Margot just called me back about the panting. She asked if the limping was worse; it is. Increased panting with increased limping = pain response. We went over the medication schedule and revised dosages a bit. She also gave me guidelines for how much I can increase each of the 3 meds without getting permission first. So, for now, it's:
Oxycodone - 1 full pill 3x's/day
Tramadol - 2 full pills 3x's/day (enhances the oxy)
Dex - 3 pills 2x's/day (decreases pain windup - something about the pain impulses gathering at a certain place in a dog's brain which increases her perception of the pain level - she feels more pain than she's really in)
The next step up will be 1-1/2 pills 3x's/day of Oxy. The Tramadol can be increased up to 4 pills 3x's/day. The Dex can be increased to 9 pills 2x's/day. Margot is not ready to say that it's time to go to Morphine yet. It won't really work in our situation anyway since it HAS to be given every 4 hrs (doesn't last as long as the oxy). When I asked if she thinks it is progressing pretty quickly, she said "well, it's progressing. I wouldn't say you've had her on an excessive amount of Oxy yet, so it's not that quickly yet"
God bless Margot. She's a true gift of a friend. I pray for her alot. She's got a really tough job.
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3 comments:
I hope you can ease her pain.
I hope the all of the meds help some of Ellie's pain.
One job I couldn't do that's for sure, look after poor little animals in pain , she deserves to be blessed.
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