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Rory has started screaming now....

rory

Well-known member
Well - after a very exciting Christmas spent at my parents with lots of other dogs and people, Rory started screaming from the syringomyelia on Monday morning. He did it a few times for several seconds Monday and then again once on Tuesday. I got a hold of the surgeon and we decided it would be good to start him on Prednisone for a while to hopefully decrease inflammation and stop the pain. He's also on Neurontin and Lasix, but they don't seem to be helping too much.

Despite the Prednisone, he's still scratching, which is discouraging. The surgeon doesn't know why he might be doing this. We're both discouraged. It's just not fair.

He's on strict restriction now for the next few days. Spending most of his time in the kennel.

This is all very upsetting. I'm trying to not freak out, but it doesn't seem like the surgery worked.... :( He never did this screaming thing before, so this indicates to me that the disease is continuing to progress. I don't want to have to watch him deteriorate like this. It's too painful. I hate this!! :(
 
Oh no, I am so sorry. I hope the medication makes a difference & he starts feeling better, I can't imagine how difficult this is for you. You will be in my thoughts & prayers.
 
I'm so sorry you are having these worries. It shouldn't be the condition progressing so soon after surgery should have relieved all the syrinxes. But he has only just come from a very serious operation -- surely it is more likely to be the slow recovery most report? He did so amazingly well right post-op that that perhaps makes it easier to forget what he has gone through, and how this is surgery right in thst most sensitive area. I know Dr Dewey has said before that dogs often are worse for weeks following the surgery and that it takes until about the 6 month point, and recovery from the surgery itself, to see real improvement. He may just have been overdoing things over the Christmas period; also, it would be more normal I should think for them to go on the pred etc right after the surgery so I wouldn't be concerend about that at this time. He also had a more difficult surgery than most, with all that extra tissue removed. The scratching often never goes away, going by reports from many of those who have had the surgery, and very often does not lessen til 6 months after the surgery, so again, I wouldn't gauge the success of the surgery on scratching. I'm sure many on the AC list will say these things as well which I hope makes you feel less discouraged.

Remember, he's barely a month after his operation... the one surgery I have had, abdominal, took MONTHS to recover from though intitially you heal very quickly -- and this gave me a very false impression of how quickly I'd be doing well. Instead it was 4 months before I could start swimming again, and then only tentatively; and the stitched area was very uncomfortable for weeks after the surgery and the stitches had been removed! He will need time but I am sure he will improve. icon_crssedfingers icon_flowers
 
Well - the surgeon said he did not see this very often after surgery and didn't know what could be causing it, so that is part of my reason for feeling discouraged. It's good to hear other surgeons feel this isn't abnormal, but Dr. Harrington - at least - seems discouraged by this development.
 
I'm sorry to hear this. I'm guessing he probably over did it at Christmas, not hard to do when he started off as good as he did initially. Hang in there, you're doing all you can do, and hopefully he'll continue to heal over time. This is a test of patience, I'm sure.
 
Kendall, I can imagine how upset and worried you are about this. I have no experience to offer in this regard but my thoughts and prayers are with you and Rory....... It's a horrible thing to have to see and hear but hopefully it's not as serious as you may first believe.........

Fingers + paws crossed that in the New Year things will improve ....
 
Thanks, everyone, for the support. We will try to remain optimistic that this is just a minor set back and he will continue to improve... But it's hard. In the meantime, we're trying to keep him calm and not stress him out too much or let him overdo it. He's spending most of the day in the kennel because otherwise he'll jump up and down off the couch, etc. Poor baby. :( The surgery was 5 weeks ago, today.
 
Kendall:

We will keep all of you in our prayers as well that Rory will improve. My daughter had major brain surgery a few years ago, and every little twitch I thought she was heading toward another seizure or setback.

Hopefully it's just the path the recovery is taking. Remember sometimes they go backwards after a few steps forward. It's so hard when you can't see the "healing" that's going on inside. Like others said maybe he just overdid the holidays, and some quiet time will do the trick.

Sheri R.
 
sramirez said:
Kendall:

We will keep all of you in our prayers as well that Rory will improve. My daughter had major brain surgery a few years ago, and every little twitch I thought she was heading toward another seizure or setback.

Hopefully it's just the path the recovery is taking. Remember sometimes they go backwards after a few steps forward. It's so hard when you can't see the "healing" that's going on inside. Like others said maybe he just overdid the holidays, and some quiet time will do the trick.

Sheri R.


Thanks for sharing your experiences, Shari. God, I can't imagine going through this with a child!! Can I ask what kind of brain surgery your daughter had?? If you don't want to elaborate, that's fine. ;) I hope she's doing better now.

