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Post by cropcord on Jun 26, 2013 8:42:16 GMT -7
Hello,
My name is Nathan Smith, and my 8 y/o Schnauzer Kruise had spinal surgery last Friday (6/21/13). We were able to bring him home yesterday Tuesday (6/25/13).
Kruise began having a little trouble with his hind legs, and we took him to the Vet. This was around the beginning of June or end of May. The initial diagnosis was a disc problem and the Doc said that a round of steroids may help. So we tried them.
This all coincided with the birth of my 2nd daughter, who ended up in the Neonatal ICU for 10-days. I think this did not help Kruise very much because we were not home, but he did end up being confined at the Vet's Kennel. However, I think it delayed the inevitable surgery a little longer than I would have liked.
So after the baby was able to come home, I noticed Kruise dragging his back feet a little more, and just a general strange gate. So we decided to go ahead with Surgery.
I took him to the surgeon, and he was actually still walking pretty well, and had good feeling. They did the surgery on the Friday and informed that it went well, and that they removed a good bit of disc material.
I am a little worried now that we have him home, because he is not even trying to use his back legs. He is way worse now than he was when they did the surgery. I know that this will be a long recovery period, but I just wonder if it is normal for a dog that was not paralyzed before surgery to now be essentially paralyzed afterwards. He will not even try to use them in the bathtub during therapy
So, anyway, now starts the diary of Kruise, and I just hope that I did not make the wrong decision
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Post by julnewma on Jun 26, 2013 12:21:57 GMT -7
Hi Nathan,
Your concerns sound much like mine after my dog's surgery. Pre-surgery, my dog was ambulatory. Post-surgery, my dog could not walk or bear weight on his left side.
We are now five weeks post-op, and Frankie, my dog, is walking again. It took a while, as others will attest to on this board, for my dog's inflammation to go down so that he could use his legs again.
I felt very guilty after the surgery when Frankie was not mobile. But, I had to be patient and wait for Frankie's body to heal.
Kruise may be experiencing inflammation right now, in addition to general post-op soreness. Remember to focus on the positives: he's out of pain.
It will get better!
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Post by Pauliana on Jun 26, 2013 14:18:13 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist Nathan! Please let your dog know with your utmost confidence that things are going to be ok…because they will. With this disease self education is critical not just so you make sure the right things are being done for the best recovery but for your own emotions. The unknown is simply a scary place. Get ready to fight this disease now and in the future by knowing all things IVDD. There is no better place to start than on our main web page with "Overview: the essentials" and then read all you can as soon as possible. Here's the link www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htmJulie is so right, Nathan. It takes at least two weeks for the inflammation to go down from the surgery before you will see signs of improvement and at that time you will have a clearer picture of his status. His nerves continue to heal well after crate rest is over.. IVDD is a disease that requires patience to allow his body to heal.. The only thing not to be patient with is pain.. You and your wife have your hands full with the new baby.. How is she doing now that she is home? Are you now doing 100% STRICT crate rest for 6 weeks 24/7 only out to potty and for surgeon directed PT? …. No laps, no couch, no sleeping in bed with you, no meandering, scooting or dragging around during potty times. No chiro (aka VOM)? What did your surgeon direct for PT and for crate rest? In order to better help you: What are the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mgs and frequencies? Please include the all important stomach protector such as Pepcid AC. -- Is there still currently pain - shivering, shaking, crying when picked up or moved? -- What are the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mgs and frequencies? Please include the all important stomach protector such as Pepcid AC. -- Can your dog move the legs at all or wag the tail if you do some happy talk? -- Can your dog sniff and squat and then release urine or do you find wet bedding or leaks on you when lifted up? Helpful videos with tips on expressing both urine and poop: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm -- Eating and drinking OK? -- Poops OK - normal color and firmness no dark or bright red blood My Tyler had surgery also at the end of January and he is doing very well 5 months later.. Please read these success stories to get a better idea of the healing times.. S after the name means the dog had surgery and C after the name means the dog was treated conservatively. These stories should give you hope!! www.dodgerslist.com/monthstory.htm |
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Post by cropcord on Jun 27, 2013 7:39:45 GMT -7
Thanks for the replies. I went home last night and at some point, I read the reply by julnewma. This was a great help. Kruise is a happy dog, and that has not changed. He is not happy about his current situation, but I think he is dealing with it ok.
