From Zero To Sixty In Four Days: Stem Cells At Work

After the very rough weekend, this morning, when Jasmine first got up she did that without difficulty. She then went out and came back looking very good.

After the recent roller coaster, however, we were reluctant to believe what we were seeing.

We arrived at the vet's office bright an early. He came out to meet us, expecting to see a very lame dog. But that was not what barged out of the bus to greet him.

He examined Jasmine thoroughly and found the joints cool and happy. The left elbow already exhibited an increase in the range of motion and lubrication!

There is a marked improvement in the joints from their pre-treatment state.

The right elbow seems to have an injection bruise which should be self-limiting. Jasmine's vet seemed very pleased with the amount of progress the joints have made.

The iliopsoas and hip muscles are quite angry and might have accounted for most of the lameness of the rear end.

These muscles had been bothering Jasmine in the past and might have got aggravated by the rolling from side to side during injection of the joints, or by compensating for the sore elbow(s).

The situation Jasmine's vet got to see this morning was very different from what we have dealt with over the weekend.

Was all the lameness caused by manipulating of the joints in order to get the injections in their precise locations and the act of injecting them itself, or was it indeed some kind of a healing crisis type of event?

I guess we will never know for sure.

Judging by what was happening over the past few days, I would say it might have been [a healing crisis].

Apparently, whether or not a healing crisis might occur, would depend on two factors. How much healing there needs to happen, and whether or not the body has the resources to mount such an aggressive response.

From his today's examination, Jasmine's vet feels that the angry iliopsoas were the source of most of the weekend anxiety. But he couldn't have seen Jasmine during her worst lameness, which involved the elbow to a degree that Jasmine had a hard time to bear any weight on it at all.

The picture over the weekend was a very different one from the picture today.

I think understanding what exactly did Jasmine go through is important. Whether the complete puzzle can be put together without Jasmine's vet having been able to examine her during those days, that is a question.

I feel, that regardless of the angry muscles, a healing crisis is as good of an explanation as any. Could all that happened have simply been from the stress the joints underwent, being manipulated and injected? Perhaps.

Unfortunately hubby and I were the only ones who actually witnessed the whole thing.

Could the muscles have been behind all of the mobility issues Jasmine went through? Personally, I am not seeing that.

For us, of course, the main thing is that the joints presented as very happy today. 

We will make an appointment with Jasmine's physical therapist to deal with the muscles.

I do believe, though, that it would be beneficial to have been able to figure out what exactly went on, should somebody else face such a situation. 

That might not be possible to determine with any certainty. I do feel, though, that some kind of a healing crisis type of event remains a possible explanation.

A take-home point? Don't set up a major treatment for Friday before a long weekend! Duh!

The silly thing is that the worst horror Jasmine's gone through in the past, a result of a drug-induced hyperthermia (and she was just going it for an x-ray!) also happened over the weekend. That was three years ago, and we swore to ourselves not to ever do any procedures or even diagnostics on Friday. We stuck to this rule for three years.

The reason we broke the rule this time was our zeal to help Jasmine as soon as possible. 

We wanted those stem cells in her joints at the earliest date possible so they could start doing their thing. The treatments she had in the past were uneventful. So we figured it would go the same way this time also. Should have know better, huh? Gotta respect Murphy's law. EVERY time.

Has your dog ever gone through a healing crisis type of event?

Of course, in her excitement of her vet coming to meet her at the bus, Jasmine stumbled on her way down the steps. So I'm hoping she didn't aggravate those sore muscles further. *sigh We shall see tonight.

Related articles:
Jasmine's Acute Lameness
Jasmine Doesn't Like "Doing Time"
Our Of Jail Free Pass
When It's Looks Too Good To Be True … The Lameness Returns
The Day Of The Treatment
First Time For Everything: A Healing Crisis(?) 

***

Meet Jasmine
I'm Still Standing! (Happy Birthday, Jasmine)
How Dogs Think (Well, Jasmine Anyway)
How The Oddysey Started: Jasmine's ACL Injury
Jasmine is Vet-Stem's poster child!
Rant About Quality Of Life Versus Quantity, And Differential Diagnoses
Jasmine Is Headed For Her Next Stem Cell Treatment
Jasmine's Stem Cells Are In
Arthritis? What Arthritis? 
Guess Who Is An Ever-Ready Bunny And Really Liking The Bit Of Snow We Got?
Don't Knock It Until You Tried It: Animal Chiropractic
Jasmine's Fur Analysis
Back At Chiropractic Care

Further reading:
Jasmine’s Story: Can Chronic Diarrhea and Soft Tissue Injuries be Normal?
Jasmine’s Story: An ACL Injury and a Cancer Scare
Jasmine’s Condition Deteriorates: Another ACL Injury and an Abdominal Abscess
Jasmine Recovers from Surgery and Jana Discovers TCVM
Who’s Minding Your Pet’s Health?
Pet Owner Perspective On Stem Cell Therapy
Difficult to Manage Lameness Treated with Physical Therapy
Our Journey to Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine

Comments

  1. I'm so glad to hear that she is feeling better. Once when we were working with a holistic vet Cali went thru some scary days and the vet assured us that she was just "detoxing"- it's so hard to be okay with that - I'm sure it was a long, hard weekend for you and Jasmine :(

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    1. Hi Julie, thank you so much; it was a weekend from hell. But yes, feeling much better. Seems she is not favoring anything now, except the rear left because of the sore muscles, and just a little bit today so far.

      Yeah, "detoxing" can be scary too. Sometimes it would be great to have a time machine ...

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