Seizure update- July 9th 2009

Well, Lexx surprised us all and went over 4 weeks without having a seizure this time round. It was a bit of a saving grace considering we spent the long weekend away at a friend's cottage and nothing is inconvenient like a seizuring 80lb dog that screams in the middle of the night.

Anywho, our luck ran out last night and Lexx had a tiny seizure episode. I'm really impressed that though the frequency of the seizures appears to be in flux, or even slightly increased, the severity has decreased significantly.

He no longer looses control of his bowels or bladder, this time there was remarkably little drool and the entire episode only lasted around 40seconds instead of the old 2 minutes.

The BEST part? He goes right back to sleep afterwards. This is amazing for Kyle and I because it means that we're not up panicking about a pacing, post ichtal mess of a dog for 2 hours at 3 am.

His episode was around 12am, but he slept until 4am when he decided that outside for a pee would be quite nice please mom. By that time he was responsive to his name and coordinated enough to make it down the stairs and out the door without much support from us.

It might sound silly, but as the mother of a seizure dog, you learn to count your blessings. I could not even begin to explain to anyone how AWESOME it is that these changes have materialized. The seizures themselves are terrifying, and obviously I wish that they would just go away all together, but in all honesty, the post ichtal phase almost bothers me more.

There is just something so heartbreaking about watching your baby pace and run in to walls, falling over and unresponsive. Something horrifying about calling his name or speaking to him softly and seeing not even a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.
So, In conclusion, I'll take it.

Anywho, in other news Lexx has a bump on his pad on his front right foot. I have been watching it for awhile and it seemed to be growing a tiny bit so we popped in to the vet. Of course they want to do a histology on it which involves knocking him out or heavily sedating him. Of course, this involves more cost due to his conditions.*sigh*

I really wanted to get his teeth done anyways, so I'm thinking a week of antibiotics pre surgery, teeth and foot, then a week of antibiotics post op and we can just kill everything with one stone for now.

Off to call Greg for more seizure drugs, might as well get him to through in some antibiotics while Im at it. I mean, who doesn't love a 500$ medication bill in July right?

we're back

I've been very very bad about this blog. I haven't written in ages.

Things just got too complicated and emotional and I found that writing it all here was draining.
I do wish however that I had continued because it was a fantastic way to keep track of Lexx's progress.

as a quick run down, he went through another round of surgeries in october of last year to check the shunt again since the MRI still showed no change. Everything appeared to be fine.

He is still suffering from seizures.

A recent increase in seizure frequency has led me to believe that I should start keeping track on here again, so that I have a nice place to keep notes.

L

surgery update

SO sorry that I didn't update sooner, I've been VERY busy at work.

Heard from Lexx's surgeon the SECOND he stepped out of surgery. First words out of his mouth: Everything went REALLY well.

Thats a good start!

Apparently the tubing in his abdomen had bunched up so badly that the body had formed a large amount of scar tissue around it restricting ANY flow through the tubes at all. It was so bad that he couldn't even press saline through it using a syringe with a plunger. It was so tangled and solid that the two surgeons had trouble even pulling the tubing OUT.

Anyways, the good news is that that valve is 100% fine and the shunt itself is working well. They attached new tubing and this time it had NO issues settling nicely in his abdomen. Right off the bat after the last surgery Greg was worried about how the tubing was settling, this time it looks perfect.

More good news is that now we KNOW that the shunt wasn't working AT ALL. This means that there is still hope that Lexx will feel MUCH better now that he has it! YAY

There are no guarantees that this won't happen again I suppose, but I have learned that there are no guarantees to life. I am just happy that he is OK and that we have diagnosed and FIXED the problem. The chances that it will re occur are greatly reduced by the fact that the tubing is cooperating this time.

Greg seemed genuinely happy about the results, making me genuinely happy. Now, I just have to wait for the note that he's come out of the anesthetic perfectly well. Lexx is a very sleepy recoverer and often takes a long time to come around properly. It bugs me because I worry, but it makes the surgeon happy because he isn't up banging around right away.

I know that they will take excellent care of him there, and I can HARDLY wait to get him home again where he belongs.

