Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hoping you vet visit today brings some resolution and some relief for Parker!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Â
        Maggie's Story          Amputation and Chemo
Ditto all the others! Â Hoping you find some answers today.. Â Sending pawsitive thoughts and prayers Parkers way today.
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
The specialists think he was having some phantom pain , but is now having major hallucinations, etc from the Tramadol. The constant crying and shrieking is just not indicative of typical phantom pain and he is way over the top.  Some dogs are apparently very sensitive to this drug. The tramadol is actually making it worse for him and causing him to spiral. So we are to take him off the tramadol and just leave him on the gabapentin to do its thing. We will see how he does and I will keep you posted.
Thanks for all your support.
I sure hope that was the cause, and that taking him off Tramadol helps. My Susie was never on Tramadol, and when I asked about it, the surgeon at the veterinary hospital said it had recently been proven to be way less effective and also to have way more side effects than other pain meds. In any case, after surgery, dogs are usually taken off Tramadol at the two-week post-op checkup, if not before.
I went back and reread your first post, and noticed that he was doing the yelping in pain and vocalizing BEFORE you started him back on the Tramadol. Did you notice the yelping behavior getting worse, the longer he was back on the Tramadol? If so, it could definitely be that what started with Phantom Limb Pain, turned into a full-blown psychotic episode from the Tramadol. Poor Parker!
If it's Phantom Limb Pain, the Gabapentin should help. I imagine it will take a little while before the effects of the Tramadol totally leave his system, and it could also take a while before the Gabapentin builds up enough in his system to calm the nerve pain. I think some dogs are on Gabapentin for a few months, because the surgeon gave me a prescription with the possibility of TWO refills at her two-week post-op checkup.
Hang in there! I know how frustrating it can be when your dog is stressed-out and in pain, and you're not sure what's wrong. 
I really hope things turn around soon for Parker.
((((hugs))))xxxx from Nancy & Susie
Online
Glad you were able to get Parker checked out and, hopefully, a simple and quick solution! YAY!!!!!! 🙂
Yeah, that was a lot of Tramadol given very frequently!
Will be looking for some good updates from here on out Parker! You hear that sweet boy? No more hallucinations and let's knock that phantom pain to the curb!!!!
Extra treats tonight!! And some extra hugs to your humans!!
Love!
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!
I do hope Parker starts feeling better! I'm so glad you were able to get him looked at.
Yeah, Tramadol is a real mixed bag. Some dogs seem to tolerate it but others don't. Many report high anxiety & panting but I can certainly see that high doses could make him hallucinate. We always half-joked that Ellie acted like she was having a bad acid trip on Tramadol---as though she could see bugs crawling on the walls. She did so much better once we took her off Tramadol and I hope the same thing happens for you w/ Parker.
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
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