Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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This is the spot at the incision that is painful. While it doesn't show the lump very swell, Yogi's hooman says there is a "nodule" at that area.
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!
As far as wishing you had done the amp sooner, you did exactly what most of us did. We assumed a soft tissue injury, maybe a little arthritis, etc. Anti-inflammatories are usually the first protocol tried. And in Happy Hannah's case the Rimadyl stopped the limp.....for awhile....then it came back. That's when the Bet did the xrays.
Yeah, pain management can be so tricky and it's always evolving. Add to that the fact that every dog handles meds differently.
Hoping Yogi...and his hoomans...have a comfortable night.
And feel free to send me pics of that sweet boy to post anytime! I just looooove him!!! That one of him giving you a big sloppy kiss is priceless!!
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!
Thank you for posting the photos! I also Hope to sort it out soon so I can also post photos
I will post an update tomorrow ❤️
Good morning,
We had a better night with the morphine for sure and now that we know what seems to be causing the pain (this unidentified nodule) we are keeping him strictly rested and it seems to be helping? I still can't believe the pain this has caused - even pre amputation he wasn't in this type of pain and he has a very high pain tolerance. Our hearts are so broken seeing him suffer this way.
We have an appointment today at 4 pm with our regular vet. We adore our vet office and they have been so good to us. I am wondering if this could be nerve pain related from the surgery. I am wondering if we should maybe seek out a different vet in that case? Or maybe get a second opinion depending on the outcome of this appointment? I know our vet is good, but I also get the sense while they support us going forward, I don't think they see a lot of people going this far with their dog if that makes sense.
Things I think I need to bring up today:
1. pain control - possibly muscle relaxants (should this be a muscle strain which as time goes on I feel like it probably isn't? I have never had a muscle strain requiring this amount of analgesia and still experiencing break through pain),
2. What is this lump? What can we do about this lump?
3. Do we need a referral to a different clinic?
I think I'll ask for prescription for hydrotherapy and puppy massage and rec therapy as well in case our insurance will cover that if we can get through whatever is causing him SO much discomfort.
And just to describe this 'nodule' more for anyone whom might have experience with this, it's not rock hard but it's not jelly, its something in between, its moveable, no drainage. I would say it's probably about 1-1.5 inches in diameter. Its not red, it's not hot and its pretty much directly under where the verticle and the horizontal incision meets. I will work on trying to get some more photos taken and uploaded.
Thanks in advance for your support with this - this has been such a rollercoaster from cancer diagnosis to this point. We don't want him to suffer but we don't want to give up if there is still hope. What a tight rope to walk!
Michelle
Aww what a sweet face. Thanks for sharing them Sally.
Don't beat yourself up, you are doing everything right and yes most of us would have tried to manage this first with R&R and pain control.
Your questions to your vet are valid, and good ones. Don't be shy about the referral if you are not comfortable with your vet's plan to move forward. Many GP vets don't do a lot of amputations so these situations can be perplexing to their team. Ask for a referral to a pain management specialist for more help if necessary. I hope not!
And know that these difficult recoveries are not uncommon, they just totally suck and I'm so sorry you are going through this.
If you want to message or share your city I can point you to some good rehab clinics. Rehab is more than hydro and massage, you want to make sure your practitioners have a "CCRT" or "CCRP" credential.
I was literally holding my breath while waiting for you to post about how last night went. When I read your first line, I literally exhaled with relief!!!
I see Jerry's on here now, so I'm sure while I'm typoing she'll have Sage advice!
You are so insightful with your questions and the path forward. We are definitely fans of fetting second and third opinions around here! We have seen members find solutions that just were not offered by other Vet appointments.
And especially an opinion by the Orthopedic Surgeon who did the operation could really be helpful since this somehow seems related to the surgery. Or even a different Ortho Surfeon
THERE IS HOPE ! I believe that with all my heart, based on what I've read about Yogi, how the pain meds have helped, how you've seemingly identified the source of pain, etc
Thinking about Rehav once this is resolved is great idea!
Okay, I'm gonna stop for now and see what Jerry jas to say.
♥️♥️♥️♥️
PS...It just dawned on me ot was an Orthopedic Surgeon who sis the amp, right? And, how much does Yogi weigh?
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 was our regular vet whom did the surgery, but she "specializes" in ortho surgeries. She did yogis TPLO with no complications. So while she isn't an official orthopaedic surgeon, she really likes ortho surgeries and has kind of moulded her career around them. I would definitely classify our vets as generalist though. I think we are going to go to a vet ER now and see if they have any additional insight to his specific circumstances and then maybe also attend our appt at 4 pm today. We will see
The reason I asked about who did the surgery......My regular Vet .referred my Bull Mastiff to a Certified Orthopedic Surgeon for her amputation. While he had done many, many, many amps over many, many years, he said he always referred amputations out for "larger" dogs.
