Osteo Thread Part V I I

[Batmom]

I'm so sorry for your loss of Mimosa.

 

And sorry too for those facing hard decisions .

[seeh2o]

I'm so sorry about Mimosa. What a horrific, horrific disease.

[Guest cas0673]

Sadie is doing pretty well now. She had 2 swollen legs that started to improve Saturday. However she urinated all over the house for about 2 days. I think she was expelling all the liquid. She hasn't urinated in the house since Sunday morning. She isn't eating much at all. I will have to make a trip to the pet store. She doesn't want anything to do with hard food. We used to mix some can food with mostly dry food before all this. I tried getting a cheap hard food, she isn't really interested. One time she will eat some can food and another time she won't. We are even giving her an appetite enhancer pill. Today she goes to get her staples and stitches out. This will be fun!! She is a crier and whiner. Tomorrow she goes to the oncologist. We didn't get back the results of the biopsy, so I am not sure what we will do tomorrow.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Does Sadie like sweet stuff or fruity--things like flavored yogurt? If so, grind some of her regular kibble in a food processor and mix it with the treat. That way, she'll "accidentally" get the nutritional stuff while she's lapping up the good stuff. At my house, ground kibble was mixed with yogurt (blueberry or strawberry and banana), with rice and a bit of chicken broth, and with oatmeal (maybe sweetened with a bit of honey) and even with vanilla Ensure. My angel Sam had a spell of a couple of months when he refused hard kibble, but would eat the ground-up stuff. I'd grind three cups of kibble every morning, then dump a scoop of the crumbs into whatever treat he was getting (and I was feeding him 4x day).

[Guest fastcasper]

Vanilla Ensure did the trick every single time with Casper. Also he liked baby food.

 

kim

[Guest OurGreytLife]

I am saddened to see the loss of Mimosa. My heartfelt sympathy to her family. Know that you did everything you could for her and she was lucky to have been so loved and well cared for.

[EllenEveBaz]

[TwiggysMom]

Run free, Mimosa

 

I'm glad to hear Sadie is doing better, and hope that she will start to feel like eaating more soon!

[kmtgolf1]

I am so sorry to hear about Mimosa. Take solace that she is no longer in pain. It sounds like she had a wonderful life.

 

We upped Chloe's meds to about the max. She has been resting much more comfortably. Although, not eating as much. My wife is meeting with the vet tomorrow to get a few more days worth of pain meds and I guess make sure we've done all we can. We are "scheduled" to take her in on Saturday. I'm praying for the courage to go through with it. I have to say, it's helpful to know she will have so many friends to meet her on the other side.

[Guest cas0673]

Alright....what is the deal? Sadie urinated in the house again tonight. We went to the vet this afternoon, got her staples out and she was ok with it all. When we got home she drank a lot this afternoon. She had been very sensitive after we got home. When we would go to pet her she would cry out. She was resting but twitching a bit near her incision and her back leg. She got up and I wanted to take her out, but didn't have time to. She squatted and peed. Could this be a UTI? But why did she do good for 2 days and then urinate in the house again. I thought before it was from all the fluid she had was coming out. But now?? Her operation was 11days ago.

[Charlies_Dad]

She is likely still adjusting. You stated she drank a lot in the afternoon so that is why this likely occurred. The fact that she did not go out and do her business and her sensitivity may be related. As for sensitivity, some pups experience phantom pain and it can be as real as the real thing to them. Hopefully in time her sensitivity will diminish but 11 days after a major op may seem like a long time but it's not. We humans would take months to recover so we need to expect sometimes there are setbacks/accidents during the recovery period.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Charlies_Dad

[greysmom]

I would suspect a UTI or some other infection. It's very common post-amp. This could be why she is sensitive around her incision too. If she's not on antibiotics, she probably should be.

[Guest cas0673]

Sadie had her first chemo treatment this past Wednesday. She did ok with that. They also got a sample of urine to check for a UTI. I heard this screaming from the back room and knew it was Sadie. The nurse told me later that all they did was wipe her with an alcohol swab......yep that's our Sadie right now! She seems a little more relaxed this Saturday morning. But yesterday was not a good day. My mom is home all day with our 2 greys. And she said Sadie would not get up at all. She didn't go out, plus I couldn't get her to go out that morning before I went to work. She didn't drink. And of course didn't eat. But when I came home she got up, went out, and ate some mcDs. I must've been the favorite for the day! But then she wouldn't take her pills, so that was another issue, she took them eventually. So this has been quite trying at times. Did anyone else have such a hard time with their pup? She was sensitive when we first got her years ago, but was really doing well. I guess it is everything going on. But boy is it frustrating.

Oh and she doesn't have a UTI. That's good to know.

[krissn333]

You might try getting her an Adaptil collar (DAP collar). It's possible these changes have just made her anxious and the collar might help.

[Guest OurGreytLife]

It is with great sadness to say that Joey lost his battle last night. The pain meds no longer were effective enough and it was time.

My husband and I are devastated. In less than one month we lost 3 beloved fur kids. We are in total shock.