I'm thinking of trying to find an animal communicator. I know it sounds silly, but I really want to know how he really feels. It's so hard since he can't talk. He seems happy almost all the time, but I wonder if he really hurts a lot? When Max's Mom posted about her experience w/ the communicator/healer, it gave me chills. I'd love to know what's going on inside Rory's cute little head! ;)
 
Kendall:

My daughter had a left hemispherectomy in '99 (left hemisphere removed) in Baltimore. she was one of the oldest "kids" they had done the surgery on and she had tons of media coverage nationwide over the surgery. She had lots of post-surgery complications - we spent months traveling back to Baltimore and hospitalizations here in Nebraska too. I'm a single mom, with no close family members here, so it's been quite a long "trip" with rehab, etc. She had to relearn everything - walking, talking, she's now one-handed only (left).

Her post-surgery year was really rocky, so don't get too discouraged yet over Rory's progress. My Sasha has had two sureries as well (anal glands removed & laryngeal prolapse tie-back) so I guess I'm somewhat of a veteran on surgeries and rehab.

Keep thinking of tomorrow esp. if your today is a crappy one. That's about the best way I could get thru. It's so hard when our pups can't tell us what they're feeling like and where it hurts. I would look into anything that would make you feel better about his progress. It's certainly not going to hurt anything and might give you a better perspective on his progress. Pain pills might be good for those really crappy-scrappy days too.

Take care of yourself & Rory too.

sheri R.
 
Oh, you did tell me this before. Sorry! :oops:

Wow - that is really interesting (and scary!). How does this affect her abilities today w/o the left hemisphere? Do you mean she can only use her left hand, or she actualy lost her right hand?

He is on pain killers right now as well as steroids, which should help the symptoms.
 
Sheri, I think I remember reading about your daughter. She was a teenager and the story really touched my heart. It was Dr Carson at Johns Hopkins? He's a very gifted surgeon. I can only imagine how difficult that was for you. How is your daughter doing?
 
Amazing story about your daughter, Sheri. I've had a friend go through brain surgery and know the courage this takes both for the person having it and from family too. I can imagine how hard it must have been to be isolated from family and carying so much of the responsibility yourself for all that comes after such a serious procedure.

Kendall, I've had a response from Clare Rusbridge to your concerns and have sent that on to you.

Sheri on a lighter note, it looks like you are now able to log in without any problems? I hope so. :)
 
Sheri, I'm so sorry about your daughter's surgery - that sounds horrendous and you've both been so brave to cope. ((((hugs))) to you both.

Kendall, so sorry too about Rory's screaming and scratching - he was doing so well, so this must seem a huge setback. I really hope that it is just part of the healing process, and that he can be more comfortable.

I have read a couple of books about animal communcation, Amelia Kinkade's Straight from the horses' mouth and Sonya Fitzpatrick's Cat Talk. Sonya does do individual readings, but they are very expensive - I guess the demand is there since she's been on Animal Planet... http://www.sonyafitzpatrick.com/

Amelia's website is http://www.ameliakinkade.com/


I think we all actually have these abilities, it's just a matter of learning to use them. I know that I have a strong telepathic link with Rupert - especially with him being deaf.

Sending positive, healing thoughts to Rory, and comfort and ((((hugs)))) to you Kendall.
 
How's Rory doing? We are sending our best wishes and good thoughts with lots of hugs.
 
I meant to share this story with you about animal communication:

Several years ago, I used to receive a magazine from Eukanuba which included letters from dog guardians. One edition arrived including a letter about a Shih Tzu who used to wee on the mat in front of the toilet overnight. I read it and thought "how ridiculous, why don't they just shut the bathroom door?" I didn't mention it to anyone, and in the early hours of the following morning, Peaches went in to the bathroom and wee'd on the mat in front of the toilet icon_yikes

She'd never done it before or since...so either she read the letter too, or she picked up what I was thinking about...or it's a massive coincidence?


Hope Rory is doing better Kendall, and please let us know how you get on if you do decide to pursue animal communication.
 
Must be an epidemic! Shelby peed on her blanket on the couch the other night. She hasn't had an indoor accident since she was about 9 months old and she turned 2 in October!! We decided (my vet, my cavalier mentor and myself) that she was telling me she was "pissed" off that she was neglected that day. I was really busy and on the computer most of the day and into the evening. Normally I break every couple of hours for cuddles and play but didn't that day. She let me know she wasn't happy!
 
Molly pottied on my bed the other day. It was so uncharacteristic of her (she is almost 3 and has been house trained since she was 10 months old), that I took her in to the vet. Turned out she has a bladder infection and is on antibiotics. Poor little girl. She is doing better, though.
 
One of our dogs occasionally pottys on my bed too. I've figured out it's a "when he's mad" thing - or that's what I have surmised! It sure makes a mom mad 'tho, esp. when I don't know it's there :eek:

Sheri Ramirez
Lincoln, NE
 
Glad we're not the only ones who have potty accidents :lol:

Seriously sometimes it is due to a bladder infection, or even full anal glands {which can be painful} but they do let you know when they are cross this way too!
 
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