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Post by Sally & Nora on Sept 25, 2017 9:21:43 GMT -7
Hi thank you for letting me join, Nora is my 3 year old french bulldog, she weighs 10.5 kg and is raw fed. Shehad been off colour for a week or two at the end of augustb during which time she was examined by two different vets who could find nothing wrong, her symptons were off her food , quiet and i thought looking sad. On saturday Sept 2nd she didnt want to use our stairs (which she had always done previously), on sunday evening (3rd) we went to the overnight vets where I live and try to get to the bottom of what we were dealing with, where she was immeidately diagnosed with a neurological problem of the spine and referral to Dick Whites the following morning (the diagnosis was a mild case as she could still walk but had discomfort in the neck area with muscle very tense). Dick Whites confirmed the diagnosis, and suggested MRI, which she had on Monday 4th Sept. The problem disc was located, but found to be so minimal, they did a spinal tap to rule out meningitis as her problem. Meninigitis results were negative so they decided on surgery as she was clearly incomfortable even though it was a mild case. Her surgery took place on 5th September, i had twice daily updates and she was allowed home on sunday 10th with tramadol, gabapentin and a stomach protector, (the dosages i cant remember), with instructions for complete rest ( but no need to crate), alas early hours tuesday morning [Sep 12] she woke in pain again and yelped when she stood up, i called DWR and was advised to take her back to them which we did. They kept her for a further three days monitoring her discomfort and pain management, and she was allowed home on friday 15th September with the following meds:- [23.15 lbs]Gabapentin 3x daily for a week Pardale [acetaminophen] (1/4) 3x daily for 9 days Rimadyl 1x daily (which i held back on)Amantadine 2x dailyfor 9days Diazepam 2x daily for 10 days She is recovering well, we are now day 20 post surgery, only going out in garden for toilet or sunbathing (when we have sun) in her bed outside , and certainly nothing strenous!! |
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,528
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Post by PaulaM on Sept 25, 2017 12:55:45 GMT -7
Sally, welcome to Dodgerslist. What are the current meds she is taking? How many mgs is each dose for the various meds? What is meant by you held back Rimadyl...was that prior to the Sep 12 pain,,,, is that now?
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Post by Sally & Nora on Sept 25, 2017 23:41:30 GMT -7
The rimadyl was 20mg once a day ? Armantadine 50mg twice a day, pardale v 1/4 of a 400mg tab three times a day, diazepam 2mg twice a day , the gabapentin was three times a day but I don't remember the strength and have now thrown box out ( same applies to the rimadyl dose above hence the question mark). Nora had been on rimadyl for four days during august where my own vet diagnosed a bladder infection and prescribed it along with synolux , in fact I took the synolux and rimadyl with us to DWR as her diagnosis of IVDD occured while she was only on day 5 of the synolux of a 14 day course. When she left DWR the first time she came home on rimadyl which I continued again, then she got re admitted for pain management and DWR added the pardale and the amantadine to the list of meds, which seemed to work , during the week after her second discharge is when I started to cut back on the rimadyl, firstly to half a tab a day, then 1/4 till they had finished which was last weekend, I closely monitored her but was concerned about the side effects , today is the last day for meds as they have all finished apart from the diazepam where she has about three more days left
[23.15 lbs
Rimady : 20 mgs 1x/day for ? days nSTOPPED
Gabapentin ? mgs 3x/day now STOPPED Amantadine 50 mg 2x/day STOPPED
Pardale [acetaminophen] 100 mgs 3x/day STOPPED
Diazepam 2 mgs 2x/day ranitidine syrup 1.5 ml 2x/day STOPPED]
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Marjorie
Moderator~ 
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724 
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Post by Marjorie on Sept 26, 2017 4:40:17 GMT -7
Thanks for the clarification of the meds, Sally. You had mentioned in your first post that a stomach protector had been prescribed. Do you recall the name of that and the dosage given? How many weeks of crate rest have been prescribed? What type of PT has been prescribed, if any? Was this a neck or back injury? If it was a neck injury, there are a few more things that you should do to help her neck heal, such as softening hard kibble, raising food/water dishes. More info here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htmIVDD is a lifelong disease so the best way to fight it is knowledge. Good place to start your self education: www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htmPlease keep us updated on Nora's progress. Healing prayers for Nora. |
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Post by Sally & Nora on Sept 26, 2017 5:57:43 GMT -7
The stomach protector although I have no clue what it was called was in liquid form and I had to during 1.5mls twice a day , her surgery was neck, and her surgeon did say it was a very mild case, she wasn't on crate rest , just to keep calm and still, take out her for pees and poos and straight back in for the first 8 days after surgery, then a little slow walk round garden with her harness for a few minutes and slowly build up to five to ten minutes a day till her post op check at DWR which is Oct 9th ,(the physio from DEAR called me to suggest the mini garden walks) , remember Nora was never (touch wood) off her legs , just discomfort and stiffness round the neck area,. Regarding her food I am soaking her kibble or giving her soft food and she doesn't like her raised bowl but I am trying hard to encourage her
Just checked through DWRs invoice and the stomach drug was ranitidine syrup
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Sept 26, 2017 6:31:03 GMT -7
Yes, I realize that Nora didn't have any neuro deficits before surgery. However, spinal surgery is major surgery and I'm a bit surprised that no crate rest was prescribed. We usually see surgeons prescribe 4-6 weeks of crate rest, only out for potty and PT (the PT which could be the gradually increased short walks). So do be cautious of how much you let her do. It's best to take it slow. My Jeremy had a bit of a problem with raised food/water dishes, too, when he had his neck injury. He kept taking the food out of the bowl and placing it on the ground where he bent his head to eat it.  Since IVDD is a lifelong disease, you'll need to do other restrictions from now on to help protect the spine from future damage, such as no stairs, no jumping up or down. More tips here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htmAnd here are some tips on how to make your home back friendly with ramps, furniture blockers, etc.: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/protectback.htm |
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Post by Sally & Nora on Sept 26, 2017 12:50:42 GMT -7
Thank you for being so helpful, Nora is doing what Jeremy did, she's putting the food from the raised bowl onto the floor, then eating it, regards her recovery I have bought a stair gate so no more stairs, I lift her onto sofa and sit beside her , iknow when she wants to get off and iluft her down, I realise this is a life changer for her and us
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Sept 26, 2017 13:15:59 GMT -7
A stair gate is excellent. Our IVDD dogs should never do stairs.
