Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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It’s really amazing to read just how close our shared experience is. I have sobbed at times this weekend. i have a couple of hours of normalcy and then I’m reminded again and i sob again. i don’t even know if it’s an option and I’ve gone back and forth on what i would do about a half dozen times. Their lives are in our hands. Their happiness is in our hands.
Michael said
Thank you. Every little bit helps. Of everything - information as well as support.i know that no one can give me a medical opinion or promise anything, but based on experience and the experience of others here, how long do i have to make the decision if it is ab option? And can i manage her pain while that process is happening?
thank you again.
ps - i know that you, and others as well, have your own situations to navigate. I don’t mean to be selfish or pretend like that’s not happening. I just don’t have any thing more to give right now. Plus, i literally have zero experience here. Just know that i do care. I love dogs and i love the humans that care about them and for them.
Hi Michael,
The pain of osteosarcoma is extreme, the worst there is in both people and pets. The sooner you can make the decision the better, as no amount of pain medication controls this type of pain. If she is not on any pain control now she needs to be. I hope you come home from today's oncology visit with some meds, and good information that can help you decide. Please let us know how it goes OK?
You are not selfish at all, we are here to support you 110%.
Just throwing this out there. Dogs adapt very well to having only 3 legs. I’ve had a vet tell me “dogs are born with three legs and a spare” before. She can still lead a great, happy pain-free life with 3 legs. I didn’t think it possible, but I have my boy here as proof. He’s happier than he was before somehow. He plays, he wags, he smiles and gives kisses.
We are here for you and support you whatever you decide. Remember, what you are going through is normal to feel that way and you are not alone.
Hi Michael,
I wanted to touch base. And like many others share that I definitely know how you are feeling, and want you to know your feelings are valid. I think it's healthy you are letting yourself feel them and process this. The hardest part is the unknown. You will make the best decision possible with the information you have currently. Unfortunately, there's no right answer, it's a really crappy unfair disease that is heartbreaking no matter what way you look at it. There are some really helpful articles on here about different ways to determine if it's the right time to let a pet pass on. I read/watched a lot of them before Ellie had her amputation and it helped me make some goals/boundaries for me. My main goal was for Ellie to be in as little pain as possible. If she has to be in pain continuously to continue to live that wasn't going to cut it. the amputation was a relatively easy decision for me, because she was already in pain, so removing that limb removed that chronic pain and we were left with a temporary acute pain that was much easier to manage with medication than the chronic pain of the tumor. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't rebounded from the surgery, it would be gut wrenching, but it was worth the risk to me, and I do not regret it.
You had asked on a previous post about why I chose a clinical trial for Ellie- not sure if this is the right forum, but to let you know Ellie is 7 years old and I chose a clinical trial from a cost saving perspective. CSU had a clinical trial that used carboplatin (the main chemotherapy currently used) in addition to a daily oral study drug. So Ellie got the same chemotherapy she would have received in a private setting, and I didn't have to pay $800-$1000 per treatment. All of her medication, diagnostics, imaging, appointments were covered my the study. This allowed me to get her additional physical therapy and now possibly a different surgery. In addition is got me into CSU in a timely fashion, so Ellie was seen by some of the best veterinarians and surgeons in the country.
So that's my two cents (closer to 25, haha). Just know regardless of what you choose we are all here to support you and Ophelia. Sending healthy vibes.
Whitney.....thanks for spelling out the decision for the trail. I dont think I realized it included the "regular chemo treatment" with the extra simplicity of a daily drug, as well as how much monies were saved.
Curious, how many "extra'" Vet trips were needed beyond what would have been the ones required if just the regular chemo. How much "poking and prodding" beyond what the regular chemo ttreatments? You probably have addressed all this elsewhere.
And again, Michael, we are here to support you woth whatever decision you make. YOU have to be comfortable (if that's possible on this crazy journey) with your decision.
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!
