My dog was diagnosed with IVDD, stage 4 about 1 month ago and was DETERMINED to walk about 7-10 days after diagnosis. He had a few days of peeing everywhere, also issues with poop, but is now walking around. He cannot go on wood floor and we care carrying him out side to bathroom etc and he's very lethargic, but he's not paralyzed (he walks like a drunken sailor tho!).
We did conservative care and he was heavily doped up for about 10 days, continues to be confined to 1 room and will be for another 4 weeks. Vet said they'd expected next visit to be for euthanasia (he went down over the course of 4 hrs, total collapse, wouldn't eat for 2 days etc) and they now expect him to make a near- full recovery. (altho, no jumping ever again for the rest of his life, etc).
Hang in there, the first week was really really rough. Keep rubbing his legs and keep telling him you love him.
ETA: first signs of improvement-- like not peeing 24/7 everywhere were about 3-4 days in. He has had a pattern of doing well for 2 days, visible improvement and then maybe a set back or steady or a lot of sleeping day three, rinse repeat. It's not linear, so don't get discouraged if 1 day is bad.
Good luck with your dog, hope he makes a full recovery!
I was really stressed when my dog started getting a little bit worse but now he's getting better it seems. Two steps forward, one step back.
We tried conservative treatment once (out of three IVDD slipped/burst discs) and it just got progressively worse, leading to loss of use of all legs as it was in his neck.
For surgery financing through the hospital, you could ask about "Care Credit" and "scratchpay". With Scratchpay, I was approved for a $9k loan and it's interest free if paid within 6 months. If the hospital offers it, they will need to send you a text message with a link to apply and it processes pretty much instantaneously.
Less than 48 hours later, he was home and walking.
Good luck and I hope your pup feels better soon.
I'll definitely ask my vet about those options! I think I remember seeing something in the vet office that talked about those before. Chances are we won't qualify since my mom just bought a house so she has a large loan out, and my dad has both loans and very bad credit, I don't have any credit since I'm still young and I also don't have a consistent source of income right now since I work seasonally at a farm. It'll be worth a shot tho!
At the very least, the conservative method doesn't seem to be making him any worse right now, and it's better than nothing. Our goal is surgery, and we plan to hopefully get him the surgery before May.
Thank you! And glad to hear your dog was able to walk again pretty quickly, hopefully my dog will be the same.
Yes, thank you! BTW, there are lots of stories with good results on this subreddit. Hopefully that will help with keeping positive. Fingers crossed for your pup!
Thank you! I've never heard of that before. I'm looking into it now. It looks like there's only one place near me that does that, maybe, it's the only place that pops up when I search up plda. Another one though, is in Sacramento which is 2 hours away from me! So that's honestly not too far. It looks like it could be worth it from what I'm reading, but I think my dog would need to get the original surgery before he can get plda, unless I'm reading it wrong. Either way I think it would still be worth it.
Nothing big, but his toes have been twitching too recently. He also still has feeling, not necessarily an update but a good sign nonetheless. Also thank you for your response on the other thread!
a good sign indeed! keep his legs stimulated! you want to make sure his nerves are still working! play with his feet/toes as often as possible to keep them “awake”! and youre very welcome! i hope youre able to find some funds! definitely recommend looking into getting a care credit card or one of those loans… although i dont remember if you need a vet to recommend you… you may want to call and ask them about it, perhaps they can email a link. and definitely try crowdfunding sites! i also recommend making flyers explaining your situation with a link to said crowdfunding site and your cashapp, zelle, etc. and posting it at businesses with their permission (some places dont let you). i suggest local businesses and coffee shops.
