Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi,
My 9 1/2 old greyhound Gracie had her forelimb amputated 3 weeks ago 1/7 for osteosarcoma and started Chemo last week. She has been having episodes now of short yelps during different times of the day and does not matter if lying or standing. The oncology team feels its phantom pain and I have been giving her Gabapentin and rimadyl. I also have amantadine but haven't given her that since first few days post-op. I was wondering what other tripawd families have experienced with this type of pain and what has worked for them?
Thank you
Nadine
Welcome and best wishes for Gracie!
Visit any phantom pain link for more information and helpful treatment tips. Many members have also found Farabloc pain relief blankets vert beneficial for alleviating phantom pain symptoms.
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you, I have been exploring each site and would love to hear anyone who has experience with this
Hi and welcome!
I am sorry you had to find us, but I am glad you are here. I have no doubt others will be chiming in once they find your post. Have you checked in with your doc to update? Even though you are using the gabapentin, there is a range of dosage that your vet can "tweak" and what you are describing sounds like possible phantom limb pain. I am not a vet.. but it is something to consider.
I would definitely ask if either the dosage OR the timing of the medicine might need adjusting. It is also still relatively early after surgery, and some dogs need the additional pain meds for extended periods of time? There are dogs here that have weaned off after a couple of weeks, and there are dogs that need a little more time to heal.
Those are some of the things I have seen here and the questions I would ask my vet. Like I said, I am not a vet, but I think it is reasonable to run by them.
My tripawd is a kitty. He did not have cancer, he was a feral kitty that got himself in a bad spot and had to have his rear leg amputated as the bone was totally severed.
I wish you luck in your journey. You have come to the best place for support and advice imho. I guess the only other thing that comes to my immediate thoughts is how active is your girl? If she is overdoing it that could be another thing to think about. Throughout the recovery process, keeping their activity low level is really important and she is probably not ready to be racing around like a bandit.
Please let us know how you make out!
Jackie and Huckleberry 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
So sorry your pup is going through this. pain management for phantom pain is complex and often involves different types of pain. It usually needs a multi-modal approach. So in addition to the medications I also suggest seeing a veterinary acupuncturist, which we discuss in these blog posts with pain management expert Dr. Mike Petty (who also suggests using Amantadine for relief). See:
Vet Expert Dr. Mike Petty Shares Tripawd Amputation Pain, Rehab Care Tips
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
paws120 said
Hi and welcome!I am sorry you had to find us, but I am glad you are here. I have no doubt others will be chiming in once they find your post. Have you checked in with your doc to update? Even though you are using the gabapentin, there is a range of dosage that your vet can "tweak" and what you are describing sounds like possible phantom limb pain. I am not a vet.. but it is something to consider.
I would definitely ask if either the dosage OR the timing of the medicine might need adjusting. It is also still relatively early after surgery, and some dogs need the additional pain meds for extended periods of time? There are dogs here that have weaned off after a couple of weeks, and there are dogs that need a little more time to heal.
Those are some of the things I have seen here and the questions I would ask my vet. Like I said, I am not a vet, but I think it is reasonable to run by them.
My tripawd is a kitty. He did not have cancer, he was a feral kitty that got himself in a bad spot and had to have his rear leg amputated as the bone was totally severed.
I wish you luck in your journey. You have come to the best place for support and advice imho. I guess the only other thing that comes to my immediate thoughts is how active is your girl? If she is overdoing it that could be another thing to think about. Throughout the recovery process, keeping their activity low level is really important and she is probably not ready to be racing around like a bandit.
Please let us know how you make out!
Jackie and Huckleberry
Thank you so much Jackie! I have a rescue kitty also. I was thinking about raising the dose of gabapentin, I was trying not to get her too sedated but I think I may have gone too low.
Thanks for the help!
Thanks Jerry, we have a chiropractor at my Vet that I believed does acupuncture also, I was thinking of using her. I was wondering about the amantadine, I think I will start using it again.
Thank you so much for your help!
The gabapentin has temporary sedative effects, but once they get acclimated to the dose they usually perk up. With that said some are more sensitive. But remember this is temporary while recovering. Sedation is not necessarily a bad thing while recovering. It really takes a full month or so before i think you can call them "healed" and then there's the adjustment to their new normal using different muscle groups to balance and ambulate.
I would def check with your vet and then move accordingly.
It sounds like they have a good recovery plan so just check in.
We have a lot here that really have to advocate for their furbabies but i would have faith first and then advocate if it doesn't work. Remember, you live with your furbaby... So you know first hand what's going on. ❤️
I hope this helps.
Jackie and Huck ❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
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