u/BigSeaworthiness7791

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to hear from people who have been through something similar and maybe get some hope from your experiences.

My 9-year-old dachshund, Sid, had spinal surgery for IVDD three weeks ago. He was completely paralyzed in his hind legs and had no deep pain sensation after surgery.

We are now three weeks post-op.

The situation at the moment:

• He still has no confirmed deep pain sensation in his hind legs.

• His hind leg, tail and hind-end reflexes have become much stronger.

• At his latest neurological exam, the vet noticed that a reaction could be elicited further down his back than immediately after surgery.

• He is happy, alert and behaves very much like himself.

• He eats, drinks and sleeps normally.

• He sometimes seems a little frustrated, which I actually take as a good sign because he clearly wants to do more than his body currently allows.

• He is doing rehabilitation, including underwater treadmill, laser therapy, electrical stimulation and prescribed exercises at home.

• We have also noticed some interesting changes in his bladder function and occasional spontaneous movements in his hind end, although we don’t know what neurological significance they have yet.

The hardest part is obviously the lack of deep pain sensation. I know reflexes are not the same thing as conscious sensation, and our vet has been very clear about that.

I’m not looking for false reassurance, but I’d really love to hear from anyone whose dog was in a similar situation - especially dogs who had no deep pain sensation at 3 weeks but later recovered some neurological function.

Did you see gradual changes over the following weeks or months? Did deep pain sensation return later? Did bladder function or other signs improve before deep pain sensation?

Any personal experiences, especially with dachshunds/IVDD, would mean a lot to us.

We are trying to stay hopeful and give Sid as much time as he needs. ❤️