Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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After some backing and forthing and more research here and elsewhere -- and a second opinion from another vet and after a visit to her oncologist again today -- I decided to try Palladia for Lexie, assuming we get good blood work results tomorrow. Hopefully this step will help manage the growth of the lung mets given her aggressive cancer and give her better quality of life. [More on the treatment options and what led us to this point here.] We may explore Chinese herbals and holistics down the road.
Today when we went to the onco vet Lexie was happier than usual, which was great to see. In the waiting area she tried to get every other dog to play with her...and most of them liked her right back. It was too cute to see her doing a play bow on three legs (so glad I had brought her mat so she didn't slip). I wish I had gotten pics! The best part was everyone in the waiting area was asking about her, and commenting on her energy and how well she was doing. When they asked how old and I told them 13 they couldn't believe it.
That made me feel better, and the whole experience today and seeing her feel so good made me think that she thinks that we're doing the right thing.
We'll start with a low dose of the Palladia see how she does, and we'll alternate Palladia with Deramaxx NSAID for arthritis and pain management . She'll still have the Gabapentin and Tramadol as needed for her non-Deramaxx days (and possibly the Palladia days as well). She'll also have sucralfalte (sp?) to prevent stomach upset and GI issues.
More updates tomorrow after we hear back on blood work and latest lung scans...fingers and paws crossed!
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
Good Deb and Lexie!
Good, you've got a well thought out plan that really seems to be "Lexie-specific"! You are doing everything possible for your girl and she knows it. I'm glad you got thtat second opiniom too. 
AND, most importantly, Miss Lexie is showing the world how senior tripawds can bring out their "puppy" whenever she has an aduience eating out of the palm of her paw!! Yes...take your video next time!! We want pictures!!
I bet she'll sleep well tonight.....I think Mom will too!!
CHEERING FOR OUR SWEET LEXIE!!! Love that girl!
Love and hugs!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Oh terrific, having a plan is such a relief. I hope you got good news from the lab work today.
We'll be curious how the Palladia treatment goes, so keep us posted. Since not too many members have used it over the long term we'll be following Lexi's progress closely. Keep us posted OK?
Lots of good wishes coming your way!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Deb
Great that you have a plan for Lexie's ongoing care!
I'm so glad to hear that Lexie has adapted well to her new reality and showing the world (or at least the other pups at the vet's office) that life is good on three legs.
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
A plan!!! A plan!!! Is powerful. Congrats! I, too, agree that a 13 year old lady is still quite young. She's perfect. PERFECT!
~ Katy & Jackson
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!
Hi everyone, and thanks so much for the support and good wishes. Unfortunately the Palladia and Deramaxx didn't agree with Lexie. She had more than the usual GI issues and was yelping and crying out with stomach pain periodically, so we took her off both. Hope to get results of chest X-rays Friday to see how the mets look; fingers crossed that they're not much worse than before.
After we get the results of the chest X-rays we'll decide talk to our onco vet and decide what's next...maybe more Cytoxan and Metacam (after the NSAID washout period) or maybe Prednisone if mets look worse. I think the GlycoFlex III we've been giving her for arthritis is starting to help.
On the good news front, when I got home from work she ran up the stairs to greet me. And Thurs. night we had a nice long walk (with several breaks). I'm giving her extra Tramadol to take the edge off during the washout period. I'll update more when I hear about the chest Xray.
Happy Hoppy Friday, everyone!
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
Hi Deb,
I've been away at a conference and am just now catching up. Sorry to hear the Palladia didn't work out, it's not uncommon unfortunately. I know it's hard to make that kind of decision but knowing that she has a great quality of life without it brings peace of mind. How did the x-rays go?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Deb,
So sorry to hear that Lexie's going through this! How lucky she is to have you - you're clearly doing all your research! Keep us posted.
Thanks for asking, Rene (and hope Blog Paws was great!). We had a bit of a Seinfeld episode / Who's On First routine with getting the X rays read, unfortunately. Should get the official report Monday. Unofficial version is they've grown somewhat but we're not sure to what extent. Good news is that her lungs sounded pretty clear according to the ER vet we took her to over the weekend...she was still having some random pain and yelping here and there, and we wanted to make sure it wasn't something worse.
Pain appears to be hips/arthritis and it was during the washout period between NSAIDs, and just got her back on the Rimadayl today. Hoping to get a PT appointment this week and try to find a dog swimming facility somewhere.
Fingers crossed on X rays... We may try metronomics again depending on what's there and what our oncologist thinks. Will update when we know more. Meanwhile, we're just trying to 'Be More Dog ' and think positive. We're also being distracted by not just one but two visiting monkeybutts. We knew about our first guest, Lexie and Milo's 'cousin' Daisy; the second one was a surprise when the other cousin dog's original dog sitter fell through.
All four cousin dogs get along well and spent Christmas together in pretty close quarters. We think the company will be good for both Lexie and Milo...we'll definitely get some pics of all of them together.
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
Thanks, Emily. We'll definitely keep you posted...and Happy Ampuversary to Rosco, btw. Glad he is doing so well!
It sure has been a fast month, hasn't it?
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
Oh wow the cousins are going to be a really fun distraction for Lexi!
I hope you got good news back today. Thanks for the update about what's going on. At least you know he heard clear lungs, that's awesome. Paws & fingers & tails crossed that the radiographs reflect more good news.
Yes, Blog Paws was fantastic! More on that in a bit as soon as we gather our scattered wits. It's amazing how four days away really throws your world into a tailspin when you get back to life!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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