hey guys! First of all I absolutely love this site. It’s helped tremendously with this new journey of continuing life with my pup as a Tripawd. 

My girls story was kind of sudden. Unfortunately she got hit by a car (yanked the leash, buckle broke and into the street she ran). 

Fortunately there were no broken bones or fractures and no internal injuries or head trauma. Just an elbow luxation that required a cast for a week. Took her in for a cast change a week later and the vet had told me the unfortunate news that her elbow had luxated again. This time we didn’t know the duration of time that it had been out of place so I was faced with the option of surgery or amputation. Surgery would have been a huge hit to the finances (7-10k) and also no guarantee of the stability of her elbow after that. She’s an Aussie Mix (just turned 6 on Father’s Day!) so running is her life. She would have definitely busted that elbow right away if not soon after. Not to mention the arthritis and a lifetime of pain and medication. I couldn’t do that to her. She was already going crazy in a cast and no movement for a week. So now I’m here with my little Tripawd snoring away as she sleeps in her little bed area. 

Now to the problem. About three days after surgery she woke up from a dead sleep screaming as if someone was tearing off all her limbs. When I got up she wasn’t even focused on anything and just sitting up screaming. I calmed her down and checked everywhere for any sign of pain. Incision site looked good and everything was great. (I was traumatized though!)

The night after was the same thing. Woke up screaming and when I got up to comfort her I let her walk to get some water and she peed in the kitchen. The poor thing. I called the vet and they suggested to take her off the codeine as it could have been making her way too loopy and dissociative. After that I noticed her alertness was back to normal (she’s only been taking gabapentin, carprofen, tramadol and trazodone (both of those if needed. Usually before bed) but she was walking around, going potty, eating and responding like the old pup. After taking her off the codeine it’s only happened two more times and both times I’ve noticed it’s been at times of high excitement. (Once was when the doorbell rang and she got up too fast, the other was when my roommate came home and she got excited and shot up quickly to greet her) 

Now I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or if this is normal for almost a week after surgery? The first night I was woken up by the screaming I had such a bad anxiety I immediately became pale and clammy and threw up and ended up missing work.

i just can’t relax now because I feel like there’s a ticking time bomb for when it happens again and I just can’t bear to listen to her wails 🙁 

lately she has been doing SO much better with getting up, laying down, (she’s so eager to jump on the sofa and bed these days which of course isn’t happening!) and she has her old sparkle back in her eye.

last night we got through a scream free night (!!!!) but was woken up by a demonic growl telling us she had to go potty 🙂

i guess I’d like a second opinion here. Is it muscle spasms? Phantom pain? Something to raise concern? During the day she acts completely normal, doesn’t even have interest in her suture site, and still begs for food and pets like always! Eating and drinking and potty is all normal! I thank you all for reading the wall of text. I’m just an anxious mom to a new Tripawd! 🙂 

-steph