Stroke Recovery Possible?

[Guest michael_roberts]

Hi. We're newbies with a very very sick fur child. Noza (9 yrs old) chose us a little less than 2 years ago. Saturday morning I heard some crashing around in the bedroom. I thought Noza had just lost her balance while trying to pull off a wrap we had on her front paw (she took a bad tumble on some ice and dislocated a toe, tore her toe webbing, and scraped and bruised herself terribly a week prior). The foot was wrapped because after the initial dislocation, she kept popping the same toe out of joint at least 6 other times. She emerged from the bedroom and was weaving like she was drunk-nearly crashing into the wall. We jumped up and helped her lie down on her cushion next to us. While she rested, I checked the bedroom. There was vomit on the floor and poo in her bed. This is very unusual. We've never known Noza to soil in the house, much less on her bed. But within 30 minutes or so, she was fine. We thought nightmare? pain from her injuries? something else? We opted to keep a close watch on her for the rest of the day. During the day, she frequently lobbied us for trips outside and was even tugging on the leash and pulling to make us slow humans "go faster". She seemed 100% like herself.

 

Sunday morning she got up as usual and followed me downstairs. She then lay down on a cushion, but couldn't get up. She seemed like her back legs were partially paralyzed. She soiled her cushion. She lay quietly, occasionally stretching her legs. Her eyes were looking in our direction, but she didn't really seem to be able to focus on us. We carried her to the car and drove for the vet. Several times, Noza began flailing and trying to stand, but when she would get up, she had no balance. She would lean on something while holding her head at an odd angle (low and turned to the right). Her legs seemed really rigid. She couldn't bend her legs to lie back down.

 

The first thing the vet noted was that Noza's pupils were different sizes - something going on in the brain. She sent us directly to CSU Vet Hospital an hour and a half away. We checked in, but being a Sunday, there was no neurologist. The doctor on duty gave Noza some steroids; Noza's pupils returned to similar sizes later in the day.

 

On Monday, 24 hours later, the neurologist called and was gloomy - "greatly affected" was the phrase she used the most. After listing some options, we decided to start Noza on an aggressive steroid and antibiotic treatment. But the vet left us with little hope. Monday evening she called to say that Noza was eating and drinking and that this was "huge", but she didn't want to give us false hope.

 

We went to visit Noza today (55 hours after her collapse) and were dismayed that even though the vet says she has improved, she still seemed completely incapacitated. She has use of her left side, but not her right and her right front paw is curled up. Noza was aware we were there, but didn't seem able to interact with us. Again, her eyes were open in our general direction, but fixed on nothing. The vet had given Noza some pain medicine, and we weren't able to tell whether she was just drowsy from the medicine or what. She can sorta sit up, but prefers to just lie on her left side. When the vet would help get Noza's elbows under her she would hold her head at that odd angle. She can stand with assistance, but seems to have no balance and won't put her right front foot down. The vet says Noza doesn't seem to know up from down.

 

The vet believes Noza has had a stroke in her brain stem. She can't give us any indication of whether Noza will improve more, or if so, by how much. We are facing the decision of either putting her down or trying to bring her home as is and care for her awhile to see if she can improve. I have gotten some hope from other postings of greyts recovering from stroke, but want to know if anyone out there has similar experience with a stroke being so bad.

 

[Houndtime]

I have no advice, just to wish you and your sweet girl all the best for her recovery.

[4greyhounds]

I am sorry I have no advise, but lots of prayers.

[grey14me]

no advice, just hugs and prayers

[Greytlady94]

I have read that stroke recovery is better in dogs then in people. Hopefully this will be the case for Noza.

[Guest jurishound]

Sorry to hear about Noza's condition - hang in there - you will very likely hear from some folks here who have experienced the same or similar symptoms and DX.

[iluvgreys]

No experience with strokes in canines... my heart goes out to you. Sending loads of prayers and light to your girlie.

[Ragsysmum]

I have had two older dogs which had strokes and made almost full recoveries so you would never have known and lived for another two-three years. Also a couple of friends with 'stroke' dogs which recovered well and continued for several years with no more strokes. However, neither of mine was quite as bad as your girl seems to have suffered and that does sound like a really bad one. However, it is amazing how much recovery they can make with just a little time and some helpful medication. I hope you and Noza are lucky and she can recover sufficient quality of life to enjoy some more time with you. If she does not seem to be in any pain, which they often do not, I would give it a few days and see if there are signs of improvement.

[Guest greyhound1]

:hope

[Guest vahoundlover]

No experience here either.......sending lots of prayers.

[Guest wmlcml6]

Good morning. I'm sorry to hear about your girl having a stroke.

 

In our experience, acupuncture works wonders! The only thing is that our vet told us the faster you get it done after the stroke, the better the chances of recovery. We had our girl at the vet within 2 hours of her stroke (I had to get home from work with the SUV first). We thought we would have to come home without her because her entire right side was paralyzed, her neck curved at an awkward angle and she was completely panicked by it all. After 20 minutes of acupuncture (which my vet did with her still in my truck), followed by a slow iv of dexamethasone and something else, she showed signs of improvement. After the hour of iv treatment, she was responding to us, her eyes were starting to react to movement around her, and she was trying to get off the table. The vet carried her outside and she was actually able to stand, and do a wobbly walk to potty. Her back right foot was similar to your girl, but she responded to the exercises beautifully (although like most patients, she did not appreciate rehab!)

 

She had I think two more acupuncture treatments over the next few days, and several shots of Dex (strong anti-inflammatory) and he gave us exercises to do with her to help her re-learn to balance with her back legs. Curly was 11 when this happened. It probably took 2-3 weeks for her to function normally, but her back right leg was always a little weaker then before the stroke. She had several occasions over the next year that seemed like mini-strokes, where she would get wobbly and not focus. If Curly started getting weak or stiff in her joints, a shot of dex would turn her into a 5 year old again and she'd be good for 6-8 weeks before she needed another shot. We got almost a full year with her following the stroke, but at almost 13 years old she had another stroke and we knew it was time to let her go.

