Cauda Equina - Page 2

Thank you all for your input on this and please keep us in your thoughts this week as we will be off to the vet for full spinal xrays... Darlene Vom Herrenhaus German Shepherds

Thank you all for your input on this and please keep us in your thoughts this week as we will be off to the vet for full spinal xrays... Darlene Vom Herrenhaus German Shepherds

oops double post...

yup, I learned something about this one.. thanks

DKiah Please post and let us know what your vet(s) finds out! I had a male that had similar symptoms as you describe. The first vet who xrayed thought he could see a narrowing so Cauda Equina, the second vet said she did not see any problem with his spine... He seemed to be affected by going upstairs (the staircase was steep) and taking off at a roaring run. I did acupuncture and chiropractor with him. It would relieve his symptoms but they would return in a week to a month. I tried different tinctures like Willow Bark and Yucca. The chiropractors suggested an MRI, they also always said his pelvis was out. I brought him to WSU for an MRI. They said his spine was in relatively good shape, a few disc with minor bulging (I am sure I still have their breakdown and could write it out if you want) but he was no way a back surgery candidate. They felt it was orthopedic somehow, so did a hip xray. His hips still looked great (he was OFA exc.) I brought him home and put him on a product called CMO (cetyl myristoleate) this seemed to help him alot, but I am not sure because at the same time I had my husband re-do the staircase and limited him from anything that brought on his symptoms. After a year or so of trying all the above this later seemed to help him the most. So in essence I never found out truly what it was :( I sure would like to hear what your vets say!

trailrider, I will keep you posted

Thanks!

I have been supporting/nursing my dog through this for a year and a half and he is still competing at his regular jump height in agility. I was at an agility camp when my dog began holding up a rear leg. It was just a tiny bit at first, not enough to think he was anymore then sore. The following day after a couple of hours of working, he was completely non weight bearing on a rear leg and in pain. I spent 2 months rehabbing a mis-diagnosed cruicate by a local ortho. He said to just rest because it didn’t feel loose and must just be a sprain. After a few weeks back after the rest and rehab, he was holding the rear leg up again. I got the name of a top ortho and sprung for the MRI. This ortho already suspected the back because he didn't feel any problems with the knees and he had good hip films already. The MRI confirmed a bulging disc. The neurologist said the disc bulges out one side and put pressure on the nerve that goes to one leg. Now that I look back I realize that this had been brewing and just hadn't gotten to this point yet. At times, he had showed signs of being very slow going upstairs in the house, sometimes hesitant to jump up on the bed or into his platform crate in the van. The vets there said that in a normal non-performance household, the dog wouldn't even have been symptomatic yet because it wasn't that bad yet. Surgery was discussed. I was told that there was a 50% chance that he would be back to normal after surgery. There was a 20-30% chance that he could come out worse. Not good enough odds for me. So what have I done. Lots!! Swimming is essential. Hill work is a great strengthening exercice. I take him to an unbelievable physical therapist. He gets treatments with the laser. I do exercises with him on a theraball. I also do a lot of massage to help his muscles that compensate for his weaknesses. When I compete or train, I ice his back down. Sometimes he has a flare up, and I will put him on a very low dose short course of Dexamethasone. This clears him right up. I am sure he won’t be able to go on like this forever. But, my theory is that I would rather him die tomorrow of a blown disc, being happy doing the things he loves, then to put him up and let him wither away slowly. Especially since we aren’t talking about a couch potato.

Well, we are back from the vet and her diagnosis is Cauda Equina. She has TVS which is considered genetic and predisposes a dog to LS/CE... He did a physical exam on her and she has muscle loss in the left rear leg, is slow to turn her left rear foot over, weak tail response, distended bowels but good anal/vulvus tone/pucker. On the lat x-ray we took you can clearly see the TVS and some spondylosis. I have scheduled surgery for next Wednesday but want to pick his brain a little more about steroids, recurrance after surgery and so on... Need to wrap my head around this before doing anything. Oh and did I mention my husband has been out of work for 5 months and a $3000 to $4000 vet bill is NOT in the budget. Doesn't mean we won't do it but is that the best move for her at this point Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and relpies! Darlene Vom Herrenhaus German Shepherds

Oops!!! Sorry for the typo. Thnak you to everyone for your well wishes and replies!! Darlene Vom Herrenhaus German Shepherds