I am so happy right now! My baby still has a chance at a seizure free ( or at least reduced) life.

Seizure- July 25 2009

Well, Lexx got through the first 24hours with the myelogenic dye in his head no problem and I picked him up yesterday afternoon. He was still pretty dopey, but otherwise happy to see mom with nubbins and bounces.

The dye had mostly drained from his head and therefore his seizure risk was no higher than it always is for Lexx.

well... knowing my luck apparently Lexx didn't want to seize for the clinic, he wanted to save it for his mommy.

*sigh*

seizure
- started with small jaw movements that actually took me a second to realize what was happening. Progressed into grand mal behaviours, full body stiffness and rolled back eyes, drooling, though not as much paddling or snapping as normal. Loss of bowel control but no loss of bladder control.
total time: 1.5 minutes including jaw movements, no valium given
drugs: potassium bromide, 2.8mL once daily, phenobarbitol 60mg tablet 2x daily
post ichtal phase: sleep for 30 minutes, pacing and extreme thirst after for more than 30 minutes ( i'm still observing that.. pace pace pace)

Otherwise, nothing abnormal for lexx.

CT scan and Dye fail

So Lexx had his post OP CT scan on Thursday to check his shunt.

To make a long and frustrating day short, the CT showed that the pressure and fluid build up in his ventricles had shown no change. This means that the shunt is not working, or that the valve that we installed is not the correct one for Lexx.

The first thought was that the valve itself was not the proper pressure valve for Lexx and that it would need to be replaced. The surgery isn't a big deal, but the valve itself is very expensive.

After some consultation, it was decided that we should check to see if the shunt itself was working by injecting a dye ( myelogenic) into the shunt and watching it move through into the abdomen. WELL. It didn't. It moved UP into Lexx's brain.

Bad news: when the dye is in the brain, its known to cause seizures... in NORMAL dogs let alone epileptic ones. Double bad news: Lexx would have to remain at the clinic overnight for observaton. Triple bad news: the shunt isn't working at all.

Now surgery is booked for next week. A clamp will be placed in the shunt tube between the valve and his brain to prevent the dye incident from being repeated. This surgery will be completed under a fluoroscope so that the progress of the dye through the shunt can be monitored.

Our first thought is that there is an inclusion somewhere in the tubing, either from fatty build up putting pressure on the tube, the tubes being tangled or kinked or a protein build up in the valve itself.

It is still a possibility that the valve is not working properly, and will need to be replaced. Since this option costs me a thousand dollars, I'm really REALLY hoping thats not it.

In all his awesomeness, my surgeon is doing everything for free, including the anesthetics, the hospital stay and the surgery itself. So thats incredibly helpful. The only payment required will be for the abdominal surgeon that will be required to enter his abdomen to help fix whatever problem that may be found. Can't ask him to work for free!

seizure update- July 9th 2009

Ive been bad, not even updating my medical info

Lexx had another seizure last night.

duration: 2.5 minutes
no loss of bowel/bladder control but more vicious muscle spasms that normal. I actually had to pull his paw from his mouth so that he didn't bite through it. scary.
meds: 2.8ml Kbr 1x daily, 60mg Phenobarb 2x daily

12 weeks post op. No evidence that shunt is functioning to reduce seizure activity at all.

Must discuss alteration of drug levels with Greg at follow up CT scan. Possibility of Removing Kbr to attempt to alleviate house trainin issues and UP phenobarb to 90mg 2x daily.

just keep swimming... just keep swimming

I just have to keep telling myself that ONE day I will have a dog that will NOT pee on the floor, will NOT require six different pills twice a day, WILL NOT need "just one more" MRI, CT scan, Xray or Ultrasound.

One day, things WILL be normal and I will NOT live 24 hours a day wondering "what next"

One day...

The strangest thing? that day will be the day that I find things odd, or abnormal.

*sigh*

Dear Mom

Hey mom, its me, Lexxington.

You've been bad about updating my blog.. so I figured that I would do it for you.

