Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
She also had diarrhea tonight and I'm worried it's from either the Gabapentin or Meloxicam (or maybe the two combined). This is her first day off codeine (she's two weeks post-op), so maybe that was helping with the diarrhea from the Meloxicam? (She's been taking the Meloxicam for pain since October.) I also worry that she should be taking probiotics, since the cancer was first thought to be an infection, and she was on five strong antibiotics from October through December (and had diarrhea then).
The prescription is for one 100 mg. capsule of Gabapentin every 8 hours. I'm wondering if I should decrease the dosage? Maybe give just one a day? (She's a small Westie, age 10, and weighed about 15 pounds before the amputation of her right front leg.)
I'm wondering if I should give the Gabapentin a couple more days to see if the side effect of sedation lessens. I didn't realize it would make her so sleepy. She also seems disoriented when she first wakes up, and has trouble walking. (But she's only had one dose, so far!)
Some dogs are more sensitive to the sedative effects of gabapentin although that dose does not seem too high. I would call your vet when you are able and maybe try to start with 1 twice daily.
Pam
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
Has the diarrhea stopped?
Yeah, glad a reduced dose was suggested... sounds like a reduced dosage is a good idea!
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!
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.
This poor girl has really been through it, as well as you! Hopefully all these challenges are over and done now!
You might try some of the real yogurt that has probiotics.
Is the Gabapentin they prescribed liquid??? You mentioned "vial". .ade me think liquid...just curious.
Soooo glad her appetite seems a little better. This little Susie is one heck of a fighter!
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!
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.
1 Guest(s)
