Spinal Stroke?

[mac'ella]

Has anyone's dog suffered from a spinal stroke?

My12yr old boxer suddenly went in the back legs for no apparent reason.I had worked late so have no idea how long he was down but he had been running around the day before and was playing with our pup in the afternoon.when I found him he was laying in the shed outside his kennel and couldn't use his back legs,my 1st thought was a tick as he would just collapse if I stood him up I searched all over him till midnight but couldn't find any plus he is on preventative and we aren't in a tick area.By that time he could stand if supported but couldn't walk so I made him comfortable and kept checking him he went to sleep so I thought I maybe a pinched nerve and would take him to the vet in the morning got up at 5 and he was laying in the back garden so he had to have walked there.carried him inside and he was much the same, the vets would be there about 8 so rang the boss told him then walked outside and tried standing him up again this time he started walking but was dragging his feet but improving all the time.My wife was home that day so I went to work and booked him into the vet for the afternoon when I got home he was fine apart from a slight limp.

the vet couldn't find any thing wrong and thinks it was a ''SPINAL STROKE''which has no ongoing effects.This is all new to me so I am asking if this has happened to anyone else and did it happen again?.

[taters]

Yes one of my dogs had a mild case

it's called FCE

Fibrocartligous embolism (spelling may be slightly wrong)

Can only be diagnosed at a guess or after eliminating all other spinal conditions via a CT myleogram

[mac'ella]

Yes one of my dogs had a mild case

it's called FCE

Fibrocartligous embolism (spelling may be slightly wrong)

Can only be diagnosed at a guess or after eliminating all other spinal conditions via a CT myleogram

thanks for the reply tatersI took him to the chiro this morning he still shows some signs ''toe curl reaction'' and he has a small spot of arthritis in the lower spine which may have triggered it. Chiro says it may take a while to absorb the blood clot and not to let him jump around and twist if possible.

Did your dog recover fully with no recurrances?

[mita]

Sydney friends' young tibetan spaniel boy had a similar episode.

He suddenly went in the back legs & couldn't use them. Next thing, his front legs went, too. He was unable to stand or walk. He spent over a week in the vet's clinic where they were puzzled as to the cause. No ticks, no signs of toxins. His case was referred to a specialist who said cause was unknown. But one of the possibilities seemed to be 'spinal stroke'. After a couple of weeks, movement came back into his legs. And soon he was back to chasey games with his tibbie sister.

By chance, his owners met some people at a market who told them that the same thing had happened with their Labrador.

[cavNrott]

8 months ago my Cavalier boy ran outside first thing in the morning as he usually does and within a couple of metres he fell in a screaming heap. He couldn't move his back end at all. I rushed him straight to the vet and he was given a temgesic injection for pain plus oral Tramadol for me to administer at home. I crated him until our 8am appointment the next morning (Monday). Why do emergencies always happen on a Sunday?

He was paralysed from behind the shoulders back. At our 8am appt next morning the vet sent us straight off to the Specialist Referral Centre. My boy was given a general anaesthetic for a myelogram. On seeing the situation via myelogram the ortho specialist performed a laminectomy immediately while my boy was still under GA. He had ruptured a disk in his spine which was pressing on the spinal cord so no messages from the brain were getting past the ruptured disk. Without surgery he would not have walked again. Evidently the sooner the surgery is performed the better the chance of a full recovery. My boy was given an 85% chance of full recovery and his surgery was performed with 26 hours of the disk rupture.

This dog had never had a sick day in his 5 1/2 years of life until this. They said it was Inverterbral Disk Disease. He's is now walking and running around normally without any pain or signs of any impairment. I'd say his recovery is 95%. An excellent result from a really nasty situation. Full marks to the ortho surgeon

[mac'ella]

It had me worried as he had spindle cell carcenoma in his front elbow joint 12mths ago and because it was in his joint the vet couldn't remove it completely.His prognosis was that it could spread anywhere, we also lost our 6yr old staffy to a spinal tumour just prior to that and her symptoms were identical and first diagnosed as a disc problem.

[cavNrott]

It had me worried as he had spindle cell carcenoma in his front elbow joint 12mths ago and because it was in his joint the vet couldn't remove it completely.His prognosis was that it could spread anywhere, we also lost our 6yr old staffy to a spinal tumour just prior to that and her symptoms were identical and first diagnosed as a disc problem.

Yes, that's why I think a myelogram is a good idea. It leaves no doubt about the source of the problem.

[mac'ella]

It had me worried as he had spindle cell carcenoma in his front elbow joint 12mths ago and because it was in his joint the vet couldn't remove it completely.His prognosis was that it could spread anywhere, we also lost our 6yr old staffy to a spinal tumour just prior to that and her symptoms were identical and first diagnosed as a disc problem.

