Gabapentin And Tramadol Together, Update #34

[greyhead]

Update: Spencer's doing very well on two 300-mg gabapentin per day and two 50-mg tramadol. You can see him still thinking about guarding his space when he's lying down, but he's not saying anything about it. Of course, he quickly trained Shane to think twice before lying to close to him! But when he's on his feet, he's fine and fearless.

 

Talked to his internist a while ago and she said there's no problem with his continuing on that dosage of those things for life. However, in due course we can try reducing the gabapentin dosage and going to as-needed tramadol. I asked if there's any down side to his taking these, and she said no. However, she did check his liver values, which have been running a little high for a year or two (thanks to his IBD meds), so I'm keeping that in mind in thinking about this. She did want him put back on his SAM-e for the liver. Anyhow, we're to check back in six months unless something changes for the worse.

 

Thanks again to all for your help.

[Guest GreyMom1998]

My Emma had severe spinal pain and was diagnosed with lumbar spondylosis the last year of her life. Acupuncture didn't help at all. My vet refused to give her Adequan injections and instead prescribed 300mg Gabapentin every 8hrs & 50mg Tramadol every 8hrs as well. The Gab worked right off the bat. THANK GOD!! She was her old self for a few days then the pain started breaking thru. Even an increase in the Tram didn't help.

 

One thing to remember is that Gabapentin is a NERVE pain medication. Tramadol is an analgesic, an over all pain med that happens to be a opioid.

One thing I kept in mind is that nerve pain is a lot worse than say an achy muscle so I always kept on schedule with the Gab. It can cause an upset tummy so once a day a pepcid an hour before dosing with Gab should help.

 

Laura, Boz, Rosie & Belle

[Guest Marigold]

My Marigold is on Gabapentin 100mg twice daily and 50mg tramadol AM and 100mg PM. As for the Adequan I've never used it for our dogs but it worked really well for my horse!

You said Sam was a red born in 2000, is he by chance out of Greys Statesman and Gadid? That is who my Marigold is out of (formerly Ice) and her symptoms sound similar. Just checking

[KF_in_Georgia]

My Marigold is on Gabapentin 100mg twice daily and 50mg tramadol AM and 100mg PM. As for the Adequan I've never used it for our dogs but it worked really well for my horse!

You said Sam was a red born in 2000, is he by chance out of Greys Statesman and Gadid? That is who my Marigold is out of (formerly Ice) and her symptoms sound similar. Just checking

 

No. In fact, Sam has no Greys Statesman in him.

[Guest akawow]

"Just an aside, but the meds treat different types of pain. If one does the job, great, but if not it doesn't mean it's not working."

 

 

 

 

I'm new, would you mind explaining that?

Edited April 10, 2012 by akawow

[greyhead]

Just an update. Tried doing without the tramadol, but snarkiness ensued. Using both meds, though, seems to be doing the trick. Today at Costco I happened upon a bolstered memory foam bed (32 x 46 or so), and Spencer thinks it's the best thing EVER! He be chillin' ever since.

 

Just an aside, but the meds treat different types of pain. If one does the job, great, but if not it doesn't mean it's not working.

Akawow, if you hit the reply button of the post you're quoting from, as I just did, the name will show up and, more importantly, they are likely to get a notice from GT that their post was quoted. Then they're more likely to show up again to answer the question posed. On the other hand, it depends on whether or not they have their settings selected to permit that. (I know, it's confusing to be new. I still don't have the hang of everything and probably never will!)

 

But I think Sambuca was referring to the fact that Gabapentin addresses nerve pain and blocks it at the nerve level, while Tramadol is more generalized pain reliever directed at other sorts of pain. And one of those might be enough, so the other isn't needed. Or it might be that one is doing its utmost and doing good but still requires the addition of the other to totally get the job done. When there's nerve pain, the surrounding muscles often tense up and try to protect the nerve. So they get sore, and Tramadol addresses that part of the problem.

[Guest akawow]

Thanks, and good explanation.

[PatricksMom]

"Just an aside, but the meds treat different types of pain. If one does the job, great, but if not it doesn't mean it's not working."

 

 

 

 

I'm new, would you mind explaining that?

 

Pain can be caused by different problems. Gabapentin is particularly good for nerve related pain. Tramadol is more multipurpose. In my experience it's more effective for muscular or arthritic pain.

[greyhead]

Just an update on dosage and treatment. We settled on 100 mg. gabapentin three times a day, 8 hours apart (more or less), and 50 mg tramadol twice a day, 12 hours apart. Experientially, that's the minimum effective dose for him.

 

Additionally, we've started treatment with cold-laser therapy. He got a free treatment two weeks ago and seemed to benefit from it. This week we're doing two more treatments (at $35 per, I think). A different (rehab) vet explained to me recently that this fourth-generation laser is a very good thing, and that the in-place (not portable) model that my vet has is the best. So one treatment wasn't really enough to base a conclusion on, but what happens this week may be illuminating. Although he has gotten acupuncture/chiro for the last three years, it doesn't seem to be working as well for his condition as advanced as it has become now.

 

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their experiences and recommendations! We really want to get him to age 12 in good form.

[Guest arlosmom]

Arlo is twelve years old. He began having trouble walking significantly after his dental in April. At the time he was on rimadyl and tramdol for artheritis. This progressively got worse so we took him off rimadyl and added gabapentin. Tramadol in the am and gabapentin in the pm. He continuedto get worse till he was starting to fall down. Did not want to eat etc. We upped him to two tramadol and two gabapentin 3 times a day! I was shocked to give him that much meds. He has always slept a lot and this did not change very much. After about a week and a half the change in him was miraculous! He is no longer limping although he walks slowly. He does a happy dance after he poos and even occassionaly wants to go for a walk. He does however have very little control of his poo. About once a day he poos in his bed or when he gets up. It is funny trying to see him make it out of the house. His poos are very firm. We just pick the up, squirt a little cleaner on the floor or carpet and flush down the toilet. He seems very happy and content. I know he can't go on forever with this much meds but he is having a good life.

[greyhoundlov]

Well, I only take 200 mg every 8 hours - started me with 1 pill 3x a day and then up to 2 pills 3x a day. I weigh a LOT more than your pupper - so I tend to agree with the folks who say to start out low and build up the dosage.