*PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
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critters
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by critters »

cocoa dog wrote: Last night my brother slept on the couch with her in his lap and she woke up so happy and recharged.
He's awesome
Awww!!! :angel:
cocoa dog
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by cocoa dog »

She has become quite chipper. She is eating, drinking, pooping, and now trying to scoot around. She was barking like she wanted to go outside so my husband put her in the back yard on the grass. She scooted across the yard in the time it took him to go get his shoes on to fetch her.
She's got an appointment with the vet on Monday. We are going to see if he approves of the wheel chair my brother made for her (from scratch). I'm still mainly keeping her "crated" (confined to a laundry basket) . How long do they normally stay crated after an injury?
You guys have been a godsend. I'm so appreciative of your advice, encouragement, and helpful links. :-) :-) :-)
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CarolC
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by CarolC »

Here are the guidelines on crate rest from the experts. They recommend 8 weeks. Some people say 6 weeks, but one of the moderators on Dodger's List told me they have found from experience there are fewer relapses with 8 weeks. The thing is, if you start looking at the guidelines, you will see how strict they are. For example, no scooting or sleeping in bed with family and so on, but they have a lot of experience with this and their information is created with professional input from veterinarians, neurologists, physical therapists, and so on, so you can trust them on doxie back problems! :wink:

http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm

http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/conservative.htm

Great that you have a wheelchair already (nice to have a relative who is so handy)! :smart: I had to buy one for my dog, and the company that made it did not recommend putting a dog in a cart until 6 weeks post-injury to give time for healing. I think Dodger's List says 6-8 weeks on the wheelchair, too, in the crate rest article.

Glad she has perked up! :D
cocoa dog
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by cocoa dog »

We saw the vet. She may regain some use of the left hind leg. He said not to crate her. That it makes them sad and atrophies the muscles. He said a little scooting is good if I confine her to a small room.
She is doing a little better every day. i may try to sew a drag bag for her.
cocoa dog
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by cocoa dog »

I have to give an update. Cocoa regained the ability to walk and control her bowels! She still walks like a drunk, but she can get around! I carry her outside and do not let her go on the steps at all. She was sneaky and went up to the second floor. She climbed a whole flight of stairs last week. So I put up gates to keep that from happening again.

She was 22 lbs when she got injured. The vet told us that she should weigh 16 lbs.
She's down to 19 lbs.
This is truly amazing. We didn't think she would recover this much. Now it's just a question of being ever vigilant about keeping her from jumping and stealing the other dog's food to keep her safe.

You guys were so terrific and supportive. :angel:
Take care :hurray:
Christine
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by Christine »

Wonderful news!!! :elephant: Thanks for updating us. Don't be a stranger!
Image
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
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CarolC
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by CarolC »

That's great news about Cocoa! So glad she is doing well.
Recovery continues for years. My dog was still doing something totally new and exciting at almost the 4-year point. Possibly Cocoa may always have a little wobble in her gait, but there is still time for more improvement, especially since you are being careful and putting up baby gates and stuff.
Congratulations to Cocoa and her whole family! :wub:
BooFreeland
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by BooFreeland »

Is there a resource like the Dogster site that shows all about bladder care for cats. I really like to dog diagram showing where the bladder is. I am still having trouble with emptying her bladder.
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CarolC
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by CarolC »

I don't know if you've seen this article, but it has both information and a lot of videos at the very end, with separate sections for cats and dogs.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16027
Pamelacarroll
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by Pamelacarroll »

we have a cocker spaniel aged 9yrs old. We were on holiday when we got a call to say he had slipped a disc in back and he had urgent surgery. He was paralysed in hind legs after surgery and didn't make a good recovery after 3 wks. We went to put him to sleep but he started to get voluntary movement as we were in the vets! We brought him home as vets said he had little chance. We has to express for a wk which was very difficult and challenging. After a wk he got all bowel and bladder control back. After 6 woks he is slowly standing and legs no longer dragging. He is on hydro twice a week and physio twice a day. It's been really hard and testing for us as a family but he has got his mojo back although still not walking. He stands for a few seconds and turns for chicken on his feet. We will keep going for as long as it takes till he walks again. Hopefully this is a message of hope for those in a similar situation x
pitmom75
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by pitmom75 »

Thank you so much for this information!
I have a very sweet 6 year old pit bull that had a ruptured disk and became completely paralyzed in back legs within 24 hours. We got him into surgery but the vet only gave him a 50% chance of recovery. After two weeks he still has no feeling in back legs. On a positive note if we take him out side with his harness, he pees on his own. I am wondering if there is still hope for him walking again?? Anyone had a dog that walked again but took longer than two weeks to get any feeling back in legs? Just need some hope, because seeing him like this and taking care of him is extremely hard! TIA!
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CarolC
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Re: *PARALYSIS INFORMATION*

Post by CarolC »

pitmom75 wrote:Thank you so much for this information!
I have a very sweet 6 year old pit bull that had a ruptured disk and became completely paralyzed in back legs within 24 hours. We got him into surgery but the vet only gave him a 50% chance of recovery. After two weeks he still has no feeling in back legs. On a positive note if we take him out side with his harness, he pees on his own. I am wondering if there is still hope for him walking again?? Anyone had a dog that walked again but took longer than two weeks to get any feeling back in legs? Just need some hope, because seeing him like this and taking care of him is extremely hard! TIA!
If he is urinating on his own, that is great. It is not uncommon for people to report dogs who seem to have no feeling after surgery, and yes, absolutely there have been many cases here that took more than 2 weeks, you are still in early days. I know it is hard when you are not sure of the outcome and waiting to find out, and you are supporting a large or heavy dog, but in your case especially, with him having bladder control, I would be optimistic about his legs. Vets may sometimes have patients that walk the day after surgery, but with nerve problems improvement is (I would say more often) by baby steps, in other words gradual and it can be slow. He is healing a little bit more in the background every day, even if he looks much the same. During the timeframe after surgery there is a lot of swelling from the surgery itself that needs to go down.

:welcome:
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