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Our boy has taken a step backwards during recovery advice needed
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Member Since:
5 September 2024
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27 October 2024 - 3:30 pm
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My trying not to panic
post. We are post op day 5. The last 4 days have been going as good as it can be. Sawyer 5 yrs old (front left leg amp)has been eating drinking pooping peeing going outside with leash slowly and unsuccessfully begging us to go on walks. doing all the things great. That is until today. Hes barely moved can't get him to really go outside and when he does he just lays back down. His back is arched and tail between his legs and his back legs shaking. I pushed on his belly with no response. Still eating/drinking. He's on Tylenol with codeine which runs out tonight and carprofen. His dr didn't give him gabapentin he said if I had some at home and felt he needed it to go ahead. So I've been doing that twice a day they are 100mgs. Am I panicked for no reason? I almost scooped him up today and took him to the er since it's Sunday. I'm just not sure if it's pain,did he hurt his back legs which I don't know how he had absolutely no issues prior to surgery or is this something that is normal and the last few days just have caught up with him. We have been keeping him in his xpen for most of the time unless he's on the air mattress with us. Hasn't left our sight for a minute. I brought him his ball to see if I could get a reaction and he didn't want it and ball is life around here. I'll be calling Dr in the morning but wanted some insight.

Virginia



Member Since:
22 February 2013
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27 October 2024 - 4:10 pm
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Okay....deep breaths!  It's not unusual to see this type of setback, or something similar, this early on.

It is soooo easy for a new tripawd to tweak a muscle, have some sort of back spasms, maybe disc issues, etc. Massage up and down his spine, all around his neck, shoulder area, hips, etc. Does he show any tenseness in any of these area?  With all the caution in the world, a pupper can still easily "overdo", misstep, etc.

The way you've described the tail tuck, arch back, etc, definitely  seems like pain signals .  Five days is way too short for most dogs to be on pain meds for this type of  major surgery.  

How much does Sawuer weigh?  100 mg of Gaba is most likely not gonna touch this kind of pain.  I say that without knowing his weight, so we can address that better once we know that.

Obviously,  NOT a Vet and NOT  giving Vet advice.  You know your pup best.  From what we've seen here though, usually more  pain meds and more rest help.  

Let us know if  the massaging gives you any clue, okay

Okay....dont forget to exhale when you take in thise deep breaths!!

Hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

PS. One other quick thought.....a somewhat firm ved helps dogs dur9ng recovery.  Ones too squishy  or too soft can cause slipping, etc while getting up.

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!

Member Since:
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27 October 2024 - 5:31 pm
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Thank you for getting back to me! I really appreciate it. Sawyer is about 65 lbs. His dr did not want to give him gabapentin as he believes it really doesn't help. I was pretty insistent so he said if I had some at home and if i felt necessary I could add it on my own. So I did. Its my other dogs prescription and the label was for every 8-10 hrs at 100 mgs. They weigh about the same. 

I'm just really concerned the first couple days were not even close to being as terrible as I thought it was going to be. He wanted to play, chew his bones, and chew on his ball. I kept him pretty controlled and as calm as I could. He's a super hyper lab who never stops.

Now I can barely get him outside. I thinks it's definitely pain related it just has to be. Now he only has one more dose of narcotics left and then it's just carprofen from here on out. I'm calling them first thing in the morning do discuss or bring him in.

I was just hoping that this is a normal part of recovery.  I get the ups and downs but this is somewhat concerning especially giving his personality over the last few days.

I've gone over and massaged his whole body for most of the day today and he shows no response except for maybe a little twitch in his hind leg muscle.

Virginia



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27 October 2024 - 6:18 pm
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Thanks for fet4ing back.  Yeah, 100 mg for a 65 lb dog is on the low side.  Of course, again, not giving Vet advice, etc, but you can check dosages for yourself.  You might find  that 300 mg a couple of times a day and you could still have some wiggle room.

Gonna give you a link to check out on Gaba that Rene did in 2022 with Dr Jones and from Dr Downing on pain and Gaba. It may give you more reassurance  about the efficiency  of Gabapentin from their own experience when using it

  https://tripawd.....s-in-2022/

 

    

  maybe a little twitch in his hind leg muscle. .

 

He's a super hyper lab who never stops. 

 

That could be a clue.  Again, one little tweak the wrong way from a "hyper lab" may be the  underlying cause

Hard to be patient and wait til tomorrow, but your Vet should be able to access the situation and find the cause.  Definitely  advocate for more pain meds!

(((((Hugs))))))

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

PS. Will he eat special treats? 

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!

Member Since:
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28 October 2024 - 7:36 am
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I'm so sorry you are going through this. I've been down this road myself and it's extremely difficult emotionally and physically. I fully agree that the pain meds are too low. After surgery, my dog Riley (65 pounds) was on 300mg of gabapentin 3 times per day at the start. I was lucky and had a vet who understood an amputation is a huge surgery. I don't understand why vets give dogs some Tylenol for 5 days and think that will cut the pain.

