Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone,
We are 6 days post op with our dog Sadie, who had a front leg amp for soft tissue sarcoma that was enveloping her shoulder joint and growing into her chest wall. Great news is, they got it all and no metastasizing into lungs, bone, or lymphs. I've been searching this site non-stop for the past 2 weeks since we discovered the tumor, and knew she needed an amp. It has been so helpful. We need some help figuring out why she is trembling/spasming and panting.
We have been working on finding the right combo of meds for Sadie. We took her of the fentanyl patch early because she was having a bad reaction, and we added gabapentin for phantom pains ( terrifying btw, and I never would have known when it was without this site so thank you). Right now, we are dealing with fairly constant tremors/spasms in her hind legs and panting. She is on tramadol, GABA, rimadyl, antibiotics, and occasional Benadryl to knock her out when she needs it. She's not sleeping much. She is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping all normal. We have begun to taper tramidol, since she is very and not showing signs of pain. Any ideas whether the panting and shaking are from meds? Withdrawal? Pain? Maybe muscle spasms are from cramping from getting used to new gait? She is hunching/tucking her tail and legal. A lot. Spasms stop when she sleeps, but she is not sleeping very much.
We've called the vet and they said no known side effects wold induce this and didn't seem concerned but we are getting concerned 2 days into this... Any ideas??
I meant to write she is very mobile and not showing pain...I know dogs can be very stoic though.
Welcome to Tripawds, your future posts will not require moderation.
You have a lot going on with Sadie. The tail tucking and hunching always means pain in my dogs. Panting can also be a sign of pain, or a side effect of pain meds. Has she taken tramadol before? My first pug was very agitated and would not sleep on tramadol, my other pugs handle it just fine. If you are tapering the tram I wouldn't think it would be withdrawl symptoms- but again- some of those behaviors sound like pain responses. I'm not sure about the tremors and spasms- can you do some massage or maybe some heat on the back legs (away from the incision).
Juggling all the meds is really hard- pain and pain meds give some of the same symptoms. Have you had Sadie on any kind of pain meds before so you can compare how she is acting?
Good luck finding the balance. The first couple of weeks after surgery are full of ups and downs, but you will make it through! Keep us posted on Sadie's progress.
Karen
Thanks for the reply...she was on tramadol for 2 weeks before surgery and tolerated it fine...a slightly lower dose than what she is on now. So maybe it is pain and we will try to stop the tapering for now and see if she evens out? I'm just so worried about her!
Yikes. Poor Sadie has a lot going on. What Karen wrote above contain some good questions. I'll also inquire if she's been on any of these before so that you know her reactions??? Jackson's cousin is on all those (minus the antibiotics and benadryl) and does well. Compare that to Karen's 1 pug and there you go - each dog can react differently to meds. I hear Gaba is great for phantom leg pain
. I'm inclined to think Sadie is having some issues (still) from the patch and all her other drugs. I'd be inclined to have you get her off Tramadol soon and see how that goes. Let's hope she's over medicated and will get back to normal, soon! As you know, from being here for weeks now, that the first 2 weeks are tough. So while she's clearly uncomfortable and not sleeping well, I bet in a week's time things will be better - just by themselves! Sure, rest is very important, but give it another week (bear with it, if you can
) and everyone will be better (and will be sleeping!). Keep us posted.
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Thank you both so much. I will keep you posted. She is sleeping now and hopefully once we get settled in she will go back to sleep and stay that way. She has been falling asleep well at night, but waking around 4 AM and staying up. She lays quietly next to me (we are sleeping downstairs together on an air mattress --sometimes with our other dog) and snuggles. She is being such a trooper through all of this... and yes, I've noticed that the first two weeks are really difficult. It is a week tomorrow and I'm trying to stay positive and think that it only gets better from here.
I will emphasize that her incision looks great, and the trembling is confined to her hind legs...her gait is such that she is clenching her hind quarters when she walks. Again, could be pain, waithdrawl, or just her compensating for one front leg. I have been doing some massage on her, and some heat on her hindquarters; she seems to like both.
I also noticed that sometimes she lies on her incision, and the trembling/spasms stop and she is able to stretch her legs more. Makes me think part of this is her being cramped from lying on one side so much.
Thank you all again for this forum. I will keep you posted!
One of my dogs can't tolerate tramadol. When Sid was put on it after a horrible dental, his behaviour was so bizarre that the young vet we saw thought he'd had a stroke under the anaesthetic, and yes, he shook and panted a lot. He also ran away from me up the garden in the dark, many times, which was just so upsetting. This vet also said it couldn't be the Tramadol, but I'd heard of some dogs not tolerating it well so I asked that he be switched to another painkiller, and it took three days to clear his system and then I had my old Sid back (again, they said that it would be clear before that and it couldn't be the Tramadol, but it was). No sign of paranoia, no sign of bizarre behaviour, just a little panting from pain, which was to be expected.
I would definitely talk to your vet about possibly side effects to something he's on. Tramadol is quite famous for it on the greyhound board I belong to, but it could be something else.
I just know from my own experiences with it that it can cause aural hallucinations which might be very disturbing to a dog, and it can really space you out.
Hi - thanks for the continued help/info/and suggestions. Sadie is down to gabapentin and tramadol every 12 hours now. She is doing better overall, especially sleeping more. Her incision looks great - yellowing out and swelling less. No sign of a saroma, which I was sure she would have because she was so active in the beginning. Still eating and drinking, and even showing interest in a toy and play with her brother (we are not letting any play happen yet). She is still having some shaking - it's not happening when she stands or moves ;just when she lies down and only in her hind legs. She is less hunched when she walks and wagging her tail more. I think it is probably muscular. When you feel her hindquarters, you can feel the muscles spasming.
I'm still worried, but not as much. The vet still thinks it is nothing to worry about, so I'm trying not to worry. I think we will try this level of meds for another day or two and if she still seems stable I'll taper a bit more. Taking it slow to make sure some of her shakes are not from pain as Karen suggested they might be...so hard to tell!
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