a dachshund recovery log

Update

2007-02-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I met another person who has seen this blog, so I had better do something about adding a new picture. Here is Bella just the other weekend. We took a trip to Homochitto National Forest with some friends for some camping. Here is Bella after taking a swim and rolling around in the sand.
Many people say they can't tell how wobbly she is. And it is hard to believe she's 13. I can see all her new gray hair though. Most of it happened after the surgery. Plus she is very tippy after laying down for a while. All in all, I'd say she's made a full recovery.
The next step will be to add a ramp to our bed, and a ramp to the three steps to the house. She's still fearless and will run down the steps if she wants to, before you can get a hold of her. Usually she waits to be carried, or she will stop if you say "Wait, I've got you!" She always waits to be carried up the steps, but that is just because her legs aren't as strong and able to pull her body up as they used to. Believe me, she would totally run right up them too if she could.
Thank you to everyone who has read and responded with caring words to this blog. I sincerely hope it will help those of you going through something like this. Please contact me if you are going through this, and would like to talk about it.
Love, Amy

Wow, its been a while!

2006-10-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

It has been about a month and a half since the last entry.
I just got a flickr note from someone who has actually read this blog! Wow! I now feel a little like I should have been putting in more posts! She's just been doing better and better. I re-read the entry prior to this one, and realize that she really has come a long way since then.
She is wonky and sounds like "Thing" from the addams family coming down the hallway. This morning my husband said "here comes Thing!" and it cracked me up.
She runs rather than walks. Maybe it has something to do with momentum. She does stand, and can do so for a good bit of time, but walking is an issue. So there is this crazy crooked run with occasional wipe outs all over the house. We have a mostly tile house, so its sad and funny at the same time. We bought a rug for her favorite area. Works better for traction than blankets.
She still favors that left forleg, and I'll often find it curled up under her, but she can actually turn left now. Whe we play catch, I'll try to toss the ball (not too far still) to her left so she is forced to use that leg to turn around.
We completely quit the hydro therapy after only a few times... too scary, and intense for her. Now that she is doing so much better, I may take her to a pond I know of. She can't resist the water, and it really would be good for her to swim. Just have to find somewhere shallow and clear enough for me to get in with her.

2006-08-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything, because its just been slow. She wants to walk, but can't, and is still under teh "Strict cage rest" order. The only time she goes into her cage is if we have to leave her alone in the house. I don't really even think that is nec. though. she is trying to avoid using her left foreleg. I have to force it out of a curled up position when she is laying or when i am helping her to stand. that leg is getting very stiff. She has enough muscle control to rebel against physical therapy, so it is hard. a few times a day i will manually stratch the leg out, and with little effort at all there is a loud crack in the shoulder joint.
we are into the hydo-therapy part of the p.t. now, and it terrifies her. i get in there with her, and let her rest her had on my leg, or i will cradle her head in my hands, so she knows she won't go under. i fill the bath to just over her legs, just to get weight off of her torso. she won't move around though. i was thinking she would move her legs, like she's swimming but no.
i'm getting a little frustrated. not with her... she can do no wrong. just with myself. i feel there is something i should be doing, or not doing, or changing, to make the process go faster. the vets told me this would be very long road, and i see that now. She is starting to bark when she needs to go outside to the bathroom.

2006-08-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

She continues to recover. It is beginning to seem a little much to post everyday. We are really getting into a routine here... comfortably settling into the bathroom stuff, etc. Except for the lack of mobility, she is Bella again. And she is getting really wriggly and frustrated at not being able to move any distance. But she does communicate well. She'll throw her body and roll out of her bed occassionally, but she'll give a few soft whines to let you know. So her neck is very mobile. She really extends it and moves her head all around. This is how she is able to "throw" herself. She gives the head turn a big heave and there she goes... rolley polley.

2006-08-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

This morning felt almost normal. Normal bathroom time and activity, meaning #1 and #2 one after the other. Brought her in and she scarfed down her food, as per normal. Then I placed her in her little private hidey hole under a table, where she usually goes after she eats. Then I gave her a sock and a chewy. She moved her right forepaw to touch her chewy! She did it numerous times. Thrilling!
Ok. so here is the picture of the sling contraption. I should call it the concraption, though! It needs work. For starters, without the rubber stoppers, it wants to collapse. Gluing it together would help with that. Secondly, she's too heavy for the velcro I sewed on to hold her up. I had intended it to be adjustable so we could allow a certain amount of weight on her feet. But it just sort of unrolls her to the floor. Straps would be better. Thirdly, does she really need it? I have found that laying her front half on a blanket folded tall enough to let her feet hang down off the back works well for the leg strengthening excercises. Then I can turn her around and have her front feet hanging off the blanket with her back half supported. The blanket is just thick enough so you can place her legs in a standing position. she will then hold that stand until she tires and gradually sink down. Then you can repeat. Here is apic of what NOT to build. Or at least not to build exactly like this. NO pictures of her in the thing... way too humiliating for all involved.

