How to time twice-daily tramadol doses for dog eye ulcer pain?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Pet Coach. All of those medications would be ideal to be given as soon as you can rather then waiting until tonight to "try again". If she was due for all three this morning, I would recommend to try again mid-day. Tramadol can be given every 6-8hours to make her comfortable so try to get that into her as soon as you can. Prednisone and clavamox should be given with food or directly after a meal. I would recommend to feed her some lunch and then try to give those meds again after the meal. Maybe with a treat, cheese, pill pocket. If you are able to get either one of those meds into her this afternoon, then skip the evening dose and resume in early morning. The sooner the better.

Unfortunately eye pain can be difficult to treat - oral medications sometimes don’t seem to make much difference. There is some evidence that tramadol is not metabolized well in dogs so I think gabapentin might be a reasonable alternative. Ultimately healing the ulcer will be most important - if it does not seem to be healing well you may need to see a specialist to have a burr procedure or keratotomy in order for it to heal. Topical pain medication might be another option but can sometimes slow the healing process.

They can be given together but I generally recommend giving the tramadol at night, if only given once a day. It is for pain only and can cause drowsiness. That way she will sleep better and be less painful in the morning. If needed tramadol can be given up to four times daily. Check the dose and frequency with your veterinarian to see what they recommend. The Galliprant is an anti inflammatory medication which reduces joint inflammation thereby reducing discomfort. I recommend giving this with a full meal in the morning so she can be active without discomfort during the day. Please make sure she doesn’t gain weight since that can also increase arthritis pain. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Murphy.

It is ok if Sasha has her Tramadol a couple hours earlier than normal. It is sometimes prescribed for use every 6 hours. The main side effect from dosing more frequently is sedation, and possible constipation. If you see these then it is a good idea to skip the next dose rather than dose too early.

You are correct in that most pets are started and maintained on the twice a day dosage. We can’t legally go against what your vet says without establishing a pet client relationship after physical exam, but you can do what you think will achieve the desired results for your pets itchy skin knowning that it is safe for twice daily dosage with this medication. Best of luck with your pet Lily and I hope that her eye ulcer resolves quickly so that she can resume her normal allergy treatment. Take care.

Hi, I would recommend to go back to your vet and ask for a liquid pain relief that can perhaps be administered from the other side of Nezumi’s mouth. Tramadol is very bitter and I don’t think Nexumi will eat it in her food even if she had an appetite. Hope this helps !

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Dorzolamide is typically used every 8 hours and Timolol is typically used every 12 hours. However, this may change depending on the severity of the glaucoma and clinical results achieved. I would defer to your veterinarian for dosing protocols and instructions.