Is 100mg of Tramadol an effective dose for a 65 pound beagle?

Question

Suspected ruptured disc. Treating with 20mg prednisone 2X/day plus 100mg tramadol 2X/day.
90% reduction in rear leg strength, both sides, for 4 days. No known trauma.

All medications are prescribed by her vet. She did get double dose of prednisone by mistake tonight. Dog is of unknown age, I guess 6-8 years old...maybe more?? Adopted as a stray adult. Female.

Answer 1

Tramadol is successfully used for extreme pain (cancer, orthopedic surgery, ruptured discs, etc.) in dogs....I prescribe it a good bit, in fact....but the dose you cited is on the very high end of the spectrum for dogs (which require a different mg dosage per pound than humans), and should be cut back as soon as the pain seems to be controlled. Discuss it with the DVM who prescribed it....no one here is qualified to judge that without actually seeing your dog (including those of us who are DVMs.)

No myelogram?

Either that's an extremely obese beagle....or there's another breed mixed in there somewhere.

ETA:
Tramadol IS Ultram....it's a human drug. There is no 'doggy' version.
Don't EVER give any form of aspirin to a suspected disc rupture case!!!!!
Ultram is not an NSAID...it is an opioid analgesic. *sigh* The prednisone is being given for the antiinflammatory effect.
Do not....I repeat, do NOT....ever give aspirin to a disc rupture case. And NEVER mix aspirin with pred!!!!

*sigh again* Why do people insist on making medication recommendations they are not qualified to make??!!!

John....don't panic about the accidental double dose of prednisone, but be aware that that might be pretty hard on her stomach. If you can reach your DVM after hours, call and ask if you can give her some cimetidine (Tagamet) to protect her stomach. It is normally prescribed in combination with the high doses of steroids required for spinal problems anyway. If you can't reach him/her tonight, call first thing in the morning. Don't give tomorrow morning's dose until you talk to your veterinarian.

Whatever you do.....please do not change your dog's prescriptions based on anything anyone says on an Internet message board. (Lots of people around here like to play doctor with only limited medical education.....there is some dangerously incorrect advice in this thread.) Like I said, I'm a DVM who has treated many such cases, and even I can't make that judgement without knowing your dog's history in more detail, seeing the x-rays, her bloodwork results, and putting my hands on her to examine her myself. The doctor who did that is the ONLY person qualified to do so.

If she's not showing improvement after 4 days on medication, I would recommend you ask for a referral to a neurologist.

Answer 2

Tramadol for humans is a pain killer similar to Tylenol with Codeine--neither of which are medications safe for dogs.

If the Tramadol is the Ultram (doggy version) than offer her the dosage the vet recommended. Ultram comes in 50mg pills so you could offer 1 pill and if after 2 or 3 hours it doesn't seem to offer much relief then offer the 2 pills (or consider 1 1/2 pills if you're able to cut the pill in half--don't do it if it's a capsule).

You could also offer Asprin. At 65 lbs follow the dosage for Junior Strength or Children's (will probably be 3 TBLS or 3 chewables or 2 caplets).

You may want to call your vet in the morning. Ultram is a non-steroidal anti-inflamatory. It's used as a pain killer when the pain is caused by arthritis (mainly because the anti-inflamatory will cause the swelling of arthritis to decrease therefore the pain goes away when the swelling does). However if she has pain AND swelling, this medication will only help with one and not the other. So you may want to discuss if an Ultram/Asprin combo would be safe. (I assume you're asking if 100 mg is effective because you don't think it's helping her enough??)

Answer 3

I don't know about the drug,but you definitely need to get about 30 lbs. of weight off the dog.I had a beagle who weighed 50 lbs.and he developed terrible back and joint problems,and congestive heart failure,in large part due to his excess weight .We tried to keep him on a diet,but those big,brown eyes......I wish I would have been more firm about not giving in to his food obsession,as he died from a combination of being unable to walk and heart failure.I hope you can get tough and put your dog on a diet.This will help his back and his health in general.Oh,how old is he? My Otis was 11-1/2 when he died.I miss him so much.Good luck with your doggy.

Answer 4

Thats a lot of Tramadol! Im a 170lb man and my doc only gives me 150mg a day and that makes me pretty loopy.

Answer 5

I didn.t know dogs take tramadol.thanx for answering a question i have for mine..As He is very old has hip problems these days.and don,t think he,ll make it thru winter.i don,t want him to suffer in pain til the inevitable day comes....so sad..

Answer 6

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