Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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History:
Zeus' Carboplatin schedule is every three wks for six treatments. His first chemo was on a Fri. and on Sun. night he had diarreah. I called the vet and on Mon. morning picked-up: (1) Metoclopramide 5mg tabs, 1.5 tabs orally every 12 hrs. until gone (21 tabs total); and (2) Metronidazole 250 mg tabs, 1/2 tab orally every 12 hrs until gone (10 tabs total). By the time I picked up these meds Mon. morning, he was back to normal and never took them, but the vet said to keep them just in case.
A week after his second chemo he had "loose" stools for a week and a half, his urine was very white (the sample we dropped off showed it was very concentrated but there was no infection) and by the time he was due for his third treatment, he seemed like his stomach was tender.
When we went for his third chemo, the vet ran an extra blood test and his cPL was "abnormal." It is my understanding this indicates pancreatitis. The vet gave us Cerenia, ProBios probiotics, and told us to give him the Metronidazole we already had at home. Also, his WBC count was too low to proceed with chemo, so that was postponed for one week. After a couple of days his stomach issues seemed to resolve (firmer poops, non-tender stomach and his urine cleared up).
Yesterday he went for his third chemo and his WBC was back up so they were able to give the treatment. Greg asked if we should continue giving the Metronidazole or stop it and the vet said that would probably be a good idea to continue so he refilled the exact prescrip. listed above. Zeus finished chemo at 2:00 yesterday, ate dinner at 6:30 and then threw up at midnight what appeared to be everything he ate. This morning he still seemed to feel bad, so we gave him one of the Metoclopramide tabs that were prescribed after the first treatment. He has not thrown up since.
My questions are: (1) How long should we give Metoclopramide? The bottle says until it is gone, but that would be 10 days. Is that really necessary if his vomiting has stopped? (2) Okay to give Metoclopramide and Metronidazole together? I would think so since he prescribed them at the same time, but I want to be sure. (3) Okay to give Metronidazole for extended periods? I have seen articles that says it is not good to give it for more than seven days.
Our vet is closed today and tomorrow (they have 24 hour emergency service, but the vet on call is not the one familiar with our history) and I don't want to continue giving something all weekend if we shouldn't be... Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
I would probably give the metoclopramide for at least 2 days to make sure that the stomach settles down. Metronidazole is safe but some dogs do get jittery and neurologic with long-term use (mostly the little dogs).
Next time your dog gets chemo I would start both meds the day of or 1 day before the carboplatin (ask your oncologist first).
Pam
You are pawesome Pam, thank you for that info.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Sorry Zeus is having problems!
We are in the camp of NEVER NEVER EVER EVER give Metronidazole!!! It is horrible, horrible! (Sorry Pam, I think it's a terrifying drug and I just have to speak up about it!)
I was certain Comet had brain cancer while on it and it was that drug! I am almost positive that she developed Horner's Syndrome while on it (paralysis of the left side of the face). And hopefully Charon will jump in because she too, just had a bad experience with it for Melanie and her stomach issues! I wrote a post about this a couple of years ago.
Here's my advice, throw it in the garbage! Isabelle's mom confirmed it was a horrible, horrible drug for humans too (she is a nurse practicitioner)!
Whew! That's out of my system!
I hope Zeus gets to feeling better soon! Keep us posted!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
THANK YOU!!
Dr. Pam, I really try not to bother you on here, but I appreciate your input more than you know!
Cometdog, I did search the forums for both of these meds prior to posting and I did see several references to concerns. After reading those I realized that since being on the meds, Zeus has seemed to be much more ichy (primarily scratching at his ears, legs and feet) - not to the point that I would suspect an allergic reaction, but enough for me to think maybe they are playing a part. We've been running the humidifiers full blast thinking maybe it was just dry skin, but I was a bit confused b/c the weather here has been quite mild and not very dry air. Additionally, he has been MUCH more vocal at work with me this last week. Whining alot and I just thought he was tired of being cooped up. Maybe it is all related.
Since his poop seems to be okay now, I think we will discontinue the Metronidazole. Per Dr. Pam's suggestion, I will continue the Metoclopromide through tomorrow. After we gave it to him this morning, he was able to keep down his lunch. He just had another meal, so we will see if it is doing it's job.
Thanks again - you guys really are awesome!
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
when we adopted melanie, she came to us with really soft stools, we had some metronidazole left over from gayle, and our vet said it was safe to give her...still soft...more prescribed, but with a caveat that we needed to keep an eye out for neurological problems. mel became very agitated, vocal, 'clocking' her teeth,,,, reminded me of a bad acid trip from the 70s. well, our vet said stop it immediately, and feed her and give plenty of water. after about a day, she returned to normal. we've changed up her food to grain free and she is doing great. i agree with ge'lena, metronidazole can be a very scary drug. and, mel is about 57 lbs, not a toy dog at all. keep an eye out for ANY wierd reactions, we'll never use it again.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
I'm with Cometdog on this one.
When we picked Corn up after his amputation they handed us 2 pill bottles, tramadol and metronidazole. Got home and did some research and called a Pharmacist friend. Threw the metronidazole in the garbage and got him off the tramadol as quickly as possible.
Good home cooking,a little ginger and lots of loving and fresh spring water and his stools were back to normal within a day.
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