At Charleston Referral Hospital

[Walliered]

I have had him on tramadol 50mg 3 X day, Amantadine 100mg 1Xday, Gabapentin 300mg 3Xday for about 3 months now. He still panted and limped, but he did not act zonked until I added the Rimadyl. We went for a walk earlier and he seems to be walking a little better, but started panting and clearly wanted to go home. He has not touched his food and we have been up since 4:00am. He also seems to be very constipated and I am sure all that is from the drugs they gave him yesterday. They took fluid from both of his elbows and a hip joint. They pulled and tugged on him everywhere, so I know he is sore from that. Thought I would just let him rest today and not push any food until tonight and then hand feed canned food. That way I get the water down him, too. This has been a hell of a ride. It all started about 1 1/2 years ago with him limping. The vet that did the surgery really messed him up and did not believe in pain management. The second vet totally took out all the first vet did and completely believed in pain management. He never hurt. All was good for about 6 weeks and then he started limping again. We were actually doing water therapy in Hilton Head twice a week when it started. It has gotten much worse and he limps all of the time now. I carried him back to 2nd surgeon a while back and he stands behind his surgery that nothing is wrong with it. Enter another surgeon from University of Missouri, Dr. Wood and she says she really believes he has a blown knee. $3000.00 and many tests later ruled out cancer. She moved back to Missouri and had me wait on Dr. Jennifer Au from OSU to arrive in Charleston. She arrived Monday and we spent the day with her yesterday. She does not think there is anything wrong with his knees and that if the hulling of the corns does not fix him, then she is leaning on "root signature" pain. So, that is where we are. DaVid turned 7 about a week ago. I lost Huck to cancer about a year ago when he had just turned 8. Sorry for the ramble, but thanks for listening.

[Batmom]

If he still panted and limped when getting all those meds, I would consider cutting back some/all. If his pain is/was from the corns, most meds won't help much if at all. (If you don't believe me, tape a pebble to the bottom of your foot and walk around for awhile. Then take your own favorite painkiller (aspirin, Tylenol, whatever) and walk around some more.)

 

Your meds may also be interacting with the sedative he got in hospital. Tramadol in particular is likely to do this.

 

Last, for several of the meds he's getting, he should be on a stomach protectant of some time. Discuss with Dr. Au as to which would be best and how to dose in combination with any other meds you decide to keep. Panting/restlessness can be a sign of stomach pain.

[Walliered]

Ok, Diane, I am taking him off of Tramadol and I called and left a message for Dr. Au about the Pepcid AC. Of course mine expired about a year ago so threw them in the trash and will get more.

[Batmom]

I'm Jey, Burpdog is Diane . (But I am very flattered! )

 

I would ask Dr. Au about the various meds. She might feel this is just a transitory thing and he should stay on all of them, or she might feel keep the tramadol, discontinue the amantadine, or or or . Short term, tho, the tramadol would be the most likely to be causing the symptoms you describe.

 

Hope your boy is better this morning than last night, at any rate!

[Walliered]

Anyone think I should put him on probiotics?

Sorry, Jey..I do get confused at times. Well, I asked her yesterday while we were at Charleston Veterinary Referral Center about all of the medicines and she wanted to continue just like we were but to add the Rimadyl. Still waiting for her to call me about the Pepcid AC.

[Burpdog]

If he was fine before you added the rimadyl, stop the rimadyl. Also, if you start pred make sure the washout period has been long enough. Why a problem with pred if it helps and he tolerates it?

[Walliered]

He has never been on pred., but Huck was. He took 40mg a day for over a year..when I started decreasing the amount and adding a medicine from Road Runner Pharmacy (somewhere in Arizona and I don't remember the name of the meds, but it was used for human stomach problems) the cancer raised it head. I don't know how long he had had it, but I put him down a week later. My Mother was on Pred and it became her immune system. Shiny face, bloated and always going to the bathroom. I think it is OK for short term, but not long term. I have been on and off of it for years with COPD.

[rascalsmom]

Jack acted really weird when he was on tramadol.

 

He was also on rimadyl for a long time, for his corns. Not sure it helped much, and we had to take him off of it due to stomach issues--which turned out to be something else anyway.

[NeylasMom]

I will just reiterate what others have said about not dismissing the corns as the issue here. Worst case, you can use a nerve block on any toes that have or had corns and see if the limp resolves completely. You would need to do the block on all of htem at the same time and he would need to be limping consistently before you do it to evaluate (the nerve block is very short term). That's what Turbotaina ended up doing after years and thousands of dollars trying to diagnose a problem with Turbo, when in the end all it was was corns. Seriously, do not underestimate the pain they can cause, especially if he has them in multiple toes/feet.

 

And the dog can often feel them before you see them. Squeezing each toe individually will often get a reaction when a corn is forming. The dog will quickly try to jerk his foot away when you squeeze the affected toe. Probably smart to do this when you can actually see a corn to get a feel for your own dog's reaction. Since corns often reoccur this is likely to be helpful in the future.