 

I hope you can find an acupuncturist in your area. It is well worth it. Just cherish every day as a gift if she makes it through this. It seems like once they have a stroke, they lose a little bit of themselves. Just keep a close eye on her, and if you have other dogs, separate her when you are not home. If she has a stroke while you are gone, the other dogs could hurt her worse.

 

If you have any questions about this, please email me at wmlcml6 @ gmail.com. (leave out the spaces when you use this address).

Edited January 30, 2008 by wmlcml6

[robinw]

i had a dog who had a stroke at age 13. she made a near complete recovery. i agree with cathie about the use of acupuncture. it seemed to really help with her recovery. she lived a happy life until she passed away at age 16.

 

good luck!

[Guest michael_roberts]

Thanks All, especially to Sue, Caffie, and Robin, for the empathy and for sharing your experiences. It is extremely encouraging right now to know that recovery from stroke is possible. We are determined to take it day by day and see how (whether) Noza progresses.

 

She had her first acupuncture treatment late yesterday. We will call the hospital in about an hour and see if she has improved any overnight. If she shows improvement over the next 24 hours or so, we will try to bring her home. If not, it's going to be a hard decision.

 

If anyone else has had first hand experience with severe stroke (no improvement in first 48 hours), we would love to hear how things turned out--good or bad. The hardest thing right now (other than seeing a vibrant, active spirit helpless and incapacitated) is not having a crystal ball to know whether she will eventually recover, or not. If recovery is possible, then we're willing to do a lot to see that happen. But if recovery is very unlikely, then I don't think we are doing right by Noza to drag things out.

 

Thanks again.

[Cindy_Hanson]

There was a very good, very detailed article by Carla Trottier in the Summer 2005 issue of Celebrating Greyhounds Magazine about the experience of her greyhound, Major. It was called "Surviving a Stroke." Every adoption group gets two free copies of every issue of the magazine--ask your group if they can lend you that issue.

[Guest fastdogs]

My bridge boy James had a stroke (FCE). He lost function in his hinds quarters. We aggressively treated with steroids and were planning on water therapy once he began to show signs of recovery. Unfortunately, he never recovered use of his legs and his body began to give out on him. Two months shy of his 6th birthday, we sent him to the bridge.

 

Good luck with your girl.

[Tallgreydogmom]

Here is a story about my girl Cricket that had a stroke. She lived to be 16. She actually had a second stroke. It takes time but give them a chance.

 

Go to page 2 of the newsletter.

 

http://www.greyhoundpets.com/2nd%20Quarter%202004.pdf

 

Hugs

Edited January 30, 2008 by Escena

[Guest michael_roberts]

Thanks again for the additional info--Cindy, Brian, Escena.

 

I'm especially needing info on how long a dog can go without showing improvement before signs of recovery begin. Seems like some dogs suffer mild strokes and show signs of improving almost immediately. With more severe strokes, it may be a week or longer before any sign of improvement....

 

Brian, how long did James receive treatment before it became obvious he was declining?

 

Anybody else?

 

Thanks! The information on this forum has been wonderfully helpful. So far, our vets have not even suggested recovery might be possible. W/o this forum, we would be completely in the dark....

[Guest ss556]

Sending prayers, hang in there, hopefully things will turn out well.

[Guest michael_roberts]

Just got off the phone with the vet. Noza is showing some minor improvement this morning--she can flip her front foot forward on her good side (her left). Still won't bear weight on her right front leg. We agreed on several actions today:

 

1. change her IV needle from her right front leg to her left. We're hoping part of her inability to use her right front may be pain from the IV needle. So we'll see if switching the IV to a different leg helps.

2. discontinue the pain medicine she's been on for the last 36 hours. When we visited her yesterday, she was so dozy she nodded off to sleep. So we're thinking the pain med may be masking some ability to move/improvement/alertness.

3. another round of acupuncture.

 

So, another day of watching and waiting....

[5blackgreys]

No advice, just more prayers coming your way.

[Guest Snowy8]

I just went thru the exact thing in November. Snowy had a stroke early in the morning. I got her to the vet & thought this was it...she could not stand on her own, could not walk. Her head was going everywhere. She looked so confused. She stayed with the vet for 3 days & on the 3rd day he told me to come get her, she was doing great & hasn't slowed down since.

She is still a little wobbly, but she's 13 1/2 & she's a broken hock survivor & she doesn't put a lot of weight on that recovered leg.

The other night she went running across the yard to race with the others & then later at feeding time instead of jumping on her couch to eat like a normal doggie would do, she flew over the arm of the couch like a 2 yr old would do.

I wish you all the luck in the world with Noza...please keep us all updated on her! We're all here for you!!!

Hil

[Guest team_weasel]

We were looking after a friend's hound over Christmas a couple years ago.. he had a stoke and fully recovered. Prayers that your baby gets better soon with a full recovery.

[Guest michael_roberts]

Thanks Hil and Sonia, this is very encouraging!

[Guest fastdogs]

Brian, how long did James receive treatment before it became obvious he was declining?

 

James was treated out patient for a little less than a week. He started to decline rapidly and we took him to the vet, a personal friend, again. I was at the point where I couldn't stand to see him struggle and was seriously considering having him PTS. My vet told me he was taking him in and aggressively treating him. He was there for nearly two weeks before his spirit began to give out. It haunts me to this day. I should have gone with my instincts. The last thing I wanted was for James' last days to be anywhere but on his couch.

[Patsy]

No experience, but Noza will be "in on" the candle I light every evening.