to understand things.
-- You can help from now on by always using dates of when things happen, such as date of vet visit, date when a med stops or starts.
-- From now on always give the title of the vet (general DVM vet OR a specialist surgeon neuro or ortho vet)  It makes a difference as to the training level of a vet to understand their qualification to comment on things.

QUESTIONS
▻ What date did Metacam start (was it Dec 8?)
▻ What date did Metaca m stop while waiting on the spinal tap result?
▻ Clarify if Pepcid AC has actually been started by the hospital (not sure what "Spoken to vet there prescrib7ng... peptic ac" means)
▻ Tell us your gut feeling about the surgeon's comment on doing a surgery for the disc bulge:  says it's dangerous because there's little room to get to it, and alffeys could die.

BACKGROUND info recovering with conservative treatment

1. Davies Veterinary Specialists confirm what we see all the time on the Forum. You have reported that at this point in time there is knuckling which indicates that deep pain sensation still exists: 

2. A recent comparison of reports on conservative therapy vs decompressive surgery reflects what we see on the Forum. Freeman and Jeffery’s ⁽¹⁾ paper on fenestration reveals that there is a high rate of recovery to walk again with dogs treated conservatively after an acute herniation. There certainly are times that surgery is a very important consideration. 
     —If your dog can't walk OR with STRICT crate rest, neurological functions worsen and are lost (legs and bladder control) 
    — If a dog is experiencing similar signs of neck or back pain, or mild neurological deficits for the 3rd or 4th time, meaning it may be the same disc is involved.
    — If STRICT crate rest is employed and after several attempts to go off of the anti-inflammatory, the pain returns
   — If 100% STRICT crate rest has been employed and pain medications have been adjusted to an aggressive level (dose, frequency, and mix of pain relievers) yet the pain can’t be brought under control 
Carol, just read about the meningitis. What will be the approach, medication wise to treat? Is it bacterial or viral?