Experiences? We are adding it to my old guys regine for his ever increasing arthritis. Already taking Deramaxx for it, as well as Anipryl and thyroid meds.
Good pain relief without the stomach upset for my shepherd. No side effects for him! It’s the next step after NSAIDS. After that we go to Tylenol 4’s Good luck.
Works well for my little old man - 13 year old Border Terrier…
We’ve used it for several dogs over the years, and in my experience, they get just loaded enough that they don’t want to move around as much so you don’t see them being as uncomfortable. It helped my old girl to sleep through the night - whether from pain relief or something else, who knows. Latest dog had to be on tramadol when she was on steriods and honestly, I don’t think it did much, but I was reluctant to use it in the amounts some people do.
I’ve found that by itself, it may help with acute pain, but it’s crappy for chronic pain. I find the best use is with Rimadyl (or other NSAID).
I’m finding that gabapentin is very effective. Particularly with chronic pain.
I had one dog that got violently ill with tramadol. Puking, couldn’t hold anything down, had to go back to the vet overnight for IV fluids and anti-nausea meds.
She did better on gabapentin!
I have used it in conjunction with other meds for my guys for several different hounds, and frankly, I did not think it provided much pain relief for them. Like Dr.Beckett, I find that gabapentin seems to be more effective for my guys.
Pain control seems to be quite an individual thing.
Both my dog and I vomit like crazy on tramadol. So. Much. Vomit.
YMMV.
[QUOTE=Preposterous Ponies!;8863296]
Both my dog and I vomit like crazy on tramadol. So. Much. Vomit.
YMMV.[/QUOTE]
Oh, what a bummer!
Mine don’t vomit, but they do pant excessively. Somewhat worrisome with a bloat-prone breed.
I cared for a Rottie with end-of -life pain due to cancer.
I injected him with morphine (not saying where I got this) on his bad mornings.
He would immediately vomit, then get up and be absolutely fine and pain- free.
But, for some, the side effects of opiates or opiate- like drugs are not worth the amount of pain relief. Again, a case by case kind of thing.
I know all too well the adding meds issues for comfort. My girl had no problems with Tramadol and was getting 150mg 2-3 times a day along with Carprofen, Amantadine, Adequan injections and laser treatments 3 times a week. The Gabapentin did not help at all. She did get 2mg Pepcid 2 times a day also. Sorry you are going through this. It sucks to see them age:(
Thanks all. Yes, so hard to watch them get old. Our house is a split level, hence lots of stairs…to go out he has to navigate 2 flights down out the back or one out the front, so we tend to notice it more than if we were in a single storey house. I worry about how he will cope this winter, we don’t get tons of snow but do get icey stuff a lot. So, trying to keep him as comfy and happy as possible and see how he does. We carried him up and down those steps (65#) for 2 weeks last winter and I’d prefer not to do it again lol. (Neuro issue that thankfully turned out to be temporary). He hated it and it wasn’t much fun for us either.
We had our old guy on Tramdol for a year. It gave him a much better quality of life for his final year. He had much more mobility when on it so he could follow us around the farm. That made him happy. He did not have any bad side effects.
My Labbie was on Tramadol [and some other anti-inflamm.] at age 15… for about a year. I had increased the dose as it seemed it was not really taking the edge off her pain behind [sitting] and her LF arthritic ankle.
This summer she went on strike… would not take pills, would not eat.
I had to take everything away and start over with just food. Even then I had to play around with the food… some days she loved her normal, been eating it since she was a pup food… other days I had to make a cocktail of stinky wet food with broth… I was offering her 2 and 3 options as she would turn each one down.
She has been off Tramadol and everything else [Duralactin, fish oil] for about a month plus now, and she’s way more active and alert.
Eating well, not as painful as I feared she would be off it.
Now the challenge is getting her back on her arginine/Renal rx, which I feel is the most important med… from there I will decide what I want to try to force on her.
It’s so hard trying to understand what they are telling us, weighing what they need and what they want
[QUOTE=sprite;8863718]
Thanks all. Yes, so hard to watch them get old. Our house is a split level, hence lots of stairs…to go out he has to navigate 2 flights down out the back or one out the front, so we tend to notice it more than if we were in a single storey house. I worry about how he will cope this winter, we don’t get tons of snow but do get icey stuff a lot. So, trying to keep him as comfy and happy as possible and see how he does. We carried him up and down those steps (65#) for 2 weeks last winter and I’d prefer not to do it again lol. (Neuro issue that thankfully turned out to be temporary). He hated it and it wasn’t much fun for us either.[/QUOTE]
My guys are 160-195 pounds, so no possibility of lifting them when they are down.
You might look into to building a ramp- you may need it for future large dogs. We have a ramp that would hold a Clydesdale out the back door, and a series of platforms with very shallow rises that replaced our front stairs. It looks nice and you can get a wheelchair up it.
The sheepskin-lined holder that is kind of like a log carrier can help steady them.
Lots of rugs over potentially slippery floors can help too.
Some plan to get them up into a vehicle is good, though if you have a low- entry minivan that is easier. We actually have a “Wolfhound Loading Dock” where we can walk (or drag on a blanket) them right into the back of the Yukon too.
As long as they can manage gentle walking, it seems to help. If I am gone and the old ones are allowed to be total couch potatoes, I can tell they are more stiff.
Good luck! The old ones are a treasure, though we do worry over them!
I’ve used Gabapentin with decent results with NSAIDS. I would try Adequan before I tried tramadol personally.
Gabapentin and tramadol are both excellent additions to pain management. Amantadine is also another to consider.
I’ve got a 13 year old English bulldog who receives an NSAID, gabapentin, tramadol and amantadine. He has severe djd in his elbow and this coctail keeps him comfortable. Sedation is a side effect while theu get used to the drugs but generally tapers within a week.
Very hard to find any arthritis relief drug that doesnt cause digestive upsets, sometimes severe. For some dogs none of these can be used.
[QUOTE=pezk;8865791]
Very hard to find any arthritis relief drug that doesnt cause digestive upsets, sometimes severe. For some dogs none of these can be used.[/QUOTE]
My Labbie is borderline renal failure.
This is why we avoid the Nsaids and use Duralactin, fish oil and the Tramadol …when she will take pills which lately is never. 
I am almost afraid to say anything in case I jinx it, but so far, so good. He’s slept thru the night every night since we started the tramadol, and seems more comfortable in general. Fingers crossed it continues!
[QUOTE=Angela Freda;8867768]
My Labbie is borderline renal failure.
This is why we avoid the Nsaids and use Duralactin, fish oil and the Tramadol …when she will take pills which lately is never. :([/QUOTE]
I have an old GSD with severe digestive issues. Hes on presciption meds for his stomach which do help but he cant take any NSAIDs for his arthritis. Havent used Duralaction. Tried fish oil diidnt seem to do much. Acupuncture worked for a few months.
Can you hide the pills in raw hamberger like a raw meatball? Or wrapped in American cheese? Just ideas.
