My old Lab has severe arthritis. What pain relief options help?

You should ask your vet about combination therapy. I would use the Rimadyl in conjunction with Tramadol or Gabapentin. In combination the medications work together synergystically and enhance each other. If those don't help the next thing I would try is either Meloxican or Piroxicam in place of the Rimadyl.

Tramadol has been found to have very little effectiveness in pain control in dogs. So less and less vets are prescribing it. Of course humans are abusing it, and it is a controlled drug. But the main reason is that it just is not that effective. Here is a research article: https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2460/javma.252.4.427?utm_content=buffera3998&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

You can talk to your vet about therapy laser treatments if it is available in your area as these can help with pain and inflammation. You can also see about starting Adequan injections to help with the joints or further pain medication such as gabapentin or Tylenol 3 or 4 in extreme cases.

Hi there. There are many prescription medications that are safe and effective for arthritis pain in dogs, so I would encourage you to take Abby to the vet for an exam when you are able to. He/she can discuss some options with you and get her started on an NSAID or appropriate pain medication to help make her more comfortable. In the meantime, you can try starting her on a daily glucosamine/chondroitin supplement such as Dasuquin or Cosequin, as well as an omega-3 fatty acid supplement like Welactin - both of these are very safe, and have been shown to help with arthritis in dogs. These can be purchased over the counter or ordered online without a prescription.

Metacam is similar to ibuprofen or naproxen and has both anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties. In general I feel like drugs in this class work better for arthritis than medications that only treat pain like tramadol. Each dog is different, and some dogs need multiple medications to relieve the pain associated with arthritis.

I am sorry to hear about Coco. The Novox should help some with his arthritis as it is an NSAID (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as us using ibuprofen. If it isn't providing adequate pain control there are other options we can try in addition to the NSAID. These would include Glucosamine Chondroitin joint supplements such as Dasuquin, fatty acid supplements which can decrease inflammation in the body, injections that can aid in joint health (Adequan), and additional medications such as gabapentin, tramadol, and amantadine. I would talk to your vet about these options to figure out what is best for Coco. You can read more about this at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A

I am sorry to hear that Oucy is in so much pain. Disk disease is a very painful condition and is typically treated on an emergency basis. Tramadol is usually not very effective for spinal cord pain and often animals need intravenous pain medications to get some pain relief. While gabapentin can be helpful for nerve pain it is an adjunctive pain medication and needs to be used in combination with something else. The best thing you can do for Oucy is to get her to an emergency vet clinic for surgery and supportive care. Even if surgery is not an option, medical pain management would help her feel more comfortable. I would not recommend waiting to take her in. In the meanwhile be sure to follow your veterinarians exact instructions for the prescribed medications and do not give her any human pain medications as these can be toxic to animals.