Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all,
I was just wondering what sorts of experiences people have had with medications/treatments for nerve pain / muscle spasms after surgery.
My husky has quite strong spasms where a nerve seems to fire off and it causes the muscle to contract sharply upwards from his suture site.
I was wondering if anyone has experience with similar things, and was hoping to hear what had worked best for others.
I wasn't sure which forum to put this question in, so I've just stuck it in "Anything Goes". 
Thanks for your help!
-Noni
Hi Noni, thanks for joining us. I put your post here in Treatment and Recovery because your pup's issue sounds a lot like Phantom limb pain, which we have lots of information about. Phantom pain is the nervous system's reaction to the sudden loss of a body part. It's very common in dogs and people and thankfully usually only temporary.
Most people use a combination of a drug called Gabapentin (it's probably under a different name in NSW but your vet can look it up) gentle massage and we recently discovered a product called Farabloc that dog pawrents have said lots of good things about. Here is some for you:
Post Amputation Side Effects in Dogs
Relax and Learn How to Massage Your Tripawd
Tripawds Get Phantom Limb Pain Relief with Farabloc
One Vet’s Canine Amputation Surgery and Recovery Tips
When and why did your pup have the amputation? It sounds recent What's his name? We have other members in NSW, I hope you get to meet them!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Noni,
Gabapentin is available in Australia (I'm in Perth) and it was the drug we have used very successfully for neuropathic pain. Peda had quite a bit of (what we think was) phantom limb pain and we got on to it fairly quickly after surgery. It has fairly minimal side effects although can make them a little drowsy until they get used to it. Starting at lower doses is recommended and increasing is probably a good way to go as a woozy tripawd is not brilliant.
We ceased using the drug about 2 months after surgery as that type of pain seemed to have settled. We recommenced it in December last year as she has quite bad arthritis and it is also a good drug for that sort of pain. She now has it twice a day regardless of how she 'seems' in an effort to keep all pain levels down. As said, she seems to have very minimal side effects (really I can't see any) and it did help with that discomfort after surgery.
She still gets muscle twinges over the surgical area from time to time but these days it doesn't worry her at all. Post surgery she would actually lay on the surgical side and I think that seemed to help her somewhat when the twitches were frequent - of course it may have been just coincidence. Massaging the area (once the wound was healing nicely) also helped.
Good luck - sounds like you are well in tune with your pup's needs.
Kirsty and Peda
Hi All,
Thanks for the replies!
Rade is on gabapentin at the moment. I just wanted to make sure there weren't better ideas I hadn't considered. Our vet is quite skilled, but I figure that a whole group of people with personal experience probably sums up to a better guide in some situations when I can't tell how many cases the vet may have seen.
At the moment he's also on Tramadol (Tramal) but I am gradually reducing that.
Has anyone tried amitriptyline? Or any other treatments?
Will definitely see if Rade will let me give him a massage this evening.
-Noni
Oh that's good to hear that Gaba and Tramadol are in the mix. If the combo isn't working you should definitely ask your vet about other pharmaceutical solutions. As for Amitriptyline, the only dog who's mentioned it here is Skye and her Mom Jean, you may want to PM them and ask about how it worked (last update from Skye was a few weeks ago and she is doing well!).
Trying regular gentle massage can help, and we are also impressed with what we've learned about Farabloc. Experiment and see what works, and in no time at all the phantom pain will dissipate. Let us know what you find as a good solution!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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