Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Donna,
I'm about to email it now to them. I was concerned the other night, and we too him to the emergency vet. They increased his gabapentin to 3 capsules every 8 hours when we visited then. He got his staples out today, so I'm not sure if that will help him or not. I'll send it now to them and let you know.
I'm with Donna on this one, there just seems to be something not right for him. I'm glad you filmed both scenarios so you've got these tools you can use to show how miserable your sweet fur-baby is. I know you're miserable as well. How can you not be when you see your sweet Oliver like this.
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
OOOWWWEEEE! DITTO Donna! IF this comes on suddenly and lasts for less than a minute, and then he seems okay...not a vet...but sounds like phantom pain and he needs more Gabapentin to block the nerve pain! Could just as easily be caused by an internal stitch also.
Does instant massaging around the incision site help at all when this happens?
When he's circling, without the yelping, can you massage up and down his spine and his neck and his leg? Does he show any signs of tension when you do that? Are his muscles tight? How bout his remaining rear leg, any signs of "cramping"?
How much Gabapentin and how often?
Yes, get another opinion. Or ask if they will send this to the Surgeon even though he's on vacation.
Non vet opinion again, but ACE is to bbasically knock him out and does nothing for pain.
Also, can you take the sweater off for awhile? As bizarre as it may seem, that could be catching on the stitch or a nerve ending....just a rare, rare possibility.
If you can get no IMMEDIATE results from this clinic, please get another opinion asap. This needs to be addressed and the clinic you are going to needs to understand that.
You're doing a great job under very frustrating circumstances.
Lots of hugs and love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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'm on the phone with the vet right now. I think it's phantom pain too, but I don't know. He doesn't seem tense in other areas. They increased his gabapentin first from 2 capsules every 12 hours, then to 2 capsules every 8 hours, and now he takes 3 capsules every 8 hours. 🙁
Just watched videos - breaking my heart.
How much does Oliver weigh?
Pofi weighs about 70 lbs give or take. And he was taking Gabapentin 3 x a day 300 mg for two weeks prior and after surgery. I assume when you are saying 3 capsules, it is the 100 mg capsules.
He started at first in the pre-surgery phase with 300 mg twice daily and I thought some of his whining was the caused by the meds and we were ready to reduce to 200 MG 2 x daily, but then I really realized it was pain for sure - his whining suddenly was not just some whimpering, but more like what your video shows. I say, with the not a vet caveat, this is nerve pain and Gabapentin needs to be increased as you are about to do. Every eight hours - and even if he weighs less than Pofi, my surgeon assured me that for Pofi's weight, that was still far less than max dosage.
Oh, my word, just heartsick for you, but more Gabapentin is definitely not going to hurt here and I think stands a good chance of being what is needed.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Pofi also was tail tucking like that until about 2 days on the increased frequency and dosage of Gabapentin.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Thank you, Pofi's mom!! Our hospital just sent the videos to another surgeon, so we are waiting to hear back. As of 5:00AM on 6/28, he is taking 3 100mg capsules, 3x a day. So that is 900mg a day of gabapentin. It sounds like it may take a few days until the increase in dosage starts to work, but I'm glad that there's a surgeon checking the videos now for us.
BTW, Oliver was about 50lbs pre-surgery, so I'm assuming he's around 45 now.
Alrighty, even though it doesn't seem like it, you're making progress!! Good for you for being such a good advocate for Ollie! 🙂
We're here cheeri g for Ollie! Yep, that's a hefty dose of Gaba! Hopefully the new dose of Gaba and having stitches out all are helping collectively to get Ollie over this hump!
Just double check with the vet about continuing with the ACE, especially with the increase in Gaba. You might also ask if re-introducing some Tramadol back into the protocol would be helpful.
Hang in there!!! This recovery stuff stinks bad sometimes for some dogs, but it does not last forever!!
Lots of hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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'm just now able to catch up on all this. Wow, poor Ollie and poor you!
