Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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It has been almost a week for maggie. She does great one day and the next she is in a quivering ball not eating or drinking. Yesterday was such a good day. She has had an amazing appetite and today she isn't even looking at her food. Her inscision looks amazing. I really think it is her stomach. She has had ulcers in the past and i suspect they are flaring up again. I am just going to trust my instincs on this one. I don't want her gong through anymore test. Just gave her a stomach pill. Since she has been home and even at the dr. office she would run out to use the bathroom, today she made it right past the door and peed on the deck. One hop forward, and two hops back.
Any one else have these problems with their tripawd? When i think i can stop worrying, she does something else that has me all upset.
Also, i cant figure out for the life of me how to list under a different topic.
I'm not sure what advice to offer, as I'm sure there are so many others here who are more experienced than I.....but just wanted you to know that you and Maggie are in my thoughts and prayers....the first 2 weeks are the worst and I pray for continued healing for your girl 🙂
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I'm sorry that Maggie is having stomach issues now.
Is she on any meds that could causing the stomach issues? Like Derramax, Rimadyl or Metacam? Those can be hard on the stomach. Is she still on tramadol? It's easy on the stomach from my understanding but it has some goofy side effects.
Please don't be afraid to call you vet and ask questions. You paid for it! If Maggie is having a bad day, jingle up the vet. Your vet should be aware of any problems.
Hoping Maggie feels much better soon!
PS
If you want to post in an other topic, look up and above your topic title, you'll see:
Home → forums → Share Your Story →One Hop Forward….two hops back……….
Click on the "forums" and you'll see different areas to post a new topic.
Let me know if that wasn't very clear.
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.
i would call the vet but they just tell you to come in so that they can do all kinds of tests on her. I get the feeling a lot of what they do is a guessing game, sometimes they win, sometimes they dont.
I know her pretty well. I also was wondering if the trimodal is doing this to her. I gave her one at 2:00 am so it has been a while. I decided to switch to just rice until i am sure it is not her stomach. Her incision looks too good to be that. besides the trimodal she is on gabapentin and an antibiotic. No rhuemydil. Please don't check my spelling on any of this!!!
Her behavior is reminiscent of when she had her ulcers. So i am giving her peptobizmo tablets and a stomach acid reducer.
she is still uncomfortable. Breather funny and feeling all around sorry for herself. 🙂
She has every right to!!
Abby was definitely not herself until we ended the tramadol (made her pant and just act out of sorts) and her stitches came out. She would go off and want to be by herself, which was sort of heartbreaking since she usually follows me almost everywhere.
It is likely the pills that are making her feel funky. (I seem to recall reading that tramadol can cause stomach upset - but I could be wrong about that.)
Jackie, Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Max was prescribed Tramadol and after a week of him having the shakes, panting unusually, having trouble breathing, irregular heartbeat, and complete restlessness, we finally realized it was the Tramadol causing it. The vet seemed surprised because it was apparently one of the "safer" ones. It didn't seem to help with pain a bit, it honestly just seemed to agitate him worse.
That may be what is making her act funny. Hopefully Maggie gets to feeling better soon!
-Mandy
I agree the meds mess with their tummies something terrible....I would say chicken and ground turkey and rice and cottage cheese are all pretty bland which will help with tummy upsets - Are you feeding her the pills on an empty stomach by any chance. I had to give Riley her pills on a full stomach regardless of what they were - otherwise she would throw them up........
yeah, i think you guys are right. My husband has been telling me that from the beginning.
So, no more. She is perking up. I think now that her belly isn't hurting as much she is catching up on some needed sleep.
She still smashes her head on the ground like a bored teenager.
I think i am going to take her to work tomorrow and see how it goes. .
check out maggie at work
http://www.adva.....ipment.com
scroll down to the bottom of the first page.
I'll throw my three paws worth in, Gus didn't get along at all with Tramadol, we had to take him off, which at that time he was on Gabapentin and Rimadyl. He didn't have any other issues so I think I would either talk to the vet or go with your gut since you've been there before, but when he was on Tramadol he didn't have much appetite, heavy panting and very restless. Your at the time where these things drive you crazy trying to figure out if its meds, reaction to the surgery, or something else, but I wouldn't be afraid to call the vet, I would hope they could give you some advice over the phone. I remember my first couple weeks after surgery, you feel lost, thats when I found this place, and it was someone here that suggested he might not be getting along with the Tramadol. When I mentioned it to our vet he seemed surprised, but he actualy learned a few things about cancer and treatments that I asked about because of this site, so don't be afraid to ask about anything, hopefully your is as willing as ours was to look into what I had asked about. Paws Up, spirit Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
I've heard so many of the Tramadol reaction stories and the vets always act surprised. They like Tram because it's not a controlled substance so they can dispense it. When Tate was in the depths of it, I'd call and when they wanted me to bring him, I'd just say, "No, I'm not doing that. I'm not throwing my dog in the back of my Jeep and bouncing him around for 40 miles plus 3 hours of my time. You have all his records and history, we can do this over the phone." Sometimes this would actually work!
