Hip pain caused by scoliosis...????

[jrnyc]

thanks, Sharon
am not giving Sparky any more of pain shots...he
moved and bent needle and thank goodness i got it out
of him...
hopefully worst of his pain is passed...
so for now, quarter Tramadol seems to be enough for him...
shall see what vet says Wednesday (tomorrow)

i really want to get botox shots in my upper spine...makes a big
difference to my shoulders.....and my neck.
have it scheduled for end of January for 2 day schedule.

wishing all a pain free 2015
jess...& Sparky

[jrnyc]

to any and all on forum who wrote private messages
or wrote here on open forum

thank you for expressing concern for Sparky....
he is healing slowly...Wednesday afternoon vet said he is doing well...X ray showed a few struvite crystals still inside him...but wider opening where his urethra was re-routed to will hopefully be big enough for those crystals to flush out...
i go in Wed January 7th afternoon to learn to do the subcutaneous infusions of fluid...i learned it is not just saline but also has helpful electrolytes, etc...i hope folks here are right and that i can get good at doing it...he needs the fluids to keep him hydrated...he thinks he is a little camel and does not need to drink water....

thru all of this my shoulders and neck are so tight that i fear the next needle i have to get for botox in upper spine....the pain doc said i get so tight he has trouble getting needles into my shoulders...nothing i try to do is relaxing them or helping them loosen up.....all i know besides opiates is to let the hot water run down my body until there is no hot water left....also am trying moist heating pad....

any other suggestions to get rid of tightness and muscle spasms
would be so appreciated...am way overdue for those botox shots
to freeze the muscles so they will stop spasming...(splg?)
it feels like a gorilla jumped on my back and grips me tighter and
tighter and won't let go....especially from neck down thru shoulders
to my waist

may 2015 bring less pain to all...
jess

[leahdragonfly]

Hi Jess,

Have you ever tried TENS? (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). Some PT's use it as an adjunct to very tight or spasmed muscles. My insurance bought me a TENS unit several years prior to my surgery when I was going to PT, and it can definitely help with really tight muscles. Mine was a small portable unit, a little bigger than a cell phone, that clipped to my belt and had two sets of electrodes to work on two areas at once. It's the only thing I can think of that you haven't mentioned.

Take care, I am so glad that baby Sparky is healing!

[jackieg412]

I have used tens. It can help. Hope you fell better soon Jess. Glad your little guy is improving. Happy New Year.

[jrnyc]

hi Jackie and Gayle
thanks so much for the suggestion...
yes, i had Tens unit back when i had pain from Lyme Disease
and also had some pain from scoli...(tho not as much because it
was before i herniated discs in lower spine)...
it did not help me...
i like acupuncture...but i also had acupuncture with electric
stimulation with it that an American trained doctor used...
i hated it....i do not like anything with electricity...makes me
jumpy and i cannot relax...

Sparky sees vet Wednesday for me to learn to give him fluids
by needle....today was day 12 since surgery and wearing cone...
hope vet says Sparky can have cone off Wednesday....day 15....

thanks to all who have sent kind concerns...
happy 2015 to all....wishing all a pain free year....

jess....and Sparky

[JenniferG]

Tens machine didn't help my back either pre-op, but I have a friend who swears by it. I guess we're all different.

Hoping for the best for both you and Sparky, in 2015. Good luck with giving Sparky a needle. Now that's love.

[jrnyc]

thanks Jen...Happy New Year to you too...

i watched vet do fluids...Sparky was so good, until vet tech
holding him let him move a little...and he cried out in pain...
it broke my heart...i told vet tech to HOLD him without cursing at
her.....i wanted to smack her...her only job was to hold him still

i don't feel ready yet to do fluids myself...
i am going to take the little Pookie in at least twice a week or more
to let a vet tech do it....the regular vet quoted $15 a visit for it
with no appointment...just call first...
i watched carefully and saw what vet did...but i was so worried
for Sparky....vet said puppy knows i am worried...
of course he does....
he still has cone on....poor sweetheart...

thanks again for concern....i do love him and his eyes keep asking
me "why" and i feel so bad, but vet said this will save his life.

in meantime, my shoulders and upper spine keep getting tighter...
hope the doc doesn't break off needle in shoulders when i finally
get botox shots end of January....

best to all in New Year...
jess...back with her Sparky

[mariaf]

Aw, that poor little guy!! I was not on here in a while and was hoping for good news about Sparky. Do you know how much longer they'll need to do this??

