Ellie has been doing so great overall. We are both finding our groove with moving around the house and making sure to stay ahead of the pain. She was sent home with this great harness called a “hold-em-up harness” I used it the first evening and some in the morning, but Ellie really didn’t like me standing next to her to help keep her balance and she has become an expert at getting up on her own (going down is still a little tricky, depending on the surface, but she really won’t let me help her there). I ended up taking it off, and since she is thankfully still very much food motivated I just used positive reinforcement whenever we went inside and outside for potty breaks.
Potty is probably the biggest issue currently, I don’t even want to call it an issue just that we haven’t quite figured it out. The first evening and over the night Ellie had two accidents where it seems like she just peed while laying down and making no attempt to get up (or possibly she did get up, but I missed the signal that it was so go potty). I spoke to the vet about it and they said incontinence is possible with gabapentin, but it’s just as likely that she is too exhausted/uncomfortable/sedated at that moment to try to tell me she needed to go out and to keep an eye out if she was “dribbling” vs full accidents as that would be a much more clear sign of incontinence. I write this on the morning of 3 days post op and she didn’t have a single accident yesterday, but did have one over the night again. So, that leads me to believe it’s not incontinence. The silver lining is where she’s had accidents have been so dang convenient. Her bed has a washable cover, and then an additional waterproof cover around the actual bed- that is an absolute god send. and then she had an accident in the shower ( I have a walk in shower, that tends to be her favorite place to sleep if she gets hot)…so I’ll take it.
She’s currently on 5 different medications: Gabapentin (for pain 400mg 3x/day), Carprofen (for pain 100mg 2x/day), Trazodone (anti-anxiety/mild sedation give up to 3x a day as needed), Ondansetron (anti-nausea 2x/day), Metoclopramide (anti-nausea 3x/day). I didn’t give her any trazodone during the day, but around 11pm she seemed like she could not get comfortable on her bed (this was when she moved to the shower). I knew the Nocita (long term pain relief given at the site of the incision) was probably about out so it made sense she would be more uncomfortable. I ended up giving her a 100mg Gabapentin and 150mg Trazodone, I’m not sure if it was absolutely necessary as she laid down in the shower right after I gave them, but hopefully it helped. I am curious if the sedation effects of the trazodone caused her to have her accident this morning, though. Either way, as yet another brag on Ellie she takes all her medication readily- as long as there’s peanut butter involved. I know with the Nocita out of her system this may change, so I’m staying cautiously optimistic, and making sure to stick to a pretty strict schedule (seriously strict, I’ve put everything into my phone so I get alerts, haha) so we hopefully continue to stay ahead of the pain.
I was told to attempt to ice the incision 3x a day for 10 minutes each for the first 3 days, but if she didn’t tolerate it to not push it. I can’t say she loves it, but enter more food motivation (I have a pattern don’t I?)! Before Ellie was sick I loved giving her stuffed frozen kongs- nice treat, that kept her mind engaged for a while, she equally loved them. what I hated was the kongs themselves, they were impossible to clean and would get stuck under furniture a lot, plus I ended up having like 6 (off brand ones, because dang those puppies are overpriced) so I could freeze multiple at a time. Enter in the Woof Pupsicle. It’s basically a kong that you can open into two sections to fill and/or clean. It also comes with the most adorable ice tray that is the exact size of the opening so you can freeze multiple treats, put them in a bag, and freeze more. So I only need to have one pupsicle, but have multiple homemade treats on hand. It’s seriously been the best thing ever (though also overpriced in my opinion). What does this have to do with icing? Well, Ellie will technically let me ice regardless, but she will fuss with what I’m doing the whole time, but if she has a pupsicle she does not giving a flying pea what I’m doing. I get exactly 8.5 minutes of uninterrupted icing and then we survive the last 90 seconds of her trying to eat the bag of frozen vegetables, haha. Highly recommend it as it also allows me to make sure she’s getting some water since most of the treats I make are half water (some that I’ve done: are a cup of soaked dog food heaping tablespoon peanut butter and water, straight chicken broth, leftover chicken blended with water)
The last big task we’ve been working is exercises. Ellie met with a PT multiple times while she was at the hospital to give her a jump start on mobility and they sent home a packet of exercises which include a balancing exercise, a spinal stretch and shoulder massage (more like a lymphatic drainage massage around incision). the packet says to do it 2-3 times a day, we did everything once yesterday, which I will take as a victory. Not sure about the shoulder massage, I know how great lymphatic massage can be, but I also know Ellie doesn’t really want me anywhere near that incision even if it’s a very light touch.
So overall- a fantastic start, I know it’s not this easy for everyone, so I’m just going to remain so grateful and stay in the moment as the future is still full of unknowns. We go in for Ellie’s first oncology appointment in 4 days! one bummer with the clinical trial is we will be going into the vet quite more often and for longer periods, but she is already well loved there and so far I continue to be so impressed with the professional care we receive.
Our dog Riley will be having surgery on 3/30 so your post was very hopeful for me. We are terrified of going through this. You mentioned a clinical trial. Are you doing the ELIAS immunotherapy? We are going to try to do it if everything falls into place. Any tips you can share so far?
Thank you again for sharing and I wish Ellie all the best!
