Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So last night, I got home from work and thought Alexander was a little more lethargic than usual. He was barely interested in food and just seemed off. I noticed a large bruise in his pubis area and I noticed his gums were a bit pale. SO.....I got him to the vet. They took his blood and ran the numbers. everything looked good except he has a very low platelet count. Also his blood pressure and heart rate was high, but that could be attributed to the car ride and excitement of the vet's office.....
He is 6 days post op, and due to the low platelet count, they have told me to take him off the Cephalaxin, thinking that it may be related....Has anyone had any of these issues????
Alexander The Great Dane
Suspected Osteosarcoma July 12
Diagnosed Officially 7/16/2010
Amputated 7/27/2010
Became Spirit Xander 2/20/2011
Sorry to hear that Alexander isn't feeling so well. It's good you took him to the vet quickly. We've never had that issue, but wanted to respond and say that we're sending you pawsitive thoughts and prayers. Got our paws crossed that he'll be his ole self soon! Hang in there!
Cathy/Jane/Spirit Skyler/Chloe
Hi, I have no helpful information either except to second that if anything is weird you should err on side of going to the vet. When Ajax had his minimally invasive thymoma removal (a couple weeks before the amputation), I had the same issue - noticed he seemed lethargic and glassy eyed and panting more - took him to the vet and it turned out one of the wounds was infected. Not a big deal, didn't even get antibiotics, just a solution to flush it with - but the point is, you know him so if you think it's weird you're probably right.
Sending good thoughts!
Awe, Alexander, feel better soon. You are such a sweetheart.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
is he taking tramadol? I don't remember.....tramadol can do some weird stuff...but the pale gums I would think is NOT one of the weird things....
Get better ALexander so you can model the harness....I'm waiting to see if your hansome self fits in it!!
Hope Alexander feels better. By day 5 during Mackenzie's recovery, she was feeling lethargic and had no appetite - this went on for several days. I attributed some of this to the pain meds she was on (she wasn't taking antibiotics) but also during this period of time (day 5 - 9) seemed to be the worst part of her recovery. So hopefully for Alexander once he's off the Cephalaxin he'll start to feel more energetic. As I'm sure you know by now, there can be some good days and not so good days during this recovery time. Good luck with everything! 
Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
I can't help you. But I just want to send my good thoughts your way!
Keep us up-to-date on Alexander!
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.
Hope it's nothing serious and that Alexander feels better soon. The first two weeks can be alot of ups and downs... Whenever you're worried about something... just call or go and see your vet.
Sending big hugs!!!
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
The Cephalixin made Ruthie horribly sick to her stomach after about a week of taking it...I mean really sick to her stomach. The vet said the site was healed enough to take her off it and she immediately did better.
I hope you find the solution.
Spirit Ruthie's Mom
We're keeping all fingers and paws crossed that Alexander feels better really soon! These first few weeks can be a roller coaster... Sending big hugs your way.
Holly, Zuzu and Susan
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
It could be the cephalexin but that would be very rare (I have seen only 2 dogs do this in 18 years). Has he taken the drug before? It is more likely that his body is consuming platelets because he is bleeding somewhere and the body is using them up. Were his red cell counts and total protein okay? If his body is destroying platelets and red cells then he would be jaundiced. Do his gums look yellow?
These giant dogs can have a slow bleeder deep in the incision so you may not initially note swelling at the surgery site. I would keep him very quiet and recheck his cbc every 1-3 days.
Pam
Low platelets from an antibiotic? Huh. Learn something new every day.
Gerry (like Ruthie) had a very upset tummy while on Cephalexin, following his amputation, which made him very uncomfortable and he had some diarhea at some point. I think that discomfort was what made poor Gerry not want to lay down for days - that was an awful several days, trying to make him lie down to get some sleep. Kind of the opposite of Alexander then though, huh? Took a while to get the stomach thing figured out. Gerry's vet at the time blamed the Tramadol, but I have heard Cephalexin is hard on the stomach too and was more suspicious of that. But I'm going on and on about stomach discomfort that doesn't necessarily fit Alexander's symptoms. Poor babe.
The appearance of the bruise sounds normal to me, if he's a rear amp. Sorry, I'm spacing on which he is. And for some reason I'm just now remembering my front-leg amputee, Yoda, having brusing down there too that I had asked his vets about. It had something to do with some equipment or something that they figured accidentally bruised him in the process of some procedure they were doing, but I can't remember if that was from the amputation or something that came later.
Lethargy in general, at day 6 is typical. If only it were his only issue I'm sure all the veterans here would be saying - don't sweat it, he's fine! Their energy level can be weird though during the first two weeks, because they'll seem like they're on a good progression of getting stronger and stronger, but then have surprise dips back to being worn out. After the two weeks for most - it seems like - those surprise dips in energy disappear and they just keep building their stamina.
I sure hope the Cephalexin turns out to be the problem and that you see improvement to confirm that soon. Paws crossed and more pawsitive thoughts coming Alexander's way 
Hang in there!
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Oh good the real expert arrived while I was typing my lame attempt at helpful input! Lucky you, Pam (tazziedog) is not only a vet, but also particularly familiar with the BIG pups
(But good lord, I hope it's not as serious as what she's describing sounds! Extra thoughts and prayers are coming Alexander's way!!!)
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Hey everyone, thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
After many conversations with the vets, we are taking him off all meds. Between the Cephalaxin, the Tramadol and the Rimadyl, they are hoping that hi behavior is related to secondary effects of the meds, including the low platlets .
Pam, his proteins and rRBC were normal, so they did not think it was a nleed. The incision area is only slightly swolllen, cool to the touch and not inflamed. Either way, he is going in to his Oncologist in the AM for a repeat CBC, Blood count.
I am going crazy, personally. He is SO quiet with no drive to do anything. He is obviously not feeling well and I am terrified that there is really something wrong with him....did we make the rong decision? I told him I would not make him suffer for this cancer, now it seems as if that's all he is doing......
Alexander The Great Dane
Suspected Osteosarcoma July 12
Diagnosed Officially 7/16/2010
Amputated 7/27/2010
Became Spirit Xander 2/20/2011
Oh good, it sounds like your vets are Pam-smart and are on top of this. I know it doesn't feel that way for you because you've got waaaaay too many unaswered questions and too much time in between to wait and worry. But I think you can be really encouraged that those tests came back good. Lethargy really shouldn't be a concern this early - he did have major surgery after all! - but we all do worry about it. There was that darn platelet result to worry about, but they've got a theory to explain it at least and are taking action - right on!
Try to sleep and set a good example for Xander by taking extra good care of your health too. (We all tend to fail at that much of the time, but trying is good!)
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
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