Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello,
Marion weighs 56 lbs. She is taking:
Amantadine: 100mg every 12-24 hour
Gabapentin: 200mg every 8-12 hours
Carprofen: 50mg very 12 hours
Trazodone: 150mg every 8-12 hour (we have skipped this.. she is a very chill girl. But we will give it if she gets restless)
Katie
IF...IF...she shows any pain signs you still have a little wiggle room with the Gaba. Sounds like the protocol is working though.
Yes, dropping the Trazodone should help her get her sea legs. She's not anxious or trying to climb wallls so she doesn't need sedation . The Traz does nothing for the pain...just sort of knocks them out.
Hugs
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'd agree that the Gabapentin dose is pretty low for a dog her size. We aren't vets, so this is just based on what we've seen with other members (and my own dogs). I would see if your vet can prescribe Gaba in 100mg tablets. Smaller increments are good for fine-tuning, so you can see if a 300 mg dose at 3x daily works for more pain relief.
Oh but I do want to add that overall, it's a great pain relief plan, lots of bases covered there especially with the Amantadine. I like how they think!
Good morning,
Marion is doing well. I was worried how she would adjust herself in the night and she has already figured it out. Unfortunately, it is snowy here. She desperately wants to roll in it. We are trying to keep potty breaks to all business at the moment.
Regarding her pain meds, the Gabapentin is 2 100mg capsules every 8-12 hours. We were doing all the pills at breakfast and dinner. But I’m worried about the hospital meds wearing off so we will do 2 100mg 3x a day starting today.
She is in bed, happily lying on an ice pack.
thanks,
Katie
Aww so happy she's spunky enough to want to play in snow! Smart move to keep her chill right now.
As for the gaba I think the 3x daily sounds like a good plan! Paws crossed!
Good morning,
Marion is still doing well overall. We might have had our first phantom pain
yelp last night, or it was just a pain yelp. She got up to re-adjust in the night and was laying on her incision side (she often does) and let out a little yelp. She fell right back to sleep after it.
She was able to hop a bit further on her potty break this morning. We have been putting a heating pad on the seroma
(per the vets advice), but it does not seem to be going down yet.
Take care,
Katie
Hello,
We have been using the heating pad on what looks like a seroma at the bottom of her incision. There has been no change with that one, but now it looks like there is fluid at the top of her incision too, up by her neck. Vet said not to get it wet, so we have not done the wash cloth method yet. Any suggestions? How long does it usually take to see a change?
Thanks,
Katie
First of all, glad to hear Marion seems to be adjusting a bit better every day.
FWIW, the yelp you described doesn't sound severe enough to be phantom limb pain, but rather more like an "owee" from movement and maube stitch ouch. Phantom pain would most likely be more of a scream rsther than quick yelp and instant action trying to run away from the pain. Often it takes many minutes before they calm down .
Can only speak bas3d on my seroma experience with Happy Han ah. She had rear leg amputation and the swelling was more arpund the bottom of the Winter and then it moved more to her tummy on that side. I called it a saggy boobie appearance. Cant recall how long it took to reabsorb, but I do remember it came back a second time, not as big and not as long lasting. In her case their was never any leakage from the incision itself.
Again, FWIW and if I recall correctly, the Bet had me GENTLY massaging around the fluid area...the incision ares
Just continue to keep your Vet in the loop and send pictures if the incision is leaking anything other than mostly clear...no smell...no puss, etc. Maybe ask your Vet about cold compress instead of the warm heat pad....just a thought.
Hugs
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!
Thank you!! There is nothing coming out of the incision. Just saggy at the top and bottom. She has loose skin anyway so I didn’t notice the top right way with the neck rolls in thunder vest.
But she is in good spirits, she just tried to play with a toy.
Thanks again !
Katie
HI Katie, it does sound like a typical seroma . Since there is nothing coming out, that's my guess. Fluid has to go somewhere when that leg disappears, it may just be moving around looking for the path of least resistance. Seromas may take several days to go away and reabsorb into the body.
Can you post a photo to show us? If you're still concerned tomorrow you definitely want to let your vet know just in case.
Hello,
I spoke with the nurse last night and they were not too concerned. We put the heating pad on a higher heat and got thinner material between it and her skin, and I think that helped some.
She walked up the ramp for the first time, so that was great to see. Slow and steady!
thanks,
Katie
Slow and steady!
Exactly!!
And YAAAAY for going up the ramp👏👏👏👏👏 Celebrate!!!
Hugs
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!
OH YEAH! She is making great progress.
Nice seeing you last night on the Zoom call, I hope we helped put your mind at ease (((hugs)))
Thanks so much to everyone on the zoom, listening to me cry. As you all know from experience, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. It’s great to see her progress every day. There are ups and downs, but overall we are moving in the right direction.
I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions for when Marion lays on her incision side and she tries to get up. She ends up arching and struggling, and it often seems very painful for her. We have had a few yelps. It’s mostly at night when she does not have her harness on. At times we are able to prop her side up and she can get up, but again it seems to be painful. Any suggestions to help her get out and without pain? (I reached out to the physical therapist too for ideas).
With gratitude,
Katie
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