Whining & Panting After Dental - Need Advice!

[Guest Racheal]

Yesterday brought a few minor improvements. Pegasus is now eating and has a healthy appetite. Upon waking yesterday morning & this morning we found her peacefully sleeping. She is no longer afraid of us and has been seeking out affection from us.

 

However, the panting & whining continue but now Pegasus can be calmed for a few minutes at a time IF we pet her, feed her or take her outside. I spoke with the vet & the plan is to take her off of the Tramadol for a few days to rule it out. We are also going to restrict movement to try to let her leg heal. We need to also use a towel as a sling to stop her from trying to walk on her leg.

 

We are going to give her leg a week of restricted movement & then get X-rays if necessary. We have held off on X-rays so far because we don't want to sedate her again unless necessary. Also, the Vet manipulated her leg & said it was positive for the "drawer pull test", which usually means ACL injury. But we are aware of the possibility of cancer

 

We firmly believe that Pegasus is still having a reaction to something......BUT, I have to wonder if a small bit of the histrionics is a little learned behavior. Pegasus NEVER whined before but now that she is she: gets LOTS of attention & petting, gets to go outside more & is served warm mashed potatoes with rotisserie chicken & beef broth for dinner followed by peanut butter on bread as dessert (we hide her pills in it). Hmmm....seems like the whining is a big benefit for her - LOL! I will check back with everyone in a few days to let you all know how she is doing. She is not 100% better but at least she is eating & not afraid of us. Thanks to you all! I will be in touch

[mychip1]

Please stay in touch....

[tbhounds]

Thanks for the update-keep us posted!

[silverfish]

Good to hear she's improving! It's odd how the reaction to some strong painkillers includes becoming afraid of the very people they really love, isn't it? So glad she's lost that - I know how relieved I was when Sid stopped that one.

 

I'll be interested to hear how she is off the Tramadol, and also the result of the x-ray, but yeah, if the draw-pull test is positive, I can't think of anything else that would give that in a greyhound knee. They usually have such strong knee joints with no movement at all. And cruciate ligament tears are very painful.

 

 

We firmly believe that Pegasus is still having a reaction to something......BUT, I have to wonder if a small bit of the histrionics is a little learned behavior. Pegasus NEVER whined before but now that she is she: gets LOTS of attention & petting, gets to go outside more & is served warm mashed potatoes with rotisserie chicken & beef broth for dinner followed by peanut butter on bread as dessert (we hide her pills in it). Hmmm....seems like the whining is a big benefit for her - LOL! I will check back with everyone in a few days to let you all know how she is doing. She is not 100% better but at least she is eating & not afraid of us. Thanks to you all! I will be in touch

 

Yes, if she's a smart dog, some could certainly be that! They learn quickly when food and love is involved!

[Guest Racheal]

I have GOOD NEWS!! Two days off of the Tramadol and Buprenorphine completely worn off.......Pegasus is back to her old sweet, affectionate, calm and quiet self! All agitation seen over the last excrutiating 9 days has finally gone away. For those of you that suspected the opiates - you were right on target We are so relieved!! We called the Vet and had them put a big note in her file, "NO OPIATES".

 

We are not out of the woods yet, though. Without the Tramadol she can no longer walk on her back leg at all (although the Rimadyl is helping with the general mobility). Her leg is very swollen and tender As I said earlier, we held off on the xrays because she tested positive for the "drawer-pull" test which usually means an ACL tear. She probably injured it further by walking on her leg while the opiates were in her system because they were masking the pain. We have decided to try to keep her off the leg for another week to see if she improves. If not, we will take her in for xrays. We are aware of the possibility of osteosarcoma and pray that it's something that will heal on its own.

 

Have any of your hounds had an ACL tear? If so, did it heal on its own or require surgery? As for the possibility of cancer....are there any other warning signs that would send up a red flag?

[JJNg]

Where exactly is the leg swollen and tender? You don't typically see much swelling or palpable pain with ACL tears. With ACL tears, they are usually they are only painful when you fully extend the stifle (knee) or test for cranial drawer. I'd recommend x-rays sooner rather than later.

