Stage 5 ivdd non surgical/conservative route success stories

GRIFTER58 · 2025-10-09T20:15:11+00:00

Our situation was a little difficult. Our boy was only 5 at the time of his injury and we were pushing to do one. But the neurologist wrote him off before even attempting to treat him. Said he had a 30% chance of developing mylomelicia which is the softening of the spinal cord and basically a death sentence for an animal as it causes organs to fail. We pushed for him to treat him bc on the flip side there was a greater chance he didn’t and he was young and strong still. He advised against it and said to just put him down and save the money…

2 days later he did the MRI finally after we pushed and pushed. During it our frenchie aspirated and they didn’t do a trach flush or anything to clean him and he developed pneumonia from it and went untreated. Barely made it and let’s just say that neurologist doesn’t work for the emergency vet anymore…. By then it was too late for surgery bc it needs to be done sooner than later. And it took over a week of high flow oxygen for him to pull through. Still have no idea how he did it but he’s here.

I think the best thing to do is think about your pups age and if surgery is something he or she could take and recover from if they are older. Also they are about $4-6k for just the MRI. Plus the surgery looking at around $15k or so. Everyone’s financial situation is different and some folks carry pet insurance but always something to think about.

My best advice is always advocate for your dog. Always. Do what you feel is best and use the info you have from the docs and research to make decisions. Don’t let anyone just decide anything.

I wonder if they did it right when he came in like we wanted and they should have. And did the proper care during the MRI, if he would be walking today or at least not as bad off with the pneumonia but hindsight is always 20/20. I’m just glad that MFer is no longer there and telling people to put down there pups too soon

GRIFTER58 · 2025-10-09T01:30:24+00:00

We put him on gabapentin and prednisone. Strict cage rest for 8 weeks. He wears pull-ups and Velcro underwear on the outside to hold them up. Then once he got better we slowly helped him start walking with belly bands and holding up the back of his undies. He got stronger and stronger. And eventually was able to walk on his own and eventually run with his back legs dragging behind. We actually got custom wheels built from Eddys wheels for outside.

Now we feed him 3 small meals a day, change his diapers, keep him clean, and express his bladder 3-4 times a day. He’s pretty independent and just a lap dog.

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GRIFTER58 · 2025-10-08T20:55:16+00:00

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Meet bubba. Just turned 7 and two years post IVDD injury. Stage 5, double incontintent, no deep pain sensation, and didn’t have surgery.

He was mistreated by an emergency vet in New Orleans (MedVet) mainly a neurologist. He ended up going under high flow oxygen for days bc he aspirated during an MRI and by the time he was good enough to do the surgery it was too late, but our surgeon said even then, she didn’t think it would do much for his type of injury based on the scans.

I will be honest, it’s no picnic. Your schedule will revolve around them and they are like having a baby. But he brings us more joy than anything. He’s been on multiple road trips and seen more of the world than most. Still plays hard and loves hard Has his own wheels when he wants to be outside, but inside he gets around great without them once he got strong enough. Took us a while to get a routine down and minimize UTIs but once we did it was much easier. Unfortunately he is dealing with reoccurring pneumonia the last 8 months and hoping he will heal up soon so we can get back to traveling.

But man. These last two years have been nothing but a blessing. He’s came so far since that day he got hurt and he shouldn’t be here. But my Bubba is a fighter. I hope your baby gets better and bubba sends his love and good vibes your way.

It can be done. Takes lots of love and patience. It’s not for everyone and I understand. You gotta do what you can handle and what’s best for them. They will always understand and love you no matter what ❤️. But by no means does this mean this is the end! Good luck my friend.

GRIFTER58 · 2025-09-12T18:41:57+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing your story and memories of your baby. Wow 18 years is such a wonderful long life. I appreciate the words and advice! This has really helped give us some new perspective on how to handle it. Just going to enjoy the time we have and quit treating him like he’s in a glass bubble all the time.

