Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
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My Princess had her left back leg amputated on 1/9/11 then did 6 rounds of carboplatin. In mid March 2 mets were found in her lungs and she was started on Palladia (3 times per week).
In Jan and Feb she was full of energy at the beach and the river. But about 1 month ago she started slowing up with pain in back left leg/lower spine. I noticed her curling the back spine around and no longer putting her leg in the centre of her body weight, but putting it directly under her. If I move her leg towards her hip it hurts although she hides the pain really well! Otherwise, Princess is mostly happy, eating well and full of spirit.
She has been on Piroxicam since the amputation and has now been put on Amantadine for 2 weeks. For the last week she was on Tramadol but that has just been replaced with paracetamol/codeine.
Princess goes back in for more xrays of the chest next week. The oncologist is reluctant to xray the leg/spine saying she doesn't want to put her under a general anaesthetic and that it wouldn't change the treatment plan. She thinks it could be nodules on the lower spine but can't confirm it.
Any suggestions on what the problem could be and/or what I can do would be welcomed. If it is nodules on the lower spine how much more time has she got left before the pain becomes too much??
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
Unless your dog is in intense pain it is fairly easy to take a quick xray of the lower spine. The dog just has to lay on her side which is the same position as the lung xray but the beam is focused on the lumbar area. However your oncologist is right that it won't change anything. Spinal mets are notoriously hard to see on an xray (usually an MRI is needed which is expensive and does require anesthesia). Many dogs do have spinal arthritis which can be seen on an xray but which rarely causes problems with rear legs. If you took an xray of any large breed dog over 7 years of age many have spinal arthritis but few would have symptoms.
Spinal mets often are very painful and progress quickly. A good cocktail of drugs includes gabapentin, amantadine, tramadol and either prednisone or an NSAID like piroxicam. Acupuncture also may help. My own dog Tazzie probably developed spinal mets since one day she just could not get up and was very painful. The day before she was pretty normal. I did treat one Bulldog that had primary OSA in his lumbar spine (diagnosed with an MRI by a neurologist) and he did okay for 1 month before his pain was no longer able to be controlled with drugs.
I hope that your dog does not have spinal mets! If you have been dealing with this for a month then it could be a pinched nerve or even a muscle strain/overuse injury. Tazzie did develop a very tight back about 1 year after her amputation and acupuncture did wonders for her.
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