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My 12 year old bichon frise had surgery on Friday to remove a softball-sized lipoma from his chest/underarm area. They also removed 5 teeth. He was sent home with two drain tubes still in place and Rimadyl 25 mg (1/2 tablet twice a day) for pain. That night he was in a lot of pain, crying, whimpering and moaning all night long. I called his vet in the morning and he called in another pain medicine (Tramadol 50 mg - 1/2 tablet twice a day) to be given concurrently with the Rimadyl.

Despite both medications, he is still in severe pain. He sleeps for very brief periods, but cries and moans a lot when awake. I called the emergency vet clinic listed on my vet's answering machine, but they said there was nothing more I could do for my dog.

Because of my own serious health problems, I have several different types of pain medicine at home. I asked the emergency vet if I could give my dog 1/2 or 1/4 of a tablet of my morphine, but they refused to give that type of information over the phone. Cany anyone give me any ideas? Theoretically, if an 18 pound dog were to take instant release morphine, how much (if any) of a 15 mg tablet would be safe?

I can't stand to see him suffering like this and I do not know what to do to help him. Please - someone, anyone - any ideas??

Thank you very much,
Lisa

If anyone would feel more comfortable responding via email or even phone, please don't hesitate!

azwebdevs@cox.net

Thank you very much in advance,
Lisa

602-460-3973

>>My 12 year old bichon frise had surgery on Friday to remove a softball-sized lipoma from his chest/underarm area. They also removed 5 teeth. He was sent home with two drain tubes still in place and Rimadyl 25 mg (1/2 tablet twice a day) for pain. That night he was in a lot of pain, crying, whimpering and moaning all night long. I called his vet in the morning and he called in another pain medicine (Tramadol 50 mg - 1/2 tablet twice a day) to be given concurrently with the Rimadyl.
>>
>>Despite both medications, he is still in severe pain. He sleeps for very brief periods, but cries and moans a lot when awake. I called the emergency vet clinic listed on my vet's answering machine, but they said there was nothing more I could do for my dog.
>>
>>Because of my own serious health problems, I have several different types of pain medicine at home. I asked the emergency vet if I could give my dog 1/2 or 1/4 of a tablet of my morphine, but they refused to give that type of information over the phone. Cany anyone give me any ideas? Theoretically, if an 18 pound dog were to take instant release morphine, how much (if any) of a 15 mg tablet would be safe?
>>
>>I can't stand to see him suffering like this and I do not know what to do to help him. Please - someone, anyone - any ideas??
>>
>>Thank you very much,
>>Lisa

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It is very, very dangerous to give human meds to a dog. Even aspirin could kill this little dog on top of the Rimadyl and possible other things administered in the hospital stay. M.D.'s for humans have killed their own dogs by dosing them. Dogs are geared very differently than humans when it comes to medications. You need a vet to make your dog more comfortable--I so hope you have not already given this dog anything, and that includes over the counter human meds. Give ONLY what a vet prescribes, specifically. This is life or death for dogs.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Thank you for your warning. I know I don't have the knowledge to safely medicate my dog. I haven't given him anything but what the vet prescribed. With my vet unreachable until tomorrow and the emergency vet clinic saying nothing more could be done for pain control, I was just looking for help from someone who has the knowledge that I lack.

It is heart-wrenching to watch him suffer so badly. I know what it is like to suffer with unbearable pain, so I feel especially helpless. I definitely learned the hard way not to schedule anything like this on a Friday.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Lisa

It shouldn't matter what day the surgery was performed on, the vet should be there to help. I would ditch that vet and find one who cared more about his patients than about what day it was. Is your kiddo feeling any better yet?
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Kadee Sedtal
home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rat pack- Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, and Fillmore, and the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, and Schubert