Welcome to the Forum. I'm Paula, what's your name? It is still quite early in the nerve healing department. Best to think in terms of months rather than days/weeks for the slowest part of the body to heal....nerves.
It is very heartening to hear from you, to learn reading here on the Forum helped you deal with the overwhelmingness of learning Hermes was born with IVDD.
Dr. Nancy Kay, DVM, ACVIM has hit it on the nail especially with IVDD. Each of us needs to be self educated so we can team up to work with our vets.
"Gone are the days when you simply followed your vet's orders and asked few, if any questions. The vet is now a member of your dog's health-care team, and you get to be the team captain!"
READ MORE:
www.speakingforspot.com/PDF/Medical%20Advocacy%20101.pdf Our hope is in the next days you will have a chance to delve into the readings on our Main Webpage and be the prepared savvy owner your dog needs to be a good advocate.
1) This is a good spot to start :
dodgerslist.com/in-the-right-place/ 2) Then click on the rest of the "KNOWLEDGE" pull down menu items.
Hermes is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
~Author Unknown
EXPRESSINGMost often a dog is discharged home after a demo on how to express the bladder. Some dogs can be very hard to express due to being overweight or another issue. So not sure why the cath for Hermes. Anyway you CAN express for poop to avoid making Hermes anxious of finding poop where he sleeps. Easy to learn poop expressing. At same link you can see if on Saturday it is determined he does not yet have bladder control, what that is all about.
Bladder and bowel expressing:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/05/bladder-bowel-care/?highlight=poopThe only way for humans to know if there is bladder control is with the “sniff and pee test.” Carry outdoors once the cath is removed. Set them on an old pee spot to sniff. Make sure the sling or your hands are not on the tummy area as that can press on the bladder. See if they will release urine on the old urine area. If urine comes out after sniffing, bladder control is returning. You should continue to do a quick express check to verify there is full voiding until you are certain it is consistently happening. Let us know what you observe.
NOTE: When the bladder is full, it fills the entire abdomen area so any pressure should release urine if bladder control is not yet back. You may need to hold the pressure for a little longer than you think you would. As the bladder empties, it gets smaller and can slip away from you. You’ll need to find it again. Sometimes it moves back by the pelvic area. Keep pressing until the bladder feels flat, almost like your hands are touching.
Diapers are not recommended. The way to keep the bladder free of UTI's is learninng how to express IF your Hermes has not yet full function of his bladder.
MORE on that:https://dodgerslist.com/2020/06/09/incontinence-care-tips/?highlight=diapers
CRATE REST Crate rest post op is to allow all the surgical sites to heal. Rest includes all the surgeon directed supervised and controlled PT. Then back in the recovery suite to heal.
For how many weeks did the neuro want for rest- some Drs. want 4 or 6 weeks.Good reading for setting up the suite AND lots of tips to help the rest period go smoother.--- Hermes can roll on his back and sleep on his side as he wishes.--- So while on surgeon directed rest, he eats, sleeps in the recovery suite. Only out for surgeon directed PT and to care for him as needed while the cath is in.PTLook over so you can be prepared to discuss with neuro if underwater treadmill, etc are the next steps. dodgerslist.com/2020/05/27/surgery-dog-pt
