Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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thanks to Max's mom Linda for suggesting I post in the recovery forum after she read my blog entry "how we got here..." Re of our harrowing experience so far with Amira's battle with synovial hystiocystic sarcoma. Amira came home last Thursday evening 2 days after her amputation surgery and the following 48 hrs were awful for her with non-stop panting and pacing which we thought was due to pain. After some research re tramadol possibly causing these types of symptoms, We called her vet who suggested giving her Benedryl to zonk her out. Thankfully it worked for several hours where she actually calmed down and slept a bit however, after giving her her evening dose of Tramadol, she started the panting and pacing again. By late evening, it was time for another dose of Benadryl and about 2 hrs later, she settled down and had a pretty good night and slept from about 2:30 through to about 8:00 am. She ate her breakfast and went out to pee and seemed more like her old self! After coming back in, I laid down to sleep a little more and she settled herself and laid down again and seemed calm - no panting or pacing!!!
sorry for long lead in, but here's my question: since she isn't exhibiting any signs of pain or distress, I did not give her her Tramadol at 9:00 am which was her next scheduled dose. I have given her another dose of benedryl and her rimidyl at 10:45. It's now almost 12:30 and she's been calm, laying down and napping on and off since 8:00 this morning!! Anyone out there have experience with stopping the tramadol at post op day 5???
Welcome to the Fourms- your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Day 5 seems really early to stop pain meds after an amputation, however some have done it. It does sound like she is having trouble with tramadol, which is not uncommon. Is she also getting an anti-inflammatory like rimadyl? Maybe the vet could look into a different pain med for her, perhaps gabapentin, or change the dose of tramadol.
Keep an eye on her and make sure she is not in pain, you may need to give her some tram to keep her comfortable. I would call the vet tomorrow (unless they are there today) and if she needs some pain meds see if you can get her something other than tramadol.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Yeah, ditto Karen.
It is hard to tell the distinction between pain and symptoms from the pain med. They look the same!!
I can tell you that my Happy Hannah had the same symptons as Amira when coming home. She absolutely was restless, panting, whining for almost twenty hours straight without sleeping a wink. I did not join this site until day six when I thought I jad made a horrible mistake with the amputation! Her recovery was rough!! I did keep her on Rimadyl, Tramadol and Gabapentin and an antibiotic. I do feel like, in her specific case, it was mostly pain, as opppsed to the Tramadol. it's really hard ro say. I'm sure my "fearful e ergy" didn't elp. She's a big chunky Bull Mastiff at 125 lbs. time of surgery.
You may ask the vet about Gabapentin I stead of Tramadol, or with a reduced dose of Tram. Once the pain gets ahead start, it's hard to play catch up. Every dog is differe t...every recovery is different. It may be that she won't need as much pain meds as others.
I'm gonna go read your blog now. Ha g in there! Sounds things are settling down some.
Hugs to sweet Amira...and you too!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!
Yes she's on 100 mg rimadyl 2x/day. I gave her a dose of the rimadyl along with 75mg of benedryl at 10:45 am. She started showing some signs of pain abt an hour ago around 2:30(panting but not as hard as before and some pacing). She's been resting now for about an hour with her breaths a bit shallow and faster than normal. I put in a call to her vet earlier today (it's a 24/7 hospital) to talk to the on duty vet abt switching her to gabapentin but haven't head back...they are a zoo ( no pun intended!) on the weekends because of their emergency clinic so not great at returning calls quickly! If she shows more signs of increasing distress, I will call them again and "be that mom" and demand an immediately call! I really don't want to give her any tram afoul now cause we'd have to wait at least 8 hrs until she can take the gabapentin (assuming the vet agrees to switch her)
by the way
, sometimes we can see the muscles where her incision is, spasming/ jumping - is that phantom pain
?..
Amira'smommy
So glad you decided to post here! We also noticed the spasms/muscle jumping with Max. We asked the surgeon about that and he told us that was normal. Phantom limb pain is more where they yelp and jump up I think. We had very few of those. That is what the gabapentin helps with too. I think Max too had problems with Tramadol. He never really slept more than an hour at a time for the first few days and always seemed very anxious. That being said he's always been a very high strung dog and nervous. Eventually we stopped the tramadol a little later in the recovery and gave him some Tylenol with codeine he had gotten before his surgery to manage his pain level before the amputation. That worked tons better he relaxed and slept nights for us. Not recommending it for others but we needed to find a way he was out of pain but not panting etc. Don't worry about being "one of those moms". For the money we have all spent feel free to call and insist on what you feel you need for her. We have to be their advocates. Hope tonight is better for you and Amira and your husband. It will get better soon!! Those first few days are wicked though. Keep us posted we will be thinking of you!
Yeah, I agree with Linda..you paid big bucks to be "one of those moms"!
Of course, check with your vet, but Happy Hannah had Tramadol doses together sometimes. It's not like you can only give one or the other.
I'm sure the vet will put her back on some pain meds right away. And yeah, twitching is normal. If it's accompanied with sharp yelps and trying to run away from the pain...then that's probably phantom.
Hugs to you! Let us know what the vet says!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!
