Posted in convalescence on November 17, 2007| 4 Comments »
Here’s a photo of our little man, nine days after surgery, having a quiet Saturday morning. He’s allowed to have toys as long as he doesn’t shake them or play too rough. Fortunately he prefers to use them as pillows.
Charlie woke me up several times last night to go outside, and he had a pain episode at 3:00am between trips outside. Otherwise he’s doing well.
Posted in convalescence on November 17, 2007| 2 Comments »
I waited until midnight to post this. Charlie had another good day; for the second day in a row he started to have 2 Syringomyelia-related pain episodes, but each time he stopped within just a few seconds. This is really getting our hopes up!
Charlie’s neurologist has extended Charlie’s Prednisone prescription for several days. I’ll drive down to Akron tomorrow to pick up the extra pills.
Charlie barks to go outside for potty breaks, and his appetite is excellent. His face is soft and relaxed, no furrows in his brow. His gait has improved from before surgery; his body is relaxed and he doesn’t have tremors. We’re talking about taking him for physical therapy after his recovery period from surgery is behind him. We had already discussed this with one of our vets at Animal Clinic Northview, and he felt Charlie would benefit from PT – his leg muscles need to be strengthened.
Charlie sleeps mostly all day and is more active in the evening from 6:00pm until 8:30pm or so. He’s started barking at dinner time again, like he did before his surgery. I had missed that in a strange way. Not enjoyable, but I’m so glad he’s feeling better!
Posted in convalescence on November 16, 2007| 4 Comments »
The additional Tramadol is helping Charlie feel much better. He’s getting up and barking when he needs to go outside and seems more content. His bed was dry this morning, and we didn’t hear a peep out of him all night. I didn’t have to get up at 1:00am to give him Prednisone because we’re down to one dose a day. That was nice to be able to sleep straight through the night.
Yesterday Charlie started to have 2 pain episodes, but each time he stopped after just a few seconds. I have to be cautiously hopeful for him, but feel like celebrating!
Charlie’s awareness about the goings on in this house are phenomenal – in my attempts to keep him calm I had moved all dog food, bowls and doggy meal preparation activities to the laundry room. Charlie caught on to that quickly, so I moved everything to my bedroom, where I know he cannot see or hear a thing. Now we’re thinking he must have bionic ears and nose, because he’s barking when I fix the dogs’ meals in there!
Posted in convalescence on November 14, 2007| 1 Comment »
Today Charlie wasn’t feeling so great; no whining or crying, but just lying in bed not moving his head very much at all. His Tramadol was stopped yesterday, and it’s evident he needs something more than just Gabapentin for pain. This morning he went potty outside, but then he wouldn’t get up to go wee all day. He wee’d in his bed at noon, then again at 6:00pm. He wouldn’t let my sister or I take him outside. I’m going to call the neurologist tomorrow to ask for something more for Charlie.
This evening he was willing to go outside, and afterwards he enjoyed chewing on dental rawhides and seemed very content.
He’s still having pain episodes, and we’ve noticed that it has to do with excitement – relating to meals, treats, and people coming and going. We’re low key, but he watches Geordie who is excitable. We’ve moved all the dog food and bowls into our bedroom, where Charlie won’t be aware of food being measured into bowls. That helped this evening.
My sister watches Charlie during part of the day. He gets a little excited about the transitions. He takes hostages – he gets himself excited when one of us has to leave, no matter how careful we are not to draw attention to our activities. He still has about 3 pain episodes per day, which is upsetting. People who have been through this tell me he may get worse before he gets better. We’re praying he gets better soon.
Posted in convalescence on November 14, 2007| 2 Comments »
Charlie had another quiet night, and he’s calm and comfortable this morning. The Prednisone is working well for him. He had a SM-related pain episode this morning after his breakfast, just as I was getting ready to carry him outside. As soon as it was over, he still wanted to go out. He’s such a little trooper.
Yesterday was his last day taking Tramadol, a pain medication, so we’ll be watching him closely in case I need to call his neurologist for more pain meds. We’re down to four medicines again: Gabapentin, Prilosec, Amantadine, and Prednisone.
He has let me work on his ears a little since surgery – I trimmed off the dreaded matts, which were stuck together with betadyne from his surgery, and I’ve lightly brushed his ear hair. He’s also letting me clean his face with damp paper towels. So we’re making some progress. I might get out the camera and take a photo soon!
Posted in convalescence on November 13, 2007| 3 Comments »
Charlie is much more comfortable since he started Prednisone yesterday! He doesn’t whine when he moves his head, so that’s a huge relief. We slept all night, except I had to get up at 1:00am to give him his second dose of Prednisone.
