Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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LOOOOOOVE THE PHOTO!!! The Colonel is definitely back! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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!
Yay for Mosby feeling better!
Otis - 121 lbs pre amp - 114 lbs post amp and now 118 lb Great Dane - English Mastiff X. Started limping on 12/24/16. Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 12/28/16 - amputation of front left leg on 1/6/17. Stitches out and 1st round of Chemo on 1/19/17. 2nd round of Carboplatin on 2/10/17 - 3rd round on 3/2/2017. 4th round was scheduled for 3/22/17 - however due to low WBC postponed - 4th Chemo completed on 3/28/17. Had breathing difficulties, stayed in Tufts ICU overnight. Due for 2 more rounds of Chemo but we are opting to go with homeopathy with Dr. Loops instead.
Maybe we were too quick to blame the Cipro. Mosby has lost interest in food and water again, and it's breaking my heart. His back has been hurting him (I'm sure from playing, even though his daycare was super careful), so maybe it's that. He had acupuncture yesterday, but that didn't seem to help this time. He just turns away from food like he can't even stand it being near his face. He hasn't had any med changes, etc. And in terms of pain-related anorexia, he would have gladly wolfed down a can of wet food pre-amputation. So if it is pain, he's in even more pain than he was with the osteosarcoma tumor. Whatever is going on, Mosby doesn't deserve it. All we can do is just hope he feels better soon. Since it presents like nausea, we gave him some cerenia hoping it will make him feel better (the ondestatron (sp?) makes him incontinent). For one day an ice pack really gave him relief on his back, but he didn't want it yesterday. Might try a warm pack later today, just in case he likes that. Poor Mosby. 🙁 🙁 🙁
I am so sad to hear this. 
I was really hoping it was just the Cipro and he would be able to get back to enjoying life, especially after the really great day he had at daycare. We will be thinking about you both.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Okay, complete rest again Colonel! I was avraid you might get a bit too spunky because you were feeling so frisky! You are somethi ' else Mosby!
Didn't the Vet give him some prednisone for his soreness the last time? It seems like it took rest and steroids and the acupuncture to make it better.
And even though Mosby did respond very quickly to the first acupuncture, it seems that usually (and we know Mosby isn't "usual"!) it takes several to get good results.
It's sooooo easy for a tripawd to tweak something, especially if it's already been tweaked once before.
Clearly Mosby has developed a whacky tummy since all this "stuff" started. So even though he ate hardily before the amp, his tummy is...well...a "different" tummy make-up now. Also, for whatever reason, he may be more susceptible to dehydration now and may need another dose of fluids.
Obviously, not a Vet and you need to have a Vet check him out if this continues.
As always, CHEERING FOR COLONEL MOSBY!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Love
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS....When you massage up and down his back, his neck, shoulders a d legs, does he show tension in any particular spot? And the Cipro still could indeed, have been the main culprit a dd this latest nausea is unrelated. Just a "maybe".
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!
Ditto what Sally says!!!
Also, not that this is the case, but...google " Cipro toxicity" and read about the serious side and after effects. And potential repairs from the toxic effects.
The reason I mention this is that Heffalump was a TwoPawd who had multi drug syndrome but was given a chemo protocol during which one of the drugs was, in part, derived from what we would commonly call mustard gas. However, it took A LOT of research on my part to understand that and for Heffalump it just confirmed that the drug compromised ( I strongly believe) his already compromised leg.
As always, best wishes to you and Mosby, hugs, and PyrPaws all around.
What a lovely photo of Mosby! Nice to see his sweet, smiling face. This whole journey seems to be so full of ups and downs; I hope that he is doing better today. I think I would feel pretty sick with any of what our dogs have to ingest, and these guys are a third of our size! I wonder if there is a way to talk to the vet about backing down and then adding in again, like people do when they are trying to figure out what their allergies are. For Luka, the combos have been critical--not so much for eating, but for sleeping, pain, and anxiety, and even then, because the healing process changes, especially with chemo, etc., I can only imagine how fluctuating the body chemistry must be.
Sending healing energy from Portland to sweet Mosby! You guys have been through so much and are doing such an amazing job of taking the days as they come.
