Yesterday, April 12th, Ellie had her first dose of Carboplatin. It was a big day as she also had to go in for the clinical trial side of things for an 8-hour serial blood draw and a skin biopsy to measure the effects of the Vismodegib. Thankfully this is the last one for 6 weeks.
The vet informed me that she is a total lightweight when it comes to sedation (I 100% agree after the trazadone incident) and that she will probably feel loopy for up to 24 hours.
Poor thing was so so so drunk! when we got home she wanted nothing to do with any food, wanted nothing to do with me, wanted nothing to do with the world… she was over it… but did take a few laps of chicken broth so I called that a amazing success. I was informed she didn’t go potty all day, and she wouldn’t for me either so I got some towels under her backend while she snoozed since this is exactly how she was when she came back from her surgery the first time. It’s amazing how quick we adjust to our new normal, since I had been through this before I wasn’t anxious or worried and I had an internal timeline of how long things usually took for her.
Later in the evening she perked up a little bit. We went out a few times and she really wanted to poop, but not much was coming out- what did come was awfully loose. At 11PM I went ahead and gave her 80mg of Cerenia in case she did indeed have diarrhea and/or to help her appetite, she ate up a little bit of chicken and rice and we went to bed.
This morning she is still tired, but she ate her normal kibble w/water, and went outside to pee, so all good things. I was so relieved to see her appetite back, I wasn’t surprised that it was gone after the sedation, but I was worried if the carboplatin would make her not feel great. I’m cautiously optimistic.
In preparation for her maybe not having a great appetite I made a whole chicken and some rice to offer as a replacement. Whenever I make a chicken I also make a bunch of broth in my pressure cooker. Since I make it in the pressure cooker once the broth is done all the bones crumble under a little bit of pressure (versus splintering), so for years I’ve saved all the leftovers from the broth (sans onions and garlic) and would make dog treats. I used to just stuff kongs with it and then freeze them, but now with the pupsicle I can make perfect little molds of them. one chicken makes around 20 of these treats to feed whenever.
I know it’s not the most appetizing, but Ellie sure loves them! These treats have been so helpful for when I need Ellie to be still or a little distracted so I can to cold and hot heat compresses, stretches, massages (usually she just falls asleep to the massages, haha).
That’s about all I got for now, it’s been blissfully boring 🙂
Blissfully boring can be a good thing sometimes.
So glad she, and you, have a six week break from all this.
Happy to hear this morning she was eating again and pottying outside. You are spot on about how quickly we ” adjust” to the new normal and feel less anxious once we’ve gone through each “hurdle” successfully.
Thanks for sharing the Ellie inspired treats with us. I bet Rene will want to try them for her Nellie. I know I will for Frankie and Myrtle
Thanks again for the update AND for the great picture of Ellie!! Absolutley adore her ♥️
MMMM chicken slurry! YUM! LOL! Glad she likes it. You are a great mama for making it for her!
I loved what you wrote: “It’s amazing how quick we adjust to our new normal, since I had been through this before I wasn’t anxious or worried and I had an internal timeline of how long things usually took for her.”
This is so true! Once you’ve been through amputation recovery, you can see how your dog reacts to medications, how YOU react to the situation, and all the little things you didn’t know about your dog. I think one of the biggest hurdles of recovery is just that so many of us have never seen our dogs wonky and out of it, and it’s really scary!
But now you are really experienced and together with Ellie, you can deal with anything that comes your way.
Super happy the treatment and check-up visit went well and she’s getting her GI mojo back. WHEW! I hope there’s nothing but smooth sailing ahead. Keep us posted.