Ashley's Penelope 10/12 conservative, GRAD 12/7

Ashley, welcome to the Forum.

Good information to have in mind before your Neuro appointment Fri 10/18.
-- A neuro appoint is not just for the purposes of a potential surgery
-- A neuro consult is if your local vet is not comfortable with their IVDD knowledge such as use of pain meds, strict rest.  Neuros use pain meds every day to control pain.

MONITORING NEURO FUNCTIONS
As damage to the spinal cord increases, there can be a predictable stepwise deterioration of functions when there has not been STRICT rest of the back and neck during  a disc episode.
     Nerves do heal in the exact opposite order nerve damage occured.
1. 10/10 Pain with initial tear of disc and ensuing swelling
2. 10/12 Wobbly walking
    __legs cross
3. __Nails/toes scuffing floor
4. __Paws knuckle under. Dog is slow to correct or can't right the paw(s) at all
5. 10/17 Weak/little leg movement, does not use hind legs to reposition in the crate
    __can't move up into a stand with hind legs
6. __Hind Legs do not work at all (paralysis, dog is down)
7. __Bladder control is lost. Leaks on you when lifted.
        Can no longer sniff and then pee on that old urine spot outdoors.
8. __Tail wagging with joy is lost
9. __Deep pain sensation, the last neuro function, a critical indicator for nerves to be able to self heal after surgery or with conservative treatment.

If surgery is not an option (for whatever reason) then the best option is conservative treatment.
    Surgery can still be successful in the window of 12-24 hours after loss of deep pain sensation. Even after that window of time, there can still be a good outcome. Each hour that passes decreases that chance.
    Precious hours can be lost with a general vet who gets DPS wrong. Trust only the word of a neuro (ACVIM) or ortho (ACVS) surgeon about DPS.
    🚩A quick overview of conservative treatment vs. a surgery:
dodgerslist.com/surgery-vs-conservative/ √
    🚩Dr. Isaacs indepth Interview on surgery and conservative treatment:
      dodgerslist.com/dr-isaacs-surgery-answers

A disc episode compresses the spinal cord and causes a lot of bruising, swelling, and inflammation. 
-- Surgery immediately relieves the pressure with severe paralysis by removing offending disc material.
-- Conservative treatment relieves pressure with an anti-inflammatory drug and takes 7-30 days.

Just as with any traumatic injury, the body can self heal nerves and the disc.
-- The disc heals under Conservative treatment with very STRICT limited movement and time of 8 weeks.
-- Damaged nerves in the spinal cord heal with time after a surgery or conservative treament. Best to think in terms of months rather than days/weeks for this slowest part of the body to heal.



Let us know what your Neuro says, any adjustments to meds (names, ?mg   ?x/day )  We are here to support you with either treatment (surgery or conservative).

Moderator Paula is reading and preparing a reply

Ashley:
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So she had an episode where she wet the bed. I feel like she's losing control of her bladder now.

we tried pinching her toes to check if she could feel pain in her toes, and now she can't.

Should I ask the neurologist to switch her to something stronger? instead of an NSAID, to a steroid?

We weren't told how long the NSAID would be for but I can ask

Hi,

Penelope ended up peeing when we lifted her to go out to potty, but she still is continent with her bowels. But it is a hit or miss sometimes when she does sniff and pee. She can still slightly move her tail

Her pain is well controlled. But she's always crying and anxious from being in the crate all day long. I called her vet to see if we can prescribe her something.

We're going to try 15 mg of traZODone [10/21] tonight.

✙Pepcid is on board.

As of right now the carpofen is prescribed for 2 weeks.

[MED LIST/HISTORY- Moderator's Note. Please do not edit
10/17 back legs no longer move
14.8 lbs 5.5 yrs
carprofen as of 10/12: 12.5 mgs 2x/day for14 days, Sat 10/26 TEST STOP for _ pain _neuro
gabapentin 100mgs ▲3x/day
traZODone ?mg    ?x/day 
✙Pepcid AC ?mg    ?x/day  ]