Arthritis in senior dog

[Julie B.]

Actually, the adequan injections (polysulfated glycosaminoglycans) are the ONLY form of glucosamine/chondroitin that have been "proven" in the literature as actually regenerating cartilage and approved by the FDA as a treatment (supplement) for osteoarthritis in dogs. you may even find that you would spend close to $52 a month for the oral pills. I would recommend using a veterinary product such as Cosequin, Glycoflex, Chondroflex, etc. or at least matching the ingredients of one of these products to those in a similar human product (same mg of ingredient, same chemical composition i.e. hydrochloride vs. sulfate, etc.). I would recommend a product with Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM.

The recommended dosing for adequan, btw, is twice weekly for 4 weeks (a total of 8 injections). This is not something that your dobie would need for the rest of his life, though you would most likely want to follow up with oral supplements. Also, remember that it will take up to 6 weeks to see any "results". Best wishes and please keep us updated!

[Julie B.]

Also, I just wanted to add that I agree with Traci, please use caution with using aspirin in dogs. It can cause gastric ulcers and can exascerbate any existing coagulation/platelet disorder.

[TheSkeptic]

Julie is correct and I was in error.

Check these links....


http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/ ... RSTINDEX=0

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRel ... amine.html

[k9Karen]

Good grief Skeptic - for QuackWatch, that's a glowing endorsement! Julie is correct, the studies have not been done in dogs, they were done in humans. I only have dogs, but my "study" says it works - at least in 3 dogs! . (Ok, one is on glucosamine only). The "animal study" that is mentioned re: causing insulin resistance was done on mice - and the dosage was significantly higher than any dog or human would be given. I read the abstract, and it's certainly something to consider and I believe it should be used in caution in those already diabetic until otherwise proven. It doesn't work for everyone (many things don't - for example, Naprosen (sp?) is totally useless for me - works on nothing, it works great for lots of people, just not me). Every article I've read on the Gluc/Chon combination states it doesn't work for everyone. I do believe that there is something to it. I watched as Mickey improved, and stayed that way for almost 4 years. I started giving Allie glucosamine (GlycoFlex) when she was diagnosed with a luxating patella - her patella doesn't "go out" much at all anymore - it used to happen several times a week. Angel has been on the gluc/chon mixture for almost 4 year, and her symptoms from severe hip dysplasia remain unchanged. Yes, this could be a logical fallacy, or a case of "clustering", but 3 out of 3 means it's worth a shot in my book (and you know I'm as skeptical about this stuff as you are!). I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to take it if I had any arthritic symptoms.

[TheSkeptic]

We have our older dogs on it, and while scientific, it appears to help most of them. (I have not seen any signs of improvment on one of them)