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Three Days Post Surgery Behavior Question
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Member Since:
20 September 2017
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27 October 2017 - 5:03 pm
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Yay good post surgery news!  No spread to lymph nodes and the surgeon thinks she is doing GREAT.  He and the nurse told me what a nice dog Maddie is and that even though she's scared/anxious , she's so POLITE about it lol.  Apparently everyone there really loved her!  Anyway, turns out she had no stitches to be removed (who knew?  the discharge notes said suture removal 10 to 14 days).  He said they were all inside - nothing to remove.  I felt like a dummy - none of us even noticed there were not sutures outside!  He said her incision looks "perfect" and that it's time to let Maddie be Maddie.  I asked him about her reluctance to drink and the ammonia smell - he thinks it's the pain meds, said she should be off by now.  Told me to stop them because the osteosarcoma is no longer causing her pain and her incision is not painful anymore either.   She walked REALLY far and hopped in and out of the car really well.  I'm so proud of my girl.  She's now passed out but not before getting some doggie frozen yogurt from the pet store.  Thankfully she drank half a bowl of water when we got home too.   All in all a great post-surgery check up.  I asked about chemo and he said to start asap. So hopefully we are on to the next phase of her recovery.   He suggested physical therapy/rehab if she seems painful from the change in her gait but thinks I should give that time.  Thank you all for the support - especially Teresa and Sally who always responded to my crazy fears right away.  I felt so much better about everything thanks to you!!!    

Bobbi & Maddie a/k/a ManiacMads

Front leg amputation 10/17/17 due to Osteosarcoma

She's Madeline, She's Madeline

On The Road


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27 October 2017 - 5:15 pm
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Now THAT is a great way to kick off the weekend! YAY!

He suggested physical therapy/rehab if she seems painful from the change in her gait but thinks I should give that time. 

I'm not a vet so take this for what it's worth, but after talking to vet pain management experts through the years, if we wait until they actually show that they're hurting, then there's already a problem. So don't wait. She's in a good place right now and you can easily find out how to keep her there through canine rehab. In fact, we (aka Tripawds) believe so strongly that an evaluation by a professional licensed canine rehab therapist can help a new amputee get off on the right path, that the Tripawds Foundation will even pay for your first rehab visit ! Click on the link for details and make that appointment, you'll be so glad you did!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Virginia







Member Since:
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27 October 2017 - 11:18 pm
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LOVE UPDATES LIKE THIS!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 WOOF!!  WOOF!!!  Way to go Maddie girl! 🙂  And what a great way to celebrate with frozen yogurt! 🙂

And you had every reason to take her in for suture removal!   It's what the instructions said for one thing!  Additionally the incision often hides the stitcnes pretty darn well. 
This just makes me so happy 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂  Maddie had a long day and I'm sure she's resting well as she dreams a ojt more frozen yogurt! 🙂

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!



Member Since:
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28 October 2017 - 3:47 am
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WOOOOHOOOO 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

What GREAT news, that Maddie of yours is a real champ 🏆🏆🏆 

I'm SO glad all is marvellously well and she does not need water feeding 😁

Maybe she read my post and said "what ???? No way ! I can drink on my own ☝🏼 thank you very much, Eurydice !)

And YAY to Sally who pinpointed the pain meds as the possible cause, well done sweetie 💕💕💕

You made my day 😃

Now on to chemo and gallop away sugar bun 💗

How about pictures ???????

Sending you a BIG hug and zillion ear scratches to our wonderful girl 😘😘😘😘🐮💫✨🌹🌟

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 

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28 October 2017 - 7:44 am
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Ha - maybe she did say "no thanks" to the turkey baster!!!  I told her that's what we were going to do if she wouldn't drink.  She is eating ice but still not drinking a lot so I'm off to get vanilla bean ice cream to try adding to the water.  I tried everything else.  I also think she's still a bit drugged from the anxiety meds they have me give her before the visits.  She did eat this morning (baby food and instinct medallions) so I'm going to get a rotissiere (sp?) chicken and take all the skin off and try that too.  I will definitely check out rehab, it makes sense to do that BEFORE pain starts.  I cannot figure out how to post pictures on the forum.  SO I'm going to try just pasting:

IMG_0119.jpgImage Enlarger

My daughter took some in the car yesterday, which she will send me.  We saw another Great Dane at the surgery center and I just cross my fingers he wasn't there for this nasty cancer.  He was beautiful - a slimmer, younger version of Maddie!  Also, she was 167 lbs pre surgery and she's down to 155.  The surgeon thinks she can lose a few more and says it's better for her, so we're shooting for 150-152.  

Bobbi & Maddie a/k/a ManiacMads

Front leg amputation 10/17/17 due to Osteosarcoma

She's Madeline, She's Madeline

Virginia







Member Since:
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28 October 2017 - 10:16 am
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Sweet picture.  She looks very comfy!

Now, there is a trick to the "Drinking Water Infused with Ice Cream Therapy":-)  Happy Hannah  eeded to get a taste of the ice cream off the spoon (vig spoonful!) first as Im owered it intto her water bowl.  Then she followed the scopp down and drank it with the water.  You may jarve to swirl in an extra scoop at first to get her fully engaged! 🙂  I used organic to be "healthy"!winkerwinker

Let us know how it goes!

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!

On The Road


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28 October 2017 - 12:37 pm
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You are on the right track! I hope the ice cream trick works and gets her more interested in water. Yep, the meds definitely have an effect on everything so this is just temporary.