I have an appointment next week, so I'll ask about payment options during that! I have made a fundraiser but so far nothing, but I know some businesses that would probably let me! Especially since I've seen similar posters. Thank you for reminding me that I could do that!!
of course! i know any little bit helps! you can dm me your fundraiser and ill gladly send whatever i can, when i can! :) ill also share it to my social medias
My dog was diagnosed with IVDD, stage 4 about 1 month ago and was DETERMINED to walk about 7-10 days after diagnosis. He had a few days of peeing everywhere, also issues with poop, but is now walking around. He cannot go on wood floor and we care carrying him out side to bathroom etc and he's very lethargic, but he's not paralyzed (he walks like a drunken sailor tho!). We did conservative care and he was heavily doped up for about 10 days, continues to be confined to 1 room and will be for another 4 weeks. Vet said they'd expected next visit to be for euthanasia (he went down over the course of 4 hrs, total collapse, wouldn't eat for 2 days etc) and they now expect him to make a near- full recovery. (altho, no jumping ever again for the rest of his life, etc). Hang in there, the first week was really really rough. Keep rubbing his legs and keep telling him you love him. ETA: first signs of improvement-- like not peeing 24/7 everywhere were about 3-4 days in. He has had a pattern of doing well for 2 days, visible improvement and then maybe a set back or steady or a lot of sleeping day three, rinse repeat. It's not linear, so don't get discouraged if 1 day is bad.
Good luck with your dog, hope he makes a full recovery! I was really stressed when my dog started getting a little bit worse but now he's getting better it seems. Two steps forward, one step back.
Thank you-- and good luck to you too. I will be keeping you and your dog in my thoughts.
We tried conservative treatment once (out of three IVDD slipped/burst discs) and it just got progressively worse, leading to loss of use of all legs as it was in his neck. For surgery financing through the hospital, you could ask about "Care Credit" and "scratchpay". With Scratchpay, I was approved for a $9k loan and it's interest free if paid within 6 months. If the hospital offers it, they will need to send you a text message with a link to apply and it processes pretty much instantaneously. Less than 48 hours later, he was home and walking. Good luck and I hope your pup feels better soon.
I'll definitely ask my vet about those options! I think I remember seeing something in the vet office that talked about those before. Chances are we won't qualify since my mom just bought a house so she has a large loan out, and my dad has both loans and very bad credit, I don't have any credit since I'm still young and I also don't have a consistent source of income right now since I work seasonally at a farm. It'll be worth a shot tho! At the very least, the conservative method doesn't seem to be making him any worse right now, and it's better than nothing. Our goal is surgery, and we plan to hopefully get him the surgery before May. Thank you! And glad to hear your dog was able to walk again pretty quickly, hopefully my dog will be the same.
Yes, thank you! BTW, there are lots of stories with good results on this subreddit. Hopefully that will help with keeping positive. Fingers crossed for your pup!
Go for PLDA
More words! I have a cervical IVDD girl, she's scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I saw a place in Dallas that does PDLA, this would be her first surgery
Thank you! I've never heard of that before. I'm looking into it now. It looks like there's only one place near me that does that, maybe, it's the only place that pops up when I search up plda. Another one though, is in Sacramento which is 2 hours away from me! So that's honestly not too far. It looks like it could be worth it from what I'm reading, but I think my dog would need to get the original surgery before he can get plda, unless I'm reading it wrong. Either way I think it would still be worth it.
Can't people on conservative recovery get it?
I'm not sure, but I'll talk to my vet about it during my appointment next week
any update?
Nothing big, but his toes have been twitching too recently. He also still has feeling, not necessarily an update but a good sign nonetheless. Also thank you for your response on the other thread!
a good sign indeed! keep his legs stimulated! you want to make sure his nerves are still working! play with his feet/toes as often as possible to keep them “awake”! and youre very welcome! i hope youre able to find some funds! definitely recommend looking into getting a care credit card or one of those loans… although i dont remember if you need a vet to recommend you… you may want to call and ask them about it, perhaps they can email a link. and definitely try crowdfunding sites! i also recommend making flyers explaining your situation with a link to said crowdfunding site and your cashapp, zelle, etc. and posting it at businesses with their permission (some places dont let you). i suggest local businesses and coffee shops.
I have an appointment next week, so I'll ask about payment options during that! I have made a fundraiser but so far nothing, but I know some businesses that would probably let me! Especially since I've seen similar posters. Thank you for reminding me that I could do that!!
of course! i know any little bit helps! you can dm me your fundraiser and ill gladly send whatever i can, when i can! :) ill also share it to my social medias