joniq
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Post by joniq on Jul 21, 2013 10:32:08 GMT -7
Hi. My 15 lb standard doxie had a ruptured disc on July4th. She was transported from one vet clinic to a vet hospital for surgery on Monday, July 8th. She still had deep pain sensation, but was unable to voluntarily move her back legs at all. She had been on IV prednisone for 24 hours, followed by oral pred as well as morphine to ease her pain. During the surgery it was determined that she had had a previous disc injury, which was certainly news to me! The surgeon said this could slow her recovery down, but he remained hopeful that she would recover. Tomorrow will be the two week anniversary of her surgery. I have kept her on strict crate rest, taking her out only for potty time about 4 times a day. She is no longer in pain and occasionally seems to be able to pee on her own. Sometimes I have to express, but other times her tail straightens out and she pees like a pro! Pooping is more difficult and I frequently find one in her crate. She has had 6 acupuncture treatments and seems to have regained some feeling behind the surgical site. She still can't seem to move her back legs at all, but several times I have seen her licking her back paws as if she knows now that they exist. I take this to be a good sign! I had hoped for faster progress (don't we all!) and get a little down when I read stories about fast recoveries. Izzy is just under 3 years old, slightly overweight, but was a very active and well muscled little girl. Tuesday (7/23) she will have her stitches removed and have her first physical therapy session. The only therapy I have done is to move her back legs (bicycle style) several time a day, and try to have her bear weight a few minutes on her back legs. Am I on the right track? She is taking diazapam and tramadol every eight hours, ranitidine twice a day, and phenoxybenzamine twice a day. (The diazapam and pheno are to help relax her urinary sphycture) Is there hope she will regain use of her back legs? I really need some encouragement! I am strong for her and keep telling her things will get better, but I'm having difficulty convincing myself. Thanks.
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Post by Sherry Layman on Jul 21, 2013 14:41:22 GMT -7
Hi and welcome to Dodgerslist! Sounds like you did a great job getting your dog into surgery quickly and this will be a key factor in her recovery. It is important now that you become educated about IVDD as this is a disease she will live with the rest of her life and she will depend on you to be knowledgeable. Here is a link to our page about surgery. Lots of great info here, some of it applies to prior to surgery so just skip over. Indeed she has a great chance at a full recovery, as you will read here the surgery itself can cause some swelling around the spinal cord which can take a couple weeks to subside. Until this swelling goes down those nerves to her legs still have pressure on them and are not properly receiving signals. Only just now is she really starting into the time where those nerves can start to receive the signals to move her legs again and even at that it will be a slow process. Patience is key with this disease. Dogs heal at different rates depending on the severity of the injury to the nerves. Some dogs come home able to move and walk, some have taken up to a year and of course there are many in between so put away your watch and you calendar and just enjoy the fact that you have your precious pooch! - www.dodgerslist.com/literature/surgery.htmDid your surgeon advise you to do any therapy such as the bicycle motion you are doing? Some surgeons advise this and others advise you to wait. Do whatever you were told to do. The licking of her paws can indeed mean that she has sensation in her feet. You want to watch this closely though as sometimes this can become an annoying type sensation as the nerves regenerate...something akin to when you fall asleep on your hand and it tingles but exponentially worse. Dogs have been known to lick sores on their feet and legs and even to start chewing on them because of the sensation. Watch closely and notify your surgeon if she continues this behavior or if you notice sores. Acupuncture is a fabulous therapy! Definitely continue!!! At this point do not alter her diet, she needs the calories for healing. But once she's off crate rest and past the post-op healing point you really need to work on getting her to an ideal weight. Discuss this with her vet and work on a plan. Excess weight will be hard on her back and needs to dealt with for the future health of her discs. This far out from surgery and with her pain so well controlled you should think about getting her off the tramadol. You could just stop it at this point and see how she does. What is the reason for the ranitidine? This is a stomach protector, was it for the prednisone? This could likely be stopped as well at this point. Just to be sure you are expressing properly here is our page - www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htmWhen you take her out to potty be sure you are taking her to one of her usual favorite potty spots, she'll be more likely to be successful on her own. Give her time to go on her own before you express her. This is a link to our IVDD101 page, again lots of great IVDD info here. Some will apply to you now, some down the road and some not at all. But do read and get up to speed on this disease. www.dodgerslist.com/literature.htmLet us know how that therapy session goes and how she's progressing. |
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joniq
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Post by joniq on Jul 21, 2013 15:29:13 GMT -7
Thank you for your quick response! I don't have time for much right now, but must share that about an hour ago one of her favorite humans came by to love on her and she wagged her tail like crazy! I am so excited!!! I had just read on this forum that tail wagging is an important sign of healing. YAY for little signs of progress!
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Marjorie
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Post by Marjorie on Jul 21, 2013 16:37:21 GMT -7
Oh, I remember well the first time Jeremy wagged his tail after his surgery and how wonderfully excited I was! I think that's a very good response for only two weeks after surgery. Jeremy didn't wag his tail for months after the surgery.
There is certainly reason to hope that she will walk again. Jeremy had no deep pain sensation and his hind legs were completely paralyzed. He had surgery, but was only given a 50/50 chance of walking again. When they operated, they said his spine was purple and they had to clean out two discs since the rupture was so bad. It took months before he could move his legs at all, but gradually, with acupuncture and PT that I did at home, he regained more and more use of his legs until he was walking again - and running! It took a good 8 months for Jeremy. So don't give up hope. Keep telling her she's getting better every day.