I love that you are being conscientious about her weight, and are game for rehab therapy!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
29 July 2016
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28 October 2017 - 7:19 pm
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Hi Manicmads,

Hope Maddie doing better.

we noticed that certain pain meds seemed to bring on the panting in our fighters, but it seems that you have that under control. I agree on the UTI and the water or lack of intrest . a bladder infection delayed the next dose of chemo. As soon as it was treated she started drinking again. Ask your vet if they are for using some Immune boosting and cellar care supplements, usually found in more holistic veterinary care. our second dog developed the same osteosarcoma but we found lung metastasis almost right away so we opted out of surgery and chemo. he lived almost as long after diagnosis but he walked on his leg right up to his journey over the bridge. he was not in dire straights in the end but the risk of fracture was too high. we believe his quality of life was considerably better. there is a Great Dane in my area who was at 2 year diagnosis anniversary and just over a year after surgery  the last i saw him a few months ago, near his 10th Birthday, they did not do any chemotherapy. We had no idea with our first but given this problem in the future we would start right away on immuno thearopy, Cell care, and CBD if diagnosed early enough. i cant say exactly how it helped them but EVERY time we ran out of either or had trouble getting refills they declined in overall health, then rebounded when we got more. we believe our bodys have the power to fight cancer but have trouble seeing the rouge cells because they are our own cells that have gone out of control, but they look like normal cells to our immune system. we believe this type of protocol would help the body fight by assisting in communication within our body's and possibly break down the cell wall of rouge cells so the body sees them as damaged. I'm no Doctor but i think chemo and radiation are similar in that they damage the cells defense mechanism but they are not so picky. and every body and chemistry are a little different so all we can do is try.

I think i hear a soap box creeping up behind me so before i start rambling...

keep us posted . many tail wags headed your way...

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29 October 2017 - 1:10 pm
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I'm back with another question (and thank you all for responding to all my prior questions!).  So Maddie spent most of the day yesterday sleeping off  the tranquilizer from her Friday vet visit.  She loved the ice cream in the water and by yesterday dinner time she was eating and drinking normally again.  The surgeon took her off all pain meds on Friday (so she hasn't had pain meds since Friday morning and anti-anxiety meds Friday afternoon).   She slept great last night and was up and back to her normal pre-surgery self this morning.  Then about an hour ago after coming in from a hop out to pee, she started panting and couldn't seem to get comfortable.  That's when I noticed the area where her shoulder/leg used to be moving/twitching?  It's almost like she's trying to move the leg that used to be there?  Is that normal?  I iced her incision and she fell asleep but even while it was being iced, it kept moving.  She is not yet 2 weeks post surgery so my first concern is phantom limb pain since she's off the gabapentin.  I always worry that she's in pain but also don't want to over react and assume it's phantom pain if it's an expected post amputation occurrence?  Thank you all for your help! 

Bobbi & Maddie a/k/a ManiacMads

Front leg amputation 10/17/17 due to Osteosarcoma

She's Madeline, She's Madeline

On The Road


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29 October 2017 - 3:02 pm
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I noticed the area where her shoulder/leg used to be moving/twitching?  It's almost like she's trying to move the leg that used to be there?  Is that normal?  

Usually it is. Our own Wyatt Ray has a stump that still twitches occasionally, eight years after his amp. During the first few weeks of recovery it may twitch more than usual as the brain and body make that connection that the leg is gone. But if it doesn't stop, then let your vet know.

Is she yelping at all or crying out? Phantom leg pain is usually associated with other symptoms like that. If she continues to be anxious and unable to relax, give the vet a call, she may require a longer round of pain-relief medications.

Glad to hear that you're super conscientious about her pain indicators! Good job! 

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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30 October 2017 - 7:40 am
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no yelping or crying out (she did that once several days ago - but not since).  She'll be laying there and all of a sudden it will start to twitch/move and she "sits" up and tries to reposition herself.  She is not panting anymore but she is still a bit restless and struggling to find a comfortable spot to lay.  I'm going to call today to schedule her first chemo and physical therapy consult, so I will also leave a message for the vet who did the surgery and ask about this.  

Bobbi & Maddie a/k/a ManiacMads

Front leg amputation 10/17/17 due to Osteosarcoma

She's Madeline, She's Madeline

Canada
Member Since:
7 July 2017
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30 October 2017 - 8:31 am
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Maddie and Mum, it sounds like you are on top of your recovery and are passing with flying colours! No stitches heh?! That’s phenomenal!

Stewie is now 3 1/2 months post surgery and occasionally he will jump out of his sleep. Sometimes with a yelp and sometimes not. I am considering putting him back on the Gabapentin, but first want to see how his acupuncture treatment continues... he has had one session so far, along with Ortho-Bionomy and his sudden jumps while sleeping and his licking has dropped considerably. Tomorrow, he is off for his blood work for his final Chemo (#6) and then goes for his acupuncture treatment after that.

Did you ween Maddy off the Gaba slowly, as it is important to do that with Gabapentin. I was taking it for a long time, but they still recommend slowly lowering the dose. Stewie was on it before surgery, as soon as we decided that we would amputate and I started weening him off it after his stitches came out.

Never worry about over reacting, it is better to be overly cautious, than take for granted that they are fine. It’s at times like this that we need to teach our dogs to be more Hooman! They just need to kick back, drink lots and enjoy the roses! (and then of course they’re allowed to pee on them!  🥀 )

Take care Maddie and Mum. Hope to see more pictures of your girl soon.

All the best from Petra, Stewie and his pack!❤️

On July 10/17 I became a Super Tripawd! You can find out more about my Pawrents Allensong but first Check out my 🎗 journey Super Stu Remember...“live in the moment!“  

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