But I do believe we know our dogs best, and you were right and now she's getting better. So good for you!
Maggie the Mascot is a charmer!
http://tate.tripawds.com/
August 16, 2006 to November 28, 2011
TATE ~ Forever in our hearts.
I'm with Tate's mom - that "bring her down to the office" didn't work with me either! Comet was terrified and they knew it so I got away with over the phone diagnoses. After a surgery, my vet office always called to ensure all was well. That's why I suggested to call. The vet may also want to add the info to her chart for future reference.
I've used Pepto before and was reprimanded a bit by my two vets. I was told that it has asprin effects or something and can make the stomach worse. If your vet recommends it, then by all means do it. But usually pepcid should do the ttrick. And rice is really good.
Tramadol .....SUCKS! 
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.
When my monkeybutt Mack had stomach issues, our holistic vet told us to feed him cooked white fish along with rice. He said fish was considered a "cool" food--and added that he didn't mean it was awesome! Apparently, white fish doesn't irritate the stomach as much as other proteins, like chicken, turkey, etc. Mack did better almost immediately--it was amazing.
The first few weeks are difficult, as your post titles reminds us. But things do get better!
Barb and Spirit Hope
Our doctor said for Rio to take Pepcid instead of Pepto -- in her case it's for potential stomach ulcers, a by-product of the progression of her Mast Cell disease. Any of the pain meds/anti-inflammatories have a potential for stomach troubles, and unless the doctors specified otherwise, we always give her meds with some food or at mealtime.
I'm in agreement with the rest of the folks that say call the doctor. And don't let them off the phone until you get the answers you need. You paid a hefty sum to ensure the health of your dog -- get your money's worth, and don't feel the least bit guilty about taking their time.
Hope your girl feels better soon.
Rio's mom, Micki
 |
~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
Well last night wasn't fun at all. 🙁
She was up every hour. Nervous, seemed like she was in pain, could not sleep, ohh i was so tempted to give her tramadol but i didn't. The dr. said to give her two before she goes to bed. You see, I have two sets of dr. advise and they usually are different. My local vet sent me to a larger dog hospital. I have two sets of suggestions. The larger hospital dr's got the edema right where my local vet said she probably pulled it and to keep her off it. Come to find out that she needed to get on it more. He said to give her rumadyl and the other docs said oh no, don't do that. The one thing they both said was to give her tramadol. Go figure.
Neither one of us got any sleep and she was shaking this morning. Both docs thought it was lack of sleep. One doc said it could be phantom pain . Who the hell knows????? Its all a guessing game. Like you said, i have to trust my gut. I gave her an alprozalam to get her to sleep today as i had to go to work and my son was coming by to watch her. Tonight????? i just don't know. I don't want to give her another alprozalam (it makes you stupid) but it was imparative that she got some rest today. Me??? well, maybe next week.
Thanks again guys for your input. It really does get put to use!!
Oh goodness. Two conflicting vets isn't good.
Have you tried putting an ice bag on her surgical site? Sometimes it will stop the throbbing and ease the comfort. If she seems to feel a bit better from ice (leave it on for 10 minutes, no more no less), then I would guess it's inflammation causing discomfort. If that is the case, then an anti-inflammatory is in order. Like, Rimadyl or Metacam.
The tramadol only blocks the pain signal to the brain for a few hours. It doesn't help with anything, it just momentarily takes away the pain signal to the brain. That's why it can have icky effects. (it's not all that great for blocking the pain but it's the safest to take) Rimadyl or Metacam or any other non-steriodal anti-inflammatories [NSAIDS] - take away the inflammation which in turn does a lot of good. Some vets don't like the effects of NSAIDS because it can cause stomach issues. But they are usually perscribed after an amputation unless there is good reason to not do it. They really speed up the healing.
Still sending healing thoughts...
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.
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