Ask a Vet; Post operative/ surgery medications

If your dog is having surgery, here's a brief overview of possible medication your vet care provider may recommend/ send home.  This is not an all-inclusive list. 

Veterinarians are treating and preventing pain in different ways; this is because a lot has been learned in the last 5-10 years.  When you know better, you do better. Many of us are using " multi modal" pain control to control and prevent pain in safer and more effective ways.  This results in better faster healing, and less psychological stress. - no suffering. 

NSAID:  Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.  Medications like Rimadyl, carprofen.  These are the hallmarks of pain control for most pets.  They act to reduce swelling and inflammation at the site of the injury/surgery. Side effects: these can be upsetting to the GI tract (vomiting, diarrhea, not eating) they should always be given with food...and if any GI upset STOP these meds and contact the vet.  They are metabolized by the kidneys and liver and should be used with caution in dogs to have underlying disease.   

Gabapentin: this is a "nerve pain medication".  It reduces the nerve’s ability to send the pain signal from the site of injury to the brain.  As a stand-alone medicine it is a poor pain drug. But used in combination with NSAID etc. it helps quite a bit.  It also causes mild sedation and therefore can be helpful to encourage our post op pups to rest during their recovery. 

Tramadol: this is a " narcotic like" pain drug.  It works very poorly in most dogs... offering little to no pain control.  This has fallen out of favor for many pain-control veterinary specialists. 

Codeine: this is a true narcotic pain reliever.  It has its effects on pain centers in the brain.  If you have ever had a major surgery this class of medicine was probably given to you for a couple days. This is a good pain control and is considered safe even in most dogs with other health problems.  It can cause mild sedation.  Often clients worry about addiction in the dog.  The good news is: dogs do not become addicted for a myriad of reasons and if used properly it is safe.  

Trazodone:  this is an anxiety medication and is also used as a mild sedation.  This helps post-surgery dogs rest and feel less stressed by their recovery (crate confinement, not running/ playing, etc.). It is also used in fearful dogs to reduce panic and fear associated with vet visits, grooming, travel, etc.  it can be used as needed or episodically.  This has gained favor by those of us to practice fear free medical intervention.  Trying to limit emotional/ psychological pain increases quality of life, ease of treatment, and increase the human animal bond. It does not impact pain. Sedation/ anxiety care is not pain-control for the body but more for the emotional/ psychological being.  

Local pain control: your veterinarian may do local pain control pre- or post-surgery.  Some practitioners do a local block for spays or neuters, tooth extraction, or tumor removal.  Think of this like Novocaine for a dental procedure. Numbing the area in advance of causing pain.  This reduces the amount of anesthesia needed (safer surgery) and lessens recovery time and increases comfort.  

Epidural: often this is done for orthopedic surgery on the rear legs. Both my BTs that needed patella surgery had epidural injections before surgery.  Again less anesthesia, better recovery.  If done by a licensed and trained DVM this is very safe and effective.   

Adaptil: this is dog appeasing pheromone: this spray (also available as a plug in and collar) helps relax the brain and feel more secure.  This is not a miracle drug.  But anything we can safely do to reduce stress is better.  I use this in my dog’s crates: spritz the bedding, anytime they are likely to feel stress.  This includes surgery and recovery.  

Many of us use a combination of pain control: to better control pain along different places in the neurological / physical pain signal pathway.