Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey all! It's been a long time (which is awesome!). Refresher:
Eider was diagnosed with chondroblastic osteosarcoma in March 2016. Hemipelvectomy 3/29/2016.
Post Amp... Carboplatin, then a run of Doxorubicin, then he went on Rapamycin for all of 2017. Lung mets appeared Dec of 2016, but were stable on rapamycin for all of 2017. We started him on Cyclophosphamide+Piroxicam in January of 2018 and he had some great success with that for most of this year. His last appt was November 9th and the Oncologist suggested that we move to Palladia. I had some concerns about it, but she wanted to try it. It hasn't been great, in my opinion.
Current drug schedule:
M/W/F: Rapamycin + Piroxicam
T/Th/Sat: Palladia only
Sun: Piroxicam only
So, he had Palladia last night and was up all night with diarrhea. His eyes have been runny for over a week now. This morning, he would not eat breakfast. This is completely out of character for him.
I have emailed his Onco at Auburn to see what she wants to do. She mentioned that Palladia symptoms resolve quickly if you stop the drug. She also mentioned that we might want to adjust the dosage and frequency if he has issues. His next appt is this Friday, but I have offered to bring him down there today if she can see him early.
My husband and I know we have been very lucky. We are approaching 3 years post-amp with lung mets for exactly 2 years. So, we are beyond grateful.
I guess my question is: has anyone had a negative experience with Palladia that was resolved or improved by a dosage/frequency change? We do not want him to be miserable, but I don't want to give up if some tweaking would help.
Thanks for any feedback. -Lauren
Hey,
Manni wasn't on Palladia long but we also encountered some issues. I keep repeating this here, but what really made a huge difference for us was American Slippery Elm. I added it to every portion of food Manni got and after say 2 days it got better and stayed that way. I am not entirely sure on how it acts together with the Palladia (if it inhibits anything that is) so you may want to read up on that but it worked wonders for us.
Fingers crossed for you guys
tina
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
Thanks for the feedback. Auburn just called in Cerenia and Metronidazole for him. She said to pause all meds, including rapamycin until they can see him Friday. He is nauseated and now having bloody diarrhea. I will keep everyone posted.
We had a similar regimen for Pofi and also had to add Cerenia to the Palladia days. He did not have diarrhea from it, but seemed not to feel well at all and not want to eat, but Cerenia did the trick. It was Piroxicam he could not handle at all, made him so, so sick. We made the decision to go with Rimadyl/Carprofen instead of Piroxicam because he reaction to is was SO extreme. Puking, diarrhea, panting, drooling and clear distress.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
He is having bloody stool and puking. My family member dropped off the meds (I don't have a car today, since hubby drove it to work). I can't get them down his throat. They have volunteered to come get us and take us to the vet. This is not good. I will update afterwards. Please pray for him. He has fought so hard. Thank you
I'm so glad I am chatting with you now Lauren. Eider's story is a miracle! And he will overcome this hurdle, Palladia reactions aren't at all uncommon. Your vet will get him on the right track. Hang in there, we are all keeping you in our thoughts and hearts.
FIGHT ON EIDER!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Just want to add my pawsitive energy for the amazing Elder!!
I also believe you are dealing with side effects from Palladia. Glad you are stopping that for now.
Extra 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!
Update:
Little Eider slept ALL NIGHT! Can't say the same for myself.... lol
He was definitely hungry this morning. I gave him his cerenia no problem. But, he wasn't havin' that metronidazole. So, I caved. Auburn will have to deal with it tomorrow.
He had approx. 1/2 c of his food this am and kept it down. I gave him a 1/4c snack about a half hour ago and he kept that down too!
Hubby and I are pretty sure we don't want to continue Palladia. But, we are leaving a window of consideration open to hear what Auburn Onco Vets have to say. Tomorrow is his re-staging, so we will update after.
Thanks!! -Lauren
YAY EiDER!! 
This is such great news! Amazing recovery for an amazing boy. Thank you for letting us know.
