Jackdoodle's MRI

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

JD had his MRI today. It went well, he was very confused and nervous, but they let me stay with him until they were ready to give him the general anesthetic, and he was first in line. He got fluids and antacids intravenously and he has been doing fine. We were there about 6 and a half hours. This evening, he ate a little dinner and kept it down, and even took a short walk. I think he'll be back to normal tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

He has a ruptured disc in the lumbosacral area of his spine. The diagnosis is "right lateralized L7-S1 nerve root compression (Type II IVD)".

I saw the images of the disc pressing on the nerve on one side, which would have been very interesting if it hadn't actually been pictures of my dog's spine.  

The surgeon said that surgery would fix it, but suggested that we try conservative treatment first, specifically acupuncture, chiropractic, and possibly laser therapy, whatever the latter might be. He also said that if this were you or me, surgery wouldn't even be mentioned at this point, which made me feel better. I got a referral to a holistic practice which JD's IMS had also recommended to me in the past. The place looks like a New Age spa: http://www.kindspiritshealing.com/

This is uncharted territory for me, but if it can help JD without more drugs that might exacerbate his IBD and spare him from having to undergo spine surgery, I'm sure going to give it a try.

The surgeon also did a needle aspiration of a lump on JD's side. He has several lipomas which have been aspirated by his regular vet in the past, but this one seems firmer than the others. The surgeon will call me with the results next week, I'm hoping it's the same thing as all the others, just a harmless fatty tumor.

JD and I want to thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers over the past few days; I was a nervous wreck worrying about today, and I am just so thankful that this part is over and I have him home here resting comfortably. Think I'll go join him.

Stay tuned for the adventures of Karen and JD in the world of holistic, alternative healing, coming soon!

 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Try Skinneez; I've given them to people who swear their dogs will destroy any plush toy, and so far, every one of them has been wrong. ;-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Would you like to see some corpses : )

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well then, I'm glad I did not give any to Calla or Luca, lol.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

ONLY if they were originally stuffed and never breathing, F!! LOL!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Since you said OK. I'm not sure which are Skineez but I know we had two. We keep the corpses since sometimes a doodle will decide to tsoos one around. I am shcked that aside from a large abdominal wound the flamingo was fairly intact . Luca decided to grab it up immediately and see what damage he could do.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

LOL Teamwork!

[Gail and Bailey]

Karen,  I have tried the Skinneez and Bailey will still eat them if left alone with it.  I let her have them for a short while and play with her... but I can never leave them out as she will chew pieces off and swallow it. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Thanks.  Finn has a Skinneez "Rocky Raccoon."  It came with him from his breeder mom --full of puppy pee (I think) and she was slightly horrified that I wanted to take it, but he had his paws wrapped around it.  It's still mostly intact which I attribute to L.o.v.e. :) 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Karen, Just curious - what bed did you buy?  I am thinking about purchasing a new one for Charlie.  He starts his night on our bed, then goes to the bathroom floor (must be cooler).  Sometime during the night, he comes back up by me and puts his little nose in the crook of my neck!  We have a deposit down on a puppy that was born Aug 5th, and I cannot imagine having two in our bed (even though it it king size)!  Charlie is 39 lbs and I suspect the puppy will mature to that size too.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I got the Orvis Deep Dish bed with memory foam:

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1K0L&dir_id=1633&...

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Thanks Karen.  That looks very comfy - and I like that roll on the backside. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks, Sandy. This holistic practice has classes; maybe I'll start a new career as a dog masseuse, lol!