[Batmom]

I too would get x-rays sooner, as in Monday if your vet isn't open over the weekend. Lots of things that could be wrong that you want to treat now, not later. Best luck!

[Guest Racheal]

Where exactly is the leg swollen and tender? You don't typically see much swelling or palpable pain with ACL tears. With ACL tears, they are usually they are only painful when you fully extend the stifle (knee) or test for cranial drawer. I'd recommend x-rays sooner rather than later.

 

Her back left leg is swollen right around and slightly above the "knee". It's mainly swollen on the inner side of the joint. Her "thigh" area might be slightly swollen as well. This happened about 3 or 4 weeks ago and started with a limp which has gotten worse ever since. Pegasus started putting all of her weight on the leg while her pain meds were active in her system (Buprenorphine, Tramadol & Rimadyl). Now that she is off the opiates (still on the Rimadyl) she cannot put any weight on it all. We suspect that she made it worse by walking on it.

 

Only an xray can provide a definitive answer. Does anyone know if greyhounds always need to be sedated for xrays? I hate to put her through that again but the vet said they will need to sedate her to perform the xrays.

[tbhounds]

You shouldn't need to sedate her for an x-ray to rule out anything besides an acl tear but, honestly, for an acl tear you would need multiple views requiring seds. I would start out just getting one lateral view of her leg before I made plans for sedation. If her leg does look like its not a acl tear please remember to take some chest views.

Keep us posted ok?

[JJNg]

Ditto tbhounds response. Sedation shouldn't be needed to a take a quick lateral (side view) x-ray of her leg. She would just need to lay on her side for a few seconds for that view. I'd start with that first and see what you get before deciding on the next step. Unfortunately with what you seem to be describing, I'd be more suspicious of cancer than an ACL tear. But really hoping I'm wrong since I haven't seen it in person.

 

I rarely sedate for x-rays. About the only times I do are aggressive pets who can't be physically managed without risk of injury to my staff, ones who struggle and won't hold still long enough for the x-ray to be taken, or if the positioning is going to be painful or awkward if the pet is awake. If at all possible, I prefer to avoid the risk of sedation unless absolutely necessary.

[silverfish]

I have GOOD NEWS!! Two days off of the Tramadol and Buprenorphine completely worn off.......Pegasus is back to her old sweet, affectionate, calm and quiet self! All agitation seen over the last excrutiating 9 days has finally gone away. For those of you that suspected the opiates - you were right on target We are so relieved!! We called the Vet and had them put a big note in her file, "NO OPIATES".

 

Yay!! Such a relief for you! That's pretty much just like Sid, except your girl seems to have taken longer to get over the effects.

 

We have decided to try to keep her off the leg for another week to see if she improves. If not, we will take her in for xrays. We are aware of the possibility of osteosarcoma and pray that it's something that will heal on its own.

 

Have any of your hounds had an ACL tear? If so, did it heal on its own or require surgery? As for the possibility of cancer....are there any other warning signs that would send up a red flag?

 

UGh .. not so good. I've never seen an ACL tear heal by itself, not with a positive 'drawer pull' response. If the ligament is completely severed, there's no way that the ends will miraculously rejoin.

 

But .. I agree with those who say this isn't typical of an ACL tear. You don't usually get that amount of swelling etc. And - I don't know if you're aware of this or not - Jjng is a veterinarian, so listen to her.

 

 

 

Only an xray can provide a definitive answer. Does anyone know if greyhounds always need to be sedated for xrays? I hate to put her through that again but the vet said they will need to sedate her to perform the xrays.

You shouldn't need to sedate her for an x-ray to rule out anything besides an acl tear but, honestly, for an acl tear you would need multiple views requiring seds. I would start out just getting one lateral view of her leg before I made plans for sedation. If her leg does look like its not a acl tear please remember to take some chest views.

Keep us posted ok?