Hey Bill,
I believe I saw your forum post about Riley, and I’m so sorry we both get to go through this, pretty crappy club to be in. Ellie is in a clinical trial, but it’s not ELIAS immunotherapy. Is it called PHASE-1 EVALUATION OF VISMODEGIB PLUS CARBOPLATIN IN DOGS WITH SPONTANEOUS OSTEOSARCOMA. here is a link if you’re curious about it: https://www.csuanimalcancercenter.org/phase-1-evaluation-of-vismodegib-plus-carboplatin-in-dogs-with-spontaneous-osteosarcoma/
I looked up the ELIAS immunotherapy and it reminds me of the Torigen vaccination, very cool stuff. I hope it works out!! One thing I’ve made peace with is that unfortunately at this time dogs with osteosarcoma are considered terminal. Any treatments we do are not for curative measures, but palliative. I know that seems like a downer look, but it gave me peace knowing that all the vets providing care to Ellie (even in this trial) have the same goal of bringing her comfort. I know when I originally started my research I though about how people go through chemotherapy and so many suffer so much, but that’s because the doctors are trying to cure them/get them into remission. That’s not the goal for Ellie, the goal is for her to be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. with all my animals (I have/had goats, chickens, turkeys, sheep) it’s always been quality of life over quantity so I’m continuing to check myself with Ellie and making sure I’m not deciding to go through a treatment just for her to survive.
As far as tips, I’m still barely started in this journey so I might not have much to offer. Things I am happy I did, are make a habit of asking the vet to send me any/all medical records/test results etc. I was coordinating with a lot of different doctors at first and it was so much easier/faster for me to send on whatever test results they needed right away vs them having to contact whatever vet to get information. Also when I’m anxious I research to feel a semblance of control, so being able to review her test results on my own time and google anything I didn’t know really helped me to know what additional questions I had for the vet an be confident in the choices I was making.
After the amputation I was told to check Ellie’s incision twice a day to make sure there were no signs of infection, missing sutures etc. I have been taking pictures each time I do this and created an album I can easily compare from day to day. My mind has blown things out of proportion when I saw a little bit of bruising, and being able to compare it to previous photos has helped me reign in the over reactions, also when I do have a concern I can easily show the vet vs trying to explain it.
Outside of that, there’s lots of tips on this site that have been so helpful to me. I went into it being prepared for the worst hoping for the best, and it’s really helped me celebrate every little victory, and not sweat the small stuff. I’ve been more present with Ellie than I have been in years probably- trying to enjoy every moment versus being sad/worried about how those moments are numbered, I think it has helped Ellie as well I’ve been positive and calm and I believe she mirrors that.
Good luck with everything, I’ve subscribed to your forum so I can keep up to date with Riley please continue to ask questions/vent on here it really is comforting to be able to speak to people going through the same thing. We are all here for you and Riley.
-Whitney
Thank you so much for your advice and comments. Taking pictures is a good idea! Thank you for that.
You hit the nail on the head with this isn’t a cure, but helping him be more comfortable as time goes on, and if that means somehow keeping cancer at bay with this immunotherapy a little longer then that’s a good thing. Like you said, as long as he’s living a good quality of life.
My friend told me as long as you feel like you are doing the best for Riley then that’s all you can do. Once it’s not what’s best for him it’s time to review.
Thanks again and I wish you and Ellie all the best. Your post really did help me feel better about my decisions so far.
Take care
YAY ELLIE! Oh my gosh seeing your sweet face looking a little brighter just made my day. I’m so happy things are headed in the right direction.
We see a lot of dogs have pee accidents because of Traz. Usually bigger dogs who just don’t have any energy during the first few days, they just don’t care to get out of bed. Your theory is spot on and I think if you reduce the Traz it may help. Remember it’s just a sedative not a pain reliever.
100 mg of Gaba is not a lot for a dog her size. If you suspect she’s in pain (anxiousness, restlessness), let the CSU team.
Was that Laura who showed you the exercises for her? I love that she is already doing things (well you are too!) to improve her mobility.
She looks so good. The video made my day, especially with the peanut butter dessert! Be sure to post them on YouTube first and that way you won’t run out of storage space here. Just post on YouTube then paste the video “Share” url back in your blog post. That should work and if not let me know and I’ll help.
Congrats on the first week down! She’s doing GREAT!!!! And you are too!
Ah ok- yeah that was the first time I gave her Trazadone since she’s been home ( and haven’t since). The vet warned me that I may need to use it more in the second week as she starts to feel better- I hope not.
I will get that video moved over to youtube ASAP, thanks for the heads up!
Everytime I see Ellie’s picture I fall in love all over again💖 And to see her with her kitty friend just melts my heart.
Yeah the Traz causes a lot of sedat but does nothing for pain. As Jerry ment, up the Gaba (with Bet approval of course) and take out the Traz (unless needed). The accidents will probably stop then. But hey, pee is a victory regardless of where!.
She is getting exce care and is doing very, very well so early in recovery.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Thank you! Hopefully you don’t think this is too weird, but I tend to think of you and this comment when she has an accident. Pee is a victory!!! Haha after this is all said in done I would gladly wear that on a T-shirt 😛