Can anyone help with some questions about Tramadol?

[doodleygirl]

My girl has recently been given Tramadol for arthritis, she is having 80 mg at night and 40 mg in the morning. I only realised she had arthritis when I was researching supplements for her joints and came across a canine arthritis website which had a checklist and she had a lot of the symptoms. Took her to the vet immediately and she diagnosed and prescribed Tramadol. She has Addisons disease so cannot take other types of drugs.

That is the backround - my issue is, how do I know if the medication is at the right dosage, I didnt realise she had arthritis and just thought at her age, 11.5, she was a bit stiff and liked to sleep. She still loves her walks, although we are now doing 3 short walks a day rather than a long walk. What improvements should I be looking for? Are we ever going to be able to take her for a decent walk again?

I apologise for really stupid questions but I dont want her to still be in pain but on the other hand I dont want her to be over medicated.

Any advice would be so appreciated,

The CAM good day/bad day diary can help keep track of any changes although with arthritis do get flare ups that can settle again. Its useful to avoid the caregiver placebo.
caninearthritis.co.uk/how-we-can-help/downloads-and-resources/

You could also look into other complimentary therapies, my arthritic dog has had hydrotherapy, physiotherapy with pulsed magnetic therapy & laser ( can reduce inflammation & pain) which really helped. Not tried acupuncture, although lots rate it.
There's also pain specialists which can help with the more complex cases for medications. Tramadol was really popular few years back but was found in a study to not be as effective as thought (caregiver placebo can even happen with vets too), but certainly some dogs it does work well for.

You can alter dose & monitor to see how they get on using your chosen indicators. My dogs been medicated for past few years & has regular blood tests to check all functioning ok. I'd rather be sure she's pain free as possible as they are very good at hiding discomfort, which then often shows up as further issues around body from compensation.

@Scattyhattie thank you for your response, I will look at the website. Can I ask if you are able to take your dog on longer walks now or do you have to still maintain short walks?

My Labrador was on Tramadol. You shouldn't be doing long walks; two shorter ones are better for the old arthritic joints. Tramadol doesn't cure the arthritis; it is an opioid painkiller. Too much exercise will do further damage and the analgesic regime will then have to be intensified.

@doodleygirl
Tramadol is only effective in about 50% of dogs so it's not an ideal solo drug

Ideally for arthritis you want a multimodal (several low dose drugs) approach.

Usually starting with an anti inflammatory drug like metacam/loxicom and then adding in drugs like gabapentin, amantidin,paracetamol and codeine

The CAM website is excellent- have a good read

@Veterinari thank you for responding.

My girl has Addison’s disease which is why she went straight to Tramadol. What else do you think she should be on? I don’t want to be questioning my vets judgement but I also want to make sure she is on the best regime possible.

Is the addisons generally well controlled?
If liver/kidney function is normal then pain relief meds shouldn't be a problem

Yes it’s well controlled. What do you think I should ask my vet for?

@doodleygirl

Yes it’s well controlled. What do you think I should ask my vet for?

Have a look at the CAMS website and also this article

caninearthritis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/HT-Hannah-Capon-May-2018-BSAVA-Companion.pdf

Usually I'd use a anti inflammatory with gabapentin added in when needed (it's what my own dog is currently on) as I said response to tramadol can vary