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joniq
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Post by joniq on Jul 21, 2013 19:19:05 GMT -7
Thanks for the encouragement. I was feeling pretty low this morning, but the day has been really good. She peed outside on her own, but only after peeing all over me when I removed her from her crate. Could the phenoxybenzamine and diazepram be too much? She also had a good poop outside, and I think tried to tell me it was time. She was whining in her crate, but I can never tell if it is because she needs a trip outside or is just crabby about her predicament. This time it was because she needed to do her business. Also, another of her favorite humans came by to say hello, and she wagged again, so I know it is the real thing!
The vet I see suggested I keep her on the ranitidine for a while longer. She was on prednizone until last Tuesday. I will ask Tuesday about quitting it. Also, she suggested the tramadol a while longer to be sure the pain is controlled. I agree, though, that maybe she no longer needs it. For a while she was not sleeping at night, so I kept using it to help her (and me!) through the night. Yes, the surgeon suggested I do limited bicycle exercises with her. I am not doing much, though, until I meet with the physical therapist. I am also continuing the acupuncture, as it really seems to help, and hope to do some water therapy soon.
Because I live in Montana, my surgical options were limited. The surgeon I chose is not a neurosurgeon, but comes highly recommended.
I have read the links and am doing everything I can for my girl and will certainly do all I can to prevent this from happening again.
Update will follow therapy. Thanks again. I appreciate this forum so much!
Joni (Izzy's human mom...)
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PaulaM
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 22, 2013 20:38:00 GMT -7
It would be a good idea to do those exercises the surgeon wants...helps to keep the joints flexible and circulation up in the limbs. You can look here:
Can you confirm for she peed vs. overflowed? Did you see her sniff and then release urine, maybe attempt to squat? Usually leaking on you when lifted shows lack of bladder control or couldn't wait when pressure of lifting. Let us know what you observed.
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joniq
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Post by joniq on Jul 24, 2013 19:08:09 GMT -7
Hi. Thanks for the great video. Very helpful. Yes, I am sure she is peeing on her own. She sniffs, then attempts to squat and out it comes. No leakage in the past few days. We had a really great therapy session. Lots of tips on how to help her. She is doing some bathtub work. Mostly just standing on a textured matt in water to mid shoulder, then gentle nudges to help her balance. I also ordered a fitball to help her with balance. Her tail wagging is better and more frequent that ever! The most difficult thing now is keeping her in her crate when she wants to be up and around! I give her watered down, low sodium chicken broth ice cubes, which have become a favorite. Otherwise, her boredom breaks my heart and all I can do is try to love on her and talk to her. The therapist was thrilled that we are doing acupuncture and said that studies indicate that these injuries definitely respond to it! Izzy is demonstrating more and more feeling in her rear end, but still no attempt to walk. I am feeling patient and positive, though! Thanks again for your feedback! I was so low and discouraged on Sunday. She is a precious pup and I am thankful for her everyday! I will help her through this and love her no matter what.
Joni
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PaulaM
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 25, 2013 9:07:02 GMT -7
Yes, she does have bladder control! Keep on keeping what you are doing…with time more neuro functions will return. I know it is hard to have patience.
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joniq
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Post by joniq on Aug 23, 2013 9:54:55 GMT -7
Just an update. Izzy continues to make good progress! She wants to run constantly, but I try to keep her "wobble-walking" instead. She has had physical therapy, continues to have acupuncture weekly, although I am thinking every other week will be enough, and does water therapy in her wading pool at least once a day. She is a happy girl! Her walking seems great one day, then pretty wobbly the next, but that's all part of the process as I understand it. She is six & a half weeks post-op, but I still keep her in her kennel quite a lot. Her physical therapist advised me that over doing it while nerves are healing can cause a significant set back, so everyday I am searching for the correct balance. We've just started working on her weight. She is just over 15 lbs, but her vet wants her to be under 14 lbs. We are working toward a diet of Science Diet T/D. It's pretty low fat, and good for her teeth. Any ideas about this?
That's all for now.
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StevieLuv
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Conservative Treatment 3x. It really does work!
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Post by StevieLuv on Aug 23, 2013 13:00:31 GMT -7
Great update! From not able to use her legs at all to wanting to run:) Being cautious is a good idea- you sure don't wnat her reinjuring herself again. this news has made my day  |
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Sabrina
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Post by Sabrina on Aug 23, 2013 15:02:37 GMT -7
Hi Joni! I'm Sabrina. So happy to hear about Izzy's progress! As to food, have you seen this page on the Dodger's List site? www.dodgerslist.com/literature/nutritionhealing.htm It has some general guidelines for what to look for/avoid, and links to sites that rate different foods. ))Hugs!(( - Sabrina |
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PaulaM
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Post by PaulaM on Aug 23, 2013 18:04:44 GMT -7
Good report Joni. As always purchase the best food that your pocket book can afford. Sabrina has given you the link where you can see which foods are of better value nutrition wise…do check out that list of rated foods. The best way to loose weight is to do in over the course over several months, by just reducing her daily kibble ration a bit. With the exercise program you are doing her activity will allow the body to use up some calories. Great illustrations so you can monitor her waistline or the course of months. www.nonprofitnw.org/drnw/id47.html |
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