Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all,
Sadly my 10yr old Pug x Frenchie Gawain has joined the cancer amputee club.
He's come home from the hospital today, after having his rear leg amputated and part of his hip removed yesterday following a pathological fracture of his femural head discovered last week. Thankfully, no metastases were visible on his CT scans but he is currently a very upset lad.
While the vets assured me he's has been eating and sleeping on the ward for the past day and night, he has done nothing but scream since I collected him four hours ago. Refusing food and not laying down all day. It's breaking my heart.
We're in a tricky situation as he already had rear end paralysis from an IVDD episode 6 years ago. He has no deep pain sensation in his back legs and I have to express his bladder, but now there is this huge wound on his side! I feel awfully guilty pressing on his sides while there is so much swelling, even though I know it's for his own good. He screams even louder when being expressed even though I'm sure not to touch the wound itself.
He was discharged with an opioid shot (I wasn't told which), metacam and half a Pardale every 8 hours (much less pain medication than he was on pre-op). While I have already called the vets to ask about his obvious discomfort and query his pain management , I was told he's 'probably being dramatic' as he was not displaying this behaviour on the ward.
He is in his usual crate, covered, in a quiet room, while I've been sat beside him reading. We already have adaptil plugged in from pre op. He continues to shriek to the point of throwing up food that he must have eaten on the ward this morning. This is not whining, as he has done after other operations (teeth removal, spine surgery, neutering) this is full-on, non-stop screaming and it's very concerning.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Hi Jasmine. Your post has been approved and now you will have access to the much needed support yoi are seeking.
First off, I do want to say, regrettably from first hand experience, I understand the horror of hearing your dog SCREAM in non stop pain! Nothing anyone ever wants to hear and way, way different from a whine.
No, he's not being "dramatic".....he is in pain and it needs to be addressed! (BTW what's your pup's name?) What we usually see for pain control is Gabapentin, along with Amantadine, and an anti inflammatory. While I'm not all that familiar with Pardale (which doesn't mean much). I did look it up and vomiting loss of appetite, can be a side effect. (Are you in the UK by any chance? That seems to be the drug used there....maybe?)
It could be that the opiod injection may be making him a bit whacked out. Find out from the Vet exactly what the injection was
On top of everything else you have to express his bladder arou d the incision, I cant imagine how hard this whole scenario is right now.
I wish I could give you so better suppprt, but it really does seem like his pain needs to be managed differently. Ask the Vet about the pain meds I mentioned above.
You do have some good news and that is there is no evidence of spread, so be sure and celebrate that during all these recovery hurdles.
Hang tight and others will chime in with other tips
(((((((((Hugs)))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. Keep in mind we are not Vets and not giving Vet advice.
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 so much for your response. My dogs name is Gawain and he's such strong lad.
After calling the veterinary hospital three times over the past 12 hours, the out of hours nurse has told me to bring him back to be readmitted for another two days.
It's so disheartening to think he was coming home to rest and mend, and instead he was put through a night of pain and the discomfort of two long car journeys.
He gets very distressed at the vets but it seems I can't manage his pain at home currently.
You guessed right, we're in the UK. Pardale is a combination codeine/paracetamol, I believe. Time to brew some strong coffee as it's 4am here and we've got quite a drive ahead of us back to the hospital!
Jasmine,
They said he's being dramatic? 
I'd like to have that vet go through amputation surgery with the same pain control he got, and then see if they are feeling "dramatic" or not. Grrrr.
Way to advocate for him, I'm sorry that he had to go back in. You did right though, and hopefully he will get more pain management to keep him comfortable during the most difficult time of recovery. Please keep us posted.
Yes, do keep us posted and keep advocating for better-/different pain control for Gawain. Keeping him at the clinic without them makesome adjustments to his pain protocol.......keep advocating!! He is not being dramatic!
,aybe they can devise a different way of expressing the bladder. That has to be so painful for her too have to have pressure put on her incision to express his bladder.
You'll get past this hurdle, his pain will be properly managed and recovery will be complete before you know it.
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!
What a difference two days (and trazodone) have made!
Gawain was put back on an IV with stronger opioids over the weekend, but came off of them yesterday. He is home and resting comfy in his recovery suite, taking his meds happily with some cheese.
They've added in Trazodone and reinstated the gabapentin he usually takes for his spine issues, alongside the Pardale and Metacam he was on when originally discharged.
He snored the whole two hour drive home and rolled over onto his operation side to have belly rubs this afternoon. He's already incredibly mobile (probably because he can't feel his back legs to know one is missing), so I'll be sure to keep him from going overboard on his bathroom breaks and he is settled sleeping on his staples as I type.
I shall keep this thread updated as we work through the hardest part of recovery and I want to thank you for reassuring me that he wasn't "being dramatic" last week. It was just too early for him to be discharged home.
That's awesome, they broke the pain cycle. It's not unusual at all and sometimes stronger measures are needed than what we can do at home with oral medications. Glad he's back on good pain control. How is he doing today?
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