I was just wondering WHY you came home with another dog? I mean.. was I not good enough for you? I know that I'm not perfect, but its really not my fault. I don't MEAN to pee on the floor, i just CANT hold it mom, I swear. Sometimes I don't even know that I'm doing it... it just happens.

She seems like a nice enough dog, and KINDA looks like a doberman, she plays like a doberman... her ears are fun to eat too, so I'm glad that she still has them. She's fun to play with even though she wins at tug every single time and its a bit hard on a boy's confidence level.

I cannot for the life of me understand why she won't listen about the DRAGONS in the pond. She keeps jumping right on in there, even when I bark and tell her that its not a good idea, she just. won't. listen.

Also, why am I not allowed to jump on her head all day long? I just want to play you know, I'm only a baby. I know that you're worried about my brain getting hurt, but I promise, I'll play very carefully.

Its ok that you brought another dog home mom, as long as she realizes that I"M your little prince and that all my wants and needs come FIRST oh.. and she doesn't try to push me away from you for cuddles. That is the only time I will growl at her mom, I promise, and just a little bit.

dealing with a sister

As some of you know, Kyle and I have been fostering a 6yo red and tan female doberman named Bristol for the last two weeks.

Originally I was worried about how Lexx might react to having a second dog around the house. He's always been well behaved around dogs at the park, or on the street, or that are visiting, but he's never had to deal with another dog around 24 hours a day.

Of course, being the spoiled rotten thing that he is, I was worried that he might be jealous or annoyed. I was also worried that he might play too hard, or bother the older gal.

Well, two weeks have gone by and things are going very well. Of course, I've spent every waking hour watching the two of them together. They are never allowed to be left alone together when we are gone from home and they cannot be observed. Lexx gets to go to work with Kyle during the day every day, keeping his routine consistent, and Bristol stays home out in the dog area of the house. When we leave them both, Bristol is crated and Lexx gets to stay out because I still worry about him banging his head on the top of his crate.

Their play, originally hesitant on Bristol's side, has become rough and tumble dober play including a lot of noise, jumping and grumbling. They tumble around the yard with me maintaining my calm even though I'm terrified that Lexx will damage his shunt. Its nice to see them being dogs, anyone that didn't know dobermans would think that they were attacking each other.

Bristol loves to grab a quick swim in the pond and Lexx, of course, plays lifeguard. As if he'd put so much as a toe in that cold, icky, dark, scary water.

Its nice for Lexx to have a sister for awhile.

seizure-May 26 2009

Lexx seizured last night around 12:30 am...

length: around 1 minute
reduced paddling from normal, no bowel control loss, excessive drooling present.
No post ictal pacing, he just fell asleep on my lap, panting and drooling.

no signs that he's any worse for wear this morning other than exhaustion ( on both of our parts! )

Training update and improvements

First of all! A TRAINING UPDATE!

its been months I know, but here we go!

I decided that Lexx needs to do a little bit of obedience work. Not because he's badly behaved or impolite, but I'd like to think that being mentally stimulated is healthy for any creature, man or dog.

We cut up some cheese pieces, pulled out his training equipment and strolled to the one flat spot on the property where I used to train frequently.

Keeping in mind that Lexx now MUST wear a halter, I no longer have any control of his head, and NO ability to correct.

We started with some simple focus exercises. At first he was a bit skimpy on the focus, but over the course of a few minutes I built it up, starting with him in a front, then at my side in heel position. Once he realized that there was CHEESE involved, he was much happier to start "lovingly" into my eyes.

We then started working on heeling again. its been so long that I've gone right back to the beginning, re teaching him to spring off his hind end on the first step, to keep his head up and attention on ME. We worked one step at a time. He remembered the exercises well and performed them better than I had expected he would.

We then worked on stays ( difficult because I kept waving my arms around to get the bugs out of my face and poor lexx didn't know if that meant come, or what!) and started working on finishes to the left again.

His finishes were actually REALLY good, and after a few times luring him, he would do it all on his own.

