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Madison diagnosed through MRI with SM

natalieandmike said:
Don't be worried at ALL, the fur does grow back! In our (Bianca's case) now everything looks tip-top except her long hairs which started from the top of her ears are now only about 1 1/2 inches long-- and getting sloooowwwwlly longer...:rolleyes: but here's a before and after photo to make you feel better. I'm so glad everything went well with the surgery!!! (our neuro said Bianca was a 'textbook' case, as well, so I am sure that ALSO bodes well for you since Bianca is doing so great--knock on wood--after surgery).
Post-op day 4 when we were able to bring her home (the shiny thing is a Fentanyl patch)
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Here she is 4 1/2 months later, at a gelato shoppe.

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Here's a somewhat better picture of the top of her head:
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You're doing GREAT, Madison! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!:paw::paw:
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I've seen your beautiful girl and watched her progress, which gave us strength to move ahead with the surgery for Madision. Thanks!
 
Just checking to see how Madison (and you and your family) are doing. I think about all the special SM "kids" a lot. Hope all is going well and if there are setbacks that everyone is coping and keeping the faith.
 
ppotterfield said:
Just checking to see how Madison (and you and your family) are doing. I think about all the special SM "kids" a lot. Hope all is going well and if there are setbacks that everyone is coping and keeping the faith.
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She's doing really well. Thanks for checking in! She should be getting her staples out tomorrow. I am planning on doing a comprehensive update with some other observations when her stiches come out and then another when she sees Dr. Abramson again in three more weeks.
 
She went to the vet today. The vet removed only about half her staples. Given the length of the primary incission, she seemed concerned about removing them all at once lest her incission tear open.

Madison is generally doing very well. We've still got ocassional yelping but it's getting less and less frequent. She is off of the Tramadol (pain killer) and Phenobarbital (anti seizure med). We've also tappered the Prednistone to once a day. The large quantity of meds made her pant a lot and shake a times. With the reduction in meds, we've seen improvement on both fronts.

Although it is still very early and she is medicated, we've noticed a great reduction in her symptoms. Where she used to air scratch 20 or more times a day, I've seen her scratch only about 10 times total in the last two weeks. While I never expected resolution of this behavior from the surgery, I'm going to keep track of this as it's interesting. Moreover, while it's far too early to draw any conclusions, it does appear like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders (could be reading into this after spending $8k on her :)). I, of course, have no idea what it must feel like to have water on the head or what it would feel like to finally get the relief that the shunt is providing. On a side note, I wonder why most other cavs aren't getting a shunt as well as the decompression.

She has developed another habit, which is also interesting. She now seems to do a body shake that reminds me of a peacock ruffling its feathers. She does this pretty frequently. It doesn't seem to bother her though and I don't know if it's like her way of stretching pain free after laying around all day.

She's having the rest of her staples out on Friday. I'll try to take some pics then. Thanks for listening to me ramble but I hope to catalog our journey for others facing this problem in the future.
 
I am absolutely thrilled to hear that she is doing so well!!! Please do keep us updated on her progress.
 
That's interesting that you mentioned the 'body shake' like a peacock! Bianca seemed to do that fairly frequently after surgery, but it has gradually abated with time to only a couple of times per day. We thought it was odd, but I thought it may have something to do with unusual nerve impulses firing and her getting a 'tingly' feeling along her spinal cord, thus feeling like she had to 'shake them off'. I attributed it to more feeling coming back after surgery. I know this is not very scientific! :rolleyes: Just thought you'd want to know.
 
natalieandmike said:
That's interesting that you mentioned the 'body shake' like a peacock! Bianca seemed to do that fairly frequently after surgery, but it has gradually abated with time to only a couple of times per day. We thought it was odd, but I thought it may have something to do with unusual nerve impulses firing and her getting a 'tingly' feeling along her spinal cord, thus feeling like she had to 'shake them off'. I attributed it to more feeling coming back after surgery. I know this is not very scientific! :rolleyes: Just thought you'd want to know.
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That's very helpful for me and others to know. Thanks!
 
Okay, I have waited two weeks since the last update and am worrying about little Madison. Need an update. If the news is good, we can all give a sigh of relief; if she is struggling, then we need to know so we can keep the prayers coming and give you all a virtual hug.
 
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I've just read this thread from start ot finish and am also a little teary eyed, I hope and pray that Madison is recovering well.
 
