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Post by Mary Ann & Chap on Sept 2, 2020 13:52:34 GMT -7
Hi I'm Mary Ann and Chap is an 8 year old, 20 pound Pekingese. He is a foster dog that came into the rescue with multiple, chronic disc herniations and spinal compression areas.
He had surgery on 8-11-2020 by a board certified neurologist to help correct some of the herniations and spinal compression. He has been on crate rest for 3 weeks and has 3 more weeks. When released from the hospital after surgery he did not have deep pain sensation, so he could not walk, urinate or defecate on his own. He went for his two week check up last week and everything had healed well but still no deep pain sensation.
He also had developed a bladder infection. He was put on Clavacillin 125mg, 2 times a day for 2 weeks. He also was put on Prazosin 0.5mg , 1/2 to 1 tablet, 2-3 times a day. He is extremely hard to express and the Prazosin is suppose to help relax the muscles.
[Moderator's Note. Please do not edit
20lbs
Clavacillin 125mgs 2x/day
Prazosin 0.5mgs 0.25mgs to 5mgs2-3x/day
He does not appear to be in any pain. He does have some leakage of urine, not a lot, and his poop is normal but he does not know he is pooping. He is eating and drinking okay.
I am in need of some suggestions for expressing him as he is very hard to express even with the Prazosin. The vet says he has good bladder and sphincter tone and is very challenging to fully empty his bladder. I have tried several different positions to see if one allowed him to be more relaxed and have not found one where I feel I have completely expressed his bladder every time.
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Sept 2, 2020 14:25:17 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist, Mary Ann. 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. Learning to express is not easy and some dogs are just harder to express. There are some other medications that can be used to help with expressing; Phenoxybenzamine, Bethanechol. Some vets have used these two in combination. Consider discussing these alternatives with your vet. You may get some additional ideas by reviewing the tips we have here:
You can also express for poop. It just makes caring for a paralyzed dog so much easier. We have some information about that also in the link above.
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Post by Mary Ann & Chap on Sept 2, 2020 14:42:15 GMT -7
Thank you for this information. I will read the article and try what they suggested. I saw the suggestion of a warm towel. I will try that one right away. I appreciate your help.
Mary Ann
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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 2, 2020 17:40:36 GMT -7
In case the warm towel is not enough to get the tummy muscles relax, talk with your vet or surgeon about diazepam. Prasozin works to relax the sphincter muscle strength that surrounds the neck of the bladder. A very strong control over the sphincter muscle plus tensing the stomach muscles can make expressing a challenge. From the Dodgerslist Neuro Corner: Tense during expressing |
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