Cecelie's Koda 6/18 - Surgery -Beagle

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Cecelie & Koda
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Male - Beagle

Posts: 1

Cecelie's Koda 6/18 - Surgery -Beagle Jul 3, 2020 12:35:23 GMT -7

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Post by Cecelie & Koda on Jul 3, 2020 12:35:23 GMT -7

[Original Subject Praying for a Miracle Recovery]

My name is Cecelie and I'm from Central New York. I am coming to this thread for help with my 2 yr 10 month old beagle, Koda. He is ~25 pounds.

On June 16 in the late evening, we noticed that Koda seemed uncomfortable walking around. It was around 10 pm and he wasn't in visible pain so we went to bed. The next morning, he would cry when we would try to pick him up or move him, so we brought him to his normal vet. They diagnosed him with a MINOR slipped disc and prescribed him with Gabapentin and 4-6 weeks rest, which we proceeded with. At 3 am in the middle of the night, my boyfriend and I awoke to Koda screaming in pain and thrashing around, peeing everywhere. He even bit us when we tried to get near him to move him. After not being able to reach our normal vet (don't get me started...) we were able to get him into another local vet, who had to sedate him in the car to move him and immediately told us he was not on strong enough meds. She put him on a steroid and said they wanted to keep him overnight but assumed it would be under control in the morning. The next morning (June 18) she called us and said he was starting to lose feeling in his rear and we needed to get him to an emergency vet with MRI capabilities. We rushed him 1.5 hours away that morning. When the neurosurgeon saw him around noon that day, she said he was grade 5 IVDD with no DPS, and that surgery would give him a 50/50 chance of walking again. We proceeded with the surgery [June 18] that night for a herniated disc in the L2-L3 location, which was successful, and picked him up 5 days later from the hospital. The neurosurgeon, however, was not optimistic he would regain use of his legs due to the extensive damage to the spinal cord.

Ever since having him home, things have not been easy, but have been getting easier. He had awful diarrhea for the first 3-4 days and wouldn't really eat anything besides boiled chicken. He was also leaking constantly. Through all of this, he never exhibited any pain, and while he was heavily drugged up, he seemed happy to be home. We brought him back to the neurosurgeon on Wednesday, July 1, to get his staples out. On her neuro exam, she said not much had changed, and since we were almost at the 2 week mark since surgery, we pretty much had to assume that he wouldn't regain use of his legs. She called it a "small miracle" that he will walk again. We have to keep him under strict rest for another 2 weeks, then we can start moving around with him a little more and consider getting him wheels. The neurosurgeon sees him for the last time in a month.

He is still on a decent amount of medications, although we started tapering him off of them beginning on July 1. He is getting the following:

-5mg prednisone every other day for 4 more days
-10mg famotidine on days he gets the pred
-200mg gabapentin for one more day, then 100mg for 2 more days
-3mg prazosin for the foreseeable future to help with bladder expression
-50-150mg trazodone as needed for anxiety

Since we've had him home, we've seen the following (minor?) improvements:

-His attitude is almost 100% back to normal. He just seems frustrated when he tries to get up that he can't move around.
-While he still has no DPS, his nerve reflexes have gotten stronger. He jerks away when you pinch his toes, and occasionally glances back, although I'm not sure that's due to the pressure or just because he notices me behind him.
-He can now tell when he needs to go #2, and tries to go outside
-Sometimes, when we rub his back near the incision, he turns around
-Appetite is totally normal at this point
-He seems to stretch his back legs a lot while he's sleeping...with increased toe twitching, etc.

I am looking for feedback on a couple of things:

-Anyone else with such a YOUNG, HEALTHY dog who has gone through this and has experienced regained use of the rear legs...what rehab methods were done, supplements taken, holistic methods? Is it more than a "miracle" that he can improve? Is his prognosis better because he is so young, or because we got him into surgery within ~5 hours of losing DPS?

-Is he on the correct medications, or is there anything we can taper him off of even more? I'd like to get him off of the drugs as soon as possible.

-What is the true difference between a nerve reaction and DPS?

-What are ways to make his quality of life better if he is paralyzed? We plan on getting him wheels, but any other feedback is appreciated?

Any support and feedback is greatly appreciated!

