Guest kellygreyhound Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hi, just wanted to share in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation--I've relied on greytalk so many times for information on medical and behavioral issues with my girl... My Kelly, who is 4, had a stroke just before Christmas. I came home from the grocery store to find her lying down, unable to use her legs, gasping for air, and seriously distressed, but definitely aware of what was happening. After she was stabilized at the emergency hospital (fortunately, we have a great 24/7 vet hospital in our area) and they ruled out everything under the sun, she was sent to a neurology vet for a consult and MRI. At this point, they were fairly certain she'd had a stroke because of the sudden onset (within maybe 2 hours) and the fact that everything else was within normal limits. The MRI showed the remnants of a stroke at C4 in her spinal column--not a FCE stroke, apparently, because the vet never noted any swelling and her quick recovery later suggested otherwise (something about fluid being re-absorbed in the body quickly vs. solid material). My girl ended up staying at the specialty clinic a few days for observation--while she was there, they checked how her reflexes were working, her BP, and tested her ability to stand. She never put much effort into standing or walking at the clinic, but the minute I had her (in the car to go for the MRI, even!) she would do her best to get about. In fact, the day I came to finally take her home, she stood up in her crate the second she saw me and made a very slow and stiff-legged effort at escape. Kelly progressed rather quickly once she got home--it took maybe 2 days before she figured out how to get up the stairs to go out to the sidewalk (motivation, at last!) and get back up on her sofa. Some of her deficits, like going down the stairs to go back in, seemed to be more related to fear or uncertainty than disability. Once I walked her slowly, foot by foot down the stairs she started going down the stairs (of course, with me standing in front, ready to catch her or help her if she got stuck). She started heading down the street for walks as soon as she figured out those stairs. All this is to say, that her progress was almost daily and fast. She's now in physical therapy. Her therapy consists of some home exercises that are super easy and we're going to try a few more sessions on the underwater treadmill (she wasn't too keen about the water, but it really did seem to help). We're still waiting to hear back about her thyroid panel and get her urine checked (her tank is *always* empty at the vet's office) for kidney function to see if there are any underlying causes for her stroke... Otherwise, she's home, happy, and back to herself! She's even back to her divatastic behavior I am wondering if others out there have seen strokes in young greys. All our neighborhood dog owners seem shocked that such a young dog had a stroke... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LuckyGrey Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 First, I'm so glad Kelly recovered. Princess, who is 6, had a stroke a few weeks ago. Her left side was paralyzed for a flittel bit right afterwrds, but came back. It was horrible to see. Her albumin levels went too low and she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndome. She did make a full recovery and is now on prednisone and a new diet. We are hoping to reduce the prednisone over the next few months. Hope we never have to experience that again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamngrey Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I dont have any infor to help you but wnted to say Im glad she is well on the way to recovery Quote Cassie: Pikes Clara Bell Swoop: My Man Swoop BRIDGE ANGELS Psi:WD'S Aleford 3/17/00-4/25/10 Snowman: Gable Snowman 1/9/96-2/14/08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest meakah Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Koda had a similar occurrence. However, hers was diagnosed as FCE. It took her a good 3-4 weeks to fully recover but now...2 yrs later...she is 100% normal. She did knuckle over once in a while on the hind leg even a month later but it slowly fixed itself. It was sure terrifying!! Glad your girl fully recovered....there have been some on here (GT) that haven't been so fortunate. Feel free to check out Koda's thread when she had FCE. And by the way...Koda was 4 when it happened as well. Koda-FCE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfish Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 No experience but it's wonderful to hear such a great success/recovery story! It sounds like a terrifying experience and I'm so glad she's doing so well. Quote The plural of anecdote is not dataBrambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest argolola Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 No advice, but I will pray for your sweet baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vahoundlover Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I'm glad to hear she is recovering so well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragsysmum Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 So glad she is doing well. I only have experience of strokes in older dogs 9+ but both mine made very good recoveries and both continued as normal for another 2-3 years with no obvious lasting effects. I also know of several other dogs including greyhounds which have made extremely good recoveries so hopefully your Kelly will do just fine for a long time to come. Quote Sue from England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyWrangler Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 My first grey, Murphy, had a stroke at 7. recovered within two weeks, though there were some lingering side effects. She lived to almost thirteen This may sound like a silly piece of advice but add a k9 multi vitamin to her diet and keep her on it forever. Murphy had a couple of relapses and the coincided with my having run out of the vitamins (very, very tight budget then) Good luck and give her an extra hug from us Quote Nancy and Grace - Andicot 2/1/07 Solo - Flying Han Solo 3/20/11 Missing: Murphy, Shine, Kim, Sprite, Red Dog, Lottie & Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HeatherDemps Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 No experience with this but wanted to tell you that I'm glad Kelly is recovering!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 That's wonderful that she is progressing so well! I'm curious, did they find any underlying cause or indicate if she's at risk for additional strokes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellygreyhound Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Well, Kelly's thyroid panels and urinalysis have come back completely normal, so as the neurology vet suspected, they couldn't find any underlying reason for the stroke. Kelly has been doing even better with her physical therapy (YAY!). Here's a clip of her on the underwater treadmill, which seems to be doing a lot for her: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4778612507149053532&hl=en ://http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...532&hl=en It's real time--it's just that hard to move through the water. Greywrangler, yeah, having had positive experiences with naturopathy and homeopathy myself, I am a firm believer in vitamins. Kelly has been on Transfer Factor, a powder mix of essential vitamins plus colostrum, for about a year now, as has my father's dog. From what we've seen it really keeps their immune systems strong & promotes healing even in the face of one stroke and, for my father's dog, bloat surgery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Good to hear she is doing so well! Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfish Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I love the video! She is doing well! Quote The plural of anecdote is not dataBrambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellygreyhound Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 That's wonderful that she is progressing so well! I'm curious, did they find any underlying cause or indicate if she's at risk for additional strokes? well, they won't say that she'll never have a stroke, but the vet did say that chances are that this won't happen again. Thank goodness!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HeatherDemps Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I'm glad that she is doing well- no advice or experience to offer. The video was SO neat! It is amazing what they can do for our pets now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vinnie Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 No experience. Great video. Thoughts, prayers and hugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LuckyGrey Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Glad to see Kelly is doing better. What an interesting video. Please keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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