Sorry for n0-show on the blog yesterday. I’ll try to give a whirlwind two day update.
So yesterday I was at an interview during the day, and my mom was in charge of babysitting for Lucky. The good news: he started eating and drinking a fair amount! My mom discovered that although he’s more picky about food than usual, he’s willing to eat roast beef lunchmeat, so we’ve been giving him some of that (we’ve tried fancy dog foods with no luck). For the water, we had to put chicken broth in his water at first, and he drank it up like crazy, but then we were able to get him to drink pure water by switching the bowl he was drinking out of. For some reason, he developed some aversion to his normal water bowl. Anyway, yesterday went great, and Lucky also went potty a couple of times, which was great! The only problem was his refusal to take pills, no matter what they were disguised in. My mom couldn’t shove pills down his throat either, so he didn’t take his Tramadol, but he seemed to do fine with the pain (no whimpering or anything).
Today was a little bit more eventful. The day was going fine until the early afternoon, when Lucky all of a sudden jumped up and started yelping/screaming, which lasted for about 15 seconds. As I’m sure many of you know, seeing him go through this was AWFUL. We freaked out, and then after we did some searching on the tripawds forum, we thought that maybe he had phantom limb pains. After this incident, we went back and figured out how to force Lucky to take his Tramadol with success. We’re working on getting a prescription for gabapentin also.
A few hours later, it happened again. This time it was right as he was standing up to see a visitor come in. Again, he freaked out and yelped for about 15 seconds. He’s been fine since then (for about three hours), except now I’m reading into his droopy lethargic Fentanyl behavior probably more than I should be. Partially I’m concerned because I hate to see my best friend suffer. I’m also worried because before Lucky got his surgery, his first symptoms of his osteosarcoma was a similar kind of yelping associated with leg pain. I’m really hoping I’m reading into this too much, and his problem is “just” the phantom limb pain that will (hopefully) go away completely within a couple of weeks. But I can’t help but worry. Ugh.
My second, much less imminent concern, is Lucky’s remaining front paw (I know, I know, I’m just a worry wart). They shaved a small area of hair to put his IV in while he was in the hospital, and it seems like that shaved area is getting a little bit red. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but it would be awesome to get some validation of what people think from the picture I took of this area.
In summary, constant worrying can be difficult. I’m really looking forward to Lucky’s fentanyl patch coming off on Monday, and I’m hoping that will bring more of his old personality and energy back, so I can worry less about him suffering and moping.
Hi. First of all, don’t worry, you’re not over-analyzing things. Our dog, Max, was loopy for the first two weeks after the amputation. These guys are on A LOT of meds, and they do not act the way they did prior to the amp. I can’t speak for the yelping, Max never did anything like that. Others can weigh in on phantom pain, but your description sounds like that’s what it probably is. As for the redness on Lucky’s leg where the IV went in: it looks totally like Max’s did. We’re not vets, but we believed it to be something similar to razor burn. Max not only had it on his IV leg, but he also had it in some areas on his back/neck area that were shaved for the amputation. Remember, if you’re ever too worried that you feel you’re gonna freak out, call your vet and talk to them. You pay them lots of money for Lucky’s medical care, so they can answer some questions for you. As many people here have stated, the first few weeks are really tough. You just have to be patient and let the wound heal. Remember, this was a major surgery your guy just went through. Give it some time to heal, and for him to come off all those meds. Give your boy some pets from us, and love him up. He knows you love him, and you’ll both get through this.
Has Lucky been licking that raw spot on his leg? Hopefully you can address that by covering it with a cut sock taped on lightly. Please consult your vet if problems persist.
Be sure to download the tips for managing phantom limb pain in dogs too, if you haven’t already.
I agree, ask your vet about any concerns…thats what they are there for. Daisy had similar marks but I think it was just from having theIV in and being taped down but I am no vet. Wishing Lucky a speedy recovery