Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My 9 year old heeler/bc had his front right leg removed on Tuesday due to bone cancer. He had 3 rectal masses removed at the same time. He came home late Wednesday evening and did pretty good through Thursday until Thursday evening when he started yipping here and there when he moved.
Then this morning it happened more and worse, he starts screaming in pain and trying to run away like something is biting his shoulder. Other times its just a smaller yip but he still acts like something is going after his shoulder.
I took him into the vet and he saw his surgeon who removed his chest wrap to make sure nothing was pinching and said everything looked good and to just up his gabapentin. He believes its just zingers/phantom nerve pain.
I feel awful as he is now scared to death to move and acts like something is out to get him. If he can lay in a comfortable position he is fine, but often if he moves, it gets him.
Chest wrap was not replaced, he just has me keeping a thundershirt on him now.
Is this common? How long does it last? Is there anything else that can be done to help him?
Breaks my heart every time it happens.
Hi and welcome to you and your pup. What's his name? Sorry you had to join our club.
I hope you don't mind I moved your post here, but the reason is because yes, unfortunately phantom leg pain is quite common, we see it all the time. Usually, an increased dosage of Gabapentin will help the nerves to calm down. It's great that your surgeon acknowledged the pain and did something about it relatively early on. You should start to see a difference in the next 24 hours. What is the dosage and timing of the Gabapentin, and what does your dog weigh?
But if this doesn't work, don't be afraid to call and let them know. pain management is a fine art that can differ from dog to dog. Sometimes an additional medication like Amandatine can be helpful, and if at all possible, getting him scheduled to see a canine rehab therapist will work wonders too. Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit so it's easy peasy! If you'd like help finding a practitioner just let me know.
Be sure to pay attention to exactly when he reacts, and how often. Write it down so you have easy references when you speak to your vet. My guess is that you'll start to see improvement soon. I know it's tough but you can do it! Try not to panic or baby him too much right now. Keep an eye on his pain levels and stay in touch with your vet. This won't last forever, promise.
Hope this helps!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you!
We had a really rough evening/night. Throughout the night I was looking up what I could do to help and some others mentioned that increased gabapentin actually made their dogs phantom pains worse so I tried reducing him to 1 on his next dose and he actually was better. Kept him down to 1 per dose today and we no longer have the shreaking and bolting! We still have the major muscle spasms and those scare him, but the nerve pain that was associated with them seems to be greatly reduced. Yay!
I have a ton of robaxin I keep on hand for the horses I am debating adding a low dose to help that out. We will see how the night goes.
We are on day 4 of no pooping though. He has been getting miralax per the vet since Friday afternoon. Hoping the reduced gaba helps as well.
Online
So how much does he weight and what was the prescribed dose and frequency at first, and what have you reduced it to now? Others can chime in, but I've never heard of Gabapentin making nerve pain worse in dogs. At the most it can make them extra sleepy. It's really a question for your Vet. Dr Google isnt the best source ometimes🤣😉
And check with your Vet before you add Robaxin too.
Geez, poor guy had rectal tumors removed too? That had to be a whole different kind of pain. Generally delayed pooping is just a side effect of the pain meds, the surgery, etc. Do check with the Vet though to make sure the rectal surgery isn't causing any issues.
Paws crossed for a better night tonight. 💤💤
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!
He is 47lbs and was told we could go up to 300mg every 8 hours. 300 is far too much for him, he can't function at all and the phantom pain was worse. He is doing much better on 100mg/8 hours. Only had 2-3 yelps in the last 24 hours as opposed to screaming every 30-45 minutes the day before. I will continue to play with the dosage to try and get him as comfortable as possible but the only time he has an issue is when he gets the really big spasms so I think if I can get the spasms reduced as opposed to just trying to block the nerve we will be sitting better.
I didn't find it on Google, it was personal experiences in the Bone Cancer support group on FB. Multiple people said when they lowered the gaba, they lowered the phantom pains. I'm glad they said something, seems to be helping us!
I am wondering if it's helping with my dog because he is incredibly tough and since he isn't so drugged up he is mentally more capable of dealing with the pain as opposed to being completely zonked out and then having this searing pain come out of no where. Regardless, it's working so I am happy! I was able to sleep from about 10pm-1am, was up with him from 1-4am and then slept from about 4am-7am. Most I have had in a few days!
Yeah, he has rectal tumors removed too. When we talked to the vet on Friday he didn't think the not pooping was related because he isn't straining or anything, he isn't even trying to go. If he starts straining or freaking out about his butt, then the rectal stitches are probably a problem. So for now we just have a slow to wake back up digestive system which is driving me nuts! If he doesn't go today we will be calling the vet about it first thing in the morning.
Wow I'm so glad things are better. Some dogs do get wonky on certain pain meds, and Gabapentin can be one of them. But honestly in all our years of being here (since 2006) I've never heard of lowering Gabapentin dosage equates to reducing phantom pain . It's usually the other way around. I'm not a vet, but there has to be other factors at play when the pains do get reduced in correlation with a reduced dosage. Of course, it's great when the pain is decreased so yay!
Just for a pain management vet's perspective on Gabapentin please see:
How Gabapentin Works in Tripawds for Acute and Chronic Pain
For the not pooping, you can do things to help move it along, like adding olive oil to his food, steamed squash, canned pumpkin pulp, and even a glycerin suppository (human version in drug stores). But yeah talk to your vet because of the tumor removal there may be something else going on.
I hope things continue to improve!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Our dog, Jet (rear leg amputation 3/19/2021) had similar experience with some of the pain meds (especially morphine). It wasn't so much that it was in increase in nerve pain as it was general agitation and distress which made him want to move, causing pain. We backed way down on the gabapentin with our vet's blessing and added Amantadine. The Amantadine was a game changer for Jet's recovery. Highly recommend that owners of dogs with new amputations discuss the use of the drug in combination with Gabapentin.
Melinda thank you so much for sharing Jet's story! And your experience with the pain management . We really appreciate your taking time to let us know how it went. We are also big advocates for Amantadine too, wish more vets would prescribe it.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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