# Pain meds after spay?



## daycaremom2002 (Feb 3, 2006)

Maya goes in next week for her spay and I was wondering how many of you got pain meds for your baby.

My friend had her chi(Zoey) done by this vet about a month ago, and he said that he doesn't give them any meds to take home, because they are so little and they don't need it. Zoey (11 pounds) was sick, as it turns out, she had a bad uterine infection and they are lucky they took her in because it was really bad. Anyhow, they did her spay, kept her overnight(the vet lives above the clinic) and sent her home. She was whiney and uncomfortable for almost 3 days.

Is this common practice? Maya is soooo little I am not sure what to expect. I am going to have her weighed in a couple days so I can get her more heartworm meds and dose them right, but I don't think she is much over 4 pounds. I am just nervous. I don't want to leave her overnight either. 

Any help? What should I ask the vet before I take her in or leave her? She has seen him 3 times now for shots ect....


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## peanutlover (Oct 8, 2005)

i say def get pain meds. i did with all mine and their neuters.. its def worth it.. they will have you give them 1/4 of a pill.. they get a pain shot during surgery or just after. and that helps some..and dogs have a naturally high pain tolerance, so some vets choose not to do pain meds. but they are anti inflamitories (not sure on spelling) and pain meds, so its just like more specific tylonal.. nothing strong.. the same stuff they give to dogs with arthritis. sprays are more invasive then neuter.. so i would def give them.


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## daycaremom2002 (Feb 3, 2006)

Peanutlover, that is what I was thinking.....

I was just talking to my friend again, and she was told that part of the reason for no meds was that they might increase bleeding because meds thin the blood? It seems like there should be something that is ok.

I don't know......i guess I will have to grill the doc....


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## BonnieChi (Aug 12, 2005)

the vet that spayed bonnie also told me she wouldn't need any pain meds, and I ended up going to a different vet a couple days later to get some because i could tell she was in pain. and we never went back to that vet. just my opinion, but i think you definitely want to take some pain meds home with you after your chi is spayed. Even though she's so little...they can give her liquid meds in a tiny little dropper. the vets have formulas to calculate the dosage based on your dog's weight. Both mine ended up getting 0.1 ml once a day, and for oscar they even gave me droppers with the meds already measured out. 

If they want you to leave your dog overnight, make sure that there will be someone there all night to monitor her. and if you're really not comfortable leaving her, insist on taking her home. if they won't let you, find a vet who will. 

I know it's soooooooooooooo hard not to worry about your baby being spayed, but it's really a very routine procedure. We always hear the horror stories, but the vast majority of spays go fine with no problems. my dog bonnie is under 3 pounds and had no complications (other than post-op pain). the most important thing is to find a vet that you are comfortable with. hope this helps, let us know how it goes!


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## ~Jessie~ (Oct 30, 2005)

Rylie was spayed when she weighed about 2.5lbs, and she came home with pain meds. The vet gave us very tiny dosages of pills, and I was so thankful. I can't imagine them not having pain meds. When Madison was neutered, I had to request for them to give us pain meds.


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## BonnieChi (Aug 12, 2005)

daycaremom2002 said:


> Peanutlover, that is what I was thinking.....
> 
> I was just talking to my friend again, and she was told that part of the reason for no meds was that they might increase bleeding because meds thin the blood? It seems like there should be something that is ok.
> 
> I don't know......i guess I will have to grill the doc....


some people give baby aspirin for pain (like after shots, etc) which is fine, but it thins the blood and can increase bleeding after surgery. meds you get from the vet are fine. :wave:


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## peanutlover (Oct 8, 2005)

mine were all given rimadyl- 1/4th a tablet twice a day. here is some info on it
http://www.rimadyl.com/display.asp?country=US&lang=EN&drug=RC&species=CN&sec=000


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## *Tiffany* (Sep 27, 2005)

i also got pain meds for rocky (oscar isnt neutered yet) and it def helps. i am actually surprised all vets dont give pain meds...


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## The O' Riley Factor (May 31, 2006)

So glad you asked this question! I just went through this last Thursday with Riley. He was in allot of pain when I broght him home and the vet I took him to never offered any so I didn't know. But anyways I ended up at the emergency vet that night to get a shot and pain pills for him. If your vet offers them take them if they don't ask for them it is worth no matter how tuff your chi is.


