Meredith, I am so, so very reluctant to share additional information with you. Normally an owner can easily get to a nearby vet they trust and if they are suspicious have that educated vet give a confirming diagnosis. You can't easily get to a vet, you do not currently have a trusted IVDD vet.
This is why I am so reluctant to burden your mind with additional information. Given all that, it is the owner who is the eyes and ears at home for a vet. Given my concerns I do think while it is a week day, you should take advantage of that and to see a neuro NOW, TODAY.
Stop wasting time with a vet who has very clearly told you in so many words he does not know IVDD, he is not comfortable about learning more about IVDD. Take that 3 hrs drive to N.E.W (
what/where is that?) if that is where you can get in with a neuro today.
I don't want to scare you but I do want to make you aware of a disease that can follow any type of spinal cord injury and it is called Myelomalacia.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Myelomalacia.pdf It is important that owners are familiar with symptoms in order to promptly get their vet's confirming diagnosis and help
at any hour of the night or day.With Myelomalacia, what happens basically is that the spinal cord starts to die from the point of the spinal cord trauma moving forward toward the lungs or in the case of a neck disc moving downwards towards the lungs. It can happen fast, within hours. It is a very painful ending.. making a dog unable to breathe.
Although Myelomalacia was thought to be rare, we are finding that perhaps it is not as uncommon as once thought. Perhaps vets are becoming more aware and educated about it now and are diagnosing it more now. Your Large Animal Vet may have never seen a case of Myelomalacia plus he is so very predisposed to offer PTS just as as a general idea with a disc episode. He in my opinion is not trust worthy to ID or confirm myelomalacia. IF, if this might be "M" there is no cure for Myelomalacia and it is fatal. Should Tempo be developing myelomalacia, before he has difficulty breathing, you would want to help him cross to the rainbow bridge to spare him a very painful death.
I'm hoping and praying that he is not developing Myelomalacia where the cord softens and liquifies but rather it is soley the normal neuron death process of nerve cells as the spinal cord continues to be pinched/compressed. I feel it important to make you aware of "M" so that you clearly see the emergency nature of getting in with a Neuro.
A neuro is gonna be two fold benefit:--- finally to get the right meds on board in a safe manner Rx'd by a qualified IVDD specialist, a board certified neuro (ACVIM) or an ortho (ACVS)
--- IF, if maybe there are signs of "M," Tempo will be humanely released before a very painful death of not being able to breathe happens.
ONLY a vet who you trust should you listen to about "M." Deep pain sensation or leg function not returning right away alone are not a symptoms of myelomalacia. The cause of M or how it progresses is still unknown. Myelomalacia would be easily confirmed by the neuro or ortho you hire.
NOTE: My own dog developed "M" I was suspicious and called ER to discuss with the general DVM vet there. With his many years experience he had not come across "M" For an owner to have to make this diagnosis on their own is too overwhelming to explain. At 2am in the morning I called the ER vet again and said I was on the way-- would be there in 15mins. By time I got there ER vet had reviewed his reference books and was able to confirm every sign I had previously mentioned. Lewis crossed over the rainbow bridge peacefully in my arms. Next morning my vet had the ER's diagnosis email in his hands. My broken heart and overwhelmed mind felt relieved I made the right decision in a timely manner with the 2nd opinion from my own vet the next morning.Signs of Myelomalacia* about 3-4 days into recovery, they become painful. Within the first week, they are in a LOT of pain.
* acute disc extrusion with no deep pain sensation
* development of excruciating pain (more than just pain from the original disc herniation)
• hyper-esthesia (over-reaction to any touch sensation on body)
• even the strongest pain meds do not help
* loss of anal tone, the anus hangs open, (anal flaccidity) and areflexia (below normal or no reflexes)
* neurologic deficits that localize to more than one neuroanatomical section of spinal cord (e.g. T3-L3 myelopathy and an L4-S3 myelopathy)
* loss of cutaneous trunci reflex at a level more cranial to a previous evaluation over a period of hours to days with or w/o surgery
* development of fever (normal rectal temperature is 100.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit)
* sudden twitching or jerking of the neck and/or head
* loss of voice, horse bark
* Front legs can't hold body up, can't hold head up
* increased respiration/ labored breathing (short, open-mouthed, abdominal breaths) as the nerves to the lungs begin to shutdown
• On an MRI, extensive high T2 signal (brightness) within the spinal cord (>6 vertebral lengths) has been associated with myelomalacia in the setting of a disk extrusion.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/myelomalacia/3t-myelo-misdxb0002.tifI'm hoping and praying that M is not developing but how nerves react when they are compressed---they loose function.
I really do hope your family has the ability to make the commitment to take action today to get to a neuro. Tempo definately needs the help of an IVDD vet even if this is not "M".
Please keep us posted as we do worry about you all and Tempo.