New here - could use some advice!
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 2:20 pm
Hey there - I found this forum while looking for some helpful advice online.
My dog, Fox (half dachshund, half aussie), had a ruptured spinal disc in september. I woke up that saturday morning because he was whimpering and then I noticed that he couldn't move his hind legs anymore. We instantly drove to the vet clinic and at this point his deep pain sensation was still intact. They operated him later that day and afterwards the deep pain sensation was gone for about two days. He had to stay in hospital for about a week and when he came home I had to start manually expressing his bladder. It kinda worked, but it was really hard because he kept pressing all his muscles against my hands. Even the vets said that expressing and feeling his bladder was really challenging. And I don't even want to start talking about the mood swings he had when he came back home.
We went to physical therapy twice a week eversince. After about 4 weeks he started peeing again - just a little bit, but I was really excited. It healed slowly but surely and now he can pee pretty good on his own. But I just can't be sure if it is enough. He walks in a sling and is exhausted after about 10 minutes. And he never peed all in one go and he still doesn't. He likes to mark places, but in my mind that means that he doesn't pee enough. At first I still expressed his bladder once a day, but at one point there wasn't enough to express and the therapist said that I should try letting him pee on his own. I was really scared, because I don't want him to have any pain oder bladder problems. But I tried. And it worked - for a few days. I found a little bit of pee on his pad and I instantly panicked. The vet said that it doesn't always mean that his bladder was too full, that it could have other reasons for him to lose a few drops of pee. But I'm just always very worried. He didn't whine or anything, so I don't know. Also, he still takes some bladder medication (Tamsulosin 0,4mg once a day and Myocholine 3x2,5mg a day - sorry if the medication has a different name, I'm from Germany). So basically they soften his bladder muscles, so it is easier for him to pee. But maybe it would be better for him if he doesn't take them anymore.
And on a more positive note: he also started to move his tail again. When it's time for food he wags his tail in excitement, so that's pretty neat!
I would really like to hear your experiences. How did you handle the whole bladder topic? How do you not worry every time something doesn't go as expected? When is the right time to buy a wheelchair?
My dog, Fox (half dachshund, half aussie), had a ruptured spinal disc in september. I woke up that saturday morning because he was whimpering and then I noticed that he couldn't move his hind legs anymore. We instantly drove to the vet clinic and at this point his deep pain sensation was still intact. They operated him later that day and afterwards the deep pain sensation was gone for about two days. He had to stay in hospital for about a week and when he came home I had to start manually expressing his bladder. It kinda worked, but it was really hard because he kept pressing all his muscles against my hands. Even the vets said that expressing and feeling his bladder was really challenging. And I don't even want to start talking about the mood swings he had when he came back home.
We went to physical therapy twice a week eversince. After about 4 weeks he started peeing again - just a little bit, but I was really excited. It healed slowly but surely and now he can pee pretty good on his own. But I just can't be sure if it is enough. He walks in a sling and is exhausted after about 10 minutes. And he never peed all in one go and he still doesn't. He likes to mark places, but in my mind that means that he doesn't pee enough. At first I still expressed his bladder once a day, but at one point there wasn't enough to express and the therapist said that I should try letting him pee on his own. I was really scared, because I don't want him to have any pain oder bladder problems. But I tried. And it worked - for a few days. I found a little bit of pee on his pad and I instantly panicked. The vet said that it doesn't always mean that his bladder was too full, that it could have other reasons for him to lose a few drops of pee. But I'm just always very worried. He didn't whine or anything, so I don't know. Also, he still takes some bladder medication (Tamsulosin 0,4mg once a day and Myocholine 3x2,5mg a day - sorry if the medication has a different name, I'm from Germany). So basically they soften his bladder muscles, so it is easier for him to pee. But maybe it would be better for him if he doesn't take them anymore.
And on a more positive note: he also started to move his tail again. When it's time for food he wags his tail in excitement, so that's pretty neat!
I would really like to hear your experiences. How did you handle the whole bladder topic? How do you not worry every time something doesn't go as expected? When is the right time to buy a wheelchair?