Lisa
OK don't panic. Accupuncture sessions (especially the first) can cause a "healing" crisis, where the body starts expelling toxins and the patient actually feels worse for a few days after. This happens in many cases. Let your vet know what's going on, but I'm betting this is what it is.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It first flared up Thursday night, so I don't think it's caused by the acupuncture. I was hoping that the acupuncture would help, and maybe it will over time. Our first acupuncture session went really well. He has a new workup with his PT vet a week from Monday. She's out next week or we would have done it then. The last time this happened he didn't get any steroids, just got put back on the tramadol.
We sat outside today for about and hour. It's pretty nice out, and he loved it, of course I had to put on my winter coat because I'm so cold-natured. The one thing that he has LOVED today is warm packs. He loved the ice pack that first night - leaned back into it like it was the best thing ever. Today it's warm packs. I put it on his lower back and then prop it up with towels between him and whatever is behind him (mostly the side of the couch) and he stretches his back into it and falls asleep. I am glad I have found something that feels good to him! It's so nice to see him relax with it. He's relaxing with one right now - he sees me coming with it and waits for me to get all the padding right so he can snuggle his back up to it.
Appetite is slightly better this afternoon. We'll see what happens with dinner. Drinking has been off/on. I hope this isn't a long-term cipro toxicity. I do think if nothing else the cipro and other antibiotics he was on before that have done a number on his belly. And I was thinking today about the fact that if he has indigestion / acid reflux, guess what that is probably going to taste like ... tramadol. :/
Thanks, as always for listening. Wish you all could hear Mosby signing and grunting with pleasure with his warm pack!
We are now wondering if the pain is also in his other hind leg, in addition to his back. He can't walk anywhere without panting and sometimes pants when he's lying down. I really wish his PT vet was in this week and that I could take her to see him. I just feel like there's something there we are missing and/or something more we could be doing to help him.
My husband and I were talking at dinner about how he's had a lot more bad days than good since his amputation, and that's not why we went into this. The ironic thing is that Mosby has always been so healthy. I had so much hope and happiness on Wednesday when he was doing so well and was so happy. I feel like I'm looking down a tunnel of negative things that are about to happen to him. On Thursday he's scheduled for his next chemo, and two weeks after that we're supposed to remove his sarcoma from his remaining hind leg, and then back to chemo two weeks after that. I feel like he needs a chance to come up for air. We had about 2 good days there, before everything went downhill again. I would probably at this point stop the chemo if it was clear that it was the chemo making him feel so bad, and that if we simply stopped he would feel better. But it's not that simple.
Oh, Mosby. Why can't I help you more? I feel like we are failing him.
YOU ARE NOT FAILING HIM!!!! OH MY GOODNESS! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
I know this is frustrating beyond words. You feel like you've been under a dark cloud for so long, and rightfully so. Remember, you and your hubby are feeling it much worse than Mosby though. He isn't stressed. He isn't worrying. He isn't thinking about the next chemo treatment. He isn't "watching himself" every second to see how he's doing! He isn't stressing about whether he will eat or drink. He isn't feeling sorry for himself. Yeah, this is harder on you than Mosby!!
Has this panting been going on for weeks, or just the last couple of days?
Do you dare give him a tramadol or might it upset his tummy again? Of course, if he has strained something, an anti inflammatory may be needed also.
Are you going to take him in Monday to have the Vet check him over? Do you think xrays would give you any insight? Not even sure what you'd xray...back.. discs...leg...tummy???
I can certainly understand your hesitancy to do chemo Thursday. That's a tough call. Guess the only support I could offer there is, for now, one day at a time. You can make the decision Thursday, or Friday, or even Monday.
Appetite a bit better this afternoon..YAY!!
You painted a great visual of how much Mosby enjoyed the cold pack and then the warm pack. Soooooo sweet! CLEARLY it makes him feel better snd THAT IS A GOOD SIGN!! Makes it seem like it really is muscle related.
Continue with the rest, no horsing around Mosby.
YOU ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE....EVERYTHING POSSIBLE FOR MOSBY and he knows it!!! So please be easy on yourself! It upsets us to have you beat up on our friend (yourself!) like that!!
