Pain Patch Side Effects=Panting, Whining, & Anxiety for NO Reason...

Dexi is still refusing to eat her regular food, so I made a concoction this morning: lean beef, brown rice, and scrambled eggs.  She squatted to pee with no help.  She defecated once, but we had to support her hips as she squatted. We are continuing to give Dexi her pain pills and kept the pain patch on until this afternoon (see why we took it off below). We haven't had the cone on her because we are watching her like hawks and because she's been really good about not licking.  

We are also icing her knees for about 10 minutes, 3 times/day.  There is a lot of swelling and bruising, especially on the right side (which was the knee that had the most damage before surgery).

I filled a zip lock about 1/2 way with blue Dawn dish soap and froze it.  We have been using this to ice her knees.  It works great because it is so flexible and shapes well around the knee.

She is wanting to move around a lot more.  She's walking around and getting up and down on her own pretty easily. She likes spending time outside in the sun.  Her sister, Gia, (5 year old boxer) keeps her company.  

VIDEO LINK: Day 2 after Surgery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAF9qPVbRGE

Gia has been really good with Dexi since she's been home.  A few times a day, she will walk up to Dexi, give her a kiss on the nose, and walk away.  Gia has been keeping her distance for the most part though.

           BUT SHE IS WHINING
                 LIKE CRAZY!!!  
She has been laying in her bed panting and whining all day..even after she goes outside, uses the bathroom, drinks water, and eats...she still whines.  She's panting like she just ran 10 miles in the heat...we have the AC on for her.  She is also very anxious! Concerned about pain, I called the vet.  The vet said to remove her patch and just continue the pain pills.  Apparently this type of behavior is a very common side effect of the pain patch.  The vet is not concerned that she is in any pain, as she's taking the pain pills every 8 hours and moving around well on her own.  The side effects should go away in 8-12 hours, thankfully!

Here are videos to show examples of the side effects...this is when the side effects were at their best...it got much worse!

VIDEO LINK: Side Effects Ex One http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgis9GAOSU8&list=UUyOzdyKH8ZsDGmMe8M_gL_A&index=1

VIDEO LINK: Side Effects Ex Two http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU6l3r0n_Tg

The vet said we also have the option to give her benadryl...just for the sedation...help calm her while the side effects of the pain patch wear off.  We eventually chose to give her 2 benadryl because the anxiety and whining got pretty bad!  It seemed like she wasn't even resting for breath as she whined.