# Carprofen and Tramadol or ?



## CaNative

My senior, Sadie, is twelve. She's had a difficult time getting up for a while and the vet said to try Carprofen and Tramadol. He gave me a two week prescription. She is able to get up a lot easier and plays with my eleven week old puppy, Cali. Today I renewed the prescription but got to thinking...which one of these medications, in your opinions, is the more necessary? I'm the kind of person who only takes pills when needed, so I'm not looking to overmedicate my dog, but do want her to be comfortable. I've read a lot on ye olde 'net' but am confused. Do I give one, the other, both, neither? Do I half the dose? I asked if there was an alternative to these medications at the vet and the tech said not really. Is there? (I've given her glucosomine for about 9 years). I'll make the final decision, but this forum is filled with grand amounts of wisdom, and I could use some input! Thanks!


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## Charliethree

If you have not been supplementing with turmeric (curcumin) it is worth considering it as an option for your girl. Take the time to research it, and consider if it might be right for your dog. Have recently started giving it to my older dogs, and it has definitely benefitted them.


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## CaNative

Thanks, I'll do that! : )


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## Prism Goldens

tramadol is a great drug. If I had to choose one of the two I would take it. I think it is completely stupid it's a controlled drug now (I come from pharmacy world and the whole controlled substance thing is a little over the top imo) when just a year ago it was the go-to and pretty much was given for any sort of pain. I feel that way (preferring it over the NSAID) because the NSAIDs are hard on the tummy and over time can cause bleeding. Especially if she were to need steroids at some point- you'd have to give her a week to get the NSAID out of her system +/- before starting the steroids.


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## mylissyk

My personal experience with my senior Goldens, the Carprofen (Rimadyl) was the key to relieving their pain and getting them more mobile. We added Tramadol later, and the combination of the two definitely helped even more. As they got older, and had more trouble with mobility we added Adequan injections. 

Our dogs lives are short. I think we owe it to them to keep them as comfortable as possible as they age. I was more concerned with keeping them comfortable for as long as possible than worrying about overmedicating, my vet made sure we gave appropriate dosages.


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