Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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He gets gabapentin, Robaxin, and codeine every 8 hours right now, but today I started doing it at 7 1/2
His irritated area seems to be getting better.
Oh, and he weighs just under 120 pounds. He's well sedated from the meds for about 3 hours during the 8 hour cycle but has a rough time the first and last 2 hours where the painful cramping wakes him up. Have to console him constantly and sometimes can doze in between due to being drugged. A bit like labor.
Nota vet and not giviw vet advice. It does make se se se though to try a dd give the other pain med maybe two or three hrs after the Gaba and try staggering it that way. I know with Tramadol and Gabapentin you can certainly do that.
Hugs!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Yeah, I just saw your twomposts above! Sorry, it takes meawhile to type this badly! 🙂
Yeah I would definitely try the stagger approach and not give them all at once. Keep a journal a d see how that works. Sounds like the pain is getti g a head start a dd it's harder to get under control.
I'm nust not sure how codeine and Robaxin work on actually managing or blocking pain. I knkw Gaba blocks nerve pain, not necessarily the surgery pain like Tram
HANG IN TNERE!!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
yes - his meds need to be staggered! Do not give them all at one time - give one, then a few hours later, the next, and so on. That way he has adequate coverage ... a continuous dose of medication in his system.
And I agree - if he continues acting like this, perhaps you need a second opinion on his pain management . I don't know what the dosages should be for his size. Not too long ago, we had a member who finally posted a video for us to see what was going on with their pup & we all strongly advocated that there was probably nerve pain. They took him in & that is exactly what it turned out to be! There was a nerve irritated by sutures & he needed a 2nd surgery to fix it, but it fixed the problem.
So, if you're able to post pictures of videos, we are more than willing to help out
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Okay I did give him an Ace because he had a particularly constant episode after I posted so he's asleep again, thankfully. I will try to stagger the codeine and the gabapentin and see how that helps. I will try to take a video during the next episode. How do I post a short clip?
Hi there, just to agree with the others. Definitely stagger the meds (not a vet etc. but that's certainly what we did) and get a second opinion if things don't settle down soon. Are there really no vets you can contact over the weekend? All dogs vary, of course, but if Charlie's experience is 'worse than usual' according to the vet, then they need to figure out what is going on and what can be done to make him more comfortable. Very interesting what Donna said about a stitch irritating a nerve. It could so easily be something like that (of course it might also not be) and if they identify the problem they can sort it.
Anyway, lets just hope that staggering the meds does the trick and you can all get some rest. You must be utterly exhausted. This will be resolved, and soon.
We are thinking of you.
Lots of love,
Meg and Clare (and Elsie Pie) xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
I will try to take a video during the next episode. How do I post a short clip?
Upload it to Youtube and then just post the address of the page on a line on its own. Sounds complicated but it's actually very straightforward.
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Ok this should work, he did it again shortly after I posted he was asleep:
https://youtu.b.....EnCF1ZAwhM
Any feedback is appreciated. I believe the surgeon is a general surgeon, through a surgical specialist group locally. They have an oncology group as well he is lined up to see Friday. Can't imagine doing anything else to him at this point.
Also should note if he isn't heavily medicated he cries so hard during these, and goes very rigid.
Thanks again everyone.
Hmmm. I can't even guess. But I want to add that I know you're overwhelmed with vet visits and consults, so I hope that your current team can get this figured out. It does remind me a lot of Ollie's story, which Donna referred to earlier. Here's a link to his story. It's long, but read the whole thing so you know how it ended (pawsitively):
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
hmmm...wonder if one of our vet experts can chime in?
How much Gabapentin is he on? I wonder if there's room to increase his dosage? It looks like more of muscle twitching, but that could still go back around to something as simple as a stitch pinching a nerve. I would make sure that your surgeon has seen this.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Hi
He is on 600mg of Gabapentin every 8-12 hours. How can we get one of the vet experts on here to chime in? I would definitely be interested to hear any feedback. His episodes do remind me of Ollie so much. I really hope he doesn't need another surgery. But he just isn't showing any improvement other than when he is on Ace, just like Ollie it's the only thing that lessens the frequency and intensity of the pain contractions/spasms/phantom pain -whatever it is.
The surgeon said we can call Monday to tweak the meds if needed. And I wouldnt even know how to get a second opinion.
Thank you to everyone. Not sure what I would do without Tripawds!
Mary Beth & Charlie
I just posted aa link to your posts under "Ask a Vet".' She graciously volunteers to help us in her "spare" time. She'll see it at some point and respond.
IF charlies does have ro have a surgery because of a nerve issue...it won't be as traumatic as the surgery for the amputation.
When you talk to the surgeon Monday, go over Ollie's case.
There is SOMETHING causing this beyond the usual surgery pain and they need to figure out if it's a nerve issue and fix it!!
I'm soooo sorry you are experiencing this.
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS...That so called "hot spot"'looks much more than that. And there is a lot of bruising too. I'm not saying any of this to alarm you at all...but to just have the vet focus in these issues too.
As far as a second opinion...where ro you live? Are you close to any teaching school?
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I've just watched the videos of Ollie and I agree that there does seem to be a similarity, especially with the second one, where you can see the stump moving. There are others on this site with far more experience than me, but I would certainly agree with Sally that there is something going on beyond the usual post surgery pain/discomfort.
I'm so sorry that you are having to deal with this at a time when you must already be feeling so utterly exhausted and overwhelmed. You say Charlie was readmitted for pain management , so did they see the stump moving in this way? This is clearly an unusual situation and therefore one that a specialist is more likely to have seen than a regular vet or a general surgeon. If there is a hospital anywhere you can get to, you could maybe just ring them, explain the situation and ask them what to do? You might even be able to email them the link to your video. The hospital Ollie was at was this one http://www.frie.....spital.com Is that anywhere near you?
Sending you every positive vibe, and big hugs all round.
Meg and Clare (and Elsie Pie) xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
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