Hi,
My 4 year old Chihuahua was acting strange several weeks ago, lethargic, not full range of movement in her head. She eventually collapsed and lost the ability to walk/stand up/move around. She felt "deep pain" in her limbs.. at any rate, the MRI was $2,500 and surgery another 4-6k, neither of which are an option. The vet said that steroidal anti-inflammatory and crate rest coupled with limb massages and some physical therapy would give us a 50% chance of walking again. A month later, she's not able to walk.. she moves her limbs, is scratching itches and waddles around on her butt. I can prop her up on her limbs and she is able to hold herself up (if I let go, she would just topple over, so no balance). We went back for a check-up last week and my vet said he'd like to have seen more improvement and that he wouldn't be opposed to giving it another 4-6 weeks to see if improvement could be made, but said if I wanted to have her put down, he wouldn't be opposed to that either. He gave her under 25% chance of walking again.
So, I'm sort of in limbo here and I can't figure out what I should do. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort, other than frustration over her immobility. She uses the bathroom in her crate and whines when she is about to.. we are constantly changing pee pads.
Has anyone had any similar experiences and, if so, what was the outcome? Would it be fruitful to start a more in-depth physical therapy routine given her mobility in her limbs and the duration of her symptoms? According to my vet, there is a short window of recovery.. as time goes on, the likelihood of recovery drastically decreases.
I appreciate any insight.
Ruptured Disc
Re: Ruptured Disc
Hi,
I'd like to be sure I understand.
Are you saying she has a neck problem? But no pain in her neck? Did she ever have pain in her neck when this happened? And are you saying she is able to get around by using her front feet as normal and waddling with her rear? I guess the real question is, where do you and the vet think the problem is, her neck or somewhere further back. (It makes a difference on how to answer, thanks.) Also, is she still on any anti-inflammatory?
http://www.fourfurfeet.com
I'd like to be sure I understand.
Are you saying she has a neck problem? But no pain in her neck? Did she ever have pain in her neck when this happened? And are you saying she is able to get around by using her front feet as normal and waddling with her rear? I guess the real question is, where do you and the vet think the problem is, her neck or somewhere further back. (It makes a difference on how to answer, thanks.) Also, is she still on any anti-inflammatory?http://www.fourfurfeet.com
Re: Ruptured Disc
From what he explained, he thinks the issue is her lower neck/upper spine. So her spine around her shoulder blades. He explained it as the gel between the disc rupturing and shooting into her spinal cord. I can't remember the exact, medical name of it and I don't have the paperwork in front of me. Either way, without an MRI to see the extent of it, it's impossible to tell.. but she can move her limbs and she can feel. She just cant stand herself up, she falls over if she props herself up. She isn't walking on her knuckles, I have to prop her up on her legs.. but when I do, she is able to hold her weight on them (I have to keep her from falling over).
I'm just struggling with the decision to keep pressing forward or having her put to sleep.. based on limited funds, limited time and the prospect of her having less than 25% chance to ever walk.
I'm just struggling with the decision to keep pressing forward or having her put to sleep.. based on limited funds, limited time and the prospect of her having less than 25% chance to ever walk.
Re: Ruptured Disc
OK, well, I'm not a vet, and I certainly understand not being able to afford the MRI, etc. I can only make some comments or observations based on not knowing for sure what the diagnosis is. First thought is, if it is a disk problem in the neck area, normally that would be painful. Cervical problems are painful, yet she has not been in pain, which is great. For a disk problem, when you are not doing surgery, they recommend 6-8 weeks of strict crate rest, and usually the dog is on some kind of anti-inflammatory medication, like prednisone. There was a Yorkie here who had a cervical (neck) problem, and they continued him on a low dose of anti-inflammatory (steroids) for several months. It helps keep the swelling down around that disk and helps function return. You might consider asking the vet about continuing an anti-inflammatory a while longer if she already finished her 10 days or 2 weeks or whatever they gave her in the beginning. Prednisone is a pretty low cost medication, and if your dog is tiny and they prescribe a low dose, you won't be using it up very fast. I had to get some for one of my dogs earlier this year and I think 100 tablets were around $35? Something like that.
