Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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I don't want to appear to second guess my vet, but I am thinking of making some suggestions for TJ post amputation (this Monday).
Right now TJ is on Previcox and Gabapentin, glucosimine and condrointen. I will start adding in Fish Oil once he comes home (after talking to the vet).
I'm sure the vet knows all this, but I want to double check and make sure TJ is getting all I can give him. I don't plan on chemo.
First, I'll make sure TJ is give sufficient pain meds. He doesn't like Tramadol.. but what other pain meds should I expect? Is there a consensus of what works 'better'?
Second, I want to switch Previcox with Meloxicam. Mainly for cost and it seems that Meloxicam is a sort of 'dark horse' yet effective in humans/canines.
I plan to get a heating pad, and I new firm bed for TJ.
Is there anything else?
From personal experience, Athena was given Carprofen in addition to having a Fentanyl patch (which was time release over 4 days). We were sent home with Tramadol, but with instructions not to give it to her until we removed the Fentanyl patch, since they believed it was making her too sedated and drowsy. From seeing her behavior the first 3 days-- until the patch was removed-- it managed her pain as well as I'm sure it could be. I noticed a big difference after the patch had worn out, and she seemed to be in much more pain. So I was giving her the max dosage of Tramadol + Carprofen and I can't even remember how, but from watching how she responded to the drugs... I knew when to start weaning her off the pain meds. Within 1 week, she was just on Tramadol... and 5 days after that, we stopped the pain meds completely.
Others will be able to help out with what other drugs they were given to manage post-amp pain. I guess my big emphasis is make sure they use the Fentanyl patch! So TJ is on arthritis pain meds? Athena has arthritis everywhere, but I guess it's not bad enough to be on long term pain meds. Sorry, I can't help with that. It's great that you're getting a firm bed for him. Sounds like you are going to be well prepared!
Last thoughts, I remember knowing that Athena's pain meds were wearing out because she would start trembling and breathing heavily. I got it timed to know when to give her pills to keep that to a minimum- including setting an alarm for 3am to wake up and give her pills to make sure her coverage didn't lapse.
04/09/13- OSA Diagnosis ~ 04/23/13- Left Forelimb Amputation ~ Carboplatin Chemo (6 total)
July 2006-November 18, 2013
I will always love you, Athena.
I'm sure you have a great vet and it sounds like you have a lot of trust in him/her, but please never feel badly about questioning anything s/he has to say. Too many times pawrents don't, and that can lead to problems like undiagnosed conditions. Many members have had cancer diagnoses dragged out for months (including me) because we didn't question our vets.
Always remember that vets, like human doctors, aren't perfect, there's no way they can no everything so it's up to pawrents to be good medical advocates to ensure that the best care is given. You're off to a great start! Listen to this interview we did on Tripawd Talk Radio with Dr. Nancy Kay, which discusses being a good medical advocate for your pup.
You are asking great questions and a lot of them, such as what kind of pain meds to ask for, and what to expect after surgery, are addressed in our ebooks library and throughout the Tripawds blogs . Jerry's Required Reading List is a great place to get many of your questions answered. Also check out our Tripawds Nutrition Blog for some great dog cancer diet tips and suggestions that members have provided. I hope this helps!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My pug Maggie came home with a fentanyl patch and Tramadol for pain, no anti inflammatories, but on some other meds common for mast cell cancer. I think we used tram at the same time as the fentanyl. For comparison my quad pug Obie had a very invasive knee surgery in February and came home with a fentanyl patch and was on tram at the same time, he definitely needed both the first few days after surgery. Maggie tended to get agitated on tram, but I felt that both of the pug's pain was managed well on the combo of fentanyl and tram. Again for comparison- Maggie was off pain meds at the end of two weeks after her amp, Obie was on tram for almost 5 weeks after knee surgery.
The only other pain med I have a lot of canine experience with is Gabapentin, my quad pug Tani takes it for her arthritis. I'm not sure alone it would be strong enough for surgery recovery. Tani won't take Tramadol without a fight.
It's important that you are an advocate for TJ. One of the things I love about my vet is that she doesn't take offense or get defensive when I ask a lot of questions.
Hows the traction
in your house? You can use throw rugs or yoga mats to cover slippery floor surfaces like tile or wood. It's really important for new Tripawds to have confidence that they won't slip. And it would be good to have some ice packs or something to use as ice packs on hand. For the first few days after surgery ice is usually recomended over heat.
Good luck on Monday!
Karen
I usually put on a Fentanyl patch the day before surgery and leave it on for 5 days. Most major surgeries go home with an NSAID (meloxicam, etc), tramadol, and gabapentin for 7-14 days depending on the dog and pain levels. We always use an MLK drip during and after surgery to control pain (a type of morphine drip).
If your dog is doing well on Previcox then I wouldn't change to meloxicam until your dog is completely recovered from surgery.
Pam
Our vet went with Piroxicam over Meloxicam as A) it is less expensive, B) seems to have a more proven anti-tumour record (they are in the same class, but I think more studies have been done with Piroxicam) and C) the pill was easier for Sam than the suspension. Meloxicam does tend to be easier on the tummy for some dogs, as it's a suspension, and doesn't sit in the stomach waiting to dissolve.
All that aside, Sam stopped eating while on meds, so we had to put him on prednisone, meaning we had to stop the piroxicam.
One thing you might look into is mushroom supplements...we have been taking the K9 Immunity plus, but there are many different types/brands--your vet may even carry some. (Ours does, but it is only shitake/maitake)
ETA: We did not have a fentanyl patch. It's SUPER toxic, so I didn't want to mess with it, and Sam is very med sensitive, so we tried the least amount we could get away with. He actually handled the surgery and post-op pain fairly well, and I am glad we didn't go with the fentanyl. But that's just our 02.
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
mmrocker13 said
you might look into is mushroom supplements...we have been taking the K9 Immunity plus, but there are many different types/brands...
You will find plenty of discussion about this in the forums, blogs and Tripawds e-books...
What is Apocaps apoptogen formula for dogs?
Mushroom therapy tips to fight dog and cat cancer.
AHCC cancer therapy same as K9 Immunity
Search the forums above for additional topics and search all blogs for more informative posts.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My impression of the patch from folks here is that once it's off, funky things happen to your pup. Withdrawal? Maybe it's stronger than the rest and therefore they're in pain once it's out of their system? From the stories I've read here, I'm thankful Jackson's pain management never included the patch. He was on carprofen (=Rimadyl) and tramadol. He was on tramadol for about a week, then nothing - cold turkey. He's still on carprofen, but that's for his metronomic therapy. His current drug and supplements are:
AM: fish oil (between his AM and PM dose, he gets about 1800mg EPA and 1035mg DHA per day), BSST (dose according to Only Natural Pet), carpofen & cyclophosphamide (=cytoxan), and 1 hip & joint plus (from Pet Naturals of Vermont).
PM: fish oil, BSST, and MUSH.
He's not on a grain-free kibble, but at least his kibble has whole grains: oatmeal, barley, brown rice. He also gets tasty addons: kale and swiss chard are the current choices, but others include brussel sprouts, broc, cauliflower, carrots, apples, bananas, beets, red and green bell peppers, etc.
Good luck!
~ Katy
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!
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