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

I would request pain medication. I was given it for both of my girls and Cosette is not even three pounds, they have pain medication that is fine for small dogs and I wouldn't want to leave them suffering after a surgery.

ETA The meds we got were liquid.


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## chimama (May 14, 2004)

I was never given any pain medicine till my last pet I had spayed. Usually they say they have a pain shot b4 they come home. I just give them a bit of motrin if needed.


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## Krista (Dec 29, 2005)

Yoshi didn't have any pain meds ... they told me she wouldn't need them. She wimpered and was a little sore for a couple days but it was nothing too bad ... she just seemed really uncomfortable though. I wanted pain meds, but she was okay.


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## daycaremom2002 (Feb 3, 2006)

Thanks everyone. I just didn't feel right in my gut, so I called around to get some more info. I know a lot of people who go to my vet. He has been practicing for a long time and retired into his own "house" with the office downstairs. He is a little abrasive in his personality, but I have never really heard anything bad about him. When we first took Maya there, I asked questions. She was my first small dog. I asked about Nutrical....he said "she is fine. You don't need it." She was only 1.5 pounds at 10 weeks. I bought some anyhow. I asked about heartworm meds, he said "nope. She is too small still" A month later, he did give me some heartguard, but he does not ever explain anything. It is either yes or no. When I called today to get some more information about the spay, the receptionist was very rushed sounding. She didn't explain any more than I asked. She said all spays stay overnight and no they didn't give any pain meds when they went home. I asked if anyone stays with them overnight, and she said simply "Dr. Tom lives upstairs" .............OK.....does that mean yes??????

After this, I called a place that my neighbor took her chis years ago to get spayed. (she has since switched to this other vet because he is cheaper and closer) They answered the phone and spent 15 minutes chatting with me about everything I asked the other office. I asked if they had experience spaying little dogs...."yes we have done quite a few. I fact, we had a litttle 3lb yorkie in the other day....she was sooo cute..." Do you keep them overnight? "no, they go home in the afternoon. When we do the spay....we use gas, we intubate them, there is 2 people there so that they are monitored closely...we put them on a pulsoc monitor. This is all good because they come out of the gas faster...." Do you offer pain meds? "We have them available if you want them....."

She offered soooo much information with the same simple questions I asked the first place. They charge almost the same amount as the first vet ($79 for spay) but I will have to pay an extra $35 for an exam first since they haven't ever seen her. BUT they will include her rabies shot in that exam price, so I am really only paying about $25 more. 

I just feel sooo much better about this office. It is about 20 minutes away instead of 5, but I really can't compain if Maya is safer. 

Anyhow, sorry for the long story, but I knew you all would understand. Am I being crazy? The second one sounds better right? They don't do emergency, but the first does, and I could always still call them if I HAD to.

Kristi


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## dolly'sgrandma (Nov 8, 2005)

You totally made the right decision!

I asked my vet about pain meds (I had a friend who took her 4 pound poodle in to her vet and there were different prices depending on the meds!) and she rolled her eyes and said, "I hate it when vets do that. OF COURSE she is getting meds...here and to take home". She charged $120 for everything you could think of included...the little collar, the meds, the follow-up, etc. And she was intubated and there were two vets during the operation.

And even then, I was a nervous wreck. We'll be thinking of you!


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## daycaremom2002 (Feb 3, 2006)

thanks everyone. I decided to definately let the second vet do the surgery. I am taking her in on Monday for her exam and rabies shot, then I will take her back on Friday for her spay.

I was talking to my mom about the first vet, and she said that when they did her dogs back leg surgery (large part Makenzie wolf, she separated her tendon on her rear leg. They had to go in and reattatch it..) they didn't give her any pain meds either. She was not supposed to walk on it for a couple weeks. They said that it keeps them more stationary when they are hurting.  I couldn't beleive that. Let them hurt just to make sure that they don't move to much???? I would like to have him have major leg surgery without meds!!!

Anyhow, done ranting. I am going to check out this new vet when they do her rabies shot and make sure everything is up front. Wish us luck, I will let you know how she does with everything.

Kristi


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