Whatever the diagnosis, I would definitely give it more time, because she sounds very good. She has deep pain sensation, she can scratch (!), she can tell when she has to go to the restroom. So many people would be overjoyed if their dog could do all that. If it was my dog, I would go ahead and continue the strict crate rest for a full 8 weeks, continue medication if the vet will prescribe it, and then start PT. Crate rest is free, medication hopefully will not cost too much. With a small dog, you can do PT at home and it won't cost anything. Recovery from paralysis or partial paralysis is a gradual process, it's by baby steps, but in time all those little gains add up and one day you look back and see how far you've come. There have been dogs here with complete paralysis and no deep pain sensation and they learned to walk again. Your dog has such a head start compared to most dogs, I would be optimistic and give her time.
I'm not sure where you live, but if you are in the US I think by the time she is done with her crate rest, the weather should be plenty warm enough to try some hydrotherapy in a little backyard swimming pool. For a chihuahua an 18" pool would probably be tall enough, not sure how big of a chihuahua she is. Swimming is one of the best exercises. When she swims with her front feet, it fires the nerves to the hind feet and helps with recovery. It lets her exercise without having to balance, and it's also fun.
Whatever the diagnosis, I would definitely give it more time, because she sounds very good. She has deep pain sensation, she can scratch (!), she can tell when she has to go to the restroom. So many people would be overjoyed if their dog could do all that.
If it was my dog, I would go ahead and continue the strict crate rest for a full 8 weeks, continue medication if the vet will prescribe it, and then start PT. Crate rest is free, medication hopefully will not cost too much. With a small dog, you can do PT at home and it won't cost anything. Recovery from paralysis or partial paralysis is a gradual process, it's by baby steps, but in time all those little gains add up and one day you look back and see how far you've come. There have been dogs here with complete paralysis and no deep pain sensation and they learned to walk again. Your dog has such a head start compared to most dogs, I would be optimistic and give her time. I'm not sure where you live, but if you are in the US I think by the time she is done with her crate rest, the weather should be plenty warm enough to try some hydrotherapy in a little backyard swimming pool. For a chihuahua an 18" pool would probably be tall enough, not sure how big of a chihuahua she is. Swimming is one of the best exercises. When she swims with her front feet, it fires the nerves to the hind feet and helps with recovery. It lets her exercise without having to balance, and it's also fun.
Re: Ruptured Disc
I really appreciate the detailed response!
The vet wrote down instructions for light massaging and light physical therapy from the beginning, along with crate rest. So it seems to be a combination of both.
I've started some water therapy in the bath and some other PT exercises to get her used to the feeling of being upright and on her legs. Also stretching her, massaging her legs and toes, etc. She definitely does not seem to be in pain, even when the doctor moved her neck side to side and up and down.
He also mentioned something about a blood clot, so it's still not something that's diagnosed.. especially without the MRI. I suppose it's all symptom based at this point. She did respond well to the PT I was doing tonight and even tried to prop herself up a few times after I put her in the crate once I was finished.
Thank you for the encouragement, I feel like there's plenty of progress made and to be made, the vet made it sound very bleak and that any real progress should have already happened.
The vet wrote down instructions for light massaging and light physical therapy from the beginning, along with crate rest. So it seems to be a combination of both.
I've started some water therapy in the bath and some other PT exercises to get her used to the feeling of being upright and on her legs. Also stretching her, massaging her legs and toes, etc. She definitely does not seem to be in pain, even when the doctor moved her neck side to side and up and down.
He also mentioned something about a blood clot, so it's still not something that's diagnosed.. especially without the MRI. I suppose it's all symptom based at this point. She did respond well to the PT I was doing tonight and even tried to prop herself up a few times after I put her in the crate once I was finished.
Thank you for the encouragement, I feel like there's plenty of progress made and to be made, the vet made it sound very bleak and that any real progress should have already happened.
Re: Ruptured Disc
Vets tend to do that.drh12345 wrote:
Thank you for the encouragement, I feel like there's plenty of progress made and to be made, the vet made it sound very bleak and that any real progress should have already happened.
In my experience, recovery takes time, and, like CarolC likes to say, a slow recovery is still a recovery!!