Having read through this thread and watched the video through tears, I think Maddison is a remarkable brave little girl. I hope her recovery is ongoing and is becoming stronger everyday. Maddison is lucky to have wonderful caring owners. Wish you all luck and will pray for Maddisons full recovery.:)
 
ppotterfield said:
Okay, I have waited two weeks since the last update and am worrying about little Madison> Need an update. If the news is good, we can all give a sigh of relief; if she is struggling, then we need to know so we can keep the prayers coming and give you all a virtual hug.
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Sorry to keep you waiting guys. Once we got through the surgery, we've had to focus on getting ready for our first child, who was supposed to be here today but is keeping us waiting a little longer.

It's been almost 5 weeks now and Madison is doing just fine.

Per Dr. Abramson's instructions, we let her out of her cage almost a week ago. Let me tell you, she's a happy camper. And, frankly, it was getting hard to deal with keeping her separated from our other cav and having to sit and sleep by her cage all the time. She was a little weak after a month in a cage but she's moving around pretty well now.

No more yelping from the surgery at this point and her hair is starting to cover her incissions. She's basically off all of her meds.

Her scratching has come back to pre surgery levels. It seems that, once she started moving around, her scratching came back. My wife swears that she is scratching more than before but I don't think so. If memory serves me, it was this level of scratching that alarmed us enough to get an MRI in the first place. She also still lacks some control in her limbs and slides around the floor a lot.

On the other hand, I think Madison is holding her head up more when she walks. Before the surgery, she seemed to really keep her head down as if to minimize pain. Now, she's holding her head up nicely and is looking up and all around as she walks. She also seems to have better posture. She's still tucking in her rear but doesn't seem to be doing it as much. Finally, she does seem to be more playful and have more energy. Could just be pent up energy from being in a cage for a month--but who knows.

Our next appointment with Dr. Abramson is on the 12th. I'll give you guys another update and take some pics as soon as I can figure out our new camera. Thanks to all for thinking of Madison so much--it means a lot to us.
 
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Whew....I sure was glad to hear from you. I was so afraid no news was bad news but am relieved this isn't the case. Sounds like she's doing well. That's excellent news.

I had completely forgotten you were expecting a baby on top of all of this!! :shock: You do have a full plate don't you?!!
 
Cathy T said:
Whew....I sure was glad to hear from you. I was so afraid no news was bad news but am relieved this isn't the case. Sounds like she's doing well. That's excellent news.

I had completely forgotten you were expecting a baby on top of all of this!! :shock: You do have a full plate don't you?!!
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Yeah. But I'm glad we took care of this before rather than after the baby. There is no way that we would take turns sleeping on the couch next to the cage for a month with a baby crying every two hours!
 
Wow you have a lot going on! :flwr:

On the scratching -- this is pretty normal -- Clare Rusbridge finds that most of her post op dogs remain on gabapentin for scratching for life. Any damage done before the surgery -- eg damage to the dorsal horn region that initiates the scratching -- usually doesn't improve much post surgery with many of the decompressions (LIVS seems to have better luck with their form of the surgery). Dr Marino at Long Island Vet Services (LIVS) says on average it is three months before they begin to see significant improvement post surgery -- so may that helps a bit in getting a sense of what might be going on and what to expect. I'd guess the limb weakness right now will be in part die to her inability to exercise at all -- her muscles will have atrophied a bit. So hopefully that will improve now that she is out and moving about!
 
Karlin said:
Wow you have a lot going on! :flwr:

On the scratching -- this is pretty normal -- Clare Rusbridge finds that most of her post op dogs remain on gabapentin for scratching for life. Any damage done before the surgery -- eg damage to the dorsal horn region that initiates the scratching -- usually doesn't improve much post surgery with many of the decompressions (LIVS seems to have better luck with their form of the surgery). Dr Marino at Long Island Vet Services (LIVS) says on average it is three months before they begin to see significant improvement post surgery -- so may that helps a bit in getting a sense of what might be going on and what to expect. I'd guess the limb weakness right now will be in part die to her inability to exercise at all -- her muscles will have atrophied a bit. So hopefully that will improve now that she is out and moving about!
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Yep. Dr. Abramson was very clear that she has not had luck resolving the scratching through surgery. The goal of course was to prevent further progression.
 
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