I've heard many people say their dogs panted like crazy after the surgery while on the tramadol. And many people also said that their vets disagreed that it was caused by the tramadol. I know Abby panted a lot and we definitely suspected the tramadol – but we did keep giving it to her. As Charon said, I've also heard people say good things about gabapentin, but don't have any experience with it either.

I think it's probably better to have them be "weirded out" – even though it can be scary to see/deal with – than to be in pain, so I probably wouldn't go cold turkey off it either.

Hang in there. (You might find some similar posts/answers if you search/skim through the 'ask a vet' section??)

You are deep in the worst of it! It'll get better.

Jackie, Abby's mom

Thank you again for the information.  Charlie had a better day today…still panting but, we are keeping a steady dose of the tramadol and rimadyl and keeping him comfortable until we meet with the surgeon again next Monday to remove sutures.  Then, we will reassess him and talk about weaning him from the tramadol. 

My husband talked to the surgeon this morning and we have been waiting for the path report…it is day 8.  She explained to him that she never sent it out because the margins were so clear.  The mass was over his metacarpals and his amputation went up to his shoulder, including his scapula…which I'm assuming is standard protocol.  Before his surgery, I asked her to also send some lymph nodes for pathology to make sure things hadn't metastisized to his lymphatics.  After the surgery, she called to update us on his progress and explained that there were no swollen lymph nodes that she found so, didn't send any. 

Is it strange that the tumor "his leg" wasn't sent for final diagnosis?  Our pathology report from the surgical biopsy at our vet said "soft tissue sarcoma grade 2".  From reading, it is clear that there are many different types of STSs and some are more agressive than others.  For our own piece of mind, we needed to know. 

It seems strange that the surgeon decided on her own, without asking us, to not send it out for diagnosis.  Am I right?

Hey, just checking in…glad to hear Charlie is doing well!  Katy pants a bit with the Tramadol as well; my vet had told me I could break the tablets in half if I felt that giving a whole pill was too strong, maybe that's an option?  She's on 50mg tabs, they're not scored but if you put it on the edge of a table or counter and push down, it snaps right in half very evenly.

I agree that it is strange that no tissue was sent out for biopsy.  Katy was diagnosed with "highly likely" soft tissue sarcoma (original biopsy was not clear), and my vet sent out her whole lower leg for histopathology.  I didn't think to ask about lymph nodes, but given that the swelling was confined to her lower leg and her chest x-rays were clear, I guess my vet wasn't worried about metastasis.  I would say, if you paid for histopathology, then you should insist on it.  Bottom line is, we are responsible for our kiddos' health care.  You tell the vet what you want, and if he won't give it to you, find another vet.  My professor (a vet) told me that when we first found Katy's lump and our vet wouldn't do a biopsy.  So we saw the other vet at the practice, and he did the biopsy and also the amputation.  :)