10/25/2001
We just got back from Lucy's appointment at the surgeon. This was to remove staples, go over physical therapy and see what is going on with the nerve.
Again, the surgeon feels very confident that she will regain her use of her leg - another few weeks or so (again!). They removed every other staple, and all of the ones towrds the rear area. They were a little irritated so they left some in so more healing could happen. We have to go back in one week to remove the rest and do another check on the nerve.
He didn't see much improvement since last time, but he still thinks that she is flexing her foot a little. The physical therapy is 2 times a day I have to do range of motion exercises with her leg, gently pull it back, forward, out to the side asnd in a circle. Also put the foot flat on the ground and press down. Her current range of motion is normal for her stage of recovery except
for the back otion - pulling the leg towards the tail. She is VERY stiff that way. I would imagine since she is not using her leg much it has stiffened up, probably compounding the problem.
So hopefully the exercises help. Also, he wants us to take her on 2 10-15 min, walks in the backyard - no sling. he said this is usually not until 6-8
weeks out but for her it is very important that she start moving and trying to stimulate the hip. They said no damage should be done to the joint capsule and the bone/cement interface as long as she doesn't fall. The kind of falling that is bad is when the leg falls under the body - that is when
they can dislocate, or hyperextending it.
He was happy to hear about the acupuncture and electrostimulation we are going to do with the holistic vet - hopefully some nerve stimulation will occur. We discussed why she is having this problem. I had read a couple ofthings online about how sometimes it can hapen if the heating process of the cement comes into contact with the sciatic nerve. He said ti can happen but in her case there wasn't really any overflow of the cement so it is unlikely. He said one time it happened when the cement migrated through the femur, but it
did heal although it took 6 months. He also said that sometimes younger dog's nerves can be more fragile and more reactive to pressure. He really
does not know what happened or why, but he is confident that she will be using her leg again. He is visibly concerned though and clearly this is a
very unusual case for him. So we go back next Friday to have the rest of the stiches removed and another evaluation.
Lucy has lost 5 lbs or more since this all started. She is down to 55 lbs now. Probably from the muscle atrophy.
10/27/2001
Lucy had her appointment with the holistic vet today.He was very nice, really got Lucy to like him. We discussed her diet, background, hips, nerve issue, etc. He did an acupuncture session. She was very nervous and wouldn;t really relax as he wanted her to. She was fine with the first few needles. The needles are sooo thin you really can almost not feel it.
But when he put the needles in the area of the sciatic nerve, she YELLED in pain for every one. He put about 6-7 in the area - from the hip all the way to the toes. She YELPED every time - it was scary. Then she relaxed. She definately has feeling in the sciatic nerve - that's for sure! He thinks she may be having hypersensitivity in the nerves. Maybe the nerve is blocked or something.He also noted that her toungue was pale and bluish - sign of a lack of proper circulation.
He gave us the following supplements - all are for nerve issues, circulation, etc.Selenium, Vitamin E, Multivitamin With Vit B Complex, Phophatidylcholine, Salmon Oil, Gingo Biloba. He also recommended MSM but since I already have some of that I am goig to bring that in for him to look at.He recommends home cooking for dogs - not BARF but some other thing. He gave me some literature to read. I will read it and think about it - i almost never cook for myself so it would be a big commitment.
By the time he took the needles out - about 20 min, she was relaxed - acupuncture has that effect of giving a sleepy kind of feeling or a high. She is snoozing now, so tired from all that activity. Penny is happy too - this morning we took her for a 4 mile hike with my cousins dogs. Nothing better than snoozing dogs!
I, of course, have this vision that she is going to wake up and have full use of her foot, lol. I know that is not likely but I can dream...I have actually had dreams about her for the past few nights - imagining that moment when I can see my dog walk normally again.
10/31/2001
We went back to the holistic vet for more acupuncture today. Lucy has been doing pretty well - no real dramatic changes, it is hard to tell if we are seeing an improvement, or just wanting to see an improvement, but every so often we think we see her using her foot properly.
Anyway, we decided last time to keep her on the floor (as opposed to this nifty lifting table) and we brought in her dog bed so she should lay down on it. She was a total bear - resisted the doctor, wouldn't let him put any needles in, cried, screamed out in pain. It was awful, and the vet was getting very frustrated. He really wanted to help her but she would not let him.
Then we tried another technique which is electronic stimulation on 2 wands. He dips the wands in a liquid and puts it on the dog. She didn't like this much either and did a lot of squirming. The vet seemed very surprised and said this reaction was very unusual. That sort of surprises me since I can;t imagine this would be fun for too many dogs!
Anyway, we did that for about 30 min. Then she seemed a little more mellow. He had put some peppermint on her paws which is supposed to calm her. We put her on the table, and he took out a jar of chicken baby food. I held the can and let her have a lick every so often. In about 3 minutes, he was able to place about 5-10 needles in the right places. Food was the trick - it is the only thing that would work. You could hear our collective sighs of relief, because we had been discussing the possibility that Lucy was not going to be a candidate for this treatment, since she wouldn't let him do it. We were so incredibly happy to find something that worked. We are going to come prepared with lures next time. I hope this trick isn't a one time deal - hope it works next time too...
