Palladia info? side effects?

[Independence]

Fingers and paws crossed. We'll be praying for you all.

 

[EAO76]

Ugh our meds just finally came in today. So we will start them tonight. I am scheduled for a c-section on the 14th. We are going to be leaving the dogs at home while we are in the hospital (four days) and my husband was just going to go back & forth to feed them and check on them. With Truck and Fluffy being sick I did not want to take them out of the home or disrupt their routine and since Trucker is not friendly with strangers we cannot have a pet sitter come here. So he is going to be alone a lot. This is freaking me out now that we are starting this medicine. From what I have read most dogs start to have the side effects during the second week (the week we will be gone). I don't want to delay starting the meds though because his tumor is growing so fast. He no longer uses his leg at all. I really hope this all works out ok and he doesn't get really sick.

I just read this thread about Loki and how he collapsed during the second week and needed fluids. This is not easing my mind any!
http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/do...ons/153898-loki-starts-palladia-tomorrow.html

 

[johann]

Do you have any friends that he knows really well that could come check on him for the four days you are gone? I'm sure he will be ok, but I'm sure it would reassure you while you're in the hospital.

 

[EAO76]

Do you have any friends that he knows really well that could come check on him for the four days you are gone? I'm sure he will be ok, but I'm sure it would reassure you while you're in the hospital.

The only other person Trucker really LOVES is my father in law. He is the only one I know for sure could come in & out of my house without any reaction from Trucker but he is going to have my three year old son & my two other Boxers. Other than my father in law Trucker really has only bonded to his trainers. We should have made more of an effort to have him make more “friends” but most of our friends/ family aren’t really “dog people” and Truck can be a handful so we just got into this terrible habit of sheltering him from stuff. This was really poor planning on our part but with this all popping up in the last three weeks and everything that we have going on it sort of caught us off guard.

Well we started the meds tonight. He is only taking 60mgs right now. From what I am reading that is a pretty low dose (Truck has lost weight and is about 59lbs). I hope its a high enough dose to help?? I guess I need to trust that the vet knows what she is doing. He is also taking a drug called Misoprostol which prevents stomach ulcers and I am giving him OTC Imodium. He will take the Palladia ever other day and on his off days he takes Piroxicam which is an NSAID that is used to treat some cancers.

I do have a question for you guys...the instructions/ warning say, not let kids (or pregnant people) anywhere near the drug, use gloves when handling, don't touch his feces or vomit, dispose of it in a seal bag, ect. It also says the drug will be excreted in the urine. How concerned about the urine should I be? The poop is easy because he always goes in one place but he pees all over the yard. Did those of you who have used this drug do anything special when it came to your dogs urine? I guess my concern is that the other dogs & my son are always in the yard playing. I don't really want to leash him to go potty as we pretty much just leave the door open all day for the dogs to go in & out.

 

[Tuff Love]

I don't have anything to offer on the Palladia, I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you guys. You have more than your hands full right now and I am praying that something turns for the better soon. Susi said it best- you are doing everything you can for Trucker and Fluffy, and sometimes that means not doing anything at all and weighing out positives vs negatives. Crossing fingers that the Palladia helps Trucker and also wishing you luck with the C section/delivery!

 

[EAO76]

Well its only been one dose so far (he gets another tonight). His stools are a little loose but they have been on & off because of the other meds he is on. One thing I have noticed is he is a little reluctant to eat but he hasn't skipped a meal yet. Unfortunately the pressure of the tumor is affecting his circulation and now fluid is building up in his leg. It now looks like he has a little water balloon around his ankle. Last night he slept on the floor which he has never done in 5years but he can no longer get himself onto the couch. I stayed in the living room with him and he moved from dog bed to rug to floor trying to get comfortable. I just don't know how much longer I can watch him like this. Its so hard.

 

[Sansal]

Poor baby :( is he on pain meds, too? I hope the palladia will give him some more quality time on earth. He will tell you when he is ready to go.

 

[EAO76]

He is on Tramadol 2x a day and also the med Piroxicam every other day. The Piroxicam is a NSAID but its also supposed to reduce certain tumors. Its hard to judge how uncomfortable he is. Whether it hurts or its just that the tumor is so cumbersome that his mobility is affected. He wont even let his toes touch the ground at this point. Every time he looks at me I feel this horrendous guilt that I am not doing more for him. The whole thing is absolutely heartbreaking.

 

[Independence]

Been thinking about you guys and hoping you had a good weekend. Please give us an update when you get a chance.

 

[EAO76]

Trucker wouldn’t eat dinner last night and wouldn’t even eat cheese & scrambled eggs this morning. The only thing I can get him to eat is chunks of natural balance beef rolls but even that he is very reluctant and not eating enough to make a meal. I took him to the vet this morning to see what she thought. It’s breaking my heart that he won’t eat. I feel like I took away his last joy. His leg & foot is totally full of fluid too. Anyway the vet doesn’t think he is suffering so much as just probably more uncomfortable. She gave him an anti nausea injection and an injection of pepcid. We also got an Rx of an appetite stimulant. If we can get him to start eating then I will keep him on the Palladia but if he won’t eat then I will have to take him off of it.

It’s so hard to know what to do. She said since the tumor is so big that if we can get him to eat then maybe we should be aggressive with the treatment & try giving the palladia every day for a week to try to get the tumor to reduce faster. But If only two doses has caused him to stop eating I can’t really imagine giving it to him daily. Unless this appetite stimulant is some sort of miracle maker.

Honestly I don’t know what I’m doing at this point. My gut tells me this is all futile. This tumor is so huge and is growing so fast logic just tells me there is just now way any pill is going to make a difference but it’s so hard to look at him and just give up and let him go. I know everyone tells me that I will know when its “time” but since it’s technically just his leg I feel like the lines are blurred on what to do. I always thought when I needed to make the decision to put him to sleep he’d be very sick, or having trouble breathing, or seizures, or something that is clear cut. With Trucker he just has this enormous tumor that is affecting his mobility but his eyes are still bright, he still wants to be near us, he tried to play with his favorite squeaky this morning, & stuck his head out the window in the car. But then you look at him from behind and you see the swelling, the fluid build up and this hard melon size tumor and it just looks so bad.

If anyone has words of wisdom I'd love to read them...