Basically, he has good deep pain in both of his back feet. I can take a toe and squeeze it gently, and increase the pressure slowly until he ultimately feels it, and then try to draw the foot away from my grasp. This probably helps very much because it causes him to actually use that muscle on his own.
Kruise has always been very frisky after a bath. So last night, I filled up the tub and put him in there to float. At this point I am not filling it up enough for him to swim because he is not swimming with the back legs anyway. However he does float and I make sure his feet stay under him for muscle memory purposes.
After his bath, I put him back in his crate and he was trying his best to use those back legs, as he licked himself. All in all I would say that I am pleased with his recovery to this point.
We had a little bit of a rough morning though. Kruise did not want to eat this morning. He drank a good bit of water though. When it got time to give him his stomach meds (given 1 hour before all other meds). He did not want to take it in his usual way. Normally I coat his pills in some peanut butter and put them on a dog biscuit. He usually gobbles that right up, but he did not want it that way today. So I wrapped it in some turkey, and he went ahead and took it. However, about 10 minutes later, he threw up the contents of his stomach. There was about 1/4 of the pill left, so I gave him another 1/4 of the sucralfate again. Then he drank some more water.
He still did not want to eat his dog food, and I did not want him to have an empty stomach while I was at work, so I gave him part of a hamburger. Something I normally would never do, but I felt like I had to get something in his stomach before I gave all the other medication.
I was able to get his large daily dose of meds down him and he seemed to take it all very well. He is now at home with my wife, and I have not gotten any reports yet of more stomach trouble. Hopefully he was able to keep it all down.
I will pick back up with PT at my lunch break.
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Post by cropcord on Jun 27, 2013 8:03:54 GMT -7
You and your wife have your hands full with the new baby.. How is she doing now that she is home?
She is doing better, thanks for asking
Yes, he is strictly confined in a 36 x 24" training crate. He only comes out to potty, to try and stand, and to alternate between sitting and standing. He also does bath once a day
Ha, let me see if I can remember some of them. The stomach is Sucralfate. Then there are Prednisone, Mistoproprol, Tramadol. There are two others that I don't recall, so I will have to get those at lunch. One starts with a C and the other an F.
Not in pain, I thought he was in pain this am, but then I found out that he was about to throw up instead. He stopped shaking after he did
Yes, some. His nub tail does move, but I don't know that I have noticed when. I have just seen him moving it. He can move the legs minimally at this point. He can also stand somewhat.
Kruise is having no trouble going to potty. He normally waits until he goes outside. I found his bedding wet once yesterday, but I am 100% sure it was because he had not gone outside in a few hours. I do not plan to let that happen again, but sometimes it can be out of my control because of work
Up until this am, he was eating and drinking ok. He drank good water, and then threw up shortly after. He would not eat his dog food, but he would eat the turkey and hamburger that I offered him after he vomited. He also drank well after he vomited and after I gave him all of his meds
Kruise's poop looks just fine. He has pooped while he was in my wife's arms twice, but I think it might be that she is not giving him time. With the baby inside I suspect she is nervous to leave it for very long. When I took him last night and this am, and he was able to find a pile that he could sniff, then he has been able to poop on his own
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,610
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 27, 2013 19:06:11 GMT -7
Nathan it is pretty typical that neuro functions can have a temporary setback while the surgery caused swelling resolves in about 2 weeks.
It is concerning that he is on Pred and vomiting and not wanting to eat even though this stomach is WELL protected by Sucralfate and Mistoproprol. Please let us know what your surgeon says and prescribes.
