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My dog's disc pain is severe, and gabapentin isn't working. Help!

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | unspayed | 7 years and 8 months old | 19 lbs

My cavilier king Charles has a disc problem. She's been on gabapentin for two weeks for the pain. She's also on prednicare and they work. The gabapentin seems to have stopped working. This is her fourth day of pain and she's now looking worse than I've ever seen her. She tried tramadol but started fitting on and of in quick succession for twenty minutes and she kept stopping breathing. I have no faith in my vets because the attack was critical and due to her prescription and yet she said it woul

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Joy Fuhrman, DVM, MBA, CPA

Veterinarian

Published on October 7th, 2017

I am sorry to hear that Oucy is in so much pain. Disk disease is a very painful condition and is typically treated on an emergency basis. Tramadol is usually not very effective for spinal cord pain and often animals need intravenous pain medications to get some pain relief. While gabapentin can be helpful for nerve pain it is an adjunctive pain medication and needs to be used in combination with something else. The best thing you can do for Oucy is to get her to an emergency vet clinic for surgery and supportive care. Even if surgery is not an option, medical pain management would help her feel more comfortable. I would not recommend waiting to take her in. In the meanwhile be sure to follow your veterinarians exact instructions for the prescribed medications and do not give her any human pain medications as these can be toxic to animals.

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hello, sorry to hear about Oucy. If she seems to be doing worse then perhaps she may either need more aggressive pain medications that have to be given in the veins or have surgery. I would recommend taking her to a specialty center whom may have a neurologist whom could examine Oucy. Disk disease is very painful and may not completely respond to medications alone. It truly does depend on the severity of the injury to the spinal cord from the disk disease. In the interim, keep Oucy quiet and on soft beddings. Do not allow her to jump, walk, go up/down stairs, for then next 3-4 weeks. I think it is time for Oucy to see a specialist in your area. If theres a neurologist available, that would be best. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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