Arthritis

[newfy]

Merlin's arthritis is getting worse, the vet wants to start him on tramadol; anyone with newfs in the same situation have any luck with this medication,any other meds should I ask him about? We go back on Monday, would like to know if there are any other alternatives or should we just try this 1st. Merlin will be 9 in July & is having trouble getting around lately.

 

[Bucephalus]

Sorry to hear Merlin's having trouble. Bo has elbow and mild hip dysplasia at only 16 months old, and his vet just gave us a 30 day supply of tramadol, just to use on bad days. We avoid using it if at all possible, only when he's limping and it really does seem to help just to give him 100mg 2x per day. What about trying adequan injections? Our vet recommended these for when Bo is older. Not sure if Merlin's arthritis is bad enough for this, but it might be worth asking. Hope you find something that helps!

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Does Merlin take any anti-inflammatory or pain med? I'm not sure what you've tried so far.

Maggie has "moderate" arthritis in her knee and was having a lot of trouble getting around this winter. We've been giving her metacam in addition to her fish oil and other supplements and it has helped a TON. It's an NSAID but one of the safer ones.

We plan to try acupuncture as well. Could that be an option for Merlin to reduce the meds?

 

[lmfoltyn]

We have Dexter on just plain buffered aspirin. It seems to be working well for him. He has arthritis in his ankle and his hip from being ran over as a puppy. Dexter is now 12.

 

[ardeagold]

Chance is having some trouble with his hips too. He's getting buffered aspirin, MSM, Vit C, wild salmon oil...but I've found he does best on Microlactin which I had run out of but just got a shipment of. I'll keep him on the MSM, Vit C and salmon oil and then try to drop the Buffered aspirin and only use the Microlactin. If that doesn't work, we'll probably try some NSAIDs of some sort.

Try the Tramadol and see if it helps. You could also try Adaquan shots and/or acupuncture.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

I had a vet who does holistic as well as meds mention Tart Cherry. I get it in capsals at a health food store. i think we use far less Deramaxx than we use to for elbow problems, though it was used as as needed and not even once a month usage before.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

I don't know anything about tramadol, but what I will say about the MSM is I had Vin on it for about a month and it actually helped with his ol bones. Wishing Merlin a painfree 9! Go give the Floof King a kiss from me!

 

[Angela]

I have Gracie who is now 12 yr and 7 mths on Microlactin for the past year. She has never had NSAIDS, I am sure at her age she must have some arthritis but she gets around just fine without any help from me (I'm very lucky).
So, I really think Microlactin (or Duralactin at the vet's place) is working well for her.
As was stated above Metacam is one of the safest NSAIDS though.

 

[NewfieMama]

I'm sorry he's sore. Zuzu has arthritis and some other joint issues associated at age 2. We do monthly Adequan injections and Metacam as well as Cosequin. I've added Alaskan Salmon Oil in hopes of reducing the need for daily Metacam but so far I haven't been able to reduce the daily dose by much or go to every other day or something.

Accupuncture and Chiropractic work well for us, and insurance covers it which is nice (Embrace).

Have you looked into stem cell therapy?

ETA we have Tramadol. Cooper doesn't tolerate NSAIDs so he gets it if he's very sore. I have given it to Zuzu when she's particularly bad and I want to keep her quiet as it's a narcotic.

 

[jane]

Roger does excellent on the Microlactin too!

 

[MMtnmom]

I am not a fan of tramadol. Lucky was on it and got to the point where she wouldn't eat and wouldn't get up. A friend who took Ultram herself was talking about how it just wiped her out, even one pill, and I decided Lucky was just being overdosed on it. I stopped it and her appetite returned and she went back to being her (elderly) frisky self, a little gimpy but much happier. Not every dog/person responds the same way, but I would be very cautious and observant if I was to use it again.

 

[Milliejb]

Sorry to hear Merlin's having trouble. Bo has elbow and mild hip dysplasia at only 16 months old, and his vet just gave us a 30 day supply of tramadol, just to use on bad days. We avoid using it if at all possible, only when he's limping and it really does seem to help just to give him 100mg 2x per day. What about trying adequan injections? Our vet recommended these for when Bo is older. Not sure if Merlin's arthritis is bad enough for this, but it might be worth asking. Hope you find something that helps!

Agreed. I only used tramadol on bad days for pain management. I also agree with adequin injections or go to Red Bank Rehad and try acupuncture and physical therapy. Out of all the things I tried, it worked better than all the drugs put together! Hugs to Merlin :grouphug:

 

[Ginny]

Tramadol is an opioid - makes some very loopey.

 

[Lori]

Chance got very tired when he first started Tramadol. After a while he went back to normal, just without pain. I think with some dogs, their body needs to adjust to the medicine.