Katie, welcome to the Forum. Whirlwinds of emotions with IVDD can surface — we know this from our own personal experiences. Glad you have joined us all.
None of us here on the Forum are vets. The info we have to share with you comes from years of experiences with our own IVDD dogs, observing the treatments vets prescribe and how that works out for Forum dogs PLUS the consultations with Neuro's, researchers and other veterinary professionals we can call upon when there is a question. You can "vet" us here:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/20/education-team-ivddIt looks as though you may be i
n a medically related field. Can you tell us more?Deep Pain Sensation can be a very tricky thing to correctly identify. For example a sign of having DPS could be as subtle as pupil dilation with the correct pressure of the pinch test. Unless you have the training of Neuro (ACVIM), it would be best to not do the neuro pinch test as you likely would not correctly identify what you observe. Daily testing means a lot of extreme pressure (damage?) on tissue. Also the post-op swelling itself can cause a temporary setback in neuro function.
At the end of 14 days with swelling subsided, the vet and owner could have a better idea of the direction of healing. Whether money is best spent on underwater treadmill or a wheelchair while waiting on more nerve function to return. If there is no indication of any leg movement such as trying to reposition in the recovery suite or attempting to scratch an ear, then a wheelchair might be a consideration at the end of the 4 or 6 weeks of post-op rest to heal the surgical sites.
Don't rule out underwater treadmill. Some dogs with water fear, don't have it on the treadmill. The moving floor plus water buoyancy allows legs not able to move on on land, ability to move in water. See the video and read more about this therapy to keep it on the table when Lemmy is showing any small indicator there is nerve healing happening to the back legs.
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/28/surgery-dog-water-therapy/What hospital did the surgery? ---- If a university or a large private practice hospital, could you request a 2nd opinion neuro there to give the DPS test and help you with the constant dribbling issue (see below)?
Nerves heal typically in the reverse order of the damage to the spinal cord:
1. Deep Pain Sensation: the first neuro function to return.
--- DPS is the critical indicator for nerves to be able to self heal after surgery or with conservative treatment.
-- Trust only the word of a neuro (ACVIM) or ortho (ACVS) surgeon about this very tricky to correctly idenfiy neuro function.
2. Tail wagging with joy at seeing you or getting a treat or meal.
3. Bladder and bowel control verified with the "sniff and pee" test.
4. Leg Movement, and then
ability to move up into a standing position, and then
wobbly walking.
5. Being able to walk with more steadiness and
properly place the paw.
6. Ability to walk unassisted and perhaps even run.
LEARN MORE: dodgerslist.com/2021/02/06/nerve-healing-after-disc-episode/
Once nerves have been damaged, one ought to think more in terms of months rather than days/weeks for this slowest department of the body to self heal in. It is only the dog and mother nature who will reveal how it takes to restore neuro function. So stay strong, stay positive and keep hope! HOPE is in the cards for each dog to get back to enjoying life after the surgeon directed post-op rest (which includes surgeon directed PT) has been completed. Usually the post-op rest to heal the surgical sites is 4 weeks or 6 weeks.
Do let us know for how many weeks your surgeon wants. Upon completion of post op rest, a very slow and gradual introduction back to family activity can begin. We have lots to share with you at that time!
DRIBBLING
Dribbling all the time (freely dribbles) could mean:
--- he is not expressed often enough or fully each time.
---Dribbles, off odor could mean UTI, but that is ruled out by the urine culture he recently had on 7/9.
---Depending where the bladder nerve damage is located, dribbling can be neuro diminishment caused. The neck of the bladder tone is decreased — lower motor neuron bladder (LMN) allowing frequent dribbling. The pressure in the sphincter muscle is often low, which leads to urine incontinence when pressure in the abdomen increases, for example when during physical exertion, barking, etc. IF, if perchance Lemmon has a LMN bladder there are meds for that you could discuss with a 2nd opinion neuro.
--- Phenoxybenzamine, decreases internal urethral sphincter tone to make expressing easier and used for upper motor neuron (UMN) bladders.
EXPRESSING
When first learning to express, try expressing every 2-3 hours. As he stays dry, then move up to every 3-4 hours. Eventually with increased proficiency with this skill to feel the bladder as it shrinks and gets so flat that one hand can almost feel the other hand to know it's pretty well empty you can easily express every 6-8 hrs and he should stay dry.
HARNESS
Do you have a sturdy back end harness. It can save your back and helps you get Lemmy up and able to walk some at least with the front legs?
-- HELP 'EM UP: A complete shoulder and hip harness system:
helpemup.com/features/sizes for 10 to 225 pounds dogs.
Harness for rear leg support:
Walkabout:
www.walkaboutharnesses.com/collections/walkabout-harnesses/products/walkabout-back-harnessEMAIL ALERTS
Timely communications are needed when helping your dog. How to bookmark Lemmy's thread to set up for email alerts when a reply is posted:
dodgerslist.boards.net/thread/7353/register-bookmark-dogs-post-thread Katie, look forward learning the answers about Lemmy. Let us know anything more you are having concerns about.