It has been more and more difficult the last while keeping Louie pain free and in the past week he his arthritis has been awful. His tramadol and meloxicam are clearly no longer doing the job so we took him back to the vet on Monday for an assessment. The vet (who also has a very aged arthritic dog) has put him on tramadol, gabapentin and Prednisone (replacing the meloxicam). If he were a younger dog I would worry about the impact all these drugs are having on his liver and kidneys but as it is I think keeping pain free for as long as we can is more important. Worst part is he can no longer go for even short walks to meet his buddies and is confined to doing what he has to do in the yard.
I'm really struggling with whether or not this is the best way to go. I always promised Louie that I would never let him be in pain. My husband feels that because he is otherwise a healthy dog for his age, we should keep going with the meds. I guess we'll have to see what a week on the new meds does for him. Please say a prayer for Louie and for us to make the right decision.