Please also do let us know the exact names of the other two meds, the dose in mg and how often you are giving them. They may shed light on what is causing the GI tract upset.
While on Pred, Kruise may need to be let out to potty every 3-4 hours as his thirst is increased by pred.
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Post by cropcord on Jun 28, 2013 7:12:29 GMT -7
He only vomited the one time, and he has gone back to eating just fine. He did not want to eat his normal dog food after it made him vomit, but I went and bought something new and he gobbled it up.
He had an all around good day yesterday, and I am hopeful that today is as good or better
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Post by cropcord on Jul 1, 2013 7:15:55 GMT -7
UPDATE:
Kruise has enjoyed a very good weekend. He has not vomited any since thursday, and that was the only time that he did. Being that I had just given him a piece of lunch meat with the Sucralfate wrapped inside, I have to wonder if it was bad. Either that, or it just hurt his stomach. Either way, he has not been having any more stomach trouble.
Kruise's right leg is doing extremely well. He is using it to re-position himself, instead of just dragging with his front legs. I would say that the right leg is about 40%-50% right now. He can now feel me tickle the pad on that foot, which was not something that he felt right after he came home
Kruise's left leg is the leg that he was having the most trouble with before surgery. So I would expect it to maybe make a slower recovery. He is trying to use it which is good, but he still just does not know where it is completely. He can feel me pinching his toes. I have noticed that it is taking less and less pressure for him to feel me pinching, so that is good.
I would say that I am happy with the overall progress, and hopefully we will begin to see an increase in the speed of recovery.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,610
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 1, 2013 19:33:36 GMT -7
Your report does sound like Kruise IS going in a good direction of healing. Do make those paw tickles part of the daily PT…as it makes the muscles fire and that is a good thing!
What did your surgeon direct for crate rest and for PT…any of these post operative exercises?
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Post by cropcord on Jul 2, 2013 8:36:24 GMT -7
Yes, I tickle the pads on the right foot, which he can feel. I have to pinch toes on the left to make him feel it, but he is starting to use it at least.
The surgeon suggested PT, and confinement. Needless to say though, I have found my own direction in the search engines. I have been performing the exact PT that is show in the video that you linked since the first day. I went to YOUTUBE right off the bat to see what other dogs looked like after surgery, and found that.
I have also been letting him stand in the bathtub for 1 hour every night. I fill it up to where he has to stand on his hind legs, but just enough to where it is not too much for him. I let a little water out at a time, in 15 minute intervals. This reduces the weightlessness for him slowly, and causes him to have to use those muscles a little. Eventually, I want him to start trying to swim
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Post by Pauliana on Jul 15, 2013 15:35:59 GMT -7
Hi Nathan!
How is Kruise getting along? He was headed in a great direction of healing and I hope that has been continuing.. Looking foward to your next update!
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Post by cropcord on Jul 16, 2013 17:22:32 GMT -7
Sorry, I have not replied. Between Kruise and the new BabyGirl, there is hardly time for anything. Kruise is doing just great. I think that he has made a perfect recovery to this point. He gets around fine, as long as he does not get in a hurry. Things are not completely back to normal, and some of that may be my fault. I try to do his therapy two to three times a day, but it is hard. He stays in confinement about half of the time. The surgeon told me to leave him out of it as much as I can. Kruise likes that, but sometimes he forgets that those legs are not working like he is accustomed to.
Will update soon
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,610
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 17, 2013 16:58:33 GMT -7
Nathan, thanks for the update on Kruise. During the 6 weeks of post op crate rest, it is a good idea to confine him in his recovery suite unless you are doing PT with him. PT is controlled speed and supervised, such as sling walking, water therapy to practice walking the right way. Just being out of the crate on his own is not PT and is not supervised enough. Dogs will jump, bolt, practice the wrong form of walking…he might do things that could undo the healing so far. His graduation day will be on Aug 2.
Congratulations on your new baby girl!!!!
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