And your story about the vet tech made me chuckle because it reminded me about a nurse a long time ago who was doing a procedure when David was a toddler. She was trying to get urine from him and he was not cooperating. She started to get frustrated and IMO was not being as gentle and compassionate as she should with a small child (maybe not cut out for this work sweetheart?? well, that's what I wanted to say). Anyway I was making suggestions and trying to get her to have more patience with him and she says something like "do you think it would be better if you waited outside" (my husband was there in the room too). I looked at her and said calmly "if you want to get me out of this room you will have to kill me first".

People who can't do the job, or don't have the patience and compassion for the job, should not work with children or animals.

Hang in there Jess and please keep us posted.

How are you feeling? I'm sure this whole ordeal is not helping you either, but you are such a good Mommy to Sparky - I truly believe he knows just how lucky he is :-)

[jrnyc]

hi Maria
sent you private message....

yes, i think the tightness in my shoulders and neck is partly
from the worry and stress of it all...
Sparky is so sweet and brave and good...
i hope you are right that he knows...
because those big brown eyes ask me "why momma?" and it
is so heart breaking...

i am going to go in and let vet techs (good one, i will make sure)
do the fluids he needs because he does not drink enuf...
once i feel i can handle it, i will do it by myself at home...
but doing it at vet office first will let me know if heaven forbid
anything else happens....they are right there....

thanks for the kind concern, Maria...
woofs...from jess & Spark

[ksmom0611]

I hear you on the muscle tightness and needles! I had a Botox shot once where the muscle was so tight that the needle bounced off of me, did a flip in the air, and landed across the room!

We had to do the injection thing with our cat. It's so tough to do emotionally, but it gets easier physically with practice. Hope he feels better.

[jrnyc]

thanks so much ksmom...

Sparky and i will be thinking of you during and after your
surgery....as many others on this forum will be, too

i wish you smooth procedure and uneventful recovery...
with such little pain that you can catch up on reading, watching funny movies....not too funny in case laughing hurts....and just take care of you for a change...for a little while...
best of luck
jess...and Sparky

[jrnyc]

my neck and shoulders are so sore....somehow the pillows that worked for me for years are not working for me anymore...last time i got botox in shoulders it was hard to get needle to go in, but it helped tremendously...
am overdue and seeing doc around Jan 28th

meantime stress increases by the truckload...
trip to vet today showed ANOTHER cyst in my puppy....
it is unbelievable...
2 cysts were removed in October 2014 and he just had surgery to reroute urethra Dec 23rd...this poor baby does not get a break.
the vet was able to drain the cyst...got puss and fluid out,,,
she gave him subcutaneous fluids today as well....

she will speak to other vets at hospital next Monday and call
me with any recommendation....

meanwhile, Sparky is exhausted, and is asleep on his favorite
chair...cone still on his head...cannot come off yet...
she took a know out of his self absorb stitches today, so maybe
that will help him want to lick at wound less.

this is so unfair to my sweet dog...

jess

[Pooka1]

Oh poor baby bunny. Did that third cyst develop after the recent surgery??? Is that quick? It all seems so complicated.

I hope he turns a corner. And take care of yourself, Jess. You both will get through this.

[mariaf]

Poor baby bunny is right!!

Jess - what, if anything, will they have to do to treat this cyst? or don't they know yet? This poor little guy really has to catch a break soon - it's not fair!

Hugs to you both
from me and Jackie

[jrnyc]

to Sharon, Maria, and Jackie(a bunny herself)

thanks so much for the kind concern....
we don't know why the cyst formed so quickly....
the vet believes Sparky's body has a hormone imbalance
that is congenitally caused...but blood work does not show
out of balance numbers.
his first surgery was cyst on prostate, second was cyst like
structures under the bladder, third was struvite crystals and
blockage of urethra, which was re-routed this last, third
surgery.
so this cyst found and drained by needle today is shocking
for how fast it showed up, after not showing on recent
ultra sounds...but it goes along with what his body has
been doing in past.

i am beyond upset and stressed...it is just too much for a little
sweet 10 pound dog to go thru...his suffering is so sad to
see....i saved his life with the surgeries...but i want it to be
a happy life.

note...my e mail not working on computer...only access thru cell
phone

thanks again...
jess...& Sparky (still in cone)