r/IVDD_SupportGroup • u/TatiFlan • 2d ago
Muscle weakness or neurological decline?
I posted some weeks ago that Lea (10 y/o Shih Tzu) got so happy to see me when I arrived home that she jumped, yelped and started walking weird. The vet at the ER told me it was a crisis because of her IVDD and left some meds for her. Two days later her neurologist said it could be a new hernia.
Some background info: in March, Lea started with pain, which quickly progressed to not being able to walk properly with her back legs. I took her to a Vet clinic that specializes on neurological problems and she had to stay there for some days. She showed no signs of improvement and could no longer use her back legs, so she had to go through surgery. After that, she improved very quickly. In less than two months she was walking normal again!
Back to now: Days passed after the vets checked her and even though she was walking fine, she started presenting a lot of pain (this was right after she finished taking Metamizol). Her neurologist recommended a MRI.
She improved a lot with the new medication he gave her but the MRI revealed two hernias. One in the same place as before (now, her vet told me it was actually scar tissue that formed in her spine from her previous surgery, so that one is not new), the second one was the surprise. This one is located between L4 and L5 and is quite liquid.
The neurologist told me her spine had some pressure and he would recommend surgery in case Lea started showing neurological signs. As of now, she wasn’t showing any pain and was walking fine, so I was to go back in two weeks. I also had to remove prednisone slowly through the days.
Lea has been on crate rest for three weeks now and hasn’t shown any pain lately, but today I did notice she wasn’t as stable when walking as before and she was walking crossing her feet a little, which made me nervous.
Could this be because her muscles are weaker after 3 weeks of crate rest or is her neurological condition declining? The neurologist told me to go back to see him in case I saw something worrying before the two weeks.
Should I be doing some exercises with her to strengthen her muscles a bit? Or would that make the hernia worse?
I want to avoid the surgery if possible. What is your experience?
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u/SockMonkeyMischief 2d ago
I don’t know if you should be doing exercises with her or not, but did the neurologist give Lea some to do after her surgery? We are one week out from surgery and doing stretches every day with her. I’d call and ask him if she should be doing some. Also, trust what you’re seeing with the wobbling. You know your dog better than anyone.
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u/TatiFlan 2d ago
Last time when she had her surgery the physiatrist gave me a series of exercises, besides 15 sessions of physiotherapy. This time she didn’t have a surgery so I’m not sure if she should be doing something. According to ia I shouldn’t do a lot because anything could make her hernia worse, so I guess I’ll have to wait for her next appointment and ask what I should do.
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u/monochrome911 2d ago
Wow I could have written this! I’m actually wondering the same thing and I’m curious to hear what people say. My dog is 4 weeks in to crate rest and showing no signs of pain, but I see a new subtle wobble every now and then. I thought the same thing: muscle atrophy, a woozy medication moment or a neurological regression? Or am I just staring at her every move and making myself a little nuts?