[Walliered]

Thanks for the information. This is where we are now: He is limping worse than he did yesterday. This may be from the corn removal or from all of the stretching and pushing by several doctors or from the hip leg pain (this is my guess). I just don't know. He has been sleeping most of the day, but when he is awake he is panting. He has not gone to the bathroom since about 5:00 AM. He will hobble outside if bribed with a cookie, but will just stand there and finally lay down. Course we have had a thunderstorm come through and he is scared to death. I do know I am about to my wits end. When I think of the countless hours driving back and forth to Charleston (5 hours round trip), Hilton Head (2 1/2 round trip) many vet visits to my personal vet, two serious back surgeries, hours on the phone and computer and I see no results..yes, I am damn tied of it. I have said it before and I say it again, I will NEVER have a greyhound again.

[robinw]

Poor guy. Try to relax, ok? He may be picking up on your stress. I second those who have seen weird reactions to tramadol. I had difficulty being able to distinguish what was med side effect and what was reaction to pain.

Edited May 22, 2013 by robinw

[krissn333]

Another thing (like you need more, right?)...we haven't had good luck at my house with Rimadyl. Deramaxx is our NSAID of choice.

 

Rimadyl has caused a range of weirdnesses for my whole crew-from restlessness to acting like a zombie to being totally freaked out. I know that lots of people have had good luck with it, but, we just haven't. I always ask for Deramaxx when an NSAID is needed.

 

And one more thing: :

[Walliered]

Ok, vet did not call me back about the tramadol, so I am taking him off. He is getting 300mg of Gab. and 150mg of the Rimadyl. He is now not putting his right foot down at all. He will not go outside to use the bathroom cause he hurts. He has been eating really well, so I know the bathroom is going to be an issue tonight. Since we have been up since 4:00 am I am pretty tired, but know he will want to go out in the middle of the night. I have a ramp in the back yard with that astro turf. Has anyone had an issue with it being painful for a hound to walk on? He refuses to go down it so we have been going out front, but there again he will not use the bathroom in the yard and he will not cross the street to the vacant lot. I have a sling, but he does not like getting into it. So, I put it on him and left it. He does not like that either.

[Batmom]

Is his foot well-wrapped? If they were hulled (shouldn't have involved any cutting or blood), they can be a little bit tender on prickly surfaces. A light wrap or a sock would help that.

[Walliered]

I will try the wrap the next time he gets up. I have one thera paw, but it is really long and he does not want to wear it. It is more for winter up north than Savannah, Georgia with the heat and humidity. Thanks

[rascalsmom]

I'm sorry you are going through this. It's so hard when they hurt, and we don't really know why. It's so discouraging and hard to keep a positive attitude. Been there, done that, and I understand what you're going through.

 

:

Edited May 23, 2013 by rascalsmom

[Walliered]

I thought I had already posted this morning, but guess I didn't. He was much better this morning and wanted to walk for a few minutes. He was using all 4 feet! Not panting at all. He is panting a little now. Vet said OK on the Pepcid and am giving him 20mg a day. She didn't say anything about the probiotic, but I am giving him that also. He will not wear the thera paw. So, I have covered the astro turf with old pieces of indoor/outdoor carpet and it seems to help. Thanks, Nan

[Batmom]

So glad he's feeling better!

 

Sometimes just a baby/toddler sock is enough, until the paw fills in a little. Anything prickly can irritate the skin where the corn was removed.

[Walliered]

Do you wrap the baby/toddler sock with vet wrap to keep it on? Both rear feet had corns removed. I think he had 2 in one foot and 3 in the other.

[RaineysMom]

sending many prayers!

[krissn333]

When my kids need to wear socks (Pinky wore socks every Sunday when I massaged Bag Balm into her pads), I use the little velcro strips that you can buy at like Office Max or Staples that are for keeping computer cords organized. They fit perfectly around a greyhound leg just above the foot, and then you can fold the top of the sock over the velcro strip to keep it covered

 

Velcro

 

These are the exact ones I have, I think I bought them at Walmart, actually!

Edited May 23, 2013 by krissn333

[rascalsmom]

Do you wrap the baby/toddler sock with vet wrap to keep it on? Both rear feet had corns removed. I think he had 2 in one foot and 3 in the other.

To keep a baby sock on, you can wrap regular first aid tape around the top part of the sock, just above the ankle to keep it from slipping off. Put the tape ON the top part of the sock, not sticking to the fur. Wrap tight enough to stay on above the ankle, but not TOO tight.

[Walliered]

Thanks for the velcro info. I am going to pick some up the next time I go to town. And thanks for telling me how to keep the sock on. The panting is a whole lot better and he is still putting a little weight on his right rear, well for a short period of time. He actually got a couple of toys out of the basket and tried to play with them, so I know he is better than yesterday. Hopefully we are over the hump. Thanks all.

[DesiRayMom]

Hope this is just the beginning of MUCH better times.......nasty, nasty, corns

[queenwinniesmom]

Thanks for the velcro info. I am going to pick some up the next time I go to town. And thanks for telling me how to keep the sock on. The panting is a whole lot better and he is still putting a little weight on his right rear, well for a short period of time. He actually got a couple of toys out of the basket and tried to play with them, so I know he is better than yesterday. Hopefully we are over the hump. Thanks all.

 

This is such good news! Hope he continues to improve.