TwiggysMom

This is fantastic news, I am SO happy to hear it!!

A determined & independent hound won't be be discouraged by being 1 leg down. I created a monster by letting Twiggy decide what her rehab would be. Five years later, this now twelve-year-old still out-runs me for hours/miles. She (nor I) wouldn't have it any other way.

I would argue that if you are alive, you have health Issues - it is a requisite of life. Look at your friends, family, coworkers, pets of all species/breeds, and yourself. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but we all have greater or lesser health issues to deal with. These are mostly due to the luck of the draw, or the genetics we had no control over. Twelve years ago, after having all of my pets at that point die from cancer (cats & non-sighthound dogs), I asked my vet "What am I doing wrong????" He said: Nothing. You are giving them the care that they need so that nothing is left to claim them except cancer". Maybe that is true, maybe not, but it helped me at the time. Now, I have the exception to the rule: Twiggy has defeated osteosarcoma (diagnosed/amp'd/chemo'd at 6 years old, now 12 years old), but her kidneys are struggling. Something gets all of us in the end. Greyhounds have as long a life-span or more as any similarly large breed dog. And they are amazing. If you feel one would be a good fit for your home and lifestyle - go for it!

Tanzi may just surprise you & refuse to have any help... But at MH 2015, a woman had this https://www.amazon.com/Doggyhut-Trailer-Bicycle-Carrier-7030202/dp/B00B56P2OC and it seemed to work very well for her guy. I am thinking of you both & sending best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I'm so glad to hear she is out of surgery and recovering. Front leg, correct? I do believe this is a more difficult surgery for recovery, but (in my opinion, only) easier over the long-haul. Do remember the fear-reaction screaming when getting up from laying down is pretty normal in front-leg amp recoveries - terrifying at first, but it goes away over 2-3 weeks. Hang in there, you can both do this!

Ducky, I am SO sorry your beautiful boy is gone. He brought so much joy to so many. Even those of us who never got to meet him in person. He was a wonderful old gentleman and will be greatly missed.

I'm so sorry to hear you are dealing with this again! I am thinking of you & hoping all goes well today

I've been thinking of you & CoCo today, I'm sure post-op is unnerving, but hoping all is as well as can be expected!

I didn't have a separate thread for her, but was posting with some regularity in the Osteo Threads - probably in the ranges of Osteo Thread 4 / 5. Once her infection cleared & she was healed up, Twiggy got 6 rounds of IV carboplatin. I grew uncomfortable with the oncologist who administered the carbo, mostly because she and the rest of the hospital staff made a habit of saying insulting things about Dr. Couto, but also because the last round of IV chemo went very wrong - Twiggy was peeing/pooping blood & the oncologist refused to acknowledge that this was a possibility. (Thankfully, she recovered quickly at her regular vet's office with some sub-Q fluids) After the IV chemo was done I found a new oncologist who knew and had participated in one of the early studies of Palladia along with Dr. Couto. He agreed with the "gold standard" of treatment at the time which was a metronomic protocol of Palladia, Cytoxan, and Metacam. On Dr. Couto's advice, I also gave Twiggy an Artemisinin supplement (which is OTC). Twiggy's system couldn't tolerate the metronomic protocol for very long, and I wasn't going to ruin her quality of life to prolong it, so first we stopped the Palladia, then the Metacam & Cytoxan. The artemisinin did not cause side effects so we continued that for several years. In all, Twiggy received the metronomic protocol for maybe 7-8 months. I believe most oncologists (Dr. Couto included) now feel that Palladia is not as effective as hoped in preventing metastasis, and is not prescribed as often. It also was, and probably still is, extremely expensive. For most of Twiggy's post-amp life, she has been off of medications designed to prevent mets. She has been on quite a few supplements/medications to help her body deal with the extra wear and tear of being a tripod. These include: Duralactin, Dausuquin with MSM, Adequan injections, Krill Oil (chemo messed her digestive system up, and she can no longer handle regular fish oil, but krill oil is ok - go figure), Turmeric, acid blockers/reducers, Tramadol, Gabapentin, and Methocarbamol. I had no idea that Twiggy could do so well for so long, and I never reduced her activity level. I did, however, let her determine how far/fast she would take her recovery. One thing I was very glad to be warned about was a behavior common initially among front-leg amps like your girl & Twiggy - they will often rear up on their hind legs and scream for all they're worth. It's terrifying, & initially Twiggy did this almost every time she tried to stand up. This diminished & eventually went away over the first couple weeks post-amp. This may be in part a pain reaction, but I believe it is also a fear/shock reaction to not understanding why there is no leg where there is supposed to be one. Hang in there - many of us here have been where you are & we are all pulling for you!

