So today is Friday Aug 17 and it is a week today that we brought Sebastian home from his amputation surgery. It has been a long week. He seems to be overall doing good and resting a lot. Earlier in the week (Monday middle of the night) we removed the fentanyl patch and started him on his gabapentin. He was whining so much and not getting any sleep. It was so bad that we thought that maybe he was in pain. We now both wonder if we should have removed it sooner. The instructions that they gave us when we picked him up was to remove it in 3-4 days and Monday was day 3 but if it was from the day of the surgery it would have been day 4. He was still very restless going into Tuesday but by dinner time he had settled back down. Since then the whining and restlessness has stopped. Thank goodness.
For the past couple of days it seems that he is not getting around as good and it breaks my heart. My husband keeps telling me that it is the medication but I get so worried. He also has started yelping out of nowhere. He will just be laying there and all the sudden start yelping and jump up. He calms back down after a minute but i am not sure what is going on. I spoke to the doctor and he said that maybe it could be his stitches catching. Since then I have removed the thunder shirt that he had been wearing because it fit tight. Its seems like it has gotten less frequent but it is still happening.
The results of the bone biopsy have come in this week. The doctor said that it was not osteosarcoma. He said that it is fibrosarcoma. Sebastian will not need to start chemo. He said that normally this type of cancer does not metastasize the way that osteosarcoma does and that he will just need chest X-rays every three months for the next year just to be sure. When he told me this I just cried. I was relieved that he would not have to go through the chemo and that by doing the amputation he would be ok. With the news I started to wonder if there would have been something else that could have been done? Did we need to take his leg? Was what we did the best thing?
Please don’t question yourself – you know different things now you didn’t when faced with that difficult decision. I am one week one day post amputation with my German Shepherd Dog. We’re in the UK. The only medication he was given was Metacam, which he’s already on for arthritis. He also takes Amantadine for arthritis and i’m pleased to say he hasn’t been whining. Only whines on way home but I read that could be the medication he was given (methadone). Regarding getting around, he’s a bit stiff at times but goes in to the back yard fine. We’ve just had our check up for stitches and vet really pleased. I have to wait at least another week for biopsy results although all vets involved are convinced it’s osteosarcoma. My dog is 8 yrs old. My actual vet, not the specialist who operated, advised to give my baby time as healing takes a while. I spoke to my vet about arthritic pain and gabapentin was mentioned plus paracetamol or CBD oil, perhaps discuss alternative medication if Sebastian still seems unsettled. My heart goes out to you all.
You absolutely did the best thing for him. Fibrosarcoma, which is GREAT NEWS, can get nasty and tangled up in tendons and vessels and ligaments, eventually you would have needed to amputate anyways is my guess.
Have you made an appointment for rehab therapy yet? Sebastian can certainly benefit and you will to, by learning how to read his pain levels and help him feel better. Remember, the Tripawds Foundation may even pay for your first visit.
http://tripawds.org/2015/09/vet-rehab-reimbursement/
As Jerry pointed out above, osteo is not the only reason for amputation. Many underlying diseases, conditions or injuries will be best treated for your dog with amputation and this circumstance was one of them. A lot of dogs are very unsettled by fentanyl – my boy looked terrible while still having it via IV in the hospital, but when they eased it up and moved to oral meds – principally Gabapentin, there was steady improvement. Talk to your vet about the timing and dosage of pain meds – you may be able to change dosage or frequency or just stagger the different meds for better coverage through the day and night. Hang in there.
Lisa
Great news! We were told (after one of the biopsies came back “fibrous variety” that an amputation is a “cure” for this type of cancer; so I feel you did the right thing. Yay for no chemo! And remember 1 week is VERY EARLY in the recovery period – he is doing great. Once his stitches/staples come out he will feel even better. Some of the random crying out could be from phantom pain, which the gabapentin should help address. Take it day by day, one step at a time, and he will be good as new. Congrats! Well done! Bravo!
Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro
Congratulations on making it through the first week! Don’t worry to much about the yelping. My angel Wrigley did that for the first two weeks or so and each time he did it, I would get so scared and sometimes cry as I didn’t know what was happening to him, but the further out we were post-surgery, the less it happened and eventually he never did that again. Congrats on the news of it not being osteo. Sebastian was getting around so well in your video – thank you for sharing!