Has your dog ever had a spinal stroke?

[Roxy]

Spinal stroke, also known as FCE(Fibrocartilaginous Embolism). Has your dog ever had one? Right after Thanksgiving Stella had one. Or at least that's the best explanation that the vets gave us for her suddenly going lame in her rear legs. First she was a little off and then she could barely move on both legs. Eventually she wasn't as wobbly. She was never in pain. One leg is weaker than the other. We tried meds, acupuncture and laser therapy. It may have helped? It's hard to say. She might have just been improving on her own but pretended it helped so she could have a spa day Now we're at the point that she's stronger on it, but if she's standing she holds that leg up. She has no problem using it if she needs to, but otherwise she'll hold it up like she's a flamingo. We've been told recovery can take months, which we're at. We've also been told that it may not completely fix itself. I'm just curious if anyone else has dealt with it and what the final outcome was for you. :roxy:

 

[Deleted Member]

Spinal stroke, also known as FCE(Fibrocartilaginous Embolism). Has your dog ever had one? Right after Thanksgiving Stella had one. Or at least that's the best explanation that the vets gave us for her suddenly going lame in her rear legs. First she was a little off and then she could barely move on both legs. Eventually she wasn't as wobbly. She was never in pain. One leg is weaker than the other. We tried meds, acupuncture and laser therapy. It may have helped? It's hard to say. She might have just been improving on her own but pretended it helped so she could have a spa day Now we're at the point that she's stronger on it, but if she's standing she holds that leg up. She has no problem using it if she needs to, but otherwise she'll hold it up like she's a flamingo. We've been told recovery can take months, which we're at. We've also been told that it may not completely fix itself. I'm just curious if anyone else has dealt with it and what the final outcome was for you. :roxy:

So my old pal Scout had that... and "broken wag" at the same time. He did fully recover but it took about 2 months. When it happened I took him to the vet immediately and they gave him a shot of what was equivalent to blood thinner. He did on occasion drag his back right leg when we went on longer walks, so as time went on the walks grew shorter. It happened when he was about 9 or 10, and he lived to be 15 when I shot him in the back of the head (I live in a rural area and the closest vet is about an hour in any direction, poor guy was suffering and it was Sunday-wee hours of the morning). Worse day of my life to date.

Hope your pupper mends quickly!

 

[Roxy]

So my old pal Scout had that... and "broken wag" at the same time. He did fully recover but it took about 2 months. When it happened I took him to the vet immediately and they gave him a shot of what was equivalent to blood thinner. He did on occasion drag his back right leg when we went on longer walks, so as time went on the walks grew shorter. It happened when he was about 9 or 10, and he lived to be 15 when I shot him in the back of the head (I live in a rural area and the closest vet is about an hour in any direction, poor guy was suffering and it was Sunday-wee hours of the morning). Worse day of my life to date.

Hope your pupper mends quickly!

I'm not sure the vet we went to really knew how to handle it. Between that vet and the specialist that was doing her laser therapy, they wanted me to have an MRI and then probably surgery. The MRI was going to run approx $3000 and the surgery at least that if not more. I love my dog but not to the tune of $6000 for something that may work. She can still run, chase the kids at the fence and act like an asshole. All of that seems to be without pain. I was hoping she would eventually put the leg down. It's gotten better so it still might change. :roxy:

 

[Fullsize80cherokee]

I’ve had 2 that had their back 2 legs stop working out of the blue in their elderly years. 13 year old lab/retriever mix and 11 year old German Shepard. The lab lived another year or two and the gsd was just a few days, he was miserable. Once I have a dog that doesn’t look or sound comfortable he gets put down.

 

[nahmus]

Ive never heard of this before but i hope your dog makes a speedy recovery

 

[Roxy]

I’ve had 2 that had their back 2 legs stop working out of the blue in their elderly years. 13 year old lab/retriever mix and 11 year old German Shepard. The lab lived another year or two and the gsd was just a few days, he was miserable. Once I have a dog that doesn’t look or sound comfortable he gets put down.

With the spinal stroke they aren't necessarily old. Stella is only 6. It's just a weird thing that hits them and then it's gone just as fast as it hit, but takes a while to recover from.

 

[Truckedup]

Not a dog but a cat that spends a lot of time outside. When he was about 12 ,just like that,he was stumbling like a drunk. The vet said the cat likely had a seizure or stroke,or a brain tumor... tumor. Not wanting to give a 12 year old cat an MRI ,just took him home. He slowly got better over about a week...Now three years later he stumbles a bit once in awhile but generally ok...So maybe the dog will be ok..