Please be watchful with her on the sofa. Dogs can do the unexpected in a heartbeat. We have had dogs, even paralyzed dogs, jump off the sofa when the doorbell rang or something else unexpected occurred.
Is she pain free now that all her meds except Diazepam have been stopped?
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Post by Sally & Nora on Oct 4, 2017 1:16:51 GMT -7
Four weeks on, doing amazing, off all meds, gaining her lost pounds as she was a little skinny when we picked her up, I know they struggled to get her to eat as she's a needy dog but all good now, she's had little garden walks on the harness and she now waits to be lifted to the sofa and I guard her like a hawk, I guess this changes thexway we think forever now !! Thank you everyone for all the tips, help etc Here we are four weeks post surgery and we really are so pleased with Nora's progress, in fact apart from the throat wound and the fact she's been a bit reluctant to bark since surgery we wouldn't really know anything was amiss. She has had short walks in the garden on her harness , been popping and peeing normally, off all meds , and gaining the weight she lost during her stay in DWR. Three of her stitches are still intact as far as I can see, and we have our follow up appointment next Tuesday at DWR , thank you so much for all the helpful advice and reassurance this past month  |
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,528
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Post by PaulaM on Oct 4, 2017 6:51:21 GMT -7
Sally, thanks for the update. Nora is making nice progress post op. Did the surgeon want 4 or 6 weeks of crate rest which includes the supervised PT of short walks in the garden? When Nora graduates from crate rest, then as you say your thoughts will be forever changed. Take a look at our information on "After crate rest, then what?" There you will find a sample schedule for giving Nora back her normal house and outdoor activities on a a slow and incremental timetable. Also lots of other good tips for training, which activities to encourage and which to avoid if possible. Here is the link: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htmYou may want to start considering how you can make your home more back friendly with good ideas for ramps, furniture blockers, etc. --- ramps dodgerslist.boards.net/thread/867/ramps--- restricting access to furniture: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/protectback.htm Let us know what the surgeon says at your next appointment. |
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Post by Sally & Nora on Oct 6, 2017 13:27:39 GMT -7
Nora's surgeon never asked for crate rest, her words were " she doesn't need crate rest but she must lead a very boring life for one month, supervised outdoor pee and poops then straight back in for the first week. After that first week home the physio from DWR rang to say Nora could now have short walk daily in garden on harness than back in for more rest (5 Mon walk up and down) by week 4 she could walk between five and ten mins still on harness in garden, her surgeon asked for a 4 week follow up but her diary was so full it ended up being five weeks, we are due back on the 10th October , she's still getting lots of rest which doesn't worry her as she's a bit of a lazy moo !! Getting her to rest hasn't really been a problem , but now she feels better I have to barricade the sofa as she is ready to jump f allowed which of course she isn't !! Update from DWR will follow next week
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Oct 6, 2017 13:39:45 GMT -7
Good news that Nora is feeling better. The crate rest after surgery is not as strict as the crate rest with conservative treatment because with surgery the disk material has been removed and there is nothing pressing on the spinal cord. Still it is important to make sure she does not overdo so as not to aggravate the incision site or damage any scar tissue that is forming.
Many surgeons recommend short, controlled walks as PT, but other than that PT her movements should be restricted. This is most easily done in a crate. Especially the times when you are not at home as she is feeling better now and wanting to jump.
Let us know how the follow-up visit goes.
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Post by Sally & Nora on Oct 11, 2017 14:44:44 GMT -7
Nora's courtesy visit at DWR went very well, her surgeon after checking her over , the wound, reflexes etc said the recovery is remarkable , we can up therapy but still on lead and she reminded us that the spine won't be healed fully till 6 month's so rest and no rough and tumble still recommended !!
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Oct 11, 2017 15:57:57 GMT -7
I am very glad that Nora's visit went well. Here are some back friendly activities when the surgeon permits.
Back Friendly:
1. Keep weight down to reduce stress on back.
2. Build up to daily 30 minute walks, good exercise to strengthen back muscles
3. Hide and seek games involving nose work are good and can be played inside or outdoors (hide yourself behind a door, hide kibble pieces on a bottom shelf, under edge of rug, sink treats in a saucer of water)
4. Swimming, water therapy is good exercise.
5. Fetching a gently rolled tennis ball along the ground is good exercise. Avoid dog pouncing or stopping suddenly.
6. Obedience training for mind stimulation, teach a new word or command.
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