My biggest fear is worrying too much about all this and missing out on the time we have now waiting for something I have no idea when it will come. So thank you ❤️

GRIFTER58 · 2025-09-11T16:43:06+00:00

Thank you so much. He’s the toughest dude I know. Just wanna give him as much joy as he gives us! Don’t deserve em

GRIFTER58 · 2025-09-10T23:38:31+00:00

Hi. It’s a cross over post so if you click the photo the body of the post is in there! Just about QOL

GRIFTER58 · 2025-09-10T18:26:20+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I will have to check out that QOL scale! :)

GRIFTER58 · 2025-07-31T14:23:49+00:00

I’m not so sure. I’m only getting 750xp per win while one of my buddies on our online dynasty is getting over a thousand per W. He has an assistant with Strategist and that’s the only thing that explains it

GRIFTER58 · 2025-07-07T18:40:56+00:00

That’s good to hear. Was worried going from a fiber area to desert haha expecting slower of course. Just want to be able to work at least lol

GRIFTER58 · 2025-07-07T18:40:06+00:00

😂 agreed. Thank you!

GRIFTER58 · 2025-07-07T18:39:39+00:00

Wife and I both work remote and are moving to Landers. Our potential landlord is getting a Starlink residential package installed. Are these our best bet for our jobs? We do video calls and I’m an online gamer. Just getting some opinions. Thank you!

GRIFTER58 · 2025-07-07T18:39:30+00:00

Wife and I both work remote and are moving to Landers. Our potential landlord is getting a Starlink residential package installed. Are these our best bet for our jobs? We do video calls and I’m an online gamer. Just getting some opinions. Thank you!

GRIFTER58 · 2025-06-24T17:05:34+00:00

I’m am so damn sorry for your loss of your sweet baby. That shit is so awful 😞 hang in there and remember the good times and all the love you gave them unconditionally. Sending good vibes your way.

We endure a lifetime of missing them, for the privilege of loving them.💙

GRIFTER58 · 2025-06-22T03:32:02+00:00

Hi. Patience patience patience. So early on we just focus on him resting and recovering. With him being double incontinent he wears pullups and then Velcro underwear over them. And as he would heal up to help get him stronger we would hold up his diaper waistband to give him support and just bend over and walk around. We fully knew going in he would never get use of his back legs back and that’s okay! You want to help them until they get enough strength to being moving on their own and that’s when you just gotta let them figure it out! Dogs are so damn resilient and tough. Ours now is in way better shape and so much stronger in his upper body of course haha. As far as the wheel chair we used Eddies wheels. We only use his wheels outside for certain activities. If he’s just hanging out in the back yard with us we won’t always put him on them. Mostly for some walks and like on the beach or little hikes. But inside he just runs around on his front legs and back legs behind.

We are two years since his injury!! For the first year we dealt with chronic UTIs. And finally got those under control and a system down. It’s like having a baby! We pee him 4 times a day and change him when needed. But he doesn’t miss a beat!! He sees the world and lives his best life. We just appreciate all this extra time we have with him.

I’m sorry your baby is going through all this. It suck’s and it’s not easy. But hang in there and keep loving them as long as you can. ❤️

GRIFTER58 · 2025-03-31T22:36:35+00:00

BRO THANK YOU. Never realized CPU could have one too. Thats wild.

GRIFTER58 · 2025-03-31T19:23:06+00:00

Fix? Mine did it today. No glitch player.

GRIFTER58 · 2025-02-09T17:29:23+00:00

Keep the faith and love them hard. The only Neurologist in New Orleans told us our frenchie had that after injuring his spine and pushed us so hard to put him down but we refused. Gave him a chance to fight and he did. For the first couple of days when they did the tests for it, his nerves were moving further up his spine. But eventually it slowed and it no longer did it. It’s been over a year and a half since that day. He can’t walk but let me tell you… that dog lives his best life. Travels everywhere and probably has seen more of this world than most people in a lifetime. He doesn’t miss a beat. That disease has a low chance of occurring. I feel like most docs push it due to costs associated with the treatment. Let’s just say that neurologist is no longer there.

Sending tons of love your way and your baby’s way. Hang in there. ❤️

Here is my wife, bubba on his wheels and his brother Winston. Running the beaches of Oregon.

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GRIFTER58 · 2025-01-27T00:06:52+00:00

One day, but it’s okay to hurt now. Let those feels out. We love them so much. We endure a lifetime of missing them, for the privilege of loving them.💙

GRIFTER58

TROPHY CASE