Arthritis drugs

[Marty]

One forum I check out has really strong feelings about rimadyl and deramaxx, and I am wondering how you feel about them. I know they can be very dangerous for some dogs and am aware of what to look for and have researched the NSaids quite a bit. If they help, and have no adverse reactions, am I harming my dog?

Winnie's Vet gave us a 2 week trial of deramaxx, and after the holidays we will X-ray her hips and do the required bloodwork. She has stopped getting up on the sofa to sleep, which is why I think her arthritis may be getting painful. She actually is crating herself (which is comical, because we have never crated her) or sleeping on a doggie bed, which is unusual also. I've been giving her Cosequin for about 3 months now also.

I am leery of this because I was taking the human stuff and after 3 months I couldn't keep food down, so I stopped them just before they were pulled. Like I said, I will watch her carefully, but it still makes me nervous. I read where dogs don't tend to get the heart problems while taking this, as humans do?

Biscotti took rimadyl last year during an ice storm, but we discontinued it after a few days, and she has been fine since. I think Winnie may be long term, though, if there are no problems.

[davet]

what was the connection beween Rimadyl and the ice storm......but i used to start patients out with plain old aspirin about 5 grains per 65 pounds...found out in short order if the dogs could handle it and if not then discontinued...Then went to Either prediselone or dexa methasone...every thing ar a low dose for effect...I never did advance to the Rimadyl, or Deramaxx etc because they had not been out long enough....There are several others that are now used.l.etogesis, Metacam ,Zubrin, and Previcox...Every one of these can have good or adverse effects and i think you try them to see which works best.
this does not help you situation but it still all is trial and error.....

[davet]

here is a URL of the drugs used today but i don;t know how to enlarge it so if you can read it be my guest...

[JMM]

I really like Zubrin as we don't see the GI upset with it. It seems to be really well tolerated.

[k9Karen]

I think you just need to be very careful with any of these drugs and watch your dog carefully for any signs of GI distress (vomiting or wretching, soft stools, diarrhea, blood in the stool, etc.). Mickey could not tolerate any NSAIDS (aspirin and Rimadyl were both tried with almost immediate vomiting). 1/2 of a Rimadyl tablet (I think it was a 30 mg tablet, but don't remember for sure, it was very small) gave him severe diarrhea for 3 days. I know with Rimadyl, liver failure can occur, so it is essential that it not be used in a dog with any sign or history of liver problems, and liver function needs to be monitored with blood tests on a regular basis. I've known several dogs who tolerated it well, and others who didn't. I am not familiar with any of the newer drugs.

[Marty]

Thanks for the replies...I do want to make Winnie comfortable, as much as I can, without giving her more problems.

Zubrin...I am not familiar with and will look into it.

Davet, we had an ice storm in GA last year...Bisc woke me up crying and not willing to move from the couch. We were afraid it was her back again (she had disc surgery several years ago), and made an ER trip. It turned out to be arthritis, and a few days of rimadyl got her over the hump of the cold weather...and yes, she was in our heated home.

Over Thanksgiving my DD was here with her 3 dogs, one of which is only a year old. Bisc played with that boy all day....the next day she was really grumpy and didn't want to have anything to do with that pup. I thought she overdid it, and gave her half a rimadyl, and she was back to her old self again.

I don't mind using them like that...it is long term that is my question...

[Traci]

There are risks with any NSAID/cox-2 inhibitor, your vet simply needs to be aware of your dog's health history and prescribe loading doses in small doses, monitor and gauge the results by exam/bloodwork and through your account of Winnie's progress.

Other simpler things you can do is provide a soft fleecy (heavy) blanket with a heating pad, gently massage her limbs/muscles in the morning and encourage light exercise. If she's slightly overweight, a weight management plan could be implemented to help reduce extra weight that may be putting forced stress and pressure on her limbs.

Don't be afraid to try what your vet is recommending to you, but do followup on bloodwork and watch her closely for any signs of adverse reactions, such as Karen noted above.

[Marty]

Thanks, again. We'll see what these 2 weeks bring. Last year I got a heated bed, but Winnie hasn't figured out yet that it is heated and feels good!