I think it's my biggest pet peeve when vets don't give enough pain medication!  ugh!!!

Murphy came home one Tramadol, Gabapentin & Rimadyl - and he took all 3 for 2 weeks, weaning down at the end of the 2nd week.  Some take their meds into the 3rd week.  Not just a "couple of days!" 

This first couple of weeks is really a roller coaster of emotions, but yes, it WILL get better.  Pretty much everyone here will tell you that yes, they would go back and do the surgery again.  Remember that you did this for him, not to him.

Donna

I just want to chime in.  

My Rosie was on Rymadyl, Gabapentin and Tramadol around the clock until Staples came out at day 12.   We did the Rymadyl and Gabapentin at meal times.  Did the tramadol about 2 hours after breakfast and then every 6 hours 3 x a day.  

After the sutures were removed we cut the mid day dose of tramadol and by 2 weeks after suture removal only use it if showing pain signs.  

But she is still taking Rymadyl and Gabapentin.  Rymadyl for inflammation.  Gabapentin for nerve pain.  She had TPLO in August and arthritis so am wanting to keep her comfortable even though I am not sure she needs it.  

Nit telling you what to do, only sharing our story.  

Best wishes!!!! 

Kellye and Rosie the Wonder Tripawd!🐕❤️🐕

Pain meds are critical. I was told by the oncologists at the vet school that tramadol is a really safe drug to give dogs and I could give it every 6 hrs if I felt he needed it. I staggered it like Otis' mom did (see this site IS useful) with the intention of keeping a consistent level of medication on board. Once pain hits, it is much harder to control, so preventing the pain from taking hold is key. Works the same in human medicine. Fionn could not have an nsaid, so he just had tramadol and gabapentin. The hardest part is knowing when to start tapering the dose down since our pups can't tell us how they feel. The fact that tramadol makes them pant and so does pain makes it REALLY hard. In hindsight, I could have tapered Fionn down sooner because he was a zombie dog and part of the reason I thought I had made a mistake was the lack of life in his eyes. Once I started using less tramadol, my boy was BACK! I don't regret doing my best to keep him pain free though. His surgery was Oct 6 and he only came off the gabapentin last week since he still had random yelps presumably from phantom limb pain. The last regular dose of tramadol was week 3 post op (and that was just 50mg twice a day at that point), but I keep some on hand for days where he might do too much activity and be sore.

Ask your vet about icing the incision and bruised area. I could tell Fionn really enjoyed it. FWIW,Fionn and I wrote a blog post every day for the first 2 weeks to give people an idea of what to expect. Every journey is different, but it helps to see that you are not alone in the struggle. We had some VERY challenging days. One post lists all the things I was glad I had purchased, had on hand just in case or found the most useful. Most of which was suggested by users here. The link is in my signature. I found wine

While I know Sally recommends chocolate, I found wine to be very helpful too

Keep us up to date on Conan's progress! We are here for all of you!

Nancy and Fionn

Louloukate: 

I agree - politely, but firmly push your vet for additional, appropriate meds.  Different med types cover pain in different modalities and that is why they work well together.  An anti inflammatory NSAID reduces the inflammation and helps that way.  An opiate like Tramadol works on the brain - blocks pain receptors.  And Gabapentin actually works in the nerves - soothes them when they are jangled (like after a major surgery).  

Sending very best thoughts for your pup to begin to feel better and you, too.