The best news out of all of this? HIS SITS! They are still FAR from perfect, but they HAPPEN! and STRAIGHT! I have noticed lately that his trot has been much more even in the hind end. He still runs weird, but his trot is SO much better. Maybe the strangeness of movement in the hind is being corrected due to his surgery and this makes the sits easier. Maybe his brain is working better and he understands what I WANT better, I have no clue, but I'm happy about it.

I then decided to teach him something new, the moving stand. Its a strange thing to try since its not required until higher levels of obedience, but the move has always interested me, so I thought hey, why not.

Lexx doesn't have a good kickback stand yet ( same as the problem with the tuck sit... doesn't do well with hind end exercises here...) but he does know that STAND means STAND and stay still. I use it at the vet on a REGULAR basis ( being much more regular than your typical dog at the vet), I use it when i'm checking him for ticks, brushing him, or just observing his sutures etc.

So.. Here we go. Lexx FUS.. lexx STAND, drop the leash and I keep walking. Here I expect a little dober nose going mom? what? i'm here? what? Or at least some tentative foot moving, but no... I turn around and what do I see?

A square STILL standing doberman, looking slightly perplexed, but solid RIGHT where I'd left him. wow. WOW. Treats! lots of treats!

Lexx meanwhile is probably thinking, this is the easiest thing I've ever had to do! All I have to do is STAND!

I tried it a few more times and only ONCE did he shuffle his feet forward a step, he never sat, never downed, never kept with me.

VERY PROUD.

Obviously its a random accomplishment, but considering what we've been through in the last few months, it left me feeling warm and happy inside. Accomplished, joyful that Lexx was alive and still capable of learning new things.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY LEXX!!!

Today is Lexxington's second birthday.
I get teary just thinking about all we've been through and the fact that we've made it this far.

He's on an upswing, post surgery dog is doing well. And he's made it... He's still alive at 2. It sounds silly, but there were days when I seriously wasn't sure that we'd ever make it this far.

and here we are.

Happy birthday to the absolute love of my life. Even with everything thats happened, I'm SO glad that you've been a part of my existence for the last two years, you've taught me more than anyone will ever know or understand.

I love you

xoxoxo

-Mom

Away from my MOMMY?

Well! since Lexx's surgery I've been home pretty much 24/7 with him except a few hours in the evening when I manage to SQUEEZE in some time in the lab.

Today, for the first time, I decided that he needed to do something NOT with me and Kyle and I planned for him to spend a portion of the afternoon at Kyle's job with him.

Lexx has never really been to work with Kyle except a few random times the first summer that we had him, when among other things he managed to fall into a 4 ft deep post hole and get stuck.

So, we decided that I would drop Lexx off and leave him while I was grocery shopping, that way if it was a disaster, he'd only be there for a short period.

Turns out that he was FANTASTIC. He supervised the deck building process, chewed on his marrow bone for a bit and then passed out in the sunshine.

I returned from my shopping with banana popsicles for the guys and sat around chatting for a few minutes, sharing my popsicle with Lexx.

We then decided that I could leave him there the rest of the afternoon so that Kyle could work later and not hinder my SQUEEZING of lab hours.

Kyle reports that he was fantastic, but that he missed me and sat by the gate with his sad ears on whining for awhile after I left. At one point the wind blew and the gate moved and he got excited that MOMMY was back, and proceeded to be very disappointed when I, in fact, was not.

I got greeted with a TON of nubbins when I got home from the lab, like he hadn't seen me in DAYS

I love that he misses me but was still such a good boy. He's growing up

defenseless?

Ok, I'm going to start out this post by saying that I adore my dog to bits.

However,

Last night, Kyle's mom was scheduled to arrive late at night. We gave up on waiting for her and went to bed. Lexx is still recovering, so we are still sleeping with him downstairs.

Around two am, Im woken up to key scratching in the door and footsteps in the front hall. Obviously it was them arriving, but it was a strange set of noises to wake up to. Now, they are moving around, moving in suitcases, etc etc.

What does my doberman do? Looks up from his doberball, yawns once, and goes back to sleep.

Now, i know that it wasn't a REAL threat. I know that he's still recovering. I know all of this.

