Sebastian's IVDD 2015 journey

[alfina]

Per Lisa's request I will document our journey with Sebastian in this thread.

Just a little background. Sebastian is 11 years old. No major health issues. He does have laxating patella in one knee. Since he was about 5 our vet warned me that he is probably a ticking bomb with his back. Every annual we went she felt that he was tight in the middle of his back. But I had on glucosamine and desperately tried to curb his furniture leaping. But you can't control him all the time, he is a dachsie afterall.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed his drinking habits and took him to the vet where after lab work it was discovered that he has elevated pancreatic enzymes. It was followed up with CPL test, which confirm pancreatitis diagnosis. That was a bit of a shock since he was not displaying any symptoms of it. His abdomen was tight on the exam table and he made grunting noises when he was touched in his back and abdomen by the vet. Few days later in the evening I noticed that he was off, not his happy self, timid, etc. I chocked it up to his pancreatitis symptoms coming to the surface now, we switched the diet to low fat and I called my vet in for some pain medication. In the morning he was fine and per my daughter report she took dogs out at 4pm for a potty break. I came home at 8pm to find him sitting under my kitchen table looking very sad. He would not come to me as Sofie was wildly dancing around me. I saw stool on the floor, tracks on it and knew immediately what happened. I tried to stand him up for a toe test, but his rear would just fall to a side. His rear legs didn't seem to have any tone to them. I wrapped him up in a towel and called emergency clinic. In the room I could see that he probably lost control of his bladder and bowels and dragged himself around.

Since I found DLC it has been a tremendous source of information. I have "witnessed" other members go through this. And as much as I hoped I would avoid this fate, I was prepared. I picked a regular vet who was familiar with dachsie back problems and one of the vets in the practice has a dachsie herself. I researched who is a neurosurgeon in my area. And unfortunately in 2008 had to use her services for our black and tan Sabrina. She recovered beautifully and is now 12 years old that zooms around the house. But she never went down completely like Sebastian was now. She was just wobbly. I followed Dr Chauvet's career (neurosurgeon) since then to make sure I knew if time came again I knew where to go. Since then she closed her office and opened Critical Care Vet office in our town. Sebastian is 11 and I hoped that I dodged the bullet at this point. But I guess not. So, my call was immediately to clinci and I told them they need to page Dr Chauvet as I was coming in with IVDD down dog. They confirm that if surgery was needed she'd be able to do it right there immediately. From DLC I knew the first 24 hours are very important. The last time he could walk was 4 hours ago that I could confirm with my daughter.

Upon our arrival to the clinic, it was confirmed that Sebastian failed the toe test, he still had deep pain sensation, and did need to see neuro specialists. Sebastian also cried when the e-vet touched him in the middle of his spine. Dr Chauvet arrived within 30 minutes got on the floor with him right away. She draped him over her leg and felt that he was trying to move his rear legs, he had good tail tone. She felt that surgery was not needed right away, that he should be placed on pain medications, steroids, and reevaluated in the morning. I couldn't sleep that night and called twice to check on him. He ate dinner and was resting. And in the morning there were no changes to his status. I spoke with Dr Chauvet and she felt that he had good chance at walking again, so I agreed to surgery. Later that afternoon she called with report that he had large amount of herniated material that was removed, she felt the surgery was very appropriate in his case in light of that finding. Sebastian was very drugged at that point and would be evaluated in the morning for function recovered.

Morning after surgery I was told that Sebastian was in hyperbaric chamber (it is oxygenated chamber that forces oxygen into the tissue and promotes healing), he had some movement in both legs but was unable to walk. And that we could visit him today. I can't wait to see my snuggly boy.

So, my advice to dachsie owners, be prepared. Research your area and know what vets and specialists deal with IVDD. Because when it happens, you will be emotional, you will be panicking and hoping it is not what you think it is. But knowing where to go and who to call is a great help in the situation and great comfort because you know your baby will be taken care properly.

Updates at #3,13,15,18,24,27,32,35,45,49,54,57,59,63