2006-08-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get the hang of expressing her and keeping her accidents to a minimum. In the past couple of days she's had one a day. One in the morning on the 5th and one in the evening on the 6th. I think the one on the fifth was due to me not expressing her fully an hour before. Looks like she's having a bm every other day. Although I suspect that to change. She went last evening, and this morning she's farting and there are lots of gurgling sounds coming from her guts.

I am so excited because yesterday she wagged her tail! Brett and I had gone for about 40 minutes to buy supplies for this sling contraption for her, and when we came back in the house, she was wagging her tail! O.k., not really the full on kind, but more of the afflicted slow motion jerky sort. But it was definately there.

She's showing improvement in p.t. too. There is resistence (a little bit) for a moment in each of her legs. The slightest show of resistence seems to be exhausting, so i guess that's why it is only for a moment.

This morning she rolled, by herself, from lying on her left side to lying on her stomach. She is improving greatly in her ability to raise her head and extend her neck. She doesn't show pain like she used to when her neck is touched, although we still try to avoid touching it.

OK. For the "sling contraption." Brett is a genius at thinking up innovative ideas to make life easier. Maybe he wasn't the first one to think of this... there was at least one other similar to it we found online later, but still.
The point to this thing is not to suspend her in a totally passive upright position. The point is to have a way to hold her safely upright while she excercises her legs. I'm still sewing the harness part, and will finish it today. It will be adjustable so we can vary the amount of pressure on her feet. I'll post a pic as soon as its done. It was a blast to build and cost about $40.00 for the parts, which include casters. We haven't yet determined how to attach the casters since their bases don't quite match up to the diameter of the pvc... is close though. We have two smart casters for the front and two straight casters for the back. Plus the pvc is hollow, of course, and the end caps available that fit are rounded. We bought rubber stoppers instead to plug the holes in the bottoms of the legs... the kind that go on the ends of walkers. We shoved them into the pvc rather than capping them on the outside. Make sense? Pics are coming shortly!

2006-08-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

So, after taking off her pain patch, she seems much more facially animated. She didn't eat anything yesterday, but ate like a little pig this morning. I need to find out if I can express her bladder more often than every 8 hours. I'm doing it more like every 5. If I wait too much longer, she pees anyway, on herself. I've found the best way to do it for me. I hold her like a football with my left arm, with her head left, tail right. Then with my right hand I reach under and push. I like this way because i can really see under her and see when I've got the best spot. Fascinating.

We also have two bms. One in the middle of the night on the 3rd. She woke me with panting/little whimpers. So i got her up to pee. She had wet herself, but smartly waited until she was in my arms to poop. all the way down the hall.. plopping.

Last night the smell woke me up around 1 a.m. I found poop under her tail in her bed. like hunting for easter eggs. Gross.

She's been sleeping with her eyes open, I swear, today. I heard her dreaming for the first time since she's been home (because no pain patch?) and her eyes were open.

Slow and steady improvement, just like the doctor said. So far so good these past days.

must find out:

what is the cyst in her cheek, and in her ear flap?

Can I apply heat...gentle and localized, to exta stiff parts, like her left fore shoulder?

Why is she sleeping with her eyes open?

2006-08-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

She's feeling some pain today. I let her have a ball and i think it was too soon. i believe that pushing the ball with her nose was painful, but she couldn't not do it. Took the ball away, and will wait till the staples are out to try again. could be a good tool for therapy.

Last night felt some small flicker in her left foreleg and pelvic leg during p.t. This morning felt and saw actual attempt to pull legs away from my stretching them. Good!

got the hang of bladder expressing. just like milking a cow. i have not milked a cow, but i guess you would get the same thrill the first time you did milk one successfully. Called into LVRC and got some questions answered.

is not the best to express bladder too often. should really wait around 8 hours. she needs to learn the feeling of a full bladder.
sleeplessness could be caused by the pain patch she's wearing. That should come off tomorrow mid day.
Could take around a week or more for her to poop after the anesthesia. and no, it will be pretty normal, not some massive dump like i feared.
no rolling over back at all till staples are out. i guess i should have figured that one. better to know for sure.

