Carly: tramadol/med question

Carly went to the vet yesterday.. I feel like bad mom because I knew shes been in pain.. so she has pretty significant arthritis in both elbows, and relatively mild arthritis in both knees (hips ok) but when they went to extend her legs to do the x rays she was in definite pain. and I quote " the lumbosacral vertebrae shows remodeling indicating instability in lumbosacral joint so during extension of the hips its causing nerve pinching making it harder to squat or poop" which is probably why shes constipated, it hurts to squat..

she probably also has asthma. We are starting Tramadol, and oral Terbutaline (for now),dasuquin, and continuing the miralax. Has anyone seen any bad reactions in cats to Tramadol in cats? Much info online is for dogs but there was mention of disorientation in cats. shes also too fat for her frame and shes now having to eat in the kitchen by herself and i cant leave food down for Janeway who picks at her food.

Also, anyone see issues giving all of those things together? dasuquin in food, miralax dissolved in water and syringed post pilling of Tramadol and terbutaline.

 

((Lisa)) I had used tramadol with Remi and did not notice any adverse effects. Not sure about the other stuff you are giving. I mean, I use mirilax mixed in the food but that is with only 1 of mine taking any other med. And so far it is all good. I would venture to say if your vet already knew you were giving mirilax it should be okay to do what you are thinking of doing. I am sure someone with more experience with these meds will be on soon.
And don't feel bad. You did take her in to be seen. And if you get some of the weight off of her it will definitely help her aching joints. Carly knows how much you love her and knows you are always there to take care of her.

 

I tried Tramadol with Gabby a couple times over the years when she had a UTI and she never handled it well. She would drool, be lethargic, and lose all her appetite which with her last UTI was thin to begin with because of her stomach cancer. She seemed to handle all opiates that way (She had Buprenex after her dental). I was considering Metacam at the end of her life despite the risk if her tumor started causing her pain, but she didn't seem to really experience any pain because of the tumor, so I ended up not going having to go that route. I would have taken the risk though, if it improved her quality of life.

 

Tramadol is very bitter. If the entire pill is not covered, you will have the drool.
Hide it well - I have used a pill pocket and laughing cow cheese - or you will have the drool.

I am giving Oliver 1/4 tab of 50mg BID and he is completely more relaxed. I had suspected he may be in some pain, headaches, and have noticed a huge improvement in him now.

When we first started, I found that if he got a taste of the pill, he would drool and drool and drool, I did not even know if he would stop! I syringed some tuna water in his mouth and it seemed to wash away the taste.

He takes no other meds except pepcid once in awhile, so I can't comment on interactions.
You could check:
Drug Interactions Checker

 

Thanks all.. funny-she didnt drool at all.. maybe I got it back far enough with the pill gun and water chased it fast enough..

 

I did the same...I used a pill pocket, cheese, and tuna. She was fine eating it, and I always gave her the pill right before food. The drooling would start later when the tramadol hit her system. And it wasn't just the drooling--she would get glassy-eyed and act strange, hissing at nothing (she hardly ever hissed normally), and just acted generally like she wasn't herself or feeling well. She reacted to Buprenex the same way, which was administered in liquid form. Some cats just don't tolerate opiates well, just like people. Both my mother and I happen to be those--when I had surgery last year I told the doctor to not even bother giving a me prescription pain meds, because they make me feel worse and I was just going to only take Advil anyway.

 

Poor Carly. I bet that hurts. Shiloh stopped squating too when his back hurt. I have a full bottle of Dasquin if you need it. Donna