I don't know your experience with your vet, but would highly recommend talking with another office if they don't want to increase meds. Just my 2 cents. When you add that kind of pain, along with the difficulty of walking a different way I'm sure their back could definitely be cramped which isn't helping.

I'm surprised you didn't mention yelping or jumping up out of nowhere and breathing hard. Those are all signs of pain.

I agree 100% with everything benny55 said.

Again, I'm so sorry and I hope Sawyer can start feeling better soon.

Bill

The Rainbow Bridge



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28 October 2024 - 10:31 am
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Oh I'm so sorry I just saw this. Yes, those are pain signals . Again not a vet but based on what we see here, that pain control sounds like it's not effective for your guy. You are doing everything right by regulating his activity. His body just needs more time and more pain relief to adapt. Without adequate pain management , recovery is all uphill and takes longer.

I'm not trying to diss your vet's practices. It does, however, sound like he isn't following the latest AAHA Pain Management Guidelines, which do call for Gabapentin for this type of surgery. So if you haven't already advocate for Sawyer and get their approval for better pain control (we typically at least 300 mg every 8 hours for a dog his size, for about 10 days or so after surgery). 

Let us know how he's doing OK?

The Rainbow Bridge



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28 October 2024 - 10:32 am
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Also see this interview with veterinary pain expert Dr. Tamara Grubb:

Help Your Tripawd Avoid Pain, with Vet Expert Dr. Tamara Grubb


Member Since:
22 October 2024
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28 October 2024 - 3:55 pm
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I was just reading through the responses and saw where you had mentioned that you were giving a 65 pound dog 100 mg of gabapentin once a day. I agree with the other saying that that’s too low of a dose. My Macy is two weeks post op from a front left leg amputation. She weighs just under 45 pounds. I was given gabapentin and carprofen to give her for 10 days. The gabapentin was 100 mg and they had me give her two of those three times a day. For the Carprofen I gave half in the morning and half in the evening. She goes in for her stitch removal on Wednesday and I think I’m going to ask for some more carprofen. She doesn’t seem to be in pain, but she’s definitely stiffer than she was while she was on the medicine. I hope everything works out and your sweet pup gets some relief.

Member Since:
5 September 2024
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28 October 2024 - 6:40 pm
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Thanks to everyone! We'll after a long night mostly due to me worrying I contacted the surgeon this am. The Dr that preformed his surgery was away at a conference which I knew but I asked when we scheduled thhw surgery what happens if I have post op complications and he's away? I was assured that he was reachable and they have another surgeon on staff to cover. Well, the other surgeon was unwilling to see him or prescribe him any additional meds. The hospital did contact his original surgeon and he was unwilling as well. They told me to give Gabapentin 3 x a day which he never prescribed I just happen to have an old prescription for at home. When I pushed and explained my unhappiness they told me the only way they would see him was to go thro their er and see one of those drs. It would've cost me 500$ to walk through the door. Needless to say I'm furious !!!! I did extensive research on the practice asked all the right questions and then when I need them they let me down. So I ended up calling his primary vet. They saw him today. His exam was fine and said his behavior was most likely pain related. Prescribed Gabapentin 300 MG 3x day and gave him a refill on his codeine and upped the dose on his carprofen she said that was to low as well. That was at 11 am. I gave it to him as soon as we got home and by 230 he was up and willing to go outside and asked to bring his ball with him for emotional support 😍

@rielyfan11 he also was jumping out of a sleep screaming and panting and very restless all day. I did forget to mention that in my earlier post.

My primary vet told me to reach out to the specialist hospital management team and let them know what happened as they refer there all the time.

So I'm hoping this is going to trend upwards for him. My heart is just breaking and it makes my guilt even worse knowing that I choose this surgery for him. I'm so grateful for this group. Many thanks!!!!!!

The Rainbow Bridge



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28 October 2024 - 9:43 pm
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Well first of all I'm so glad he's feeling better! It's amazing what a difference the right pain control makes isn't it?

I'm so sorry about the clinic's unwillingness to work on better pain management . That is so unusual! Is the surgeon a boarded surgeon? If so, there may have been miscommunication between the vet team. It just seems weird that they were reluctant to prescribe the Gabapentin.

Yes definitely bring this up by asking for a talk with the practice manager. I can't recall any members here being charged for adjusting pain meds after surgery. I would also let the manager know that what Sawyer received was likely not in accordance with the American Animal Hospital Association pain control guidelines for this type of surgery. It's important to stay calm and not accusatory, but just to work with them so this doesn't happen to other amputation patients.

You did great by advocating for him and your veterinarian is a real hero!! I hope the recovery continues on this trajectory!!

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