Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

otisandtess said
So glad things are getting better!  We had to work carefully to space out Otis' Tramadol, even though it meant that I was giving some sort of pill every hour or two, day and night.  I was a mess, but keeping the pain control even really helped.   Fortunately, you get through this stage fairly quickly.  

My my own dog mom story - I went on a two day trip after Otis' first chemo.  A friend watched him in my home, and said he was fine, no chemo reactions.  The second I got home, we cuddled and he asked to go outside.  I let him out and he had the worst diarrhea imaginable.  I think he was saving it for me.  He then came inside and immediately sat his 100 pound self in my lap.

by the way, I'm Christine.  Tess is my female lab.

Chrisine,

So sorry for calling you Tess!!! I saw an previous post of yours where you talked about Otis so I just assumed...you know what they say about assuming....  🙂

Was Otis only on Tramadol or were you giving different pills at different times?

Casey

jerry said
Awwwww here's to Rudy Cuddles!

OK, talk to your vet about modifying the Tramadol. It can often make dogs pant and anxious. Sometimes Gabapentin will but it'll make them sleepy more than anything, which is good right now, Rudy really needs the rest. The Tramadol might be the culprit here. let us know what your vet says OK?

{{{{hugs}}} for you too!

His bandages come off tomorrow morning so I will be discussing modifying the Tramadol tomorrow with our Vet and will update when we get an answer.  Despite the fact that we (and especially Rudy) love our vet I kind of feel like we were not taught how to properly administer his medications.  We dropped him off for surgery at 8am and were called by 1:30 and told that everything went well and we could pick him up anytime after 5.  Unfortunately our vet had an emergency and had gone home early---well before 5pm so Rudys discharge was done by another vet in the office that does not do any surgeries.  Our interpretation of how to administer his meds was to give everything at once twice a day and the tramadol one additional time mid day so that is what I did for the first two days.  After taking the advice from everyone here on tripawds.com we spaced them out all day today and have had a much happier and more comfortable pup because of it.  I feel awful that I was over medicating him and then making the pain come back too strong before giving him more meds.  But I am so happy that I got the advice because I honestly would have kept doing what I had been told to do thinking his reaction was the norm.

Today was a great day and Rudy even explored part of his kingdom (the backyard) to see what those pesky squirrels have been up to while he has been too tired to defend his territory. 

benny55 said
CASEY AND RUDY, THE ADORABLE, PRECIIUS RUDY! WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!!

I'm just catching up and see you jave already gotten stellar advice from everyone!!

I didn't joint this site until day six after the amputation. I feared I had made a HORRIBLE mistake because my Happy Hannah was having a rough recovery. This community threw me a lifeline of information and love. They helped me get through this very scary and emo journey.

You seem to jave a good handle kn the pain meds now. It's important not to let the pain get ahead start. You are doing a wonderful job! You clearly are stronger than you realize! And yiur husband? He's a keeper!

Saw so.e of your ADORABLE pics of Rudy on his blog. Keep em coming, he is a feal smile maker!

You still jave some uos and downs ahead of you, so stay connected. You are not alone!

Grab a bag of CHOCOLATE, give yourself a pat on the back and try and get some more sleep.

Love!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Thank you so much, consider the bagS of Chocolate taken care of!

It totally understand why (and feel awful that) you felt you made a horrible decision for your Happy Hannah, those first days were honestly some of the hardest days in my whole life, but I see that it gets better so much faster than you can imagine while you're in the thick of it.

Yes, I do feel I now have a good handle on the pain meds and Rudy and I owe that all of you amazingly supportive people on this site.  We are getting bandages off tomorrow morning and another treatment (3rd one) of cold laser therapy.  We are also going to get a chance to discuss our Vets recommendations on fine tuning his pain meds more if needed as the days go by.

I know we are not through all of the downs but getting to experience such a great day filled with multiple tail wags and smiles.....we had none tue, wed or thurs....has prepared Alex and I to push through knowing good days aren't too far away.

Thanks again,

Casey