Hi everybody---So, today seems to be a little different, because Hannah is acting different.  I can't tell if she is having difficulty getting comfortable---I bought her 2 new beds, one was a flat "orthopedic" mattress and the other was a big, squishy bed with a surrounding pillowy thing.  I thought the soft, squishy one would feel better to her, and yesterday, it did.  Today, she was having trouble finding a comfortable spot in the squishy bed and I found her laying on the hard floor by her water bowl.  I put the flat orthopedic bed in the living room and she ran right over to it.

She's just "different" today, and I can't describe it.  I can't tell if she's bored, can't figure out what's happened to herself or what.  She is very restless, too.  She had no problem falling asleep before and today she can't fall asleep.  I offered her a bully stick----which she readily accepted yesterday---and she had no interest in it.  She took her pills this morning in a bit of chicken breast and ate a chicken jerky without a problem.

I feel helpless in that I don't know what's wrong.  What could be wrong?  Could she be experiencing increased pain?  I'm giving her the gabapentin and Rimadyl exactly as prescribed.  There's no signs of infection at the site.  Is this normal?  I just read about the "crash"---I wouldn't say she "crashing", just different.  She's not her usual, happy post-op self.  It's only been 4 days and she moves around well.

Now she's sleeping on the orthopedic bed .  Call me a liar, LOL.

Oh God---I feel like an ass posting again so soon after my last post.

My Hannah cried out about 15 minutes ago.  I didn't see exactly what happened, but I think she was sleeping & woke up out of nowhere and yelped.  She got up & went over to the other place she hangs out, then went back to her bed after a few minutes.  She was shaking a little bit and I sat down with her & gave her some love which seemed to help.

I think this could be phantom limb pain.  She was due for her gabapentin in 30 minutes, so I wonder if it was nerve pain.  Called the vet & they told me to give her the gabapentin.

This has never happened before and I feel horrible----just horrible.  She seems okay now.  I hope this doesn't happen too much or I'm the one that's going to have to be medicated.  I forget that dogs don't know what to do with pain like we do, and their response is to yelp & run away.  The fact that it is a fleeting pain is a bit of a comfort to me.  

I am still hoping I did the right thing with her.

Thanks for the support.

I called the vet yesterday afternoon and told her about what's been going on.  The vet told me to increase the dosing frequency from every 8 hours to every 6 hours for the gabapentin.  It seemed that Hannah would be okay for about 6 hours between doses, and at the 6 hour mark become very restless.  She had a restful night and slept well.

I think that she may have done a bit too much on the day after I brought her home.  She's not the "athletic" type, and she was really awake and alert on Saturday.  On Sunday, she was different.  I know what's most important is to keep her quiet and resting---there's plenty of time for her to bounce around and show me what's she's got.  I think I may have gotten ahead of myself----I have to remember the times I had major surgery, and how I felt each day after the surgery.  Usually, the first 36 hours are the worst for pain, and then it gets gradually better every day.  She hasn't had any yelping since that one time on Sunday.  

She seems to be the best when she gets the gabapentin, so I am going to keep giving it to her as prescribed.

Thanks so much for being here.  I am usually a strong person when it comes to humans, but when my pets are involved, are bets are off.

Here a daily update----day 6 post op----Hannah seems to be doing well.  I had increased the frequency of the gabapentin, from every 8 hours to every 6, and she was stoned out of her mind.  I think I am going to back down to every 7 to 8 hours and see how she does.  She was so stoned this morning that she had trouble walking with her back legs.  She recovered from it quickly---it was only a 2-step mis-step, but I noticed it.  The last thing I want is for her to fall down.  She is very calm, and not as excited or happy as she was the day after I brought her home.  I have a feeling that the pain meds from the hospital were still in her system on Saturday morning, and that's why she was so peppy.  She is not yelping anymore----it was only that one time.  Perhaps the yelp was when the meds from the hospital wore off, and now she is used to the NSAID and gabapentin.

I let her out about an hour ago in the backyard----it is warm and sunny in New York today, but it is REALLY windy.  Poor little thing started to tremble----I think she was cold.  Well, she's got half her body shaved, for goodness sake!  She's not used to the wind hitting her skin like that.  She was okay at first, and then after about 5 minutes she started to tremble so I brought her back inside.

Incision looks really good---no swelling, redness or drainage.  I can actually touch very close to the incision line & she is okay.  She has some "stubble" growing back around the incision.

I wish she was more alert, but I guess that's the gabapentin, and I'd rather have her calm & not in pain than awake & alert with pain.  I am not as nervous as I was with her, but I am watching over her like a hawk----not like a crazy mother, but just aware of everything she does.  She is eating and drinking water, she takes her pills (hidden in some good rotisserie chicken breast!) and she gets around very well.  I guess it's just a healing process, and just like people, the meds will get weaned down in time and she'll start her recovery to re-gain strength and lose some blubber!  I am so proud of this little girl----but now I am like a freak.  I noticed a dark spot on her snoot today---like a little birth mark/mole.  It is the size of the head of a pin, and now I am freaking out about that.  I don't want to turn into a neurotic mess.