Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Just wondering if anyone else had a dog on vinblastine? Mel got his first treatment Friday and started vomiting yesterday. We started him on cerenia yesterday and he felt better last night. He ate some hamburger and rice for dinner and kept it down just fine. He is nauseas again today, no vomiting but no appetite what so ever. Anyone have any similar experiences? Any advice on what I can do to get him to eat. He is such a skiny boy and I would really hate for him to lose more weight 😕
Did you happen to search the forums for xisting topics? I am personally not familiar with it but here are the current forum search results for Vinblastine. In particular, this Ask A Vet topic about Recommended Chemo for MCT mentions minimal side effects. Let us know what else you find out.
PS: Adding tags to new topics will help others find useful information. We've added some to this one.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I am personally not familiar with it but here are the forum search results for Vinblastine. In particular, this Ask A vVt topic about Recommended Chemo for MCT mentions minimal side effects. Let us know what else you find out.
PS: Adding tags to new topics will help others find useful information. We've added some to this one.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I just found this site today and joined; will post my blog on Rusty's cancer very soon.
Rusty had his first intravenous treatment with Vinblastine yesterday around 4PM; they also gave him an injection of Maropitant Citrate to offset the side effects of the Vinblastine. We also have 4 tablets of Maropitant Citrate to be given over the next four days. Rusty slept for 12 hours after we came home, I am sure a lot of it was from the Chemo treatment, but we were at the Dr.'s office for 2 1/2 hours between suture removal and meeting the Oncologist, discussing Rusty's treatment options and getting the intravenous treatment, so he was very tired.
Rusty so far has not shown any side effects from the treatment; his appetite was good this morning and he has been fairly active. This is his first day outside of the recovery room where he has been confined for the past two weeks after surgery and he is enjoying his return to normalcy. The Dr.'s office called about 3:30PM today to see how he was doing and when I gave her the update she said that is great, he is doing better than average. Rusty is only 18 months old, which might help him deal with the side effects.
Holly's not on Vinblastine, but before her chemo her vet gave her an injection of cerenia (not sure I'm spelling that right) and she didn't have problems with nausea. It's probably similar to what Mel received, but might be worth asking about.
About a week after Holly's surgery she stopped eating due to nausea from all the meds she was on. Our vet told us to try browning some ground beef (or boiling it) and mixing it with rice. That worked for a few meals. I also tried some canned dog food - she would eat some of that when I fed her by hand. And chicken broth and rice - she would drink up the chicken broth (I didn't want her to get dehydrated). It seemed to work to try small amounts every few hours instead of her regular 2 meals a day. I'm not sure any of this will help - I hope Mel gets his appetite back soon!
Holly and Susan
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
The main side effects of vinblastine are nausea/diarrhea or bone marrow suppression (common with any chemo drugs). The nausea usually happens within the first few days and can be prevented with Cerenia (maropitant citrate) given 30-45 minutes prior to chemo. The pill form can be given for a few days if needed. The bone marrow suppression usually happens 7-10 days after injection and your vet will probably check a CBC blood test to look for this. The main symptom of bone marrow suppression is lethargy or fever.
Pam
Maggie had vinblastine every other chemo treatment. Looking at my notes the only reactions she had during chemo were after the vinblastine, she tolerated the CCNU very well.
Our oncologist started with a very low dose, and increased each treatment until Mag reacted- which was nausea, and a little loose stool. Once she reacted the dose was backed off to the previous dose that she did not react too. We had Metocopramide for nausea which we used a couple of times.
Late in the chemo treatments she was having trouble with her WBC being too low for treatment, so we got several weeks behind. Mag was lethargic a lot as well- for the reasons Pam explained.
Mag was also on Pepcid daily throughout treatment which probably helped with her appetite.
As far as eating- then I could always get her to eat chicken. Now that we are having eating issues again I have found that about the only thing she will eat consistently is food in what I call chicken soup. I am boiling 1 package of chicken gizzards and hearts, 1 package chicken wings, and a bunch of baby carrots in some water until the meat falls off the bone. I am throwing away the gizzards, some of the hearts, and the skin and fat (Mag is now on a low protein diet). I chop up the chicken meat and carrots. Mag gets the clear broth, a little chicken, and some carrots with her dry food.
Caira Sue would sometimes drink tuna water.
I know how frustrating it is to see our babies not feeling good, and not wanting to eat. Have patience with Mel and keep trying different things until you find something he will eat.
Another odd thing I have found with Mag and her latest bout of not eating- I have to wash my hands before I try and feed her. She won't take food from my hand if she smells lotion, or even my other dog's food.
Karen and the pug girls
Thanks 🙂 I talked to Mel's Dr. last night and we are going to scale down the dose of the vinblastine next week. He seems in good spirits - I have him with me at work and he is alert and interested in every dog that walks in. He is taking the cerenia which helped with the vomiting but his appetite has yet to return. He is also taking zantac twice a day. I got him to eat some chicken last night and he drank a bit of water and took a small amount of boiled hamburger and rice by hand. My vet assured me he should be eating again soon. I haven't tried yet this morning but I brought some hamburger and rice to work to heat up for him so hopefully he will be interested.
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