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Post by Beca & Teddy on Jun 16, 2020 9:41:38 GMT -7
Hi,
Teddy is 5 yrs old Cocker Spaniel X who without warning one day went from inability to jump onto sofa to complete hind paralysis 4 hrs later. He saw a neurologist who graded him at stage 5 and took him straight in for emergency decompression surgery.
teddy was discharged 2 days later and completed 7days of gabapentin x3 daily , Hypovase x3 daily Metacam x1.. His surgery was considered successful in decompressing the spinal cord at L1-L2, it was bruised and had right sided edema from the disc extrusion. His surrounding vertebrae T12-L2 were fenestrated and at time of discharge was still non-ambulatory paraplegia with No DPP and required bladder expression
once Teddy’s post op medication was complete he has started to return to himself more, just without the tail wag and use of back legs... Although Teddy doesn’t seem to know this fact and has so far attempted to climb the crate bars at vet hospital 😳 completely resists bladder expression and thinks that it is ok to still sleep flipped on his back 😭
the first obstacle was the Bladder expression , which was easy to find but impossible to express without Teddy causing himself some serious damage with trying to twist back or dart forwards , recumbantmposition for this task was not on his agenda so I have managed to combat this by carrying him to each of his 5 marking spots in the garden , support his back legs with one hand (between thighs) and let him sniff .. results in voiding a few seconds later and off we go to the next spot , I do these 5 spots every 1.5 hrs .. in ow there is no overflow leaking, no accidents and dry all night so far ! in fact , I haven’t needed to use a pad or male wrap for a week now.
teddys hind legs are flaccid paralysis until these bespoke toilet breaks, he seems to tense [legs] them rigid (can feel the squeeze on my hand between his legs ) this has made supporting him slightly easier.. I find gently tapping his perineum when urine flow is initiated tends to encourage a longer voiding per marked area. Today teddy used one of his selectively rigid hind legs to his own advantage and brought it up to his ear m to scratch .. he didn’t manage to move to scratch - more leant on his toes 🙈 I am curious as to what this intermittent tensing is in his paralysed limbs , spasticity? It bizarrely does not affect his toes when cm tensed so although he can stand supported , his foot is flaccid ?
☆ 1 Is there still currently pain? No pain, 14 days Post op for disc Extrusion at L1-L2 ☆ 2 How much does your dog weigh? 11kg A.. Please list the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mg’s and times per day given. No Medication ☆ 3 -- Eating and drinking OK? Yes eating and drinking as normal -- Poops OK - normal firmness & color -no dark black or bright red blood indicating bleeding ulcers? No diarrhea? No Diarrhea, better consistency than prior to acute extrusion episode!
☆ 4 cocker spaniel X Shih Tzu What is your dog’s name? Teddy Your name, too? Rebecca ☆ 5 Yes, Disc extrusion at L1-L2 , Decompression surgery with T12-L2 fenestration 29.05.2020 -- European specialist Neurologist at Northdowns Specialist Referrals
☆ 6 date of SURGERY? [May 29, 2020] 29.05.2020
☆ 8 Currently move the legs at all? No
I think I missed a question, apologies !
Re post surgery bladder control , his discharge paper work said he was to be expressed and was prescribed HYpovase 1mg x3 daily for 5 days to help release the spincter and aid in expression of the bladder. It was only viable to express when he was sedated on gabapentin for the same period of time. Once these medications had completed the post op course , it became impossible to express , mostly due to teddy objecting by tensing his abdominal muscles , wriggling and backing up.. in laying down attempts he’d do the same tensing then attempt to flail around.
I feel it’s necessary to add that Teddy by nature has never had an accident indoors since I rescued him at 17months old. I brought him to my house and he immediately would cry to wee outside, he is very much a creature of habit and he hates to feel like he’s disappointed you 😞 when he was waking from sleep and realised he’d urinated (overflow) it took him hours to stop sulking. To me, this would be no quality of life, I’m not even sure how you would correct that in a paralysed dog .. no matter how many time I praised him and told him he was a good boy regardless - I tried for an entire week to remove the accident as quick as possible. I am learning about this horrible condition as I go , But I know Teddy and his character so decided to work with him instead of against his nature. It made sense to me that being a male dog who had done the same 5 marking spots every morning for 5 years , to see if he would feel happier doing that.
He is such a sweet creature of habit and I will do anything not takes to help him through this , I feel I owe it to him for my complete lack of awareness at the very least. My children and I could not even imagine the alternative option I was given at the vets , Ive never felt so broken in my life.
If teddy never walks again , then I’ll ensure he can still get around and have a happy life with us. I’m fully invested in him, he is the glue that keeps us as one ❤️
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Jun 16, 2020 13:41:39 GMT -7
You really did an excellent job with finding Teddy's urine marking spots and bringing him to them.
Teddy is 14 days post op and now that the swelling from this surgery has started to die down, we get a better idea of his situation.
