Introduction for Molly

[ScottCT]

Hello all,

I found this forum while looking for information about my recent issues with my 10 year old Pekingese named Molly.

About 2 weeks ago, Molly started having a bit of an odd gait when walking, she would especially have difficulty on tile floors and what few stairs we do have in the house. She has had arthritis in her hind legs (mostly knees) for several years and has taken Rimadyl on and of to treat it.

We made a vet appointment for this past Monday evening at which our vet (we love this woman and trust her without question), suspected that Molly could have a ruptured disc (common in Pekingese), she did a neurological workup on Molly and said that we should bring her to an area critical care Animal hospital for a surgical workup - she would need a Myelogram to confirm the rupture.

We called the referral location and setup an appointment with one of the small animal surgeons/neurologists for the next morning. Well, unfortunately - within a few hours of that call, Molly was no longer using her hind legs. She did not appear to be in any pain, just she would not support herself nor try to rise on them. We brought her down as an emergency late that evening and had the emergency care vet examine her after he reviewed all of the records our primary vet had faxed down. He suspected the same as our vet had - he was cautiously optimistic about her recovery if surgery was performed, but she still needed a Myleogram to confirm the rupture and it's location. She still had pretty good reflexes in her rear legs when tested, and also still responded to "deep pain" when her toes were pinched. They admitted her and would do the Myelogram in the morning.

Well - I received a call from the surgeon the next morning and he let us know that Molly did NOT have what was expected - while she did have signs of trauma to her spine, she did not have a ruptured disc, and there was not any compression of her spine. He said that she did have some signs of trauma, but could not determine the cause of it; it could be a small piece of broken vertebrate/cartilage that wounded her spinal cord, or it could be a blood clot in her spine - but surgery was not the recommended way forward because the purpose of going in would be to uncompress her spine, and it was not compressed. They would keep her for another night to re-evaluate in the morning after a few days of steroids.

We picked Molly up yesterday after talking to the vet about how to proceed. He believes she was better neurologically yesterday than she was the day before, but still cannot tell us why she is having hide quarter paralysis. He recommended home nursing in the form of confinement (we are using a baby playpen, physical therapy, and a 3 week run of Prednisone.

Some observations from her first night home last night. First - she is none to happy with this entire issue, she is scared and confused why she can't get up. Second - she is having problems urinating; the vet said she still has full bladder control, but is extremely reluctant to pee without being able to squat, so she is fighting going to bathroom. We are having problems expressing her because she does have control of her bladder - I'm going to my local vet today to seek out some help. Third - I noticed last night while sitting on the couch with her that she DOES have control of at least her left rear leg. While laying on her side next to me, she wanted to adjust her position so she lifted her rear left leg, pressed it up against my thigh, and pushed off. This last one has confused me as I'm now even more unsure what that means - she still will not stand, but seem to be able to have some motor control.

I'm hoping to get some more answers soon.

Thanks for having this forum - I'm sure I will have some questions to post soon.

Scott and Molly

[CarolC]

He believes she was better neurologically yesterday than she was the day before, but still cannot tell us why she is having hide quarter paralysis. He recommended home nursing in the form of confinement (we are using a baby playpen, physical therapy, and a 3 week run of Prednisone.

Hi Scott,

You gave a very clear account of what happened with Molly. They suspected it was a disk, did a myelogram, ruled out a disk, and diagnosed FCE (fibrocartilaginous embolism) by exclusion. You got all the right tests. The thing that confuses me is the vet's advice after the tests were done. With most spinal injuries, such as a disk problem or fracture, you do put the dog on crate rest and give steroids. With FCE crate rest is not necessary because all the damage that was ever going to be done by the injury was already done in the first 24-48 hours. Steroids are given for a day or so. And aggressive physical therapy is started as soon as possible.

I would suggest confirming with the vet whether the diagnosis is FCE, and if it is, do a web search on treatment of FCE to check the usual treatment.

As for the pottying, maybe a rear lift leash would help her with the squatting. Here is a link:

http://www.handicappedpets.com/resleash/

Here is a link to an article with tips on exercise for paralysis, including links to doing hydrotherapy at home. Hope this helps!

https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Physical_therapy_for_paralysis

[Cindidoxiemom]

Hi Scott and Welcom to you and Molly,

Thank you for your detailed description of Molly's case. Here is the good news. Whether it really is a disc issue or FCE...the treatment is steroids, so you are doing the right thing.
However, with FCE the suggested physical therapy is usually more rigorous siince the chances of causing further damage is minimal.

I agree with Carol that you really need a diagnosis. Many times FCE is a diagnosis of exclusion.

Regardless, until you know more...prednisone, crate rest, and PEPCID! Go to the Pharmacy and get some pepcid. Give Molly a 1/2 tab 1/2 hour before the prednisone. Steroids can cause tummy ulcers and other problems. The pepcid protects their tummy.

On the expressing, you are right to express her. If there is a chance that she is not emptying her bladder completely on a regular basis, you need to intervene. There is a medication, phenoxibenzamine that you could request from your Vet. It relaxes the bladder sphincter and allows you to express more easily.

Oscar, my dog who is paralyzed with IVDD is on phenoxibenzamine because he has so much bladder tone.

Hope this is helpful,
Cindi

[ScottCT]

Some good news this morning - Molly decided to try to walk.

I think she got tired of my awful attempts to express her bladder and decided it was just easier if she took care of things herself. While sitting on a chair in the backyard, she rolled over onto her side after I once again tried to get her to release her bladder. She sat there for a few seconds then rolled over onto her haunches and stood up and walked (wobbly) about four feet and squatted and went pee. She walked a bit more, sat, then walked a few more feet, then looked at me as if "OK, that enough for now."

It seems as if confinement, rest, and steroids are doing her well right now. We have a follow-up with the specialist later this week.

Thanks for the replies and the information - it is greatly appreciated.

Scott and Molly

[critters]

Sounds GREAT!! You should, however, keep an eye on her; it may be that she's not emptying completely when she pees, which can make her prone to UTIs. It's definitely a major start, though!

[Cindidoxiemom]

Scott,
It does sound like Molly is making progress. What wonderful news! Now...I agree with Critters here. Just because she was able to pee, doesn't mean she is emptying her bladder. Check! If there is still urine...continue to express.

Ok..so what got ya here...strict crate rest and her steroids. PLEASE continue. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO often we see owners who allow their dogs too much freedom once they start making progress, and saddly the doggers backslide. Honestly, Molly should be crated for a total of 6-8 weeks. The prednisone is going to make her "feel" better, but that disc material is still there pushing on her spine!

Take care, and PLEASE keep us informed.
Cindi

[CarolC]

The prednisone is going to make her "feel" better, but that disc material is still there pushing on her spine!

Oops! This is the one that wasn't a disk problem, 'member? She's doing super! Agree about watching the bladder. Congratulations to Molly!!! :)

[Cindidoxiemom]

I thought Molly was still undiagnosised. There was still a posibility of swelling within the spine. Sorry there Scott. I'm going to stand by my suggestion however. Keep the crate rest going!
Cindi