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((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!
My Otis developed indigestion during chemo, and was put on Pepcid AC after chemo 2, I think. This continued post chemo. Something about hs digestive system had just changed. He never refused food, but he did have problems whenever his stomach got too empty. I started having to get up at 3 a.m. to give him a little kibble. I know poor Mosby has been on almost every drug in the world, but maybe talk to your vet about it?
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
He's been on omeprazole for a while for heartburn / indigestion. I can talk to the vet about whether pepcid would be a better choice. I do think that we need to always make sure he has food in his belly. I think that will help. He is on three painkillers, gabapentin, tramadol and meloxicam, so the fact that he's having break-through pain is somewhat troubling. We've had him on 100% rest (other than acupuncture appointment Friday) since Friday. He's still wishy-washy on food. Thus far today he does seem a little more comfortable, but he's usually the worst at night.
With respect to Thursday, I think I'm going to just tell them what all is up, and have them really check him over, before we make any decisions. I think we may need to totally re-work his chemo protocol, in terms of what kind of ancillary treatment he gets (maybe he gets sub-cu fluids the day of just to keep him hydrated through the first three days, etc.
Anyway, all we can do is all we can do! Just frustrating, as he is uncomfortable and unhappy and we can't fix it. But I'll keep trying. He'll be on strict rest through Thursday.
Okay, here is a thought...maybe he is also sensitive to the meloxicam? If a dog is a bit dehydrated or has concurrent health issues, some complications may arise including inappentance, lethargy, depression, increased panting...
http://www.petm.....am-metacam
So...maybe up the tramadol and reduce the meloxicam, maybe add amantadine rather than meloxicam, maybe keep adding sub-q IF dehydrated? Maybe try to reduce it just for a few days to eliminate the half-life and the idea that it MIGHT be too much meloxicam for him? It just seems as if he is presenting as a dog who is sensitive to drugs and not an underlying disease process at this point.
The reason I mention this is many years ago my horse was prescribed bute but developed such a sensitivity to it that she lost weight, was increasingly lethargic and depressed, etc. The Vet School was treating her so we took them at their word and suspected she had cancer ( grey mare). Nope! She was nearly killed by bute but as soon as my father figured it out and we took her off of it, she became bright and alert and started eating and lived another, gosh, 26+ years.
NOT that this is what is going on but it would be a pretty simple thing to test out if it is...
Hang in there Mosby!!! Enjoy your rest. And spa massages! PyrPaws all around!
Hey--I know you are getting a ton of ideas here and that they are probably all completely overwhelming (everyone is just so invested in your journey!), especially since there are so many things you already have tried and are trying, so just just skip this! I promise this will be my last addition to the deluge!
Luka's panting and pacing almost threw me over the edge a couple of weeks ago because I could not sleep through it myself and was completely sleep-deprived worrying about him. I told the vet, and she prescribed clonidine, which is a sedative. At that point, Luka was on rimadyl and gaba. We had long since tossed the tramadol because it caused this anxiety (but worse), which was evident before the amp even happened. I was very wary about putting another drug into his system, but eventually did it. That first night he slept like a rock and so did I, and I still believe that just being able to get calm for ten hours helped the healing so much. I used it for a few nights (this was a couple of weeks ago) and since then have only used it a couple more times when I can sense a rough one coming on. Also (and this might be totally unrelated to anything but time and a coincidence of e-collar circumstances), I cut the rimadyl on Monday of last week in a concern over liver compromise, and he chilled out SO much after that. There has been no clonidine since then either. This is not to say that yesterday's chemo doesn't have him edgier than usual today. He's super chem/tummy sensitive and has been since he was a puppy (definitely his Achille's heel). Marrow bones have helped. They seem to be naturally calming and provide a distraction.
Jerry's comment about the acupuncture/release is so interesting. That would definitely be a nice answer. And yay for the warm packs/cool packs! Trust your intuition! You know Mosby better than anyone.
Blah . . . blah . . . I know it is too much to take in! Just wish Mosby were feeling better and that there were a magic wand and some fairy dust to fix it all in one sparkling moment.
Lisa and Luka
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