I would definitely ask for Gabapentin. Murphy came home on that, Rimadyl & Tramadol for his pain after surgery. He never had the issues with the Tramadol that a lot of people have described. You can also try putting an ice pack on the incision a couple times a day. That's good for swelling and for pain.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
amirasmommy said
...since she isn't exhibiting any signs of pain or distress, I did not give her her Tramadol ...
FYI: It's really best to stick to your vet's prescribed medication schedule provided with your discharge instructions. pain management is difficult, and it requires steady release of the pain meds to "keep ahead" of any pain before it gets bad.
Don't miss this recent post in the Tripawds News blog for important tips to identify levels of pain in your pup.
Is Your Dog or Cat in Pain? Here’s How to Know the Signs.
sometimes we can see the muscles where her incision is, spasming/ jumping - is that phantom pain?
Twitching of the incision site are signs that the nerves are mending, a good thing. This and any sudden outbursts or jumping up are indeed common indications for phantom pain . Don't miss these helpful tips for managing phantom limb pain in the Tripawds Downloads blog .
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
PS: This video interview with Dr Pam discussing common post-op complications has some more phantom pain info.
Search all blogs here for more helpful articles and videos!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Er...this sentence ..."appy Hannah had Tramadol doses together sometimes. It's not like you can only give one or the other"...let's try it again!
Happy Hannah had Tramadol and Gabapentin at the same time sometimes. It's not like you can only give one or the other."
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!
Hope everything got resolved and your baby is resting comfortably!
For the record, you would not need to wait after a dose of Tramadol to start Gabapentin. My old girl Izzy is taking Rimadyl, Tramadol and Gabapentin, though the surgeon released her (day of surgery, mind you) with just Tramadol. I had Izzy's regular vet refill the other two as she'd been taking them prior to amputation to manage the pain of her broken leg, which it did beautifully.
You could also ask for "ace" (a sedative) instead of dosing the Benadryl, however the end result is likely the same. I came home with the sedative because my Izzy started wagging as soon as she woke up from surgery, so the first 24 hours after release, I kept her chilled out with that. 😉
Keep us posted!
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
i am thrilled to report that Amira is doing much better today!!! We finally got a hold of a surgeon at the Vet Hospital at 8:30 pm and she agreed to try giving Amira Gabapentin after i suggested it (thanks to you all for that tip!). She said the prescription would be ready in 2 hours so daddy was there 10:30 and raced home with it. We gave her the Gaba and the previously prescribed Rimadyl (didn't give her anymore Benadryl since the Gaba is sedating too) at 11:00 and she managed to sleep until about 3:00. She got up and was kind of going around in circles in our room but after soothing her for a bit, she settled down and we all got to sleep through to about 8:15!. She got her second dose of Gabfentin at 11:00 am along with her Rimadyl. She's been resting comfortably all day; no panting like a freight train, no drooling, pacing and a "fair" appetite. The only issue was her refusal to get up to go potty even at 11:00 am so i got the belly sling under her and her Daddy pretty much hoisted her up and somehow we convinced her to go outside. Once she was out, she peed and had a good poop! she ended up wanting to just lounge on the grass so we stayed out there for probably about 2 hours! Thank goodness it wasn't as hot today in Los Angeles! It sure seems to me that it was the Tramadol that was causing the problems so I pray that she's turned the corner and will have a smooth recovery from here on out!
Wonderful update! I'm so glad Amira is doing better.
Tram is a tricky med. Tripug Maggie freaked out on tram- she acted like something was stalking her. My other two pugs have taken it without any issues at all.
I hope the vet told you that gaba is one of those meds that you have to taper off- don't just stop cold. My older pug Tani was on gaba for a long time (she took it for arthritis) and never had any issues with it.
Keep up the good reports!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Glad ro hear things are better. I know bei g outside helped her spirits...as well as a good poop and pee!
Getti g a little shut-eye does wonders for everybody! Hope the Gabapentin handles her pain sufficiently. It seems to be a pretty good pain blocker.
Keep resting up Amira. You'll be getti g your sparkle back in no time!
Hugs to all!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!
I'm so worried again... Amira was doing pretty well having switched to gabapentin but as of last night, she started the rapid shallow breathing again. Not as bad as when she was on the Tramadol and there hasn't been the pacing so I'm thinking its pain vs anxiety! We thought maybe taking the 300 mg once every 12 hrs is too far apart as she started the panting about 2.5 hrs before her next scheduled dose. So, when she was panting at 7:00 am I went ahead and gave her 200 mg at 8 hrs vs waiting till the 12 hr point hoping that if we space out the meds to "overlap", she won't start having pain as the gamba wears off at the end. She did pretty well according to her dad before her 3:00 dose but when I got home from work at 5:30, she was panting and continues to do so now. Her next dose of time rimadyl is at 8:00 and another 200 mg of gabapentine at 11:00 pm. Of course dr. Google re dogs breathing fast has me scared that there's something wrong with her lungs or heart!!! She's eating decently (of course not with the same relish as before her surgery), peeing and pooping although not big on liquids. Anyone have any similar experience with rapid shallow breathing?
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