Everyone here has offered such great advice. I am no vet but it really sounds to me like it's time to visit a rehab/pain management specialist. Medication is a good start but most surgeons are not pain management experts. To address the underlying issues, a pain management specialist can do the trick. Please review this post if you haven't already, it's written by THE expert in veterinary pain management , Dr. Mike Petty. Then please seek a pain management specialist by using the IVAPM directory.
http://tripawds.....care-tips/
Also, here is a GREAT book that Dr. Petty wrote. Every canine parent needs to have a copy:
http://amazon.t.....pain-dogs/
Hope this helps. Hugs to you both!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you so much everyone. We spoke with the chief surgeon for about 20 minutes and he was very helpful and concerned for Ollie. We are going in tomorrow morning to see the acupuncturist on staff there, he said it may help with inflammation that could be pinching the nerves. He also suggested, as Sally noted, that we reintroduce the tramadol. He actually wants us to cut down to 200mg of gabapentin every 8 hours, because he thought some of the circling was due to dysphoria, but I am not convinced. He was circling before we increased his gaba, so I think I may stick to the 300mg. He has a packed day of surgery tomorrow, but he said that he would also take a look at Ollie (so we will be dropping him off in the morning and then picking him back up in the afternoon).
He noted that we should try icing him again, but this is only possible when he's heavily sedated. He said they noticed some redness near his incision, and while they don't think it's an infection, he will consider that too. Oliver is still on his antibiotic for another two doses.
We told him that we were still administering the ACE, and he didn't say anything about that.
He did tell us that we may want to try a fentanyl patch or tylenol with codeine for the weekend (rather than tram) to manage his pain. He also said that it could be a rough edge of his femur that is poking some nerve tissue, and as scar tissue comes in, that should help mediate that pain. Any advice on these options is greatly appreciated. He also mentioned trying lyrica for his nerve pain.
Finally, he told us that while he's never had to do this, they may want to open him back up and remove the rest of his femur, which would put us back to square one. I really hope that they don't have to do this, but if it's what takes his pain away, then it is what it is.
Jerry-I am going to look at the links you sent right now, thank you so much for the information.
Thank you all for your continued advice and support! I'm really glad I posted those videos.
The surgeon just emailed:
"I think our plan to bring him in tomorrow is good. We will likely infuse some local anesthetic into his sciatic nerve under ultrasound guidance, and into the local area as well. I would also like to aspirate the red area and make sure that there is no evidence of recurrence at the site that could be causing discomfort (we had ample clean margins, so the likelihood of this is very low, however this is an issue that I would not want to miss). We can also start him on some codeine tomorrow if needed. He will have to be on stomach protectants to protect him from a stomach ulcer while on this medication (bc tylenol in it) and Rimadyl.
I am SOOOO glad the chief surgeon will look at Ollie tomorrow and the acupuncturist, too.
My surgeon and my own vets were proponents of addressing pain with all three modalities - Gaba working on nervous system, Rimadyl to reduce inflammation and associated pain, and Tramadol which works on the brain blocking pain receptors and also is an anti-depressant. And I know he was at least for a short period taking all three, but maybe not long enough?
And you are so right - if he has to have a follow up surgery, while it is far from anyone's ideal, the source of pain needs to go away if is is something impinging on a nerve.
Poor sweet lamb. And you two, too!
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
3-Pointer Oliver said
Thank you so much everyone. We spoke with the chief surgeon for about 20 minutes and he was very helpful and concerned
SO glad to hear they have on-site acupuncture! It does sound like a very comprehensive clinic so they know what they're doing. However I can't recall anyone going through a similar situation, especially about:
He also said that it could be a rough edge of his femur that is poking some nerve tissue
Yikes. I'm so sorry that he's a medical anomaly if that's the case. Hopefully they won't have to and he was just giving you a worst case scenario. I do like that the surgeon is being so responsive. Can I ask what clinic you're with? They sound good.
As for the ACE, yeah it's not ideal in most situations but even Dr. Petty told us on his recent Tripawd Talk Radio interview that it has a purpose in cases like Ollies. See:
How to Recognize and Treat Pain in Dogs
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you both! We are going to Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, D.C. Our surgeon, Dr. von Pfeil actually has a fellowship with MSU, which seems to be a popular place for a lot of tripawds. The chief surgeon, Dr. Glassman is the only board certified *specialist* surgeon in our area. So I think we are in good hands. The clinic is really comprehensive, it includes regular veterinary care, surgery, urgent care, oncology, rehab, etc.
Looking forward to listening to Dr. Petty's talk!
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