Gabapentin and Tramadol?

[JohnF]

Peggy's (12 1/2) has gone and got another bloody diarrhea illness, and went anorexic and not drinking a lot or water like she did a couple of years back. I phoned the E Vet last night and asked what to give from my stock of meds and they said  Omeprazole, Tramadol, and Buscopan for the colitis. The local vet has had her in on a fluid drip during the day and may also want her back on one tomorrow. They don't keep them overnight and reckon they're better with the owners anyway. They gave some kind of morphine based injection to help with the colitis pain and then Gabapentin 100mg tablets that I have to continue. The problem is that the medications have really zonked her out and caused poor balance and muscle control, and all that combined with a nasty hot late afternoon led to a lot of panting, which may of course have also been due to pain.    We have to be careful what we give because kidney levels are elevated above her previous normal, so no Meloxicam type drugs.  She's drinking again now and out in the back yard evening cool for a while; no interest in food yet though.  Do any of you give Tramadol and Gabapentin together? These things are hard for the oldies; do any of your dogs cope OK that combination?

Edited May 27, 2020 by JohnF
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[Remolacha]

Conner was on Gabapentin and Tramadol together, it shouldn’t be a problem for her as long as she is ok with the Tramadol. Most of my dogs have been fine with it, but one wasn’t and it was pretty upsetting to see.  for Peggy

[Hubcitypam]

My pharacist almoost fell over when my doctor prescribed Tramadol, Ativan and Gabapentin.  He said that was opiate abuse waiting on a plate but I've done fine on all.

[ramonaghan]

Sweep has been prescribed both together for acute issues. She's never had a bad reaction, just the issues you describe: zonked out and a bit wobbly. That should subside once Peggy adjusts. Hope she recovers quickly.  

[FiveRoooooers]

Two of my seniors get Tramadol and Gabapentin without issue. One is at 100mg Tram BID + 300mg Gaba TID. The other is at higher doses of each and does fine. They each also get Deramaxx at night. 

Best thoughts for Peggy, hope she settles soon. 

[greysmom]

I have one that can't tolerate Tram, for whatever reason, but does fine on Codiene Sulfate as a pain reliever.  They are both opioids, just different enough in how they are metabolized.  Gabapentin is a really safe drug (for the most part) and has few side effects or drug interactions.  If Peggy is sensitive or more sensitive due to her health issues she could take a couple days to get used to the dosage.

[JohnF]

Hi, and thanks for the reassurances. I think I'll see if 1x100 Gabapentin is sufficent and give the second one (supposed to have 2x100) in a couple of hours if she doesn't look pain free or is panting, Tramadol I might give if she wakes up distressed in the early hours of the morning. The vet put her on an injected antibiotic today and wants to give another tomorrow,  they don;t want to upset the digestive system even more. They also sent a stool sample off. She has eaten about 1 and 1/4 boiled chicken breasts (pulled apart and shredded) gradually today with a little rice. I think what encouraged her was seeing me eating a burger. One can only hope she's able to handle it. I hate these complicated problems where you don't know how the dog got the bug or whatever.

[RaineysMom]

Larry (13 yrs 3 months) is on 500mg Gabapentin and 100mg Tramadol 3 x day (he's 88 #) but he's gradually gone up to that high dose.  The Gaba can make them wobbly until they get used to it and some dogs cannot tolerate opiods like Tramadol and the panting can be a sign.  There's supposedly new thinking that dogs don't even benefit from Tramadol (due to how their brain/body is made up, don't know the specifics) but I am afraid of stopping Larry's and having him go downhill...

hope your sweet Peggy is doing better.

[JohnF]

Thanks again. Peggy has been recovering quite well and is now eating 3/4 of normal. They said keep on chicken and rice for a few more days. She had the last antibiotic injection this morning and will be on tablets of the same kind tomorrow, until a week is up as her gut linings should be back in better shape.  We still don't know what caused it and what to make a big effort to avoid.  Can bad teeth do that to a dog's digestive system or maybe provide an easy route for a bug to get in?

[Remolacha]

Glad Peggy is feeling better! Bad teeth can cause all kinds of problems, including systemic infections. If she can’t have a dental, you may need to talk to her vet about keeping her on low dose antibiotics on a regular schedule. That, of course, might be bad for her kidneys, and you would need to put her on daily Pepcid or something similar. See what her Dr thinks.

[PatricksMom]

We just upped Henry to 200 mg of Tramadol and 200 mg of Gapentine a day for a severely arthritic paw, along with 3.25 mg of Meloxicam. It's not all better, but he's gotten much better relief with no side effects at all. Can you give the Gabapentine just before bedtime?

[Houndtime]

Both my husband and I take gabapentin at bed time.  These are things you do when you get older.