I've never used tramadol, but I have an old German Shepherd girl, Lady, who has horrible arthritis and dysplasia.
She was on Rimadyl for maybe 6 months? and it was like a miracle drug. But she developed Old Dog Vestibular Disorder and, given Rimadyl can cause vestibular problems, I took her off of it.
I then was giving her a chewable dog aspirin that I was getting through drugstore.com. It worked (and is working - I've had to change the dosage) just as well as the Rimadyl - but then Lady got what appeared to be ehrlichia, a tick disease, although we could never get blood tests confirming it. Because her platelet count was so low, and because aspirin affects platelets, I dropped the aspirin, as well, for a month or so.
Now she's back on the aspirin, but at a very reduced dosage. Instead of daily aspirin, I give it to her 2-3 times a week. And it does work.
I've considered Metacam, but am pretty spooked about any of those meds because I am not convinced the Rimadyl didn't contribute to the vestibular disorder.
And glucosamine was worthless. I tried a very good human quality glucosamine and it didn't do a thing. Money wasted. I ended up putting it in the compost heap.
Now mind you, Lady's dysplasia and arthritis are pretty bad. But I've found the most important thing is to keep her as active as is reasonable. That is, she can't be a total maniac anymore like my younger pup, Yogi. But she has got to get up and moving every day, a few times, or she can't get up without extreme difficulty.
I also toss a little ground flaxseed on her food, as it appears to have anti-inflammatory properties, at least from what I've read.
And keeping them well hydrated is also important.
Good luck. It is tough to have a doggie with severe arthritis and other mobility problems. But you'll figure out a way to manage it.