Jerry - I just came to the forum to ask a question about pain control. I will update on the oncology visit later, but this is more of an immediate concern that i have. It seems that her pain is getting worse. But it’s hard to tell if it is that or if it is the meds that she has been given. She was given a sedative yesterday at around 1 pm at the hospital so that they could take images of her lungs. I was told it would be like a glass of wine, but she was out of it for the rest of the day. More like a bottle and a half of wine.
she was more herself this morning but wouldn’t eat her treats and has not eaten a meal in about 36 hours. A little shredded chicken, some peanut butter and some dog beef jerky. But not much of anything.
She has been on carprofen (150mg as needed) for a couple of years just to help with normal aches and pains of getting older. My regular vet added Gabapentin at 400mg every 8 hours which is what I’ve been doing since Friday morning. So she is taking both. But now i feel that it’s a) not enough because the pain is really affecting her or b) too much because it’s cracking her out.
She has never taken much of any kind of medicine other than the caprofen before so it’s tough for me to interpret what is going on with her.
Any advice?
Hahaha.....definately like a bottle hand half of wine....maybe more like two!!
I was told it would be like a glass of wine, but she was out of it for the rest of the day. More like a bottle and a half of wine.
Almost any dog I've had who has received "light sedation" was basically out of it for almost 24 hrs. So to be off food a bit and kind of groggy ks not unusual.....based on my experience anyway
So did the Gaba seem to help prior to what you are seeing today? Was he more comfortable Saturday and Sunday? Was he eating better Saturday and Sunday? What are you describing as pain signals today versus just still shaking off the sedation?
While Gaba can have a bit of sedation effective in some dogs, it usually disappears as they get used to the dosage IF it is making them too groggy. That said, 400 mg every eight hours is NOT a particularly large dose for 130 lb dog. Talk with your Vet, but you still have plenty of wiggle room.....maybe 300 mg three times a day with Vet approval.
And tell Nocholas to stay away from the wine!
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!
It’s hard to gauge how she was really. She had been up and down the two days prior to the sedation. I felt like her pain was probably increasing because she did seem more lethargic and had less of an appetite. But her mood was great yesterday morning prior to seeing the oncologist. She’s just been out of it more consistently since. So i don’t know if it’s the pain or the sedation.
Is the combo of GABA and carprofen a common one used?
Is there a thread in the forum that discusses experiences with the ELIAS immunotherapy treatment. It sounds like this may be an option for Ophelia.
one thing that I’m curious about is whether or not her pet health insurance will pay for it, or if there are resources? She has trupanion.
Is the combo of GABA and carprofen a common one used
Yes, there two go hand in hand....or paw in paw😉
The Gabapentin is for pain and thr Carprofen is more of an anti-inflammatory although it does have a little bit of pain relief too. The combination is almost always prescribed after amputation surgery.
Since she was feeling better before the sedation it probably does mean that the Gabapentin was having a positive affect after taking it for a day or two.
Hopefully she'll be more alert tomorrow and her appetite will probably pick up too. If not, you can talk to the vet about increasing her Gabapentin
Others will have to chime in about the insurance and the Elias
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!
Her pain signals you are describing (lack of slletite, lethargy) aren't too surprising, many people see their dog go from looking and acting relatively normal to showing signs of severe pain while they wait for surgery day. Talk to your vet, the pain meds she's being given are not strong enough. that is a pretty low dose of GABA for a dog her size.
Yes there are Elias conversations here in the Forums, if you can't find them by searching let me know tomorrow and I can help find them when I'm at my desk.
How did the oncology visit go?
Thanks Jerry. I haven’t been able to find the ELIAS conversations. I’m usually on my phone so navigating is tough sometimes.
Ophelia was more herself today. She spent last night with my ex and they met us at her physical therapy appointment. The PT advised me to check out this site btw. I told him that I’ve already spent 5 or 6 days reading as much as i have time for.
Ophelia and i are meeting with the ortho surgeon tomorrow at 2 pm. She’s going to evaluate her to make sure that she’s a good candidate for amputation.
i am cutting and pasting the following update. Ophelia is sort of a celebrity on Facebook so she literally has hundreds of people cheering her on right now. I just wish that i could tell her how many people love her.
