Sudden Hind End Weakness

[PatricksMom]

I came home from work to discover Patrick had severe hind end weakness--falling repeatedly, etc. Rushed him in, the vet on (oddly enough an OSU grad) was very nice, but not too familiar with greyhounds and new as well. He goes back 1st thing in the morning to see his usual vet, but in the meantime here's what I know.

 

*he's a 13 year old generally healthy, well managed arthritis and thyroid condition

*he takes soloxine, tramadol, cosequine, fish oil, and occasionally (but not in the last week) meloxicam

*he wasn't reacting at all to his reflexes being checked (but he didn't react in the front either)--is this a greyhound thing?

*his x-rays didn't reveal anything, at least to this vet

*he had a single, unusual incident of urinary incontinence at the vet's office

*now that we're home he's fairly calm and doesn't seem to be in obvious pain lying down.

*she didn't run a urine sample but said his urine looked fine, we'll run one in the am

*appetite is normal

 

So the possibilities I'm thinking/she floated are:

~LS--can this have a sudden onset?

~a possible tumor in the spine, but the x-ray didn't show anything

~a blood clot in the spine

~a slipped disk

 

So what should I be asking about tomorrow in terms of other possiblities, tests, and treatments? I'm trying really hard not to freak out here.

[BauersMom]

What about something like FCE? http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1663

[mychip1]

No help...just good wishes.

[PatricksMom]

What about something like FCE? http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1663

 

Hmm, that sounds possible. I've got a call into the evet to see they think about administering IV Croticosteroid therapy.

[Guest sirsmom]

Problems with a disc in the neck region; this ofen causes falling and weakness in hind leg.

[PatricksMom]

Well, he's up at Penn--his condition throughout the night was stable at least (or they would have called), now I'm waiting on their orthopedic surgeon to call me and see if we're doing an MRI or what. His presentation is a little off for any of the obvious possibilities, but hopefully we'll have some answers soon. They did a quick set of lung scans and they don't thiink there's any real chance we're dealing with an invasive cancer.

 

I just want him to be okay. I left town Monday, DH left the house Friday morning with a healthy, bouncy boy.

[duncan41]

No experience, but sending prayers for a quick and manageable diagnosis. Hugs for everyone.

[Guest greygirls2]

Be sure they thoroughly check for tick diseases too. This was one of the signs my Grandgrey had and he was positive for Anaplasmosis. Symptoms cleared within twelve hours after two doses of doxy.

[Batmom]

Sending prayers for your boy.

[GeorgeofNE]

That vet must be really good if she can determine by looking at urine that it's "fine"!

 

Sounds like a nerve problem. Hope it's just something pinched.

[IndyandHollyluv]

Patrick's Mom - Oh boy. I just went through something kinda similar. In mid-February, my boy Lure appeared to have sudden back/neurological issues. Pacing at night, couldn't get comfortable, hind-end buckling, couldn't seem to hold his head up.

 

Lure was a former racer and pet blood bank donor and probably spent much of his life in a crate. He had back problems when I adopted him two years ago at almost 9 yrs old and was never able to squat "normally" for a bowel movement. Did the "poop and walk."

 

That being said, initially, I had the chiropractor come to have a look-see (Lure often engaged in wild zoomies out in the yard or house and frequently his legs/hips would slide out from under him). Anyway, this time his atlas (cervical) and sacrum were out and he was severely subluxated at the thoraco-lumbar junction. So three wonky areas.

 

Took him to the vet. Blood work was fine, we tried various meds. Thoracic, lumbosacral x-rays were unremarkable. I didn't request cervical and skull x-rays - which I should have. Had chiro adjustments. Nothing seemed to help.

 

I suspect he had a compressed disc or lesion pressing somewhere, etc., affecting neurological function. Probably something going on in the cervical region as Sirsmom indicated. In Lure's case, I didn't want to go the Pred route as my boy was already a "serial pee-er" in the house. The next step would have been to see a neurologist (MRI, CT scan - went through all that with my first grey). And I did not feel Lure was a good candidate for back surgery - which can be a very big deal and may or may not be successful. Also my boy had an anesthesia reaction (Propofol) post x-rays - and a vaccine reaction last year. Seemed to have somewhat of a compromised immune system. Also skin issues.

 

After breakfast on March 11, Lure stood for three hours - unable to sit down. He was extremely anxious, painful, and distressed such that I decided I couldn't allow him to suffer. He was two weeks shy of his 11th b'day. I didn't see this one coming. I had so many factors to consider in making my decision. Saying goodbye absolutely broke my heart - but was probably the kindest gift for Lure (he was an often anxious dog).

 

I sure hope Patrick has a positive outcome. Hugs to you too! (I have a 13 yr old boy at home who is just the biggest lovebug!). For Patrick:

Edited March 24, 2012 by IndyandHollyluv

[PatricksMom]

That vet must be really good if she can determine by looking at urine that it's "fine"!

