new spinal injury/fce. so confused! help!

by **niki1** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:23 am

Last weekend my 5 year old yorkie pepe went to the er. they did xrays and thought he had a spinal injury and put him on steroids hoping that it would stimulate the dragging foot. i took him to his normal vet who thinks that this is not what he has but has fce. i am totally confused. its a week and a half and so far the leg seems to not getting any better and in fact tonight it seems like his back right leg is now looking like it is not doing well. perhaps he is compensating for the other hind paw dragging?

my option is to see if the steroids work and get him a boot to prevent the skin getting pulled off top of foot and ruined nails. if this is not good enough then last case scenario is amputation. since they think its not spinal then surgery is out of question and sounded very experimental and expensive anyhow and not kind to an animal.

i am SO confused! any advice or have you had this happen?

lastly should he be in physical therapy now?

thanks so much in advance. im sick with not being able to do the right thing. : (

by **Bobbie** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:57 am

Go to a veterinary neurologist. Don't count an ER or your local vet to give an accurate diagnosis. You need an MRI for that, if you can afford it, if not, whatever they say will be a guess. Sometimes things do show up on Xrays but not most of the time.

by **niki1** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:45 pm

thank you so much. i am taking him today to the specialist. i am so scared that they are going to recommend a surgery which is like 8 k or to put him down. its just terrible. : ( praying there are other options here.

by **Bobbie** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:58 pm

The other option might be a cart for a paraplegic dog. No big deal, at least, not for a tiny dog. It would cost about$300 and your dog would br mobile, not gt scraped up, and be happyl. Sorry about the spelling but autocorrect is screwing me up this morning!

by **niki1** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:10 pm

thanks so much bobby. i really appreciate it you have no idea. do you make the wheelchairs? also, how do the little dogs tend to do on them? and what do you do when you are not home? or do they always have to be supervised? sorry for all the questions...am a bit in shock right now. (he's only 5 lbs btw) thanks again.

by **Bobbie** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:57 pm

I don't make wheelchairs, but run a loaner program for corgis. (and don't know of any other loan programs.). But most companies can accommodate small dogs in carts. They can only use the cart when you are home but it gives them a chance to exercise and makes taking them out for potty much easier, and small dog's use them in the house with no problem when you are there. The rest of time you confine them to a safe space where they can't get hurt dragging themselves around. Most dog's sleep when we are gone so that is no big deal to them.

If you go to http://www.corgiaid.org/cart and look at cart related links I have links to most of the major cart companies. Watch out for eBay carts and cheap carts... If it is a lot less money there is probably a reason for it. Handicapped Pets sells the .Walkin' Wheels mini but I am not familiar with how tiny it gets, only with how bit it gets!

You may also see some but not 100% improvement, but don't wait too long get a cart as it can help with improvement and hopping around off balance can tweak all kinds of things in the back.

by **niki1** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 5:47 pm

bobbie you are so sweet for always getting back to me and SO fast! so i took pepe in and they said it could be 1 of 2 things. spinal disc or a tumor worst case. i am taking him in for an mri to find out and then will decide what to do.

as for the disc (if thats what it is) do you believe that surgery is the best bet? the vet sounded highly optomistic and i believe him to be the best around southern cal.

sorry for bugging again. but you seem to really know! thanks!

by **Bobbie** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:52 pm

Surgery is usually the best bet but no guarantees. I have one corgi who had immediate surgery, he is a complete paraplegic who had no recovery. I have another who had no surgery and he can wag his tail and stand up though one let does not work well enough for him to walk. But statistically speaking the chances of recovery with surgery are higher than without it. IF you can afford it. That is a big if and with no guarantees I don't know how far in debt I would go to do surgery.

by **Trublu11254** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:59 am

If your dog has had an FCe surgery is not going to help. Most dogs will recover from an FCE episode. Is your dog showing any signs of being in pain? If not then it is most likely an FCE. Physical therapy started early is important in recovery. Read the other FCE posts. Get on the internet and educate yourself on FCE. most vets do not have experience with this and cannot treat it anyway unless they do accupuncture in their practice. Good luck and keep posting

by **niki1** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:29 am

i wish it was fce. as the spinal injury is bad. : ( mri tomorrow with a surgery after providing that its not a tumor. praying its not and all will work out somehow. scary. : (

by **CarolC** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:28 pm

What did the diagnosis turn out to be?

by **HanksMomLisa** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:26 pm

I am 11 days out with a St. Bernard with either an FCE or traumatic Disc. We did the MRI and it was helpful but not conclusive. But we highly suspect an FCE type of incident because he isn't in pain. He wasn't walking at all and now without surgery he is walking with help. He did 10 minutes in hydro-therapy tank today.

Neurologist is a must and a lot of hope and stamina. I understand how desperate you feel, I'm still there. Know there are options if it is spinal injury/issue of some kind. Smaller dogs are easier to manage.

As far as costs go, do you have a veterinary teaching hospital at a University near you? That is where my pup is going and their costs are much better and they have a lot of technology and services that makes things easier. Also, we have found the students, residents, and docs so are so wonderful and engaged. They have called to check on Hank often, and come and visit him at the rehab, which is in the same building as the crital care and small animal clinic.

Hope that you got some good news and a plan to move forward. Thoughts are with you!

Lisa

by **niki1** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:50 pm

you all are so sweet with the advice and care. i so appreciate it! these are our little babies and its so scary to know what to do!

all in all pepe had an mri yesterday which showed 2 disc injuries. i immediately took him and he got surgery. that was less than 24 hours ago and i already picked him up! he is walking already and going to the bathroom on his own. time will tell how far he progresses but right now i feel i really did do the right thing. thank God!

it was insane expensive but he got incredible care. all in it was like 5500. yikes! thankfully i was in the postion where i could do this.

lisa the fact that he has gotten better is HUGE! how frustrating not to know what the true diagnosis is. i was there for a week and a half and it was so difficult! did you get a second opinion? sounds like he is in good hands either way! let me know what happens to your little (big) man. hang in there! xo

by **HanksMomLisa** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:35 am

It sounds like the diagnostics and surgery were the right choice! So glad that Pippa is on the road to recovery.

We had a team of specialists all look at Hank and his MRI. FCE is diagnosed by elimination, but we are very confident at this point that the diagnosis is correct. His neurologist and actue care specialist, along with several residents are all following Hank and have called often between visits to be sure we are on the right track.

Stay strong, as this is a long journey. I am so happy for you and Pippa! Give her my well wishes and perhaps a treat when she is able!

Lisa