Perhaps ask your Vet if she's ever had to deal with going back into the incision for for any underlying issues that showed up later....nerve nerve issue, scar tissue, tumor, etc.etc. Jist throwing out any off the wall questions to ask the Vet.
You're doing an excellent job of investigating all options during a difficult time. Sometimes having a different set of eyes from someone who didn't do the surgery is helpful.
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!
Humans just home from Vet ER but Yogi is still there. The emergency doc believes the scapula is still there. The surgical report indicate the scapula was removed, but on examination it appears that is is there and that is what could be causing his pain. X-ray was inconclusive as to if the scapula is still there. Appears to be bone but she couldn't be sure so they are sending it to a radiologist ($$$) If it is scapula she said she will remove it today, and if not, we don't know what our plan is. He is in SO much pain. X-ray they did confirmed no visible mets at this time in ribs and lungs thank goodness!
The vet that completed surgery only works on Tuesday's so we won't be able to ask her any of those excellent questions. Thanks for the advise!
What a rollercoaster we find ourselves on!
Oh no! I hope that's not the case and he doesn't need surgery. Yikes! Poor guy, and poor you. I've never heard of this kind of thing happening so I'm afraid I can't give you any examples to ease your worries. But I can tell you guys are amazing advocates for Yogi and did the smartest thing today by taking him in. Please keep us posted OK? We are sending tons of pawsitivity to all of you for an easy and comfortable outcome.
Radiologist confirmed scapula is not there. We don’t know what is causing the pain. We are being sent home with two more pain meds and hoping he does well this weekend with them. They are sending a referral to a specialist for imaging. Im not even sure what we are looking for at this point.
New meds methocarbamol and amantadine.
Geez, this is crazy!!! Honest to goodness, just wondering if the imagining will show "something " bone related....a piece floating , a jagged edge....just something causing this! Did they rule out any kind of nerve "-thing"?
The Amantadine has proven to be a helpful addition to Gaba, or maybe even on it's own. So hope you'll get some good results.
Hope Dr Pam checks in with some feedback.
Did you keep the 4 o'clock appt ?
How did Yogi handle the "carpet ride"? Bet he's pretty exhausted tonight...hopefully!
And GREAT news on clear lungs and good ribs!! Truly something to celebrate!!👍👏
And applause to you for staying the course during this "challenge". It's hard not to throw in the towel, but there jas to be a reason that is just waiting to be discovered!!
Please give precious Yogi Bear a smooch for us and a "good boy treat"....he is a very good boy♥️
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!
Ok so that's good no surgery is required. I know you wanted better answers and I'm sorry this is still a mystery. Those two meds should really help ease the pain right now. Amantadine can cause drowsiness so don't be surprised if it does that. Rest is good right now.
Yeah I was also wondering if you kept the other appointment. Hope you are getting some rest yourself. Stay strong and know that you are doing everything right to figure this out.
We didn't keep the 4 pm appointment. We didn't pick him up from vet emergency until 6. If we can last until Tuesday I think it will be good to talk with the surgeon who did the surgery maybe and ask the questions you mentioned earlier about complications following procedure.
He actually did do well on his magic carpet. But it's currently out of commission after a pee pee accident! Just about out of the wash and then his magic carpet with be ready for it's third day of business hah! It's good to hear its a beneficial adjunct medication. I hope it helps. It seems like we just keep throwing meds at him and his pain still surfaces so I'm really crossing my fingers. Its hard putting bandaids on when we don't even know what the problem is! Both my partner and I said it would be easy if he was giving up - not eating, not drinking, not wagging his tail. But he's desperate for food, drinks appropriately and wags his tail when we come in the room so it seems like he isn't ready? (of course its the food we are bringing him as he won't get up) And x-ray shows nothing re mets. We don't want to give up either but also our appt today was 1,000$ and we didn't figure out the root cause...
The ER vet mentioned perhaps the muscle tissue is ossifying or something like that causing pain? Who knows. I did bring up nerve pain, but I think the vet was pretty focused on the scapula and to be honest I kind of forgot to bring it up again. I suppose we are query nerve pain, query ossifying tissue, query bone or sharp edge floating around. I don't know.
Our regular vet thought about doing laser treatments around his incision. We didn't attend the appt but is this something anyone has tired or is familiar with?
Thanks for your kind words. We were really hoping for answers today
Is he only painful when you touch his incision? If so he might have a painful bundle of nerve fibers and then amantadine may help quite a bit. If he just cries at times when he is not moving then I might be more worried about the spine. Acupuncture or laser are both good ideas.
Pam
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