Tramadol for my Dog? Please Help

I am really puzzled. Our Dog (Casper) has Arthritis in his front legs and has been in pain for a while now. Last month I took him to the vet for his Senior Blood Panel work-up and found out that he has Arhtritis and Hypothyroid Disease. Since his visit, he has been medicated with the Thyroid meds and Rimadyl (anti-iflammatory). The Rimadyl is quite expensive and he does so well on it so when it was time for a re-fill I had asked the Vet if there was a less expensive ant-inflammatory he could take that was close to the Rimadyl. She said no. Instead she prescribed my Dog Tramadol along with the Rimadyl. She said that by giving him the Tramadol on a daily basis, he would only need 1/2 a tablet of the Rimadyl daily. I questioned her about this and she reassured me that he would do well. My worry is that I've head some terrible things about the Tramadol when used in controlling pain in humans. Addiction to be the worry. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing and can my Dog become addicted to his medication. Plase advise!!!!!!

[peekawho]

Dogs can take Tramadol.  Our older Dobe takes it occasionally for his aches and pains.

If addiction is your worry, relax.  Unless he has opposable thumbs, he will have a hard time getting the cap off the bottle and taking too many.  And I don't think he'll be able to write illegal prescriptions or take himself to many different vets to keep his supply going!

You will control how much he gets.  So there is no worry about addictive behaviors, because dogs simply can't get out of control with their intake.  You will give him one a day, or however many your vet recommends.  He can't take more than that on his own.

Its been very helpful with our Dobe.  

[ddeiman]

I would probably avoid the rimadyl and just take the tramadol that should be enough. i agree no worries about addiction.

[Mollyrae]

Thank's for the input, I appreciate it. If he is on a regular regiment (daily) and misses a daily dose, will he exhibit signes of w/d? I ask this because he will need this medication on a regular basis and I certianly don't want him to be uncomfortable w/d wise if he misses a dose. I hope I don't sound like an idiot it's just that being from the pain forum I have heard of ppl who take their meds (tramadol) on a regular basis and feel horrible when they miss a dose even when they don't have alot of pain at the moment.

[peekawho]

Many of those people are on heavy and escalating doses.  He won't be taking much.  

[Jaybay]

The most important thing is that the tramadol helps with your dog's pain.  Tramadol is a pretty mild pain reliever, and commonly used in conjunction with NSAIDS like rimadyl or deramaxx.  If you want to avoid the tramadol altogether, you might ask your vet about deramaxx.  It's more expensive than rimadyl, but it worked wonders for our two dogs who had severe arthritis.  They started out with rimadyl and it did a great job for them for many years.  As the arthritis worsened, they needed something different and deramaxx was a tremendous improvement that made more pain meds like tramadol unnecessary.  

[lonewolf07]

Our 12 yr old Akita has mild to moderate arthritis in her back and back legs.  She was taking Medacam, Ubavet and Omega Three.  The Medacam has side effects so she has to be tested every few mths.  Then the vet suggested Adequan - which is a series of injections which can be given at home.  According to the vet, Adequan can stop arthritis from escalating and in some cases, even reverse it.  I don't know if that's true or not but our Akita had the injections - IM injections and it really seemed to help her.  Occasionally, she has to take Medacam but not as much or as often as before.

I'm in Canada and maybe our meds have different names than yours.  Hope your dog is doing well.

[merryunbirthday]

NSAIDs like Rimadyl help treat the underlying cause of the pain, such as inflammation. Tramadol is usually used as an add-on to pain management, when the NSAID is not enough, unless the pet has a intolerance to NSAIDS. The vet prescribed these medications for a reason. If she advised the use of an NSAID to be complemented by the Tramadol, then owners need to follow that instruction. If one wants to stop the Rimadyl, they need to contact the vet first. You are not a vet and do not know how to use these medications. That's why they went to school and you didn't. If you are not a vet, please do not be giving advise to people about managing medications.

[chicky2001]

My 12 year old mini poodle is on both medications.  I'm not worried about her getting addicted.  I just want her out of pain.

[missyatwood1]

My pomeraniom who started carprofen for his limp... He is 10 lbs...  Can I give him my tramadol for his pain??...and if yes... How many milligrams should I  give him? He is still limping and acting very depressed...  The carprofen is not working...  MissyA1

[ginger899]

Hi missyatwood,
It would be wise not to medicate your dog yourself.
Yes dogs can be given Tramadol, but it is a powerful drug and should only be given under veterinary instruction.
If the vet decides Tramadol is a suitable pain-relief drug, then it's best to get that on the vet's prescription for a start.
A drug should only be used or prescribed with full knowledge of the dog's health history. Some drugs would be contra-indicated in certain conditions for example.

Sometimes medicines for humans can contain other additives, some highly toxic for dogs -such as Xylitol, etc.

So it's wise not to guess at what medication is best -but to take her to see your vet. Yes I know it is more expensive but it's safer.

By the way -was Carprofen prescribed?