But I can't help but be disappointed in him. I really wanted a doberman for the characteristics that they are known for, protective, loyal, defensive. Does that make me a bad person?

Does it make me a bad owner that I wanted this dog to make me feel SAFE and SECURE?

Maybe he knew not to be concerned. But I still really wish that he'd AT LEAST gotten up to see what was going on. I prefer that he'd have barked. Maybe because I secretly hate that she still has keys to my house and I wish that he'd scared her a little bit...

Maybe because I just... wanted a dog to make me feel safe.

Now a part of me wonders if he'd even wake up if someone came in with bad intentions.

nothing good happens here.

10 minutes I left him in his crate.

10.

I just needed some space

I just needed some time without worrying about him. I just wanted to garden alone without watching him stuff himself full of grass...

He smashed his incisions open. blood was everywhere.

Now, 150$ and one MORE trip to toronto under my belt, i'm at the end of my rope.


I cannot do this for much longer.

2 week follow up appointment

Lexx had his follow up appointment today with Dr. Kilburn ( who is back from vegas.. jealous jealous jealous...)

He seemed rather dopey and out of it all morning, including when he was in the examination room. Even though I'm obviously hoping for improvement in that department, at least the doc could see what I'd been talking about and didn't think I was a big nut bag.

I took photos of his paw in case he didn't show signs of weakness while we were there, but he did, so good boy proving that mom isn't dumb.

Dr. Kilburn ran some neurological tests on him and was a little perturbed at the weakness and shaking in his hind end, but ironically he seems more BALANCED now (in terms of both sides suck, rather than one being worse) which is odd. He watched him run, walk, trot and sit/lay down. He also tested his reflexs ( gag reflex, eyes, ears, etc) and pain tolerance in his abdomen.

We aren't sure if the dullness is being caused by pain, so he's been placed back on the pain drugs for a few days to see if that makes a difference at all.

Don't you know it, lexx throws up a HUGE pile of grass in the examination room ( lovely) so he's been put on Pepcid to help with his poor little tummy.

His stitches were removed and his head was xrayed to ensure that the shunt was properly placed, which it is. Using the piece installed above the valve he tested to make sure that the shunt was working, which it is. So that is all good. The tubing has actually uncoiled a lot since the surgery, so he's also happy with that aspect.

Ironically, Lexx is looking great this afternoon. Bright eyes, tail and ears erect and alert, trotting instead of dull dragging walking. He's currently napping, but I feel that things will get better and I'm so glad we had this appointment so that I could ask all of my questions.

Bloat Scare

So... apparently when it rains it pours..

Last night lexx went to bed a ok.. around 12:30 he woke up coughing and gagging, like he was trying to throw up. He got up and started to pace, mildly panicked. Of course I was up in a flash, what the hell is wrong with my dog NOW. I take him outside and all he wants to do is eat grass, he's literally hauling me to grass. Still gagging.

I listen to his stomach, its gurgling, and he doesn't look swollen... but when I touch his abdomen he grumbles...lexx never grumbles...so.. I call the emergency vet. Just as we walk out the door, he pukes up a whole bunch of grass and some kibbles.

1 in the morning, we're sitting at the emergency vet because I'm terrified that he has bloat. 325$ and an xray later, the vet says he has some gas, but nothing horrible, but that i was TOTALLY right for bringing him in. He congratulated us on being so vigilant. Now I have a funky x ray showing his tubing ( which for the record I think is bunched up... which means MORE surgery) but very cool!

The poor vet and tech, they were trying to get him to lay down on his right side for the ray and when the girl went to replace my hands, she kept trying to push down on his neck. NO NO NO i'd say, NO touching there! NOOOO!

I think to myself every day how lucky I am that lexx trusts me. I lifted him up onto the table and said lexxington.. down boy. and he downs. then i say ok boy, over on your side ( and point my gun fingers at him) and ROLLLL onto his side he goes. He kept getting upset when i went to leave and I finally leaned over him and said.

Lexx, you're ok. mom is here. stay still. And he did. still.
They were impressed.