You are neither petulant nor bitchy. You love your girl and want to do the best for her I know this is a very difficult time and I hope so much that your girl goes on to further great things

I feel your financial & emotional pain. Due to her infection, Twiggy was never eligible for any trials. I am extraordinarily fortunate to have her still here & doing amazing. But funds are an issue. >$60m at this point (or at least the last time I checked). Being long-term unemployed due to my age doesn't help. But there is no way I can limit her life due to funds now, so I keep trying to do everything I can. When funds run out, there is nothing you can do, and there is tremendous sadness, but absolutely no shame in that. That said, I hope it doesn't come to that for you & that we all hear a steady upswing for you & your girl!

I haven't posted in GT in forever, but Twiggy's situation was very similar to your girl's. In Twiggy's case, she had Pseudomonas A - highly resistant infection, for which the proper antibiotic would not only have been extremely hard to come by, but potentially prohibitively expensive (along the lines of a year's pay expensive). The emergency vet I took her to (not the place she had the surgery, as that was at OSU which is 6 hours away) had an innovative idea - they hospitalized Twiggy for 5 days and used a Vac-Therapy bandage. What this is basically, is a surgical sponge inserted into the infected area, and hooked up to a machine that constantly sucks out the bad stuff. For a large 4-legged dog like a GSD or Bernese Mountain Dog, the machine could be worn by the dog & treatment could be done at home; however with a more dainty new amputee, this was not feasible. After they believed the infection was removed from the area, the surgeon stitched her back up, and she healed good as new (well, minus one leg, lol) You might ask the hospital if they have access to a Vac-Therapy (or similar) for your girl. The hospital I took her to had just gotten theirs, but this was over 5 years ago. And - I'm happy to say that Twiggy is still alive and well today more than 5 years post-amp for Osteosarcoma. She is definitely one of the success stories! I sincerely hope this is just a brief setback for your girl - in the meantime, do NOT beat yourself up, you went into this with the best of intentions, as I'm sure your girl's medical team did as well. Sometimes, things just don't go as planned.

asaccamora - I'm sending out all best wishes for Buffy in her recovery! When she comes home, do remember that the first two weeks are the most difficult. You may even question your course of treatment. It WILL get better. You may want to make out a schedule for her meds which will be a complicated one (one med with food one with out, this med away from the other med, etc. ...) Also, she should slowly improve, not seem more painful. If she becomes increasingly painful or restless, do consult the vet & check for infection. Twiggy developed a life-threatening infection pseudomonas a) and had to be hospitalized for 5 days to recover from it. But in about 6 to 8 weeks Buffy should be about 95-99% of her original self! It is an amazing transformation to watch. Tripods rock! Annette - You bet they will!! (I don't remember what date Gala is this year, but Twiggy will either be almost or just turned 12 by then! Amazing, since she had very low odds of turning 8!) Twiggy is doing very well, & we finally scored a room at the Sidney James for Mountain Hounds, so Twiggy will have her 5th Mountain Hounds as a tripod, can't wait! Is Pogo still being his happy enthusiastic self? LaFlaca - I hope you get a good answer next Saturday about Wendy. I can't speak to her occasional indifference to food, as Twiggy has always been a hungry, hungry hippo. Even in her darkest days, she would eat if I brought food to her. However, if Wendy is more nonchalant about meals in general, I wouldn't take that as a sign of anything in particular. I continue to send good thoughts out to your girl!

Wonderful news! And while Tramadol goes over very well here, I also have heard that it can cause agitation in some dogs. So that could certainly have been contributing. Hug that big gorgeous boy for me! Wendy

I would see about transferring him to Premier. Maybe call them first, and see if they would consult with Dr. Barker and/or follow her pain protocol. Or is it possible that whoever is on duty today at MedVet would be more open to her advice? I'm so sorry you are having to fight to get his meds changed. I hope you can get someone to listen and get Elvis' pain under control.

