Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Good morning all - our sweet boy, Peter has his front left leg amputated on 31 August. We began chemo (carboplatin) in 5 rounds every 21 days on 19 September. He tolerated everything very well, and his CBC panel a week later was perfect.
Round 2 of chemo was 11 October. Peter got his bloodwork done yesterday and I am waiting for the results. We also removed some pain meds (we are down to Rimadyl 75 mg twice a day and removed Gabapentin and Amantadine). Peter still gets therapeutic massages and acupuncture every two weeks.
We have noticed a change in Pete after this last round: sleepier, less pep in his step, less sure of his footing...it is as if he is running on half energy. He's just not himself. There is no coughing, wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea, etc...Pete is eating like a champ and still wants to snuggle, but he really wants to sleep.
For those of you familiar with chemo, is this normal? Is it a combination of fewer pain meds and chemo? I already have a call into the oncologist.
Pete is my baby and we are working on quality time versus quantity time. We want his days, however many he has, to be as good as possible. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Jen and Pete
(I am trying to post a picture and it is not working)...
Jen and Sweet Pete
Phillmar Spiderman (aka Peter),
Black and Tan Doberman, diagnosed 29 August 2016 with osteosarcoma, front left leg amputated 31 August 2016, chemo (carboplatin) administered 16 September, 11 October...earned his wings 31 October 2016 at 6:15 pm CST.
For how long after chemo did the sleeping last. Otis slept pretty much for 24 hours after each chemo session. He was also off all pain meds by chemo #2 - why is Pete still on Rimadyl? Arthritis or some other condition?
We were told to watch for signs of illness, including lethargy, between 7 - 14 days after each chemo treatment, as that could be signs of a low white blood count. If we saw these signs, we were to go in for a CBC. We never had to, but if you are in that 7 - 14 day period post-chemo, you might want to talk to your onco about it.
We did notice that each chemo got a little worse - nothing major, and primarily indigestion and nausea. For what it is worth, once we completed chemo (we did 4 rounds), we had some of the best quality time with Otis! It wasn't as long as I would have liked, but so worth it.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Sorry - the first sentence of my reply above is a question.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Pete was sleeping for the rest of the day and the next day after chemo, and he has been sleepier than normal for the past week after chemo. We are required to to a CBC count 7-10 days after each chemo round as per our oncologist - this way he knows how well Pete is tolerating chemo.
Peter is on Rimadyl because he presents with Wobblers and already has weakness prior to the amputation and cancer diagnosis, so he will be on it permanently.
We are done with round two, and have five total rounds.
I have heard that the dogs feel worse as the chemo continues, and then feel better. But, I am checking every source I have to be sure. Waiting on the doctor to call back with his thoughts.
Jen and Sweet Pete
Phillmar Spiderman (aka Peter),
Black and Tan Doberman, diagnosed 29 August 2016 with osteosarcoma, front left leg amputated 31 August 2016, chemo (carboplatin) administered 16 September, 11 October...earned his wings 31 October 2016 at 6:15 pm CST.
OK, if you are going in for the CBC anyway, that will show if it is his reaction to the chemo. If so, they might delay your next one a week, and/or lower his dosage. Sleeping rest of the day and next day seems within the range of normal to me, at least based on Otis. Sounds like it is under control, however.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Hi Pete and family ❤️
Eurydice did 6 sessions of carboplatin but never had any side effects, energy levels were pretty much the same throughout so can't give you any advice.
Nevertheless, we were told if at any point there were any significant changes in her white blood cell count she might have to have the dosage adjusted and/or her treatment postponed.
Sending you and you baby boy lots of pawsitive energy 💕💕💕🐾
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Hmmm..maybe Kylie is just different but we just had our second round of chemo and I cannot slow that dog down! She has more energy than she ever has in the last year before she started hurting. Right now her quality of life is amazing.
Now it's true she was sleepy that day and the day after both times, just like many others here have said, but honestly I think it was from the stress of the road trip. We have to drive over two hours each way for her chemo.
Kylie is on two Meds. First was Doxorubicin which she had horrible side effects from. then treatment two was Carbo and we started the anti-nausea medication two days after treatment and she's been great ever since. She is not on any pain medication. Does Pete get any anti nausea meds?
They did tell us after the first treatment that they would lower the dosage next time because she was so sick. She has her 3rd treatment next Thurs. Maybe Pete's fatigue has to do with a dosage being too high and it's throwing him off and he doesn't feel like himself?
Its Great that he still eating though! It always makes me nervous when they don't have an appetite 🙁
Hope u get word back from the doc soon. keep us posted!! Hugs!
Chris and Kylie xo
We did 6 rounds of carboplatin. Overall Shea tolerated all of them pretty well. The day of and the day after chemo shea did not seem to have any side effects. Day 2 and 3 after treatment seemed to be the days she was more sleepy with less of an appetite. The further into treatments that we got, her sleepiness and lack of appetite progressed a little more. But she always seemed to bounce back. Her blood work was usually pretty good. About treatment 5 her blood work was showing a little anemia but nothing concerning., which also can contribute to lethargy. About 10 days after her 6th treatment she was extremely fatigued, would not eat at all, we practically had to carry her to go out and pee. We had just done her blood work 3 days before and all was good. So we took her to the emergency vet they repeated her bloodwork which showed extremely low platelets. She was started on a Chinese herb to help with blood clotting. The next day she seemed better, the day after that even better. We decided to have her platelets redone. Huge improvement. Not back to normal but significantly better. The bloodwork can give a lot of answers. But anytime something doesn't seem right call the oncologist. Let them tell you if the side effects need to be checked out for something more concerning than just side effects. Chemo also makes them more susceptible to secondary infections.
Good advice from everyone!
I agree with Shea's mom though. If something doesn't seem right, go ajead and set something up to jave Pete checked out. It could indeed be a secondary infection, or even anemia, voth of which are treatable.
It is good that Pete is eating 🙂
Keep js in the loop and let us know how Pete is doing!
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!
Well, we are a week away from the next round and chest x-rays of chemo. Pete seems still sleepy/tired, but he is moving around a bit better. His blood work is excellent. I think he is tired. I am looking for breathing changes, eating changes, any changes...and other than being tired, he is fine. So, we will know more next Tuesday to see if there are mets in his lungs. I am having them scan his legs, just to be on the safe side.
Jen and Sweet Pete
Phillmar Spiderman (aka Peter),
Black and Tan Doberman, diagnosed 29 August 2016 with osteosarcoma, front left leg amputated 31 August 2016, chemo (carboplatin) administered 16 September, 11 October...earned his wings 31 October 2016 at 6:15 pm CST.
Yep, chemo can definitely be tiring for dogs but it sure sounds like otherwise he's doing very well. Focus on that, and try not to be too preoccupied with finding something wrong. Right now everything is right, so celebrate and do the hoppy dance with Pete, he'll really love you for it!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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