Good job keeping everything in check Lauren, it totally makes sense to wait to make any decisions until you talk to the experts. Please drop by when you have a pupdate and give that boy a smooch from all of us!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Sooop glad to see this update!!!! I know you are thrilled too!
Give Eider a big smooch for is, and a few extra treats too!
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!
Hi Eider and family,
We also had problems with Palladia for our dog Pee Wee. She started off taking 75mg every other day (she’s 62 lbs) for a total of three doses and we noticed lethargy, a significant decline in her appetite and shortness of breath. Our oncologist recommended a drug holiday and within 3 days all of the symptoms resolved. We recently restarted Palladia on the same dose but every three days instead of every other day. We got four doses in her before we ended up back at the oncologist yesterday for chest x rays as her shortness of breath and lethargy was so concerning that we worried her lung mets had progressed out of control. Chest x rays showed no progression of disease at all and though shortness of breath is a somewhat less common adverse effect of Palladia the manufacture estimates that it happens in about 8% of dogs. We had to stop giving it even on a modified schedule as it just negatively affected Pee Wee’s quality of life way too much to continue it.
I hope Eider is doing better each day and your oncologist has some good suggestions!
- Heather, Paul and Pee Wee
Another update:
Eider had his re-staging at Auburn on December 9th. The Oncology team was really happy with the efficacy of the Palladia and wanted to continue treatment. So, we started up again on the 10th and added Tylasin for the GI side effects. He certainly tolerated it better and we saw some "good poops", but still some occasional loose poops. We've also noticed fur loss and fur color changes and still seeing lethargy and weepy eyes. He has also gone back to this bizarre desire to urinate, even when his bladder is empty.
Fast forward to last night around midnight. He woke me up wanting to go out, so we ran to the back door. On his way, he threw up a little (not totally unusual). He seemed frantic. I got him back inside and put him on the bed with us. At 1:30am, my husband turned on the lights and said, "Oh my god I think he is dying!". I sat up to see that he had thrown up on the bed, was shaking violently and breathing so fast and hard.
We raced to the emergency vet, which is about 45 minutes south of us. She immediately listened to his heart and lungs and said his lungs sounded fine, but he was tachycardic (racing heart). X'rays looked fine (aside from the lung mets, but we are used to seeing those and they looked the same as the past 2 re-stages) and ultrasound was fine. No swelling, fluid or bleeding. They took two BP readings, one normal, one high. We could find nothing wrong, but everyone's instincts are pointing at Palladia and "blood pressure spikes".
I have emailed the Oncology Team at Auburn to request further discussion. We are both hesitant to continue the Palladia, despite how much it has helped with the lung mets. It seems the side effects are just too harsh.
We got back home after 4 am and fired up the smoker for a day of bbq and relaxing. I made bfast and our little guy ate normally. He was happy to be home and his sister was soooo relieved we were back (she is a 13.75 yr old Dane mix, so we can't exactly "throw her in the car" for these situations).
I will update everyone after we speak to Auburn. Thanks! Lauren
wow, what a stressful night for you all! If these symptoms of his are due to the palladia - no matter that it might be helping keep the lung mets at bay - I would be very hesitant to keep him on it. Sometimes it seems like the cure IS worse than the disease. We used Palladia for a very short time for my Dobe, after Cytoxan caused cysitits. I don't remember any side effects like this, but Nitro wasn't on it all that long. We reached a point in our journey that I stopped and thought really hard about all the meds we were throwing at him, and did some soul-searching to think about how "fair" that was to him. Nitro lived over 3 1/2 years after his amp; he beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age.
Prayers that you get this figured out for Eider, and that you don't have any more scary nights like the last one.
Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Wow Lauren, what a crazy night, I can't imagine! But that's awesome he's OK and not in any danger. Yes, do let us know what Auburn vets say. Palladia is just such a crazy drug sometimes with those side effects, I'm sorry Eider had to endure them. But good job staying on top of things and making sure he's back to being comfy.
And your Dane-pup is HOW old? WOW! Amazing! What do you feed that girl?!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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