Teddy has bladder control. If he does not have accidents and pees when you take him to his spot, that tells us a message has traveled from the brain to the bladder saying this is the place to go. A dog that has bladder control has Deep Pain Sensation (DPS). This bodes well for future recovery.
The fact that he can bring his leg up to scratch is good news also. After my dog's surgery he regained his ability to walk and bowel and bladder control. He was never again able to bring his leg up to scratch his ear. When I saw him wanting to move his leg up, I scratched for him.
Fourteen days post-surgery Teddy is doing well. I am glad that you know he can have a happy life without regaining his ability to walk. It is very early on in the healing process and a lot of healing can still take place. Nerves heal slowly but they can heal.
These are the typical stages of healing: 1. Deep Pain Sensation (Only correctly identified by a specialist.) YES2. Tail wagging with joy at seeing you, getting a treat or due to your happy talk. 3. Bladder and bowel control proved by passing the "sniff and pee" test. YES Take your dog out to an old pee spot in the grass. Let him sniff and then observe for release of urine. 4. Leg movement, and then ability to move up into a standing position, and then wobbly walking. YES to leg movement 5. Being able to walk with more steadiness and properly placed paws. 6. Ability to walk unassisted and perhaps even run.
You can see how far Teddy has come. Not all dogs follow the stages in this order but most do. For example, Teddy has leg movement and bladder control but has not yet given a happy tail wag. That may be the next ability he will regain.
When you see his legs become stiff, if he seems uncomfortable, try massaging the legs gently. The periodic stiffness may be a result of the general lack of movement. We have seen this with other dogs on this list.
How long does the surgeon want Teddy on post-op crate rest? Has he given any instructions on PT?
What helped my dog the most after his surgery was walking on an underwater treadmill. I do not think he would have recovered nearly as quickly without it. If you are interested in this type of therapy, you can speak to your surgeon about it. It can often start as soon as the stitches/staples are removed. You can also do water therapy at home with the surgeon's approval. Here is some information about it:
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Post by Beca & Teddy on Jun 16, 2020 17:38:13 GMT -7
Thankyou for replying so promptly .. and for the info that you have provided (like I said , this is all very new to me) I will be honest and say that I wondered if the leg raise was a fluke .. but this evening teddy wagged his tail 🙈 There’s no denying it was exactly what it is - I even had opportunity to video it .. not sure how I attach videos or pictures .. I also have teddy discharge summary report , it’s a little more detailed than what I have provided !
Thankyou so much, I have started to look into the water therapy but wasn’t aware that underwater treadmills were also an option?!
The neurologist issued 4 weeks rest with harness walking 5 minutes a day when toileting , I had started this with a rear end harness but found he was tiring very quickly and at the time i was more interested in the urination importance so opted to carry him outside and to each spot .. he would take a couple of steps at each area to sniff around. I’ve found that the UK do this post surgical recovery very differently to the rest of the world .. I felt that not much hope was given either sadly 😒 teddy is due a follow up appt later this week (week 3) and that will determine what happens next I expect ? I wonder if they will test the DPP again? I really hope So! (In the nicest possible way obviously 🙈) Ive been doing some passive massage and range of motion at home until I return to the specialist center later this week for further instruction
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Post by Julie & Perry on Jun 16, 2020 21:21:51 GMT -7
Hi Becca, if Teddy wagged his tail then he has deep pain perception.
Hooray!!
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,722
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Post by Marjorie on Jun 17, 2020 5:09:49 GMT -7
Wonderful news on the tail wagging! As Romy and Julie have indicated, seeing a happy tail wag (if done when hearing a happy voice or given a treat or if someone Teddy knew walked into the room) and passing a sniff and pee test (taking him to spot where he or another dog has peed before, letting him sniff and seeing that he releases urine on his own) which confirms bladder control all proves that Teddy does in fact have deep pain sensation. And that is all indication that more healing is ahead. It's very, very early days in Teddy's healing so he's make marvelous progress so far!
If you'd like to upload a video, first upload your video to YouTube. At the top of your browser when viewing your uploaded video you will see a "share" button below the video window. Pressing it will expand to reveal the URL (it starts with <http...> you can paste into a FB or Forum post.
full directions about uploading.: support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
If you have a Facebook page, you can upload the video there and give the link to your page.
Please continue to keep us updated on Teddy's progress. Healing prayers for Teddy.
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Post by Beca & Teddy on Sept 6, 2020 2:56:42 GMT -7
Hi, I just wanted to update you all on Teddys Progress .. we are now 3 months post surgery for his L1-L2 extrusion and since I last posted on here we have seen the r eturn of full bladder control, a permanently wagging tail , ambulation and this week has seen him recover his rest end balance too 🖤 It would seem that his swinging tail was acting to test his balance rather than hinder when he stands .. he does have some Extensive muscle wastage On both rear legs and not only more one side of his back , we are working on that at home and waiting on referral for hydro therapy still. I will attempt to add a short progress video my daughter made from beginning to now
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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 6, 2020 9:03:24 GMT -7
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