There was some dampness on her pillow yesterday. think she may have peed a little when i moved her.

will try not to obsess on each day, but look at weekly improvements.
will try not to obssess on her and get some work done. i just get a kick out of aiding the sick. so didn't mean to write cheese ball poem just then. A thrill helping the ill?
-------------------------
i've never had any creature this dependent on me before. it is huge and heartbreaking.
found a small round mass in her left cheek. what the hell?
have some questions.
1. why wait to express bladder when she sometimes pees uncontrollably? at least, she leaks.
2. when do we begin electric current therapy?
3. when do we begin creatine?
need to buy "Urine-Gone"
going to bed now. need to make a calendar to keep up with meds and therapies. thera-pees.

first full day back home

2006-08-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Bella has a shaved patch of skin, starting at the top of her head, 12" long by 6" wide . There is a dorsal incision beginning at the base of her skull and extending 6" towards her rump. It is being held together with 23 staples. She has another shaved patch over her rump about 3" x 4" where they injected dye for the diagnostic myelogram. There is a pain patch filled with fentanyl on her right side which I will remove in two more days.

She has no motor function in any of her limbs, and can move only her head. She is on very soft bedding, and must be shifted every so often. I let her lie on one side,then the other, then on her tummy. She has a lot of pain deep in her neck.

She has no voluntary bladder function, although she is not incontinent. I must manually express her bladder every few hours. This is hard to do at first. The bladder is a lemon sized water balloon located in her abdomen between her ribs and backside... closer to the backside than ribs. There are also intestines and her colon located here. Nothing really to hurt by applying firm pressure. More on this fun activity here. Actually it was fun the first time I actually got it to happen. I was having a very unsuccessful time of it, with her whining and crying, and me apologizing and pressing and pressing again. Then I remembered the prednisone causes excessive thirst, so I filled her up with as much water as she would drink to get her excessively full. That did the trick.
If I am not dilligent about this urination business, she will likely end up incontinent due to an overstretched and flaccid bladder.
So far she has not had a bowel movement. I guess I won't worry about that until tomorrow or the next day. She is supposed to have them as usual. No expressing of the bowels, thank you baby jesus.

I am to give her one prednisone twice daily for the next six days, then once a day for seven days, then one every other day until they are gone. She takes a half of a 10mg pepcid ac (generic) each day to help with stomach upset from the pepcid.

I have also started her on a daily joint supplement called synovicre. Beef flavored chew tab. Yum.

I am to give her physical therapy two to three times daily. They include:

Compressing leg muscles to simulate the weight of standing. Apply pressure with palm of hand to bottom of paw with the other hand keeping the knee joint from bending up towards the body.
Stretching the legs. Lengthening each leg towards the back and towards the front, holding each stretch for a little while. I've been counting 10, and watching her breaths.
Rotating each leg in a bicycle motion, moving through a full range of motion.
Manipulating her feet and toes. I can stretch them apart and play with them all I want. She hates this normally, so this will be a good gauge to measure the regaining of sensation and movement.
Supporting her into a standing position with her feet flat on the ground and gently rocking her back and forth, and side to side.
Massaging her muscle tissue and joints.

A great online booklet describing all aspects of dachshund disc disease and treatments is here.

My questions are these:

Why isn't she sleeping much?
Why isn't she having a bowel movement?
When can I roll her from one side to the other over her back?
Is it ok to really fill her up with water to make bladder expressing easier?

Introduction

2006-08-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

first i have to get more coffee and shift bella.
Bella is 12 years old, and as just undergone some pretty serious back sugery.
If you own a dachshund, you are probably aware of their troublesome backs. We were, and adjusted our lifestyle in an attempt to prevent injury to her. We ditched our bedframe years ago, and try to carry her up and down flights of stairs. "Try" because they are, by nature, fearless, obsessive, and stubborn. So we try to watch out for her back as best we can. I have recently learned that we can do a much better job of it. I have also learned that had we already been doing a better job, her disc would have blown out anyway.

This began on July 26th. She was very stiff that morning, and by the afternoon was shaking with severe pain and paralyzed on the left side of her body. After spending one night at my local vet, he referred me to Louisiana Veterinary Referral Center an hour away. This is a fabulous 24 hr facility filled with a superb group of specialists.
She underwent surgery on the 28th and came home on the 31st.

If you have found this blog, and you are going through something similar, I hope you find comfort in reading my experiences.