Last Edit: Jul 3, 2020 13:06:20 GMT -7 by Romy & Frankie

Romy & Frankie
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Posts: 4,071

Cecelie's Koda 6/18 - Surgery -Beagle Jul 3, 2020 13:57:06 GMT -7 PaulaM and Julie & Nala like this

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Post by Romy & Frankie on Jul 3, 2020 13:57:06 GMT -7

Welcome to Dodgerslist, Cecelie. We are so glad you’ve joined us all. We’ve got valuable information we’ve gleaned from the vets Dodgerslist consults with and our own experiences with IVDD since 2002 to share with you.
If you are thinking of quality of life. Here is some information on how it can be. IVDD is not a death sentence'
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/18/hope-quality-life/

Koda is only a little more than two weeks past surgery. The surgery itself causes some swelling so it is only after about two weeks that the true direction of healing can be seen. There is a lot of healing that can still take place. My dog Frankie had DPS prior to his surgery. After surgery, he had none. This was most likely because of surgical swelling. At the one-month follow-up still no DPS. At some point DPS must have returned because Frankie regained his ability to walk and bowel and bladder control although it took months. Nerves take a long time to heal but heal they can.

How long did the surgeon recommend for post-op crate rest? Was any Physical Therapy recommended?

The fact that he went into surgery shortly after DPS is hopeful. There is a window of 12-24 hours from loosing DPS after a dog has lost bladder control, happy tail wag that surgery to decompress the cord could STILL be successful. Even after that window, surgery is often successful. The spinal cord is very fragile, the more hours that pass with continued pressure to the cord, the less chance for nerves to regenerate and/or the longer it can take to self repair nerves if the damage is not so severe to be irreparable.

DPS is an indicator that the brain can communicate through the spinal cord to the rest of the body. When I was first learning about DPS I was told it was like electricity. The spinal cord is like an electric cord made up of a number of wires to carry electrical current. In the spinal cord the nerve wiring system is in groups depending on their function. The nerves on the outer edges of the cord run from the brain to the legs to send messages about the position of the leg in space. These are the first to be affected when a disc pressures the spinal cord. We observe this pressure as the dog wobbly walking and knuckling their paws.

The nerve wiring system deeper in the spinal cord functions to send messages from the brain to move the legs. We observe this degree of nerve damage as leg weakness which can progress to complete leg paralysis.

In the center of the spinal cord, is the wiring system responsible for bladder control and at the very center of the cord is the final function that carries the ability to sense pain in the limbs and send that message to the brain. If the dog cannot sense pain in the leg the inner part of the spinal cord is severely damaged and that means no DPS.

DPS is used as an indicator of the return of other neuro functions, but only an indicator.

How are you doing expressing Koda's bladder? You mention that he is constantly leaking. This is probably overflow. When the bladder gets overfull some urine will leak out. Stale urine in the bladder can lead to UTIs. In addition, the bladder can get stretched out of shape and that may cause difficulties when bladder control returns. When you express do you get a steady stream? Expressing is a skill and must be practiced and learned. Once you become proficient at expressing it will become much easier to care for Koda. Did you get a hands-on lesson on expressing from your vet before Koda was discharged? We have some information about expressing here:

dodgerslist.com/2020/05/05/bladder-bowel-care/

If Koda is aware that he needs to poop and tries to hold it until he gets outside that is a good sign. It is a sign that some nerve function is returning.

Can Koda wag his tail in response to a treat or happy talk? In typical nerve healing, a happy tail wag is often the first step of brain to body communication that the pet parent can easily recognize. Tail wagging around pottying is almost always reflex.

What helped my dog the most after his surgery was walking on an underwater treadmill. I do not think he would have recovered early as quickly without it. This can usually be started as soon as the stitches/staples are removed. You can speak to your surgeon about it. The video below shows how it works.

You can also do water therapy at home. Some info on this and other types of PT are below. Please check with the surgeon first.
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/28/surgery-dog-water-therapy/

Koda's meds are fairly typical for after surgery and he will be stopping them soon enough. Pred should be taken exactly according to the vet's instructions during a taper. Gabapentin is used as a pain reliever and you can speak to your vet about cutting back or stopping it now.

Wheelchairs are great for paralyzed dogs. They are in no way an indicator that a dog will not regain the ability to walk on their own. Sometimes when dogs gets a cart, they re-learn how to walk when they are in it. Then they start getting stronger and began walking when they aren't in the cart. Start with Koda's legs down and see what he does. Many dogs use their carts as walkers. If your dog is one of these, make sure that the cart is set at a weight-bearing stance, so they can feel their feet touching the ground and use them for traction.

dodgerslist.com/2020/06/26/wheelchair-carts/

Healing thoughts for Koda

Last Edit: Jul 3, 2020 13:58:21 GMT -7 by Romy & Frankie

Disclaimer:
This information is presented for educational purposes and as a resource for the IVD dog community. The coordinators are not veterinarians or health care professionals. Nothing herein should be interpreted as medical advice and all should contact their pet care professionals for advice. The coordinators are not responsible for the substance and content contained herein and do not advocate any particular product, item or position contained herein.

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Cecelie's Koda 6/18 - Surgery -Beagle

Post by Cecelie & Koda on Jul 3, 2020 12:35:23 GMT -7

Post by Romy & Frankie on Jul 3, 2020 13:57:06 GMT -7