# Pain in dogs



## OKSage (Aug 17, 2011)

I had posted another question about Dak some time ago. He has hip dysplasia and arthritis in his left elbow. I'm dealing with what to do about those issues but I have a question about pain in dogs.

He is taking Dasuquin daily. We were also given Rimadyl and Tramadol for pain. I was advised to keep him on the Dasuquin (two a day for two weeks, then one a day). And to use the Rimadyl as needed - but no more than two a day. And then to give Tramadol for pain as needed when Rimadyl is not helping. 

Of course I want to help Dak with his pain but I don't want to over medicate him either. I know there are bad side effects with the Rimadyl. What he is doing now is pacing and panting. He does not want to lay down for very long periods of time. I have given him Rimadyl and he still does the pacing some. If I don't give him Rimadyl he paces alot, pants and sometime even seems very stressed and drools. I am sure he is in pain with no Rimadyl. And even with Rimadyl he still sometimes paces alot and needs some Tramadol. This morning I gave him Rimadyl only and now he is pacing and won't stay laying down for more that 2 minutes, then is up wandering around. He also just yelped when he got up. It is the elbow that hurts him the most and after yelping will hold it up for a bit.

My husband sometimes thinks the pain meds make Dak restless and nervous. But I think his pain is making him restless. Does this sound like a dog in pain to you? I can give him up to 4 Tramadol twice a day but have only given him 2 twice a day at the most so far. I have ask the vet if any of the meds could make Dak nervous and he said no, they should have the opposite effect and make him relaxed and lay around more. Should I be giving him more Tramadol?

I want to do what is best for Dak and sure wish he could talk to me and tell me what he is feeling.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

How old is Dak? What sort of exercise does he get? How is his body weight?

I have to admit that it does sound like your boy is very uncomfortable. Stress panting, dilated pupils, inability to settle in etc are all signs of pain. I am a firm believer that pain relief should be given as fully and as freely as possible (within safe limits) even if there are long term effects (like liver or kidney failure over time)...life is not a good life if it's full of pain. Quality of life is more important than length...
My good friend's dog Rankin had grade III hip dysplasia from a young pup. He was on Rimadyl DAILY for 8 years until his back end finally just gave out and he had to be euthed. He had regular bloodwork done but he just would not have had a decent life without daily meds..and he did very well for about 7 and a half of those eight years. 

Have you thought about trying some different pain meds..sometimes some dogs do better on different ones...and some are good for cartilage issues, cosequin comes to mind. 

Here's a pdf link about pain assessment and management (veterinary paper), it's long but has information about pain and different ways to work out what to use, when and for how long. Long long long..but could be a worthwhile read for you.
http://www.aahanet.org/publicdocuments/painmanagementguidelines.pdf


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Personally, I'd be suspicious that he experiencing some side effects from the Tramadol - some dogs do get restless and anxious on it. If I were you, I would stop giving the Tramadol altogether for 3-4 days and see how he does on the Rimadyl alone. There are lots of options out there if that turns out to be the problem, either trying a different specific drug in the same class as Rimadyl or adding different drugs than Tramadol to it.


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## OKSage (Aug 17, 2011)

Dak is 8 1/2. He is not alot overweight. He weighs 98 and now that he is having these problems the vet would like to see him in the low 90's. So that's not too bad, and he does have a "waist" and I can feel his ribs.

He has not had much excercise this summer. We are in a record heat wave and 110 is just too hot to do much. Every morning he goes go out to run around and do his business. I see him constantly roaming around and not just sitting during these times. Then every evening he helps me do chores...check cows, feed calf, chickens. It's not alot of excercise but he does follow me around here and there as I take care of things. He has never been a very active dog. Hates to play ball and the only time I see him tear around the yard is in the snow! I try to keep him moving helping me but we do not go on regular walks on a leash. The vet told me not to overdo it on the excercise now and just keep him walking...

I've tried to watch how he acts after taking his meds. This morning it was Rimadyl only and then he seemed in discomfort with the pacing and panting. So after he yelped getting up, I gave in and gave him two Tramadol. Now after a couple hours he is finally resting and seems to feel better. He's laying on the floor sleeping now finally.  I've tried to not give him the Tramadol before and he always seems to be worse without it than with it. This is leading me to believe it is pain making him pace and not the Tramadol.

Thanks for the link Cracker, I'll go read that for sure. And I'm glad to hear of the dog that was on Rimadyl for so long. We had blood work done on Dak and all numbers are fine. His kidney and liver function is good. So at least we are starting out good, and I was thinking doing blood work each year if he stays on the Rimadyl. And like you said "life is not a good life if it's full of pain" so I think a few good years pain free may be worth the risk if we watch how it is effecting him.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

OKSage said:


> I've tried to watch how he acts after taking his meds. This morning it was Rimadyl only and then he seemed in discomfort with the pacing and panting. So after he yelped getting up, I gave in and gave him two Tramadol. Now after a couple hours he is finally resting and seems to feel better. He's laying on the floor sleeping now finally.  I've tried to not give him the Tramadol before and he always seems to be worse without it than with it. This is leading me to believe it is pain making him pace and not the Tramadol.


Ah, I misunderstood, I thought he'd been on the Tramadol all along. If he still seems painful on Rimadyl and Tramadol, there are other meds that can be added if needed.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

Is he also on a good joint supplement? You may also want to look into acupuncture. I know some holistic vets do gold bead implants for CHD. I have to say I had an epileptic dog get the gold bead implants for that, and the results were dramatic.


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