Problem Expressing Waffles Bladder

[BethT]

Just wondering if any of you who express your animals bladder have every run into this problem. My dog Waffles has been paralyzed for 2 1/2 years. It took me a long time to learn to express his bladder. The first year I catheterd Waffles until I finally got good at expressing. So it has been 1 1/2 years that I have been expressing Waffles bladder with no problems. He has had only one infection in that time and it came a few days after a bout of diarrhea and turned out to be e-coli from fecal contamination. Anyway everything has been fine until this past week. The other day I was expressing him, I could feel his bladder filled with urine but I could not get the urine to come out. After quite a lot of pressure finally some short squirts. After a day of this of course we saw our vet. He passed a catheter through Waffles to make sure there was no blockage (Waffles has a history of urate stones which he takes meds for). We are doing a culture and I am waiting for the results. The night of the vet visit I was still having a problem getting the urine out but yesterday it was like normal expressing him but today I am once again having a problem. Has anyone every had this experience? Thanks, Beth

[critters]

In fact, Buddy has this problem as we speak. He's had urethral spasms since Turkey Day and has begun to make progress only in the last couple of days. Phenoxybenzamine (PBZ) has made a HUGE difference with him.

[Dianne]

Beth,

I had this problem a few times with Schnitzel, also. He has been paralyzed almost 2 years and I manually express urine.

Not long ago, his bladder seemed full, but only a dribble would come out when I expressed. I mixed up my homemade chicken brew so that he would be QUITE full, and then we were able to express. I made sure he drank more that day, and he seemed fine the next day.

I don't understand this either.

Dianne

[BethT]

Thanks Critters and Dianne. Critters when you say spasms what do you mean? Waffles for months has been having what I call bladder spasms (because I do not know what else to call them). It can happen when I am expressing him, moving him with a harness or sometimes they happen when he is just sleeping. It actually is the funniest looking thing. His legs start to move on there own like he is running only he has no control over them. When I hold his back end up when it happens he looks like he is tap dancing on the floor. All the hair on his back stands up and when the legs stop moving he starts to urinate on his own (not that he has any control over it). After the urine stops coming out I express him and it is so easy (normally it is not easy). Does Buddy do something like this? I will talk to my vet about PBZ.

Actually Dianne I have been doing the opposite. Since I am having such a problem getting the urine out I have been giving Waffles less water then normal but maybe I should try your method. I have been worried that his bladder would get too full. Even if the culture comes back negative I worry that by now that Waffles probably does have an infection since i know that I am not totally emptying him...it has just been impossible. Thanks for the input. Beth

[Cindidoxiemom]

Yeppers....I know exactly what you mean; oscar is on phenoxybenzamine also. Really seems to help!
Cindi

[critters]

I mean his urethra was TOTALLY locked up--he couldn't pee unless he was masked down. For weeks he only peed with a cath or a cysto.