——
An Ophelia update. We spent Monday afternoon meeting with an oncologist. Her pain has gotten a little worse and you can tell that she’s feeling it. She is on some heavy pain meds to control that though. I’ve been trying to keep her as active and normal as possible. She went to physical therapy and was fitted with a harness that is good for dogs with three legs. She was able to do her hydrotherapy almost as normal. The water was raised a little more than usual to take more weight off of her legs though.
It appears that the best option for her is going to be to amputate her entire right front leg with follow up treatment. The idea of having her leg amputated is absolutely destroying me. I just can’t fathom doing that to/for her. But she has surgery scheduled for a week from today.
The treatment options after amputation are:
1) Chemotherapy which could possibly extend her life by about a year if she is lucky. That is an average. It could be much shorter, or could be longer.
Or,
2) Immunotherapy. This is a treatment that is still technically in an experimental phase but has had a lot of success. It’s a vaccine created using Ophelia’s tumor. It would be injected into her and, if her body responds, it will attack the invading cancer cells. This could extend her life up to 2 years. Or even longer if she doesn’t just get too old. The last study done using this treatment found that 50% of dogs lived past 1 year after amputation, and 30% of dogs lived past 2 years.
Her pet insurance will pay 90% of everything except for the immunotherapy. It is really expensive but i feel that i have to do it for her if it’s the right decision for her health.
She cannot do immunotherapy and chemotherapy together because the chemo would kill the cells being used in the vaccine. We can do 2 rounds of chemo before the vaccine is ready. That would be half of the normal course.
The oncologist told me that if money is not a consideration then she would recommend the immunotherapy with the 2 rounds of chemo. It’s what I’m leaning towards, but these are very difficult decisions. What I’m asking myself is whether or not I should go with the tried and true chemotherapy treatment, or go for the immunotherapy.
I wish that i could ask her what she would want me to do.
Michael,
It's good to hear from you. Before I forget, here are some ELIAS links to check out:
This is a general search to any post mentioning ELIAS:
https://tripawd.....;include=1
Riley's ELIAS story:
https://tripawd.....e/#p254215
Did you see Roscoe's story?
https://tripawd.....treatment/
Beast Ann's story:
https://tripawd.....3/#p197055
She spent last night with my ex and they met us at her physical therapy appointment. The PT advised me to check out this site btw.
Aww that's nice the PT mentioned us. Can I ask who you are working with?
Her pet insurance will pay 90% of everything except for the immunotherapy.
That's interesting. What insurance do you use?
Let us know how the next appointment goes OK?
We're in the same situation with Nicholas, 146 pound healthy Newf just turned 8 years old. We went ahead with the amputation and seeing him with a leg missing affects me less than I thought it would. Now, I'm just so glad to have the cancer ridden leg off and the danger of a super painful pathological break eliminated (because we are on a farm with uneven ground). I was having a hard time thinking clearly and wishing, like you, that I could know what he thought. Niicholas is pretty clear. What he thinks is that he wants to resume his work as our love and our protector. He does not want to be babied or be a 'patient' for the rest of his life, though he is enjoying the pills wrapped in hamburger, and he is definitely not ready to end his life. He seems to be approaching the three legged challenge in a rational manner, thinks, tries something new, thinks, tries it again, nails it, no regrets, no nostalgia, but that's how dogs are. We celebrate each little step and he seems to enjoy the clapping and praise and his growing independence. I still stay with him all the time in case he gets himself into a difficult situation and he still gets very, very tired. We are on day seven. So you know your girl better than anyone, and you know the environment she'll be living in. Your vet and your oncologist can give you information but whatever you choose will be right for her and that is how she would want it.
Have you considered the Yale immunotherapy trials? Not expensive (maybe $200), not intrusive for the dog, two shots, essentially no side effects. You can do chemo and immunotherapy together with this vaccine. The main difficulty I think is getting an appointment although they have just opened up new clinical locations.
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