Needless to say, the rest of the night SUCKED. He kept getting up and pacing, wouldnt settle for long. I think from all the gagging and the throwing up his throat is bothering him. He'd sleep for 30 minutes, then his throat would start to kinda.. well he'd swallow a lot. Then he'd cough and get up and pace for a minute, then he'd curl back up on me.

In the middle of the night I got so irritated ( and was still WIDE awake) so we went for a walk down the street, he peed, it was raining. When we got back he literally RAN to the bed and curled up. DONT MAKE ME GO OUT AGAIN MOM! I'LL BE GOOD!

I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep more than 30 minutes all night.

boredom..

Poor lexx, he's so bored.

Since his stitches don't come out until next tuesday, he has to remain calm and on leash. CALM. I don't know how many male dobermans, or dobermans in general that you have met, but CALM is NOT a part of his vocabulary. Me forcing him to remain CALM has directly caused him to become BORED.

He wants to run and play, but I won't let him... and his body won't let him. After out 2k walk this morning, he was TIRED, dragging behind me ( very un lexx like) and droopy. But then kicks in the "toddler" syndrome. Exhausted, but won't sleep. He paces.. around and around.. and around. No distracting him with toys, treats, bones...sleep? nothing.

I have to admit, he's been excellent about ringing his bell to go outside. Since Lexx's brain issues ( or the drugs he is on because of the brain issues) have caused his housetraining to falter dramatically, I'm still puppy obsessed with putting him out to pee. I don't bother to wait for him to ask, because he's had so many accidents. Its just like a 10 week old, out after eating, out ofter playing, out after napping. Its exhausting.

Since his surgery though, no accidents ( yet) and he's been ringing his bell on the door to inform us of needing out. It seems that he doesn't have to pee nearly as much now, because if I take him out without him ringing his bell, 85% of the time he won't pee and just stands there and stares at me blankly.


However! this whole I ring my bell = mom lets me outside thing has come to bite me back. For the first time in 6 months its 20C outside and SUNNY and glorious and Lexx just wants to be OUT all the time. OUT OUT OUT MOM! OUT! bing bing bing. He comes in for 2 minutes and BING he wants out again. I don't want to discourage bell ringing, or what it means, so EVERY time i take him out. He soaks up sun.

Im exhausted. Getting up at 5, puppysitting all day, working until 11pm and going to bed at 1.. is NOT a good routine.

Special Needs Doberman Link

SND has finally posted Lexxington's case on their website

Here is the link:

http://www.doberman911.org/cases/lexxington.html

I hate that this is the best thing to happen to me today!

Lexx continues to improve. He was a little bit off this morning, maybe achy since he went off his pain meds yesterday, maybe something else, who knows.

By the time I got home from work at 10pm, he was acting more normal, bouncing around ( much to the disdain of Kyle and I), insisting that the kitties share THEIR food and ready for a good long snuggle on the couch.

Currently he and Kyle are sharing a pillow on the couch, both passed out.

HOME!!!!

Lexxington is HOME!

best thing in the ENTIRE world having my baby back with me again.

You'd never really know that he'd had a major surgery, aside from the ridiculous incisions down his head and across his side. He's a bit swollen and kinda ouchy I think, He's calmed than normal.

We already went for a nice long walk this morning. Since he's only allowed to walk ON leash for the next three weeks ( oh..sigh..) we're going to be doing A LOT of walking to keep this bouncy ball calm.

His tummy seems a bit upset, but I'm not overly surprised being that he's on SIX pills a day and just had a major operation.

Anyways, he's here and he's alive. Now that might SOUND silly to say, but trust me... after what we've been through, every single day is a bit of a blessing... I had nightmares for WEEKS that he was going to die on the table and I'd regret everything and feel horrible. I'd wake up crying and sobbing and screaming. It was terrible.

So there you go, he's here.

As a side note:

I was a bad person and didn't contact Lexx's breeder to tell her that we were doing the surgery. I feel really badly about it, she had the right to know... I guess I'm just so used to going it alone, that I didn't think of it. needless to say, she's been updated and I really hope that we'll stay in closer contact now. I'd like her to be sure that Lexx is alright... nobody needs to wonder.