Tana, welcome to the Forum. Calm your mind with IVDD education to help yourself and to help Betty. You know her job as service dog is because she can smell your anxiety, she watches your every body language. With
your happy face and voice, tell her you are "on it" and all will be ok. Soon you too will come to see and believe what you are saying! Your patient needs a positive energy environment to promote good healing. Same deal as when you visit a friend in the hospital you are there to be up lifting.
If for any reason surgery would not be an option, then conservative treatment of STRICT rest, meds and time is the best option!
With a diagnosis of a disc episode from the new vet, then Betty still having bladder control to hold it to pee outside AND is not leaking on you when lifted,
is good news for potential nerve self-healing to take place. It is just a fact that vets simply can't know all diseases for the many species they treat (dogs, cats, reptiles, farm animals, birds, etc). On top of that, during the course of a day they will be a dentist, a surgeon, a dermatologist, internist, a pediatrician, etc. Our own doctors treat one species (the human one). Often they will give a referral to a specialist when they are not comfortable with a certain disease. However you can be pretty knowledgable about one very important to you disease by quickly boning up on IVDD. Betty will be depending on you to be her IVDD savvy pet parent to advocate for her needs.
Tana, follow
the all important at-home care to ensure the disc forms strong scar tissue and to avoid any further neuro damage as Dr. Isaacs warns about about...
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Let us know you are following 100% strict rest "Conservative Treatment" demands:
The hallmark component of conservative treatment is the very STRICT crate rest part (no PT, little movement). With little blood supply discs are much slower to form good scar tissue than it takes a blood rich broken bone to heal. Those weeks of a cast for a broken arm to heal is similar to the recovery suite being a kind of cast for the disc. 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 for 8 weeks provides limited movement to allow good strong scar tissue to form.
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Super tried and true tips for setting up the recovery suite, the mattress and more!
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-processKnowledge is key!
Owner understanding ensures proper conservative treatment principals:
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Quick FAQ of the 4 phases of healing, what it takes to heal each phase + handy tips:
dodgerslist.com/healing-the-disc/▶︎
Roadmap for your fridge. Stay the course, avoid dangerous detours for the healing disc:
dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Roadmap-for-Fridge.pdf STRICT rest means:
◼︎no laps ◼︎no couches ◼︎no baths ◼︎no sleeping with you
◼︎no chiro therapy WHYs:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/22/chiropractic/ ◼︎no dragging at potty times.
◼︎no PT for conservative dogs during 8 weeks to heal disc
◼︎At home laser or acupuncture for severe neuro damage is best.
Transports are always a risk to the disc of too much movement. Vet visits must be weighed risk vs. benefit. Vets who know IVDD will often adjust meds, take updates over the phone.
With urgent vet visits, secure the crate in your vehicle. Transport carefully using a crate padded out with rolled up towels snug on either side of the dog to prevent movement or jarring the spine when braking or turning corners.
**POTTY TIME strictness
Lift and carry your dog supporting both ends. Carry to and from the recovery suite to the potty place and then allow a very, very few limited footsteps.
Using a sling (long winter scarf, ace bandage, belt) will save your back and help to keep a wobbly dog's back aligned and butt from tipping over.
The 6' foot leash with harness where you stand in one space limits the the area Betty can take footsteps in. And prevents her from even thinking about darting off.
An 8-panel ex-en makes a good fenced in potty place in the grass or snow to limit her to a few footsteps.
How much does Betty weigh?
Can she move up into a stand by her self with the back legs?
We will be watching for your next post to learn if there are any med adjustments or other comments the CSU Neuro makes today.