Yes, that's why I think a myelogram is a good idea. It leaves no doubt about the source of the problem.

yes thats how the cancer was diagnosed without that she may have gone through an operation for no reason,the sad thing was that she had been in perfect health all her life.

[taters]

Yes one of my dogs had a mild case

it's called FCE

Fibrocartligous embolism (spelling may be slightly wrong)

Can only be diagnosed at a guess or after eliminating all other spinal conditions via a CT myleogram

thanks for the reply tatersI took him to the chiro this morning he still shows some signs ''toe curl reaction'' and he has a small spot of arthritis in the lower spine which may have triggered it. Chiro says it may take a while to absorb the blood clot and not to let him jump around and twist if possible.

Did your dog recover fully with no recurrances?

My boy (Bullddog) had the CT for the diagnosis

He recovered to about 99.8 %,

He had physio, and hydrotherapy to help him recover quicker

[smooch]

Smooch suffered a severe case of FCE 3 years ago at the age of 6, I had him to the vet within 5 min of it happening, he was transferred to specialist center in Sydney within 24 hours where he remained for about 6 weeks. When Smooch came home (He was still unable to stand) I had to do exercises several times a day and night but after nearly 12 months he was getting around pretty well. He still has problems, when he jumps onto the bed he drags one back leg up. He doesn't pee until he is full. Pooing is also a bit of a problem, he has to be moving around whilst doing it and he has to have Psyllium Husk mixed in his dinner for the poo to be coated so it will pass easier.

As Smooch was used to sleeping in bed with me I bought a old lounge/bed put a heavy black plastic on it under the sheets. I lost count how many times I had been piddled on but in the end smooch is now getting around and is happy even though one back leg doesn't work properly. He is happy and that is the most important thing.

[mac'ella]

taters and smooch ''sounds like a movie''cavNrot and mita

Good to hear all of your dogs made a good recovery and that you were willing to put the effort in to help them.Funny tho about the pooing bit Mac has done this since a pup, I call them scatter bombs, but its a pain with the poo bag and pre-mowing preparation in the back yard you always seem to miss a bit.

I took him for a light walk this arvo he was prancing like a pony and I had to hold him back wasn't game to let him off so hopefully he will get back to his former self and will lose a few kilo's to ease the load on his back.

with our staffy she wouldn't eat lost bladder and bowel function and had one fixed and one dilated pupil this deteriorated from a slight limp in one leg over two weeks and she didn't respond to any treatment and in the end seemed to not recognise us I think back and there were subtle signs like indifference to her food and personality change which seem to add up now.

[kirst_goldens]

8 months ago my Cavalier boy ran outside first thing in the morning as he usually does and within a couple of metres he fell in a screaming heap. He couldn't move his back end at all.

Relos Border Collie had the same as above he came with me to tafe all day and then got excited to see his family and went home... about 4 hrs later he was running around on their property and bam fell to the ground SCREAMING in pain. Got the vets and he is ok now but followed as all the stories abovepretty much though he has not fully recovered - they did not do IMHO enough rehabilitation for him i suggested physio and swimming and all sorts but it didnt get done so he got more and more overweight he can walk and run at full speed now lol but he cant really bend his back legs and doesnt have full control over his bowels anymore.

[cavNrott]

8 months ago my Cavalier boy ran outside first thing in the morning as he usually does and within a couple of metres he fell in a screaming heap. He couldn't move his back end at all.

Relos Border Collie had the same as above he came with me to tafe all day and then got excited to see his family and went home... about 4 hrs later he was running around on their property and bam fell to the ground SCREAMING in pain. Got the vets and he is ok now but followed as all the stories abovepretty much though he has not fully recovered - they did not do IMHO enough rehabilitation for him i suggested physio and swimming and all sorts but it didnt get done so he got more and more overweight he can walk and run at full speed now lol but he cant really bend his back legs and doesnt have full control over his bowels anymore.

The ortho surgeon showed me how to do the physio on my Cav. It was just a few circles with each back leg to loosen him up because Bronson wasn't bending his knees. He only need a couple of days of physio before he was walking normally. A bit wobbly but getting around quite well on day 5. The only thing I found difficult was manually expressing his bladder but he was peeing on his own on the morning of day 5. He came home from hospital in the afternoon on day 4 so I only had to express him once. He had full control of bowels on day 3 and bladder on day 5.

It seems the earlier the surgery is done the better the outcome. They told me if 40 hours had elapsed from the rupture until surgery there wasn't much hope of the dog regaining full function. Some vets decide to treat conservatively with steroids but it's not very successful in most cases and I wanted to give him the best chance of a full recovery. He has full function now and runs and plays with the others just the same as he did before the surgery.

[smooch]

With Smooch it was a 24/7 effort for months on end, my daughter and I would go shopping we would have to take Smooch with us, one would go get what we needed and than the other. In hot weather we would have to do our shopping of a night. My life was completely re arranged around Smooch but it has really been worth the effort.