Stroke recovery in dogs
Common Questions and Answers about Stroke recovery in dogs
stroke
Our 6 year old Havanese had a stroke about 8 weeks ago. She is doing pretty good with her recovery but we have notice her drastic personality changes. It's almost like having a visitor in the house and not the sweet and loving lap dog we have had for 6 years. Has anyone else had this happen?
Infarcts (blood clotting leading to lack of circulation in part of the brain) occur in some dogs. If the damage to the brain is minimal then recovery may occur quickly. If the damage is severe, recovery may not occur at all. I do not know the incidence of infarcts affecting the brain in dogs but I think it is pretty low.
Even when dogs do not recover fully from peripheral vestibular syndrome they normally have a good life.
Many owners confuse the symptoms of a stroke in humans to a stroke in dogs. In fact, they are quite different.
Do you mean a physical trauma to someone that is recovering from a stroke? Or memory loss due to a stroke?
Strokes can definitely cause memory loss. If trauma after a stroke, what kind? Trauma to the head? How long ago was the stroke?
I know that the doctors and therapists were very worried about setbacks if my husband were to fall or hit his head by banging into something in the first few months after his stroke.
How are you? These are links about stroke recovery stories:
http://www.strokecenter.org/pat/survivors.htm
http://www.strokeassociation.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3030313
http://www.strokesurvivor.com/stroke_survivors_stories_books.html
I hope this helps. Don't give up hope. There is life after stroke. Take care and keep us posted.
It's been 2yrs since my stroke and I have no voluntary movement in my left arm or hand. Is there any possibilty that i could recover any movement? My neurlogist told me that if within 6month of the stroke if I didnt have any movement that my hand will stay paralyzed?
My 60 year old mother is recovering from her 3rd stroke . This current stroke was a massive one & she can not Talk or Walk or respond to commands... Her right side is paralyzed. All she can do at the moment is open her eyes and look to the Left and stare. The Doctors told me that this is how she might be for the rest of her life. Im scared to death because she is so young and i cant picture my life without her in it .
Hi callingallangels,
My guess is that a TIA recovery period has some common characteristics akin to a major stroke recovery process. Two months ago, I suffered a TIA out of the blue. Three days in the hospital with all the necessary tests (MRI, CT-scan, catorids, etc.) showed no pre-existing conditions. But the aftermath of the TIA has been an up and down experience,
largely dependent on whether I've had a good night of sleep.
i have an uncle who is now in coma for 4 days. He met a vehicular accident. He was unconsoius when brought to the hospital. The doctors said that he suffered from stroke since he has a HIGH BLOOD. Diagnosis was hemorrhagic stroke and said it was fatal. MAy i know if he has the chance to recover considering the period of his coma. I sthere achance to recover if the the doctor says his brain is dead already. How come yesterday he responded to any pain when pinch. is this a good sign?
My nearly 84 year old mother suffered a "major" stroke 2 days ago. She has not opened her eyes, though she shows signs of awareness and can follow directions when asked. She is sleeping allot. Initially she lost movement on her left side, but it very slowly seems to be coming back. She is saying words, though they are hard to understand. She is receiving IV fluids. The doctor said they would give her another day and see if she "wakes up".
They are using the slowness in recovery - normally called plateau - inorder to stop treatment. This is a insurance/HMo term, not a medical term. Stroke recovery is extremely slow but it does keep going. You need to ask your medical staff about neuroplasticity, recovery can continue for years. Sinbce they say he is not going to get better, ask for a specific reason they are saying this(they will not be able to provide it but keep pushing).
I know dog strokes are rare, and even rarer in dogs who are only 5yrs old, and usually dogs can still walk after a stroke, but ours is in this state. The vet seems to think if she doesn't start showing improvement in the next few days, she will likely never walk again. Yet, I read a lot of stories online about how sometimes dogs take several weeks and even a month to recover walking. We plan to not give up on her at all for awhile if she doesn't improve in next few days...
Post mortems were not available at that time for dogs. He was also in fantastic shape, so our vet really had no other explanation to offer than a genetic heart condition.
Just like a person having a massive heart attack. Many dogs these days seem to have heart murmurs too. Some are never bothered by them while others do have issues.
Really impossible to say, but it truly sounds like a heart condition and it was just her time to go on to the rainbow bridge.
The standard response is that the brain cells that were just knocked unconscious usually come back in six months. The recovery of functions that were controlled by the now dead brain cells will require your brain to work on neuroplasticity, basically moving control to another part of your brain. That change can take a long time, I have heard of cases 15-20 years after a stroke and recovery can still take place.
My father, at the age of 65, went from COMPLETLY independant...to bordering at catatonic...
he had a stroke 5/8...had complete loss of expressive language, and mild loss of receptive language...his major problem was in his mouth/tonge and throat...he was unable to swallow, talk clearly etc...but he was making improvments everyday...talking more, begining to try and eat etc...
then 5 days ago (5/21) he had another stroke...this one was a "mini stroke.
I enjoy reading that research is leading to new breakthroughs to help victims of stroke. I have also read that although most recovery for stroke patients is seen within the first 6 months, that patients may recover for YEARS after stroke.
I personally believe that a persons will and the support they receive greatly assist in their ability to recover. Researchers are also making breakthroughs to assist in the treatment of aphasis, dysphagia, paralysis etc.
Your mom is showing improvement. She's moving her leg. That's a start and most likely she'll be able to walk again. It's going to take time and work. I know your worried about your mom and you a bit discouraged, but, it takes time..weeks, months, and even years to heal after a stroke. You'll see the most improvements in the first 6-12 months. I was in your shoes once...wondering and questioning. Make sure she is getting good physical therapy.
This was just last week which is a very good sign that he is ready for the services you have lined up for him! My aunt had a stroke and lived in a rehab hospital for 6 months before coming home. I will tell you that many things slowly improved for her. Many people with eye sight affected because of a stroke have great improvement within three months of the stroke with some pretty quickly having a spontaneous full recovery.
Reasons for Coughing:
OK, For starters, you need to rule out Heart Problems....The xray will not only show the heart, but also the lungs...This is important....
With Heart Disease, the weak heart cannot pump as well...Fluid builds into the lungs causing the cough..The cough is usually MOIST like they're choking on congestion...Actually, they are...The cough is worse in the mornings & during periods of running, playing & excitement....Fluid will show in an x ray of the lungs.....
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