 

Vet is not really good, I will be discussing her competency and our willingness to remain at the practice if she's still employed with my vet when we've gotten Patrick through this. Right now I'm waiting to hear from neurology at Penn, I think he was transfered there from ortho this morning.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

Hind end weakness is common in older GHs, I think for various reasons and sometimes the cause is hard to determine. Ella's became quite severe at 13/14 and it wasn't arthritis. Due to her age, I didn't want to do all the testing, etc since I knew she wouldn't make it through a surgery if that was what was needed. She had kidney disease. My vet said to try high doses of Vitamin E and that it couldn't hurt to try. I don't know the science behind it, something about the nerves not getting the proper message from the brain (due to old age). She took 2 large doses twice a day of liquid Vitamin E. It worked wonders for her! If I skipped a dose though, she could barely walk. 2 months shy of her 15th birthday, it just stopped working and she couldn't get up or stand up. I knew it was her time.

 

Maybe something to ask your vet about. Hugs to you, I know it is scary.

[PatricksMom]

Just got off the phone with Penn. The neuro folks feel like this is not just a hind end weakness issue, we got (understandably) freaked out by that, but that his sense of where all his legs are is really off and he's not showing much at all in the way of reflexes in the front legs either.

 

They don't want to do an MRI if they can avoid it, because their physical testing shows possible problems all along the spinal cord, so that would be 4 hours or so under anethesia. The liver values are elvated, not high like you would typically see with an acute illness or toxin exposure, but high enough they're going to do an ultrasound of the abdomen to look for any signs of disease or cancer. He's having more blood work and urine work done, they're going to treat him with antibiotics on the off chance it is disease related. They can use steroids yet because of that idiot vet who had us give meloxicam. I forgot to ask about TBD, but they are running a ton of bloodwork so that's probably in there, I'll check.

 

I'm trying to be hopeful, but it sounds a lot like we're chasing a needle in a hay stack. He's just so important to us. We're going to visit in a couple hours, once he's out of ultrasound. They said that there's a 4th year intern assigned just to him, so at least he's not alone.

[Remolacha]

[PatricksMom]

Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts. We spend an hour up there hanging out with Patrick and talking to his vet. The good news is he's getting fantastic care--his resident trained with Dr. Couto and he's got a vet student assigned just to him to monitor him and hang out and keep him company.

 

He stood up today by himself, which is fantastic, but we still don't know what the problem is. The liver needle biopsy doesn't come back until Monday, but no clear signs of liver cancer. He's on antibiotics, so there's a possibility of some sort of rapid onset infection in the spinal column that might be treatable. So far all the bloodwork/urine testing has been normal, except a slight increased elevation in his protein levels in urine--I think we're waiting on the most advanced test results from that till Monday. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the information at this point.

 

They did call me to let me know he ate dinner. I took him up treats and one of our blankets and his favorite toys, and tomorrow I'm taking him strawberries.

 

Please keep praying for my boy.

[tbhounds]

Sounds like he's at least at this point stable. Hope he enjoys his strawberries tomorrow.

[Guest JonathanGreyh]

After breakfast on March 11, Lure stood for three hours - unable to sit down. He was extremely anxious, painful, and distressed such that I decided I couldn't allow him to suffer. He was two weeks shy of his 11th b'day. I didn't see this one coming. I had so many factors to consider in making my decision. Saying goodbye absolutely broke my heart - but was probably the kindest gift for Lure (he was an often anxious dog).

 

 

Wow. I'm sorry to read that. Just started something similar. He's o'r the bridge now. Sounds like you were a good parent to him.

[PatricksMom]

His vet just called--he stood on his own today and went for a little walk with some help, so he's definitly improving! This morning's bloodwork all looked good, so the plan is to continue the antibotics and hope he keeps getting better.

[Batmom]

That is good news. Keep getting better, Patrick!

[Guest DebSzal]

Gracie, our 10 yo girl, had something similiar at the beginning of the new year. We got up in the morning and she would not eat, very unusual, and had a hard time walking. She walked like she was drunk. Ulimately after ruling out some things, we had an MRI done and a diagnosis of FCE. Thankfully, she regain most of her strength within 24 hours. I think the enforced rest at the vet office helped a lot. She still shows some weakness but only upon excessive use. We were very lucky it was not a tumor as had been orginally suspected. Here's hoping for a fast and full recovery for your boy!

[EllenEveBaz]

Sending cyberhugs and all sorts of best wishes. Sounds promising, if still mysterious.

[PatricksMom]

Good and bad news today. Good news, he's up around a lot more, seems to be stronger, is eating well, is loving all the attention from his vet student (he's trained her to hand feed him which he totally doesn't need), and is generally making everyone fall in love with him, which means he's acting like his usual self. The mixed news is they're leaning towards a recently acquired TBD, which means we've actually started treating it right away and there's a hope of a good recovery. The bad news is the protein levels in his urine keep going up, his paws are swollen, and his blood pressure's up. I'm also very concerned that he's close to getting a bedsore on his one elbow, despite tons of bedding and the very best care--I don't think they can do anything more until he's able to be up more on his own.

 

I'm terrified we might be looking at the beginning of a downward spiral, which could result in losing him after putting him in the hospital for his last days. And I'm stuck in Baltimore for my last week at my old job because we can't afford for me to quit given his vet bills, which means I can't go visit him, although DH will be going everyday to meet with the vet and hang out--we were able to spend a couple of hours yesterday just keeping him company.

[racindog]

For the future don't forget that any supplements containing MSM are contraindicated with steroids.

Praying for Patrick to get well!

[racindog]

For the future don't forget that any supplements containing MSM are contraindicated with steroids.

Praying for Patrick to get well!