dbullwinkel Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) Missy is 13..has stenosis and arthritis. Gets adequan, acupuncture, gabapentin, tramadol and supplements. a couple of weeks ago needed to have her tail amputated. she sat on it....dislocated...anyway. I have noticed an increase in her panting the last week or so. After the surgery she was put back on meloxicam (7 days) for the pain. she has always been a "hot" dog..and I often put the a/c on early in the spring for her! we have central air, so the temp is pretty stable in the house. Today I gave her a meloxicam to see if the panting is less, thinking she is still having pain from the surgery. there is no bandage and the incision is still healing. she is also a very dramatic dog...yelping at the smallest touch sometimes! She is not struggling to breath or anything, I have watched her. Any thoughts on this panting would be appreciated. I will let my vet know, but at this point hate to think of putting her in the car for a trip to the vet as it is so stressful for her and her back. Naturally I will bring her if necessary! I was just thinking: she has been getting tramadol 3 times a day since her back worsened. that is when we added in gabapentin. she used to only get tramadol once a day (100mg in am) now she has been getting 100mg am/50mg the other two times. maybe I will stop the tramadol and she how she does. Tramadol can cause them to be restless, correct? she also gets 300mg gaba. three times a day..started at 100 and worked up. this dose seems best for her. maybe she will be ok without tramadol... Thanks Edited August 30, 2012 by dbullwinkel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greymomnc Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Yes to your question about Tramadol. The late Miss Jackie had her dosage increased when she developed lymphoma and the first night she paced all night long. The vet added 5mg valium and that helped her to settle. Hope your girl feels more like herself soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiggysMom Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I could see a number of possibilities for the panting Heat (which with your a/c cranked up, seems unlikely) Tramadol, which does cause restlessness and panting in some dogs (it sounds like she's been on it for a while, though, so I'm not sure that an increase in dosage would cause this now) Meloxicam - you said you gave her "a" meloxicam, which leads me to think she is getting human tablets. Metacam, the liquid version of meloxicam for dogs (sorry if you already knew that), is much more customizable for a dogs weight. The meloxicam pills are often higher than optimal dosage for dogs, and meloxicam (and Metacam) is a prime suspect in GI side effects and/or ulcers. So, it's possible this could be causing the panting (from associated pain) Pain from something going on with her tail amp - have you checked her tail thoroughly to make sure everything seems to be healing & healthy? Finally, with her chronic back pain, maybe the meds just aren't ahead of the pain right now? Sorry, I'm not really any help - just tossing out ideas. Hopefully, your vet will be willing to consult over the phone without bringing her in and stressing her out more. Quote Wendy with Twiggy, fosterless while Twiggy's fighting the good fight, and Donnie & Aiden the kitties Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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