Brent's Bubba 1/7 surgery

Welcome Brent. If I'm clearly understanding that pain has surfaced since bringing him home, the surgeon needs to know asap.

Normal is for there to be post op pain for about 14 days. That is the reason pain Medications (plural) are given for about 2 weeks. Methocarbamol, gabapentin and tramadol every 8 hr.

But to have pain increase is something to immediately check into. Be persistant today in politely calling, recalling until you get help for increased pain signs since bringing Bubba home. Be polite but persistent, of course.


If there is still diarrhea cause a little bit better is not good enough:
Plain pureed canned pumpkin is a magical fruit - its high fiber can firm up stools and help with diarrhea or loosen the stool to help with constipation.
NOTE: alternatives are really ripe mashed fresh pear, just take off the peel off; microwaved and mashed peeled sweet potatoe, 
--To loosen the stool, add equal parts water to each kibble meal and soak overnight. At mealtime add one teaspoon of plain canned pureed pumpkin 1x a day.
-- To firm up the stool add 1 teaspoon plain canned pureed pumpkin 1x a day to kibble.

Give a teaspoon of pumpkin for every 10 pounds of body weight,

I'm so sorry that you aren't receiving more cooperation from the vets, Brent. Dogs can be very good at hiding pain and sometimes do not show pain when at a vet's office. You've observed some very obvious signs of pain and that should have been enough for the vets to adjust the pain meds and add Tramadol and Methocarbamol to the mix.  Bubba has not as yet been given proper pain meds to get his pain completely under control.  Possibly you can keep trying to reach your regular vet again. The hospital can fax their medical records to your regular vet so he has then to review and can adjust meds.

If Bubba indeed does not have deep pain sensation, then he most likely does not have bladder control. The only way we humans can tell if a dog has bladder control is to carry the dog to a spot where they’ve peed before, support their hind end but not under the belly, let them sniff and see if they can release urine on their own. If they can, then they have bladder control. You may need to do a quick express after he’s peed on his own until you’re sure she can completely empty his bladder on his own. Please let us know what you're observing regarding bladder control.

If Bubba does not have bladder control, then you need to manually express his bladder. You should get a hands-on-your-hands demonstration by a vet but in these days of COVID, that may not be an option. Please take a look at our page on expressing to learn how it's done. It can take a bit of practice but it's the only way to keep Bubba's bladder healthy if he indeed does not have bladder control.
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/05/bladder-bowel-care/

As for Mylemolacia, that usually involves extreme pain, and yet the hospital does not feel Bubba has any pain.   Please let us know more when your wife returns home about what she was told about this. For now, here is information concerning Mylemolacia for your education.

The cause of M or how it progresses is still unknown. It is important that owners are also familiar with symptoms in order to promptly get vet help at any hour of the night or day. Although Myelomalacia was thought to be rare, we are finding that perhaps it is not as uncommon as once thought. Many vets have never observed a case of Myelomalacia so you might want to print out the symptoms listed below so you can discuss and have a plan.

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 head. It is very painful and if it continues to progress up the spine, it will eventually shut down breathing.

Here are some of the symptoms that are used to diagnose Myelomalacia and the symptoms that evolve as it progresses. It can happen fast, within hours. Should your dog be developing myelomalacia that is ascending (moving up towards the lung – not descending – and getting near to the lungs which will cause respiratory paralysis), you would want to help him cross to the rainbow bridge to spare a very painful death. Deep pain sensation nor leg function not returning right away alone are not symptoms of myelomalacia.

Myelomalacia can be easily confirmed by your DVM with the following:
* about 3-4 days into recovery, they become painful. Within the first week, they are in a LOT of pain.
* development of excruciating pain (more than just pain from the original disc herniation)
• even the strongest pain meds do not help
• once the symptoms begin continued death of the spinal cord happens fast.. in a matter of hours, requiring prompt ER vet help and prevent suffering that will only end badly in death.
• hyper-esthesia (over-reaction to any touch sensation on body)
* acute disc extrusion with no deep pain sensation
* loss of anal tone, the anus hangs open, (anal flaccidity) and areflexia (below normal or no reflexes)
* 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, hoarse bark
* can't hold body up, can't hold head up
* increased respiration/ labored breathing 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.tif
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/08/myelomalacia/

When you get a chance and things calm down a bit, please let us know
-- How many weeks did your surgeon direct for post-op rest?
-- What did your surgeon direct for clinic or at home PT?

The first few weeks following surgery can be terribly stressful but do hang in there.  Keep trying to reach a vet who will help you to get Bubba's pain completely under control.  Healing prayers for Bubba.

Brent, what has this decision been based on? Has Mylemolacia been confirmed by an experienced vet who is familiar with this disease? If so, what did they base their diagnosis of Mylemolacia on?

If Mylemolacia has not been confirmed, why has a decision to euthanize Bubba been made? There are many ways to control pain which have not been prescribed yet.

Lack of deep pain sensation is not a reason to euthanize Bubba. Deep pain sensation can return. Even if it doesn't, many, many dogs have led full quality and happy lives even if they can't walk. And it's way too soon anyway for anyone to tell you that Bubba will never walk again. We have seen many dogs surprise their owners and vets and heal far beyond what was suspected.

My prayers are with you that the correct decisions will be made by you and your vets.

We had 2 neurosurgeon’s tell us that’s what he had he was loosing feeling up the spine towards neck he became real stiff and was in a lot of pain couldn’t get him to drink or eat. We couldn’t see him in that pain he was a loving sweetheart and a big part of our family. Thank you for taking the time and trying to help.

I'm so very sorry to hear of this tragic outcome, Brent. You can rest assured that you did all that you could for Bubba. There is nothing that can be done to treat or stop Myelomalacia once it starts. Bubba was a blessed dog to have had you and your wife's love and care. My sincerest condolences on your loss.

Thank you for all your support during this hard time. I have 3 more Dachshunds I worry something will happen to them 1 of them had back surgery 4 years ago and is doing great. I have a wire hair Teckel that is actually a hunting dog. He tracks deer that have been lost or wounded.