 

Yep, we've had several greyhound x-rays done without even sedation. Vets usually love to deal with greyhounds in comparison to many breeds because they are so used to being positioned and having things done to them at the track that they are very compliant. Even my twitchy old Jeffie will let the vet pick him up and lay him out flat on the table to examine and poke his feet around without a murmur, and he was the one who used to growl at me for picking up his paws, or even touching them.

[mychip1]

My Dustin just had xrays of his shoulder...and last week of his belly. Five minutes...no sedation. Of course, each hound is different! It is a challenge just to draw blood from JJ and EZ won't let me near his teeth.

 

So glad to hear that her pseronality is back.

[Guest Racheal]

Just thought I would stop by and let my new friends know that Pegasus is doing great, with the exception of her leg. Peggy is once again enjoying all of her food, gets excited when I say the word "treat", chatters when we pet her and has even started to wag her tail (Peggy never used to wag her tail - she was really mellow).

 

As for her leg.....she has stopped using it and has learned to hop along with 3 legs. She doesn't put any weight on the leg at all. It appears that the swelling has gone down and she doesn't seem to be in pain - at all. She is eating, wants to go for walks (even if it's with 3 legs), sleeping well and seems to be very content. We are trying to move some things around at work so my husband and I can take Pegasus in to the Vet for an xray. I will let the xray tech know what you guys said about not needing sedation. I will let everyone know what happens.

 

When I get the xrays, I'd like to upload them here so the greytalk forum members could take a look and give me their opinion: osteo or ACL. I will still have a radiologist read it and maybe send it to OSU. So - I have a couple questions about the process: 1) how do you upload photos onto this forum? I want a pic for my profile and I want to post a pic of Miss Pegasus & her xrays. I can't find any information about it and there aren't any buttons to click for uploading something. What am I doing wrong??? 2) Where can I find information about OSU and the services they provide? I read somewhere that they will look at an xray for free and will send you chemo for free (if needed). I need more info..3) Someone in the forum recommended that I look in the osteo section of the forum. Where is it? How do I get to it? I couldn't find it. I want to read up on it to be prepared for whatever the xray shows. and finally 4) Has anyone had a greyhound that tested positive for osteosarcoma but seemed to be fine? Take Pegasus for instance, she suddenly started limping, vet did the drawer-pull test on her & it was positive *a little*. Meaning, she couldn't be 100% sure it was her ACL. It's been almost 4 weeks now and her leg is worse - can't walk on it at all. But her health and mood are great! She's happy, eating, loving treats, sleeping calmly, doesn't seem to be in pain, is NOT withdrawn but seeks out attention and lots of petting! I'm just wondering if she does have osteo, wouldn't she be showing signs of distress? Or do greys with oseo have good days and bad days? I guess I'm hoping to hear someone tell me: Pegasus couldn't have osteo with how happy and pain free she is. But honestly, I'd like to hear what signs and symptoms you saw in your greys in the beginning right around the time of diagnosis. I'm driving myself crazy with the guessing, I need to take her to get the xray, but I think subconscously, I don't want to know the answer.....ya know?

[tbhounds]

Thanks for the update-glad she's eating for you again but, I have to make one comment if I may.

If she's limping or not using that leg she IS in pain. She needs her leg radiographed-I know it's hard--but, you gotta do it-you owe it to her.

Edited September 14, 2012 by tbhounds

[KF_in_Georgia]

The osteo thread is right here: http://forum.greytal...osteo-thread-v/

 

That's the fifth thread in the series. The first post has lots of info, including links and info about Ohio State.

 

I think you need more posts here before you'll be able to upload photos. Also be advised that digital x-rays (which are the best for emailing to OSU) aren't regular JPEGs, so you may not be able to view them or post them here. If you get film as well as digital, you might be able to scan or photograph the film. But if you have a photo website (something like Flickr), you can post a link here to photos there until you accrue enough forum posts.

 

If the x-rays are at all ambiguous, or if they do show osteo, get chest x-rays as well. Knowing whether any potential cancer has spread to the lungs is important when it comes to considering your options.

Edited September 14, 2012 by KF_in_Georgia

[tbhounds]

Bumping--update your baby girl?