I'm not sure which hospital you are using, but I would assume CVES as they are the most well known. I prefer Premier at 3927 W. Belmont (formerly called AETC). They also have a hospital up in Greyslake. Twiggy's oncologist is at Premier (but only at the Greyslake location now) - he is very greyhound savvy, as he has had several of his own greyhounds. Twiggy was cared for at Premier on Belmont for her stroke. I'm so sorry to hear things have become so difficult for Elvis - I hope he can turn things around quickly!

asaccomora - I'm sorry to hear your Buffy likely has bone cancer. It is something no one ever wants to hear. As said already, early intervention is better than late. My girl Twiggy is one of the very fortunate ones. She is now >4.5 years post-amp for osteo, and is her oncologist's longest surviving osteo dog (even though 2 of his own greyhounds had it). We live in a 4-story townhouse with steps in/out of the unit. Until about 2.5 years ago, Twiggy had no problems with stairs at all, and she followed me all over the house. Since then, we live in the downstairs room. (who knew living in one tiny room could be so functional! lol) It sounds like you have the ability to manage Buffy as a tripod very well, and I would also suggest that IF you go with amputation for osteo, you also consider chemo. Most dogs handle the chemo very well since it is used at much lower dosages than in humans (Twiggy had 6 rounds of carboplatin - for her the first 4 rounds were non-symptomatic, and the last one was difficult). Of course, you can always choose to reduce, delay or suspend it if you feel Buffy just can't tolerate it on the planned schedule. LaFlaca - I certainly hope Wendy's (odd for me to type that, as it has always been my name... lol) discomfort is just from overexertion/injury that can heal with rest; no one likes to hear that "something" is going on with the bone. Again, I am no medical professional, but I have heard it said that osteo presents within a bone and not across a joint, so I hope that holds true with your girl. Especially when it is early on, bone cancer can sometimes be tricky to recognize for general practice vets (and even specialists, depending on the case). Twiggy's initial xrays were interpreted by her regular vet (who is fantastic!) as "something, maybe bone infection". I know there is a cost involved, but you might want to consult with Dr. Couto. He is a wonderful resource

You have already gotten great advice & it sounds like you have a good vet's report, so I don't have a lot extra. Tramadol and gabapentin do very well here, with no side effects (obviously that can be an individual reaction) Twiggy also did well with methocarbamol, I discontinued it after her stroke, but that is definitely worth considering. You might also want to look into a non-prescription supplement - Duralactin which is a chewable & highly recommended by her vet. as well as the injectable Adequan. (also on advice of her vet, but prescription requited). You can give the injections yourself. Twiggy's vet also likes a turmeric/bromelian supplement from Source Naturals. I stir the tablet in Twiggy's food & she eats around it, saves it for last & then chews it up, lol. I guess she likes it!

from Twiggy and me! I'm with most others here - this definitely could be neck pain. Also, I know Elvis was and may still be battling corns. Even if not on the same leg as seems painful, the corns could be causing him to walk off balance and in turn cause other parts to be overused/cramped/you name it. Of course, none of us can say for sure that it isn't the worst thing we fear, but pain from some other cause does seem likely to me. On another note, Twiggy still stops and stares at the door at your old place from time to time. She sure does love her Elvis!

I don't have pet insurance. In the past 4.5 years I have paid over 50k in vet bills for 1 dog. Already this year I have $2,500 on her medical care. Sprintng down the street, trying to keep up with her joyful self makes it all worth it, but it's financially tough - especially now that I'm going to be unemployed & my house is falling apart, lol! Next time I have a chance, I'm buying pet insurance!!

I thought I'd give a little update - Twiggy continues to gain back her Twiggyisms all the time. She is jumping and spinning for her walks, leaping over stairs, buries her head in my chest, and wags her tail. Today we took over 3 miles of walks through the neighborhood, No one who sees her suspects that she had a stroke. All they see is a happy tripod. I still find it hard to believe how far she has come in these past 3-4 weeks. Now if we can just get her kidney issues under control. I'm still hoping that it may be mostly due to infection. She was showing signs of infection a week ago, so she has been on antibiotics for the past week. Even though her cultures have both come back negative, her symptoms seem to be reducing with the abx, so we shall see...

Some supplements you might want to look into, all highly recommended Twiggy's vet. Duralactin - acts as an anti-inflammatory but does not have the side effects of typical NSAIDS. (it is some type of milk protein derivative) Adequan - an injectable med that helps joints: http://www.adequan.com/what-does-adequan-im-do.aspx Fish oil - also good as anti-inflammatory for joint pain. Unfortunately, this is one I can't use for Twiggy because her system is sensitive after all her chemo. If you need to go to NSAIDS, and your vet recommends an NSAID, I would urge you to use the dog-friendly Metacam versus its generic meloxicam. The drug is very weight-specific. and hard to dose in pill (generic) format. The liquid Metacam is better at preventing stomach ulcers. My Twiggy got an ulcer even from the very carefully dosed Metacam, so I encourage everyone to use caution with melocixam. As for exercise, it seems that moderate exercise with appropriate warm up and warm down activity actually helps, so I would let her get out there and enjoy herself. Within reason, of course!

