Tofranil (Imipramine)

[NeylasMom]

So I was just reading up on pain medication options to see if there were options my vets and I hadn't considered and I came across an anti-depressant that has supposedly been used off label to treat chronic pain, and was also used as an alternative to Proin when it was temporarily pulled from the market. What?! So I immediately emailed my oncologist to see what she thought. She researched it and found dosages for all 3 uses and suggested a conservative dose appropriate for managing pain and incontinence to start with. She also confirmed she could not find contra-indications for renal issues.

 

So, has anyone used this for their dog, or even themselves? If so, could you share your experiences? Dosages, side effects, etc. She is suggesting we start at 10 mg twice daily and we can increase from there if needed. Thanks!

[RobinM]

That is an old old old drug. A doctor put me on it when I was 16 and I did things without second thought that I normally would not have done. IE: hitched from NY to Fla by myself and a lot of other really screwed up things. Of course, I was drinking and taking a gizillion mg of valium at the same time but getting off of the tofrinil was deadly.

 

That is something I would do a lot of research on since it's such a old drug. Maybe there is something more current? I don't know. I did not have a greyt experience but I was also doing a lot of things I was supposed to be doing with this drug.

[NeylasMom]

Anyone else? Just making one last attempt. I am picking it up at Costco today, although I haven't decided whether to start Neyla on it or not.

 

From what I can tell it's a tri-cyclic antidepressant like Amitriptyline, but according to some studies has lesser toxicity, but it's also used less in dogs so less actual chances for reports of side effects. It seems safe enough to try, but there are potential issues with giving it with Tramadol (both lower the seizure threshold). I did find a study that indicated using low doses of both it and Gabapentin had an enhanced pain effect and it is used for cancer pain. I think it has some potential, but I worry about side effects with any new meds at this point since Neyla is on quite a cocktail.

 

Robin, I promise not to let Neyla drink while she's on it.

[RobinM]

Anyone else? Just making one last attempt. I am picking it up at Costco today, although I haven't decided whether to start Neyla on it or not.

 

From what I can tell it's a tri-cyclic antidepressant like Amitriptyline, but according to some studies has lesser toxicity, but it's also used less in dogs so less actual chances for reports of side effects. It seems safe enough to try, but there are potential issues with giving it with Tramadol (both lower the seizure threshold). I did find a study that indicated using low doses of both it and Gabapentin had an enhanced pain effect and it is used for cancer pain. I think it has some potential, but I worry about side effects with any new meds at this point since Neyla is on quite a cocktail.

 

Robin, I promise not to let Neyla drink while she's on it.

 

I was told that it was harder to get off then herion. Now, that was told to me by the doctor who put me on it- maybe because he didn't want me off of it, I don't know., It was several million years ago. But, I do recall, horrible withdrawls coming off of it- again, not sure if it was the tofrinil., valium, drinking, etc.

 

Why don't you run it by OSU? That would be a better place to start. no one here on GT seems to have used it.

[NeylasMom]

Anyone else? Just making one last attempt. I am picking it up at Costco today, although I haven't decided whether to start Neyla on it or not.

 

From what I can tell it's a tri-cyclic antidepressant like Amitriptyline, but according to some studies has lesser toxicity, but it's also used less in dogs so less actual chances for reports of side effects. It seems safe enough to try, but there are potential issues with giving it with Tramadol (both lower the seizure threshold). I did find a study that indicated using low doses of both it and Gabapentin had an enhanced pain effect and it is used for cancer pain. I think it has some potential, but I worry about side effects with any new meds at this point since Neyla is on quite a cocktail.

 

Robin, I promise not to let Neyla drink while she's on it.

 

I was told that it was harder to get off then herion. Now, that was told to me by the doctor who put me on it- maybe because he didn't want me off of it, I don't know., It was several million years ago. But, I do recall, horrible withdrawls coming off of it- again, not sure if it was the tofrinil., valium, drinking, etc.

 

Why don't you run it by OSU? That would be a better place to start. no one here on GT seems to have used it.

OSU is apparently shut down through the holidays. No one has responded to my last email.

 

Any anti-depressant can have withdrawal symptoms, that's why you're supposed to taper off of them, but they are not addictive. From what I can tell, tofranil isn't much different than the other drugs in its class, like amitripyline, which we use to treat SA in our dogs quite regularly. But the doses for managing chronic pain and urinary incontinence are quite lower than the doses used to treat depression. I'm talking 10 mg 2x/day versus 75-150 mg 2x/day, which is an incredibly large difference. At lower doses, tofranil is actually used to treat bed wetting in children so I have to imagine it's relatively safe at those doses.

 

I do appreciate your input, but it sounds like perhaps your experience was affected by the doses you were on or the other things in the mix.

[greyhead]

The main thing with the tricylic class in humans is anticholinergic side effects, which include dry mouth and dizziness when standing. Don't know a thing about how they act on dogs, I'm afraid. But I'd expect those side effects and Google it to get an idea of what else might be seen. In general, the side effects are more annoying than dangerous, but extra care/supervision on stairs and getting into and out of the car, for instance, would be prudent. Hope the Tofranil helps.

Edited December 18, 2010 by greyhead

[RobinM]

I guess because I had such an extremely bad experience it gets me nervous. Just ask around and see how it goes.

[NeylasMom]

The main thing with the tricylic class in humans is anticholinergic side effects, which include dry mouth and dizziness when standing. Don't know a thing about how they act on dogs, I'm afraid. But I'd expect those side effects and Google it to get an idea of what else might be seen. In general, the side effects are more annoying than dangerous, but extra care/supervision on stairs and getting into and out of the car, for instance, would be prudent. Hope the Tofranil helps.

Yeah, those effects are actually the reason it can be helpful for incontinence. I actually noticed Neyla has a dry mouth the other day and am guessing she already has that from the gabapentin.

 

I guess because I had such an extremely bad experience it gets me nervous. Just ask around and see how it goes.

I totally understand. It looks like I'm not going to try it after all, my decision seems to be going the other way, but I do appreciate the input.

[greyhead]

I'm kinda glad to hear that. Just taking all your circumstances into account, it sounds like it might create more problems than it solves.