please help 10 days dog paralysis...........

[kl29]

Hi all am new to here and really need advice please ........ my 5 year old pitbull missy lost the use of one of her rear legs all of a sudden then a couple hours later the other, we called the vet immediately , he came checked her over and said it was a blockage on the spine ,and gave us ceclor ,neurobion and predonisolone to give her in morning and evening ,we asked about x.rays or ops that could help and has we live in corfu , greece this is a problem only athens have these facilties which is not possible for us financially , the vet was not very helpful at all i asked for blood to be taken to check and everything was clear , all he has said to us is its 50/50 if she will walk again and just let her rest , its been 10 days now , she has a little strength in one leg but nothing in the other ,i try make her as comfortable as possible but she gets out of her bed and drags the legs. To go to toilet for wee i have to lift her up and she opens legs and wee 's which she's not a small dog very heavy and for poo i have to do it with a baby wipe but the last couple of days she has done it herself, no control of bladder ,she eats fine and drinks and seems normal in herself , but the vets here are useless and i need advice from people who are going through or have been this situation , how long will it take for her to recover and how can i help her , we are also thinking about getting her a wheelchair but need to get it shipped over has dont have them here in greece, i love my dog very much and just want to help her , she is not in pain thank god ,so i don't want to put her to sleep ,she is too healthy and young for this and deserves a chance ,we are not sure how long to wait before getting the wheelchair. Please i appreciate any advice thankyou kelly xx

[Bobbie]

I'm a proponent of getting a wheelchair early, especially when the dog is in no pain. This does not mean that you put her in a cart (wheelchair) and let her race around, but you use one as part of her rehab, as it gives her the chance to use her legs normally.

Swimming is wonderful rehab so if you live where you can easily get her down to the water to swim, that would be great.

Doggon Wheels has a distributor in Italy; that might help you with getting a cart.

Italy
Tdogarden di Manuela Riboldi
Tel: 320 8130540
E-Mail: doggon@tdogarden.it
Skype: tdogarden
Website: doggon-it.com

Other manufacturers will ship carts, though. Just measure carefully- get one or two people to help- so that the cart fits right. Doggon carts are a pain to adjust (lots of screws) but are very stable and good for rehab as the soft saddle will move with the dog (as will Walkin Wheels and K9carts).

[critters]

kl. You will want to see the red sticky post on the incontinence board for information on expressing her poop and pee, which will probably make a BIG difference in your life and Missy's! You can also look at the comprehensive post on this board for info on swimming and almost every other topic you might think of. Vets not knowing anything about spinal cord injury are NOT limited to Greece; there are lots here in the US, too. When I learned to express, my best teachers were right here at HP.

[Sasha's Mom]

Hi Kelly,

Just read your post and although I am looking for the same answers as you for my cat, I am in Bulgaria and can completely empathize with you when it comes to useless vets. It is likely impossible to find a vet here who can do full work-ups to reach a correct diagnosis.

If you can, ask one of the local pharmacies (and a vet) about Nivalin http://www.nivalin.com/ - not sure if you will need a prescription for it or not. I don't need one here. I am giving a dosage of 2.5 mg a day to my cat and it is supposed to help rebuild nerve endings. All the vets who are aware of it recommend it for paralysis. My cat has been like this for five months, but was taken in like this so I don't know the history of how or when the paralysis began.

Also, use diapers - buy baby diapers, cut a hole for the tail and tape around the hole so the filling doesn't fall out or leak.

Best of luck to you and will watch for updates.

An American in Bulgaria,

Leah

[cc101oak]

I am in the same situation as you. My dog was fine and then all of a sudden he couldnt move his hind legs this happened april 28 . My son in law took him to an emergency clinic where a wonderful doctor Dr. Indreire operated a few hours later. The operation was a success however my dog still doesnt feel deep pain or is able to use his hind legs. A week ago he contracted MRSA I use very good sanitary precautions and the doctor said he might have gotten it anywhere even the clinic. I have ordered walkin wheels for him and eagerly await it today . I have a hard time expressing my dog as he is 57 lbs so the vet taught me to catheterize him. I am going to watch the video on bowel expression so i hope that will help. Is there anyone out there who has had a pet regain his feeling after several weeks? I love this animal he is a good dog.
Catherine

[CarolC]

Yes, my dog was completely paralyzed with no deep pain and they discovered she had deep pain sensation 149 days after surgery (almost 5 months). Cindi's dog regained deep pain sensation after 9 months, here is her message:

http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... f=4&t=5673

The MRSA can be "community acquired" as well as hospital acquired, I think it is getting more common or at least I am hearing more about it. Is it in the incision or somewhere else? I would catheterize, too, if the dog is completely down. You need to save your back.

Here are some tips on turning him and centering him on his bed.

http://www.mzjf.com/turn-dog.htm
http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Center_a_heavy_dog_on_his_bed

[cc101oak]

Thanks Carol for giving me hope. My Walkin Wheels arrived today and after a crash course in engineering i wAS able to get it right. He is heavy to get into the wheels so it didnt go smoothly the first time, however he didnt reject the wheels or me and tomorrow i think i might take him outside in them for a short period I think he likes the idea his legs arent dragging.
I have been banished from seeing family members because of the MRSA! I can understand their fear however i have taken precautions the doctor suggested however no one will let me see my grandchildren
You are all so supportive on here. God Bless you all!
No the MRSA isnt in the incision it came from keeping a wet diaper on him because he is incontinent.
Catherine

[CarolC]

I met a lady here in Texas whose dog had MRSA about 6 months ago. Also my co-worker's husband had it after abdominal surgery and she had to clean the spot and wash sheets and wear gloves and sleep in another room. When you are putting a diaper on a dog, I think you normally have to put you hand under him, which includes not just your hand but also your forearm, so that would complicate things if you're trying not to come in contact with the staph. You must be going through a lot of disposable gloves and laundry. Is he wearing a regular diaper or a male doggy diaper (malewrap)?

I tried a couple of barrier creams on my dog who wore a doggy diaper. If I didn't keep something on him, he got chafed. The trouble was, I'd heard you should not use anything with zinc oxide on him because zinc is toxic if it is ingested. So I was using original A & D ointment (without zinc) which worked pretty well if you kept putting it on all the time, like at least 2x times a day. I was changing the pad in his malewrap 4-5 times a day and it was a pain to have to keep smearing it on all the time. Finally, my vet said it was OK to try Desitin with zinc oxide, that is what they use at the clinic. He said in actual practice he had rarely had a patient with zinc poisoning in his career, and when he did it was from other sources. I tried it and watched my dog and he showed no interest in licking it, and the other pets showed no interest either. In the end, original Desitin is what we used. I only had to put it on once every 2-3 days. It stayed on and protected much better than the A & D.

That's a shame about not seeing your grandchildren. Hopefully the infection will clear up quickly.