[MP_the4pack]

Oh I am so sorry!!! It's hard enough losing one to this horrid disease but that on top of having lost two others in such a short time is unimaginable.

 

[Guest LazyBlaze]

I am so so sorry you have lost your sweet Joey. Three losses together seems to me unbearable. Wishing you strength, and happier times to come.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am so very sorry for your loss of Joey. Losing all your pups in such a short timeframe is devastating.

[Guest fastcasper]

I am so sorry to read about Joey. I can't imagine losing 3 in a one month span, I only hope you do find strength and some peace as each day passes. It's been one week since Casper left and it is getting a teensy wheesy better each day. Wynnie is a huge help as I think she is doing better, and I am finding comfort in knowing 1. I did everything I could 2. he had a good life with me 3. we were so very lucky to have each other and 4. he knew he was loved. All this is helping me.

 

 

 

Kim

[kmtgolf1]

My sympathies on the loss of Joey. So terribly sad. I pray your sorrow will be eased in time.

 

Our day comes tomorrow with our sweet sweet Chloe. We've decided to let her go. She's lost a lot of weight and isn't eating much, puts very little weight if any on the affected leg. She's been so courageous throughout. But it's time.

 

My thoughts and prayers to all going through this trial.

[greysmom]

I'm so sorry for your loss of Joey. We lost two a week apart, so I understand your pain.

 

for Chloe's family

 

Sadie's Mom, what kind of pain medicatin is she on now? It could be that increasing/adding in gabapentin may help. Especially if she's being whiney because of phantom pain (or real pain). The best combo seems to be gabapenting for nerve pain, the opiate tramadol, and an nsaid usually rimadyl. I know that at least one person who posted here (maybe not now) gave their dog a short term course of an anti-anxiety medication during the first several weeks following an amputation. You might consider this, too.

[Victor]

So sorry to hear about Jesse, Mimosa, Joey, and Chloe. My thoughts are with you.

 

Sadie's Mom, you might also ask your vet about giving Sadie alprazolam to ease her anxiety. After she's off her pain meds you could then consider switching from alprazolam to fluoxetine. (It's better not to start her on fluoxetine until she's off her pain meds because potential interactions with fluoxetine limit the types of pain meds you can use.)

[seeh2o]

I'm so sorry to read about all the loss...Mimosa, Joey, Jesse, and Chloe tomorrow. You and your sweet dogs fought hard for the longest and best quality of life to the end.

 

I came in to give an update on Carl. He is still limping, but it comes and goes in terms of how pronounced it is. Monday and Tuesday his limp was very slight. I took him to the vet on Tuesday night, she felt his wrist, made him bear weight on it by lifting the other front paw and he had no hesitation, no pain. She felt like it was less swollen and feels more confirmation with her osteomyelitis diagnosis. Of course, the next day he was limping harder, but I chalked that up to having to jump in and out of the car (in the car with no help, but out of the car with me holding his front end with his harness), standing around for an hour or so at the vet's and then standing in the car most of the way home. Carl is not the world's best passenger.

 

We are going to continue with the Augmentin for another 3 weeks - at least - as well as the immune boosting supplement (and no, I really don't care to hear what the nay sayers think/feel about using supplements - I really do not give a rat's heiny what you have to say about it, it will not change my and my vet's approach to this), then xray his wrist again at the end of 3 weeks.

 

I know this diagnosis could all be wrong, but since he started on the antibiotics AND immune boosting supplements last week, he is back to his old self, bright, barking at me in the morning and playing with his bone when I'm preparing his dinner. He's having no problem tolerating the Augmentin, for which I am deeply grateful.

 

I set up a wireless IP camera so I can watch and listen from work in case I should need to rush home. I work crazy hours, but can usually leave quickly if needed, it's about a 15 - 20 minute drive home, depending on traffic.

 

Prayers for Carl, all our pups and owners going through this.

Edited March 7, 2014 by seeh2o

[Guest fastcasper]

When Casper had his phantom pain pretty bad we put him on Diazepam for his anxiety. That and along with Gabapentin (at a higher dose), it really helped with the phantom pain.

 

Kim

[a_daerr]

So sorry for Joey's loss. Too much sad news on here lately.

 

Sadie's Mom, I would ask your vet to adjust her pain meds and/or add an anti-anxiety drug. There definitely is an adjustment period when it comes to amputation, but what you're describing doesn't sound normal to me. Also, keep in mind that's she's going to need at least 4-5 rounds of chemo, all of which will be very hard if every experience is traumatizing her. My Henry is pretty much bombproof, but he still takes Trazadone before chemo treatments. Otherwise, I don't think I'd be able to get him through the door. A very sensitive dog may need something stronger, like Valium or even a mild sedative. I can't imagine being in the lobby and hearing my dog screaming. That must be so hard for you. As for the twitching you described, that's most likely phantom pains. Prior to this, I didn't know phantom pains were actually "real," but they totally are. The nerve endings for that limb become mixed up, which can be very painful for about 80% of amputees. Gabapentin (in the proper amount) should control those phantom pains. I would venture to guess that her peeing accidents will subside once her pain/stress/anxiety is better managed. Best of luck. Keep us updated on her progress!