His bed was soaking wet in two places this morning. I put the wee pads under the crate pad, so we can just toss the crate pad in the washer. Then I quickly make up his bed with the spare crate liner and more wee pads.
We’re not allowed to bathe Charlie, so I have a packet of Quick Bath wipes on hand for cleaning his coat.
This morning he popped out of his crate wanting his breakfast, which wasn’t quite cooled enough to give him. It was probably the excitement that caused him to have a SM-related pain episode, which lasted over two minutes. I had to use a baby blanket and towel to keep his hind foot from damaging his neck incision, and I actually had thoughts of rushing him to our local vet. This is a 24/7 job caring for him! He could start scratching at any time, and someone has to be there to protect him from himself.
Then Charlie got up, ate his breakfast and went outside to potty. He’s walking too fast now that he feels better, and I’m praying his step-in harness that I ordered will be delivered soon so I can slow him down with a leash. For now we have a small penned in area in the backyard for him.
Posted in convalescence on November 12, 2007| 6 Comments »
Charlie is having ups and downs now.
First the ups:
He is drinking fluids regularly because I fix him a ‘broth’ of warm water and canned dog food (Evo 95% chicken&turkey) and he drinks small amounts several times a day.
His appetite is good; twice a day he eats soft food: 1/4 cup Solid Gold Hund N Flocken with boiling water to soften, then I stir in canned Evo to make a gravy and let it cool. I have been adding fish oil or flaxseed oil to keep things moving.
Last night he wanted to go outside at 8:00pm, then he went out twice this morning and everything is regular now.
The downs:
Charlie had three SM-related pain episodes this morning; two were very early in the morning, and he scratched at his incision causing it to bleed a little bit before I could stop him. We also thought he might have fallen because he spilled some water out of his dish.
I took him to his neurologist this morning, and Charlie had his third pain episode while there. Dr. A. has prescribed Prednisone for the next several days. Fortunately he feels Charlie’s incision and neck are ok.
One more Up:
Charlie’s neurology examination today revealed that he’s had more improvements since his last exam, which was shortly after his surgery. The exam following his surgery showed improvements from his first visit before surgery, so Charlie continues to get better, little by little!
Posted in convalescence on November 11, 2007| 1 Comment »
Charlie doesn’t want to go outside for potty breaks since yesterday afternoon. Last night he wee’d on one of his throw rugs in his pen twice, so we’ve decided to set up a puppy pad there for him to use. I hate to confuse him about his house training, but he doesn’t feel well at all and doesn’t want to be carried outside. Besides, at least he didn’t wee in his bed!
Last night I heard him yip every 45 minutes to an hour, and I got up each time to check on him all night long. It seems he’s changing positions that often.
He’s also started to scratch at his incision on 3 occasions, and the activity looks and sounds a bit like his pre-surgery pain episodes. I covered him with a little fleece baby blanket to protect his neck incision, and he immediately stopped trying to scratch it.
I worry that he’ll have pain episodes, but Colin reminds me it’s only 3 days since his surgery and of course he would be in pain. I’ve had surgery before and have to agree. It may be at least 2 weeks until we see any improvement.
My sister is going to watch Charlie for a few hours each day to give us some respite.
Posted in convalescence on November 11, 2007| Leave a Comment »
We’ve noticed some changes in Charlie since his decompression surgery. His face looks softer and more relaxed; that pinched look around his eyes has vanished. His body is softer and more relaxed. His movements are a little more fluid.
He can now lay in positions that are more normal; it’s difficult to explain, but before the surgery his front legs were always splayed far apart from his head. Now I sometimes see him lying on his side like a normal dog. I’ve also been seeing him lying with his head between his paws, although only one paw is against his face while the other is only 4-5 inches away.
His neck hurts, but that’s most likely the incision and muscle pain which is normal after surgery. He spends most of his time resting and sleeping, and he yips/whines a little when he changes positions.
We don’t know yet if the changes are related to his surgery or just his pain meds, but for now we’re hoping, hoping, hoping.
Posted in convalescence on November 10, 2007| 4 Comments »
Charlie is having some pain, but his appetite is good and he went outside for a wee again.
When he first moves his neck or lifts his head after sleeping, he whines. But after his head is up he seems ok. He seems to only get up when he wants something. I softened some of his kibble with hot water then added canned meat to it and let it cool. He tried to eat while lying in bed, but we both found he prefers to stand and eat out of his shallow bowl set on a towel wrapped shoe box. This is a more comfortable position for his neck. His bowl is a shallow cat bowl.
I have to order him a step in harness – he’s supposed to be on a leash outside for potty.
Charlie's SM Weblog 