That sounds like a mid-to-high range as a starting dose to me, but I'm definitely no expert. Twiggy has been on as much as 100 3x/day, but has been on 100 2x for a couple years. If I understand correctly, the very high dosages are prescribed when there is an imminently terminal illness, but I could be entirely wrong about that. If I am, I hope someone corrects me. I am definitely not saying that I think the dosage is too high though! It appears to be a moderate dosage, especially since my reference range is for a 53lb tripod! The one thing I will repeat as said above, is that in greyhounds it may be beneficial to dose more frequently. So instead of giving 3 100 mg capsules twice a day, you could consider doing 2 100 mg capsules 3x/day, if that is something that could fit in your schedule. When Twiggy was taking 100 mg 3x/day, I tried to get cute with it and put her mid day dosage in a timed cat feeder. I came to find out that she just mauled the thing open the minute I left the house, lol. Someone else's hound may or may not be more patient!

TwiggysMom here. I am so very sorry to hear about Tilly's diagnosis. It is truly heart-wrenching every time. I don't sign on often, but have been following your story. Given that she hasn't been using her leg and had a stroke, I was thinking you might want to consider amputation. My girl Twiggy had osteo first, (complete with amp, 6 rounds of carboplatin, and metronomic chemo as long as she could take it), and just before the turn of 2016 had a massive stroke. She has some concerning deficits still, but anyone seeing her would likely think nothing was wrong. However, the osteo diagnosis does complicate things. It is so true that every single case of osteo needs its own decision. Whatever you do, don't let your vet or your neighbor, or whoever sway you from what you feel is right for all of you. You need to consider your living situation (which sounds very amenable to anything, so that is good!), your dog (how is she at multiple vet visits, is she picky about food, does she take meds well...), also you do need to take finances into consideration. Depending on where you live & how long you are blessed with your girl kicking the crap out of this cancer, this can be an extraordinary amount. I can tell you that I had no idea how much this would end up costing >$50,000 so far, but of course that is for a return on investment of nearly 4.5 years of awesome life!!!. However, I am one of the unbelievably few who have the massive good fortune to have her girl experience such long & good survival times. Twiggy's 4.5 year ampuversarry is Feb 16. I can tell you that Twiggy's life post amp has been far better than her pre-cancer retired life. Twiggy had a perfect combination of circumstances though. She was only 6, highly energetic, very independent and stubborn, wants to live all of life's parties and lets nothing stand in her way. She is a hungry hungry hippo & never turns down anything remotely food-related, takes her meds like treats (because they are wrapped in a peanut butter filled piece of tortilla), and loves the vet's office (I have to drag her past it because she always wants to go in - it is next door to us). In addition, her tumor was in a very favorable location and was discovered (and amp'd) very early on. I brought her to Ohio State and Dr. Couto reviewed her case and examined her, and told me he felt she had a very favorable prognosis given aggressive treatment. He could not have been more right! I say all the above, because people often want to know how "I" got such good success with Twiggy. It had nothing to do with me, but I went with my gut and it turned out to be right. Consider all your circumstances, go with your gut, and it will be right for your girl. I wish you, your husband and Tilly all the best.

Thank you for asking about Twiggy! I'm sorry for not posting an update sooner. Twiggy has continued to make good progress. I would say she is probably at about 65 - 70% recovery now. Keeping in mind that pre-stroke was more like 90% & Twiggy's meter runs way past 100%! She is going on walks of about 5-6 blocks, tries to drag me down the street sprinting, and is adding old behaviors back into her routine regularly. She now jumps into bed with me often, spends lazy weekend mornings there with me, jumps up and down when I come home, complains that I'm not getting her breakfast/2nd breakfast/dinner ready fast enough, brings her bully sticks to one of her beds, stands right up next to me after walks for pets, fluffs her bed, etc. She also got into her first post-stroke mischief yesterday - she chewed a corner off of a mailing envelope. Each of these steps are so amazing for me to see. At this point, hardly anyone seeing her out & about would even know anything had happened (even people who know her very well). So I am very happy with her quality of life. She still has a head tilt when she wants something - that usually is FOOD! My little hungry, hungry hippo! (and she could stand to gain some weight, so she is getting supersized meals lately!) She also seems to have some trouble with spatial perception, she still wonks her head on door jambs if I don't direct her away from them, and she has more trouble going down sets of 2-3 steps than she used to. (This is a bit odd because she has been better at going down than up in recent years.) But overall, in true Twiggy style, she has made a really terrific recovery from the stroke!