Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Now that Shelby finally has the Gabepentin, the phantom pain seems to be gone. Question for you.....she was prescribed 42 capsules with 2 refills. I know she gets one of these daily but I also read somewhere that stopping it abruptly can have side effects. I was under the impression initially that this medicatioin was on an *as needed* basis but I guess I was wrong.
I will call her surgeon this morning but just wanted your thoughts.
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Denali gets 1 pill twice a day - the vet said I could take her up to 2 pills twice a day. Her dosage is 100MG per cap. I too read about having to slowly bring them off, my vet did not discuss it with me - he did however say that it's not a perscription that the office normally scripts out with amputation. My plan of action was to give Denali it at 1 pill twice a day for 1 month and then take her down to 1 a day and then once every other day and then off completely.
~~~~ Denali ~~~~
June 9, 2010 OSA suspected
June 17, 2010, July 14, 2010 Clear X-rays – no mets
July 1, 2010 Amputation
July 9, 2010 OSA Confirmed
November 23, 2010 Cancer took you from me - Never forgotten, Always Loved - Forever
Supporting the Fighters, Admiring the Survivors, Honoring the Taken, And never, ever giving up Hope
Following Mackenzie's surgery, she was on Tramadol and Gabapatin for about 10 days (if I recall she took Tramadol 3x per day and Gabapatin 2x per day - I could be off on that but I do recall that it was more than 1x day.) The surgery can be very painful the first few days so my vets advised keeping her on this medication on a regular basis until she was ready to be weaned off it like around the 10th day. Managing the pain is a real balancing act because overmedicating and not having enough medication can cause side effects either way so from my experience I had to watch this very carefully. Once we took Mackenzie off her pain meds though (after about the 10th day - lessened the dosage each day) she made a complete turnaround physically and mentally. But it's of one of those things where you need the pain meds but they do cause side effects unfortunately.
Good luck to both of you during this recovery - it can be trying at times but sounds like Shelby and Denali are doing pretty well so far! 
Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
I'm admittedly very blessed that Shelby hasn't had any adverse reactions to any medication thus far. She's on 100 mg. Tramadol 2-3 times per day and now the Gabepentin just once a day which I give at night.
I already see such an improvement in her pain management . They're such stoic creatures, but when she screamed out, I knew it was pain. She can be a bit of a whiney girl when she's ex-penned or when I'm not in the room, but she was that way for the 2.5 months I fostered her before her sx last Friday. She is a Mama's Girl and hates to be away from either me or her foster siblings. I don't coddle her and I basically ignore her and eventually she figures out it's not going to work and she gives up!
One week! Yay!! It's our one week Ampuversary!
shelbysmom said:
She is a Mama's Girl and hates to be away from either me or her foster siblings. I don't coddle her and I basically ignore her and eventually she figures out it's not going to work and she gives up!
One week! Yay!! It's our one week Ampuversary!
With this kind of attitude, you will go far! It's soooooo hard not to respond to whining and crying with hugs and consolation, but sometimes it's the worst thing a pawrent can do. Acting as if things are "normal" is one of the best ways to keep recovery on track. Good Job! and Hoppy Ampuversary!!!!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Awwwww.....thanks Spirit Jerry! Coming from you and your pawrents, that means the world!
I'm so happy that the meds are doing their thing and you are so in tune to it all...you are handling it great!
Happy Ampuversary!
Thanks for the kudos 🙂
I'm still tired, though….LOL
I have decided that ex-pens are a *must* if you have more than one dog AND if one of the other dogs has mobility issues (Frankie) and might inadvertently stumble or fall on your TriPawd. Even though Shelby is a golden retriever, I have 3 of the shorter (24-32" height) ex-pens….one set up in front of my computer desk….one in the living room….and one in the bedroom. It just keeps Shelby safe when Frankie loses her balance.
Ditto! It sounds like you have it covered. That's great that you're already seeing improvements in Shelby's pain management . Happy 1 week Ampuversary too! Sounds like you are over the worst. When I was going through this surgery, I didn't really know too much about this website and learned a lot by trial and error. Had I to do over again, like Jerry said, I would have treated Mackenzie more normally and not get so worried and freaked out by every little thing that didn't seem normal.
We'll be keeping our paws crossed that Shelby continues to do well!
Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
I'm so tickled to hear Shelby is doing well! AND YAY! 1 week down, just one more before the best of times start! (it's probably a little early to celebrate with ice cream? NAY! Go for it!)
I'm old school - I hug and make a big scene when they cry! Crying from a dog is like a stab in the heart for me. Comet even knows the phrase, "Are you okay?" so well that she tells me if it's real or fake!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Happy 1 week ampuversary Shelby!
So glad to hear that you're feeling better! 
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
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