Thanks so much, Pam! Right now I'm trying her on just one dose a day (at night), since nighttime is when she seems to suffer the most from Phantom Limb Pain.

Nancy

It's gotten better, but hasn't stopped completely. She actually had it severely (and even some vomiting once) a couple of times during the 3 months when she was in pain before her leg was amputated and our local vet attributed it to her "infection" (which turned out to be the very rare cancer). Poor Susie was on several different very strong antibiotics for three months before the tumor was finally biopsied, and I'm actually wondering if she needs probiotics. She wasn't sent home on any antibiotic after surgery, though.

I'm planning to give her 10 mg. Pepcid (famotidine) a day, starting tomorrow, (prophylactically) to counteract the stomach ulcer-causing effects of the Meloxidyl. I asked the K-State surgeon about it while I was there yesterday, and she thought it would be okay. She's the one who actually calculated the correct dose for Susie's weight.

I don't plan on keeping her on the Meloxidyl that much longer. I probably will stop it after she's finished with her current bottle.

K-State gave me the option of two refills of the Gabapentin, but she may not need it longer than her current vial lasts.

When she first started having the GI symptoms along with the pain, our local vet put her on Hill's Prescription Diet Canine i/d, and that seems to help.

This is her first day off the codeine, and I noticed her appetite is finally perking up. So that's the good news. I think the i/d will make her feel better, although I don't want her to be on it longterm. It's fine for now, as I give her the Meloxidyl in the food.

Thanks so much, Sally! Yes, she is really a trouper, and the surgeons at K-State were exclaiming over and over about how good she was when they were examining her incision and removing the stitches. "Good as gold" is the term they kept using! (Of course, she crawled under a chair once they brought her back to the examination room we were sitting in, because she was terrified we were going to leave her there again!) The oncologists were amazed at how well-behaved she was during her chest X-rays, lymph node aspirations, and abdominal ultrasound last month, too. She wasn't sedated or even given her regular pain med (Meloxidyl), and wasn't even allowed to eat her breakfast that morning.

No, they prescribed the Gabapentin as capsules. I don't know why I said "vial"...just tired, I guess. We just got back from Manhattan about an hour ago.