Rimadyl for Arthritis

[TyTysmom]

Anyone's baby currently on Rimadyl? I'd love to hear your comments regarding results, side effects, good or bad. We did X-rays on Tyson which confirmed arthritis, (we already knew he had some) thankfully it's not everywhere. Just in back left leg & very minor in front right elbow. Vet gave us a trial of Ridadyl - said to start off low & see how he does. After reading the possible side effects I'm freaked out. But in that same sense a lot of drugs have scary side effects - I'd feel more confident getting feedback from actual users. I want to give him relief. We already have him on Nujoint DS, and turmeric (natural anti-inflammatory)

I'm super OCD about what I chose to
give him, so any input would be useful.

Thanks!


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[Donnam]

I don't really know the answer, Jessica, but I'll be interested to hear what other members have to say. My dog Jack has some arthritis in his left hip where he had surgery. The side effects are scary. And the two vets I've talked to about it say that it should be used when necessary. For example, the instructions are if Jack is having a bad day, give him Rimadyl. If he's having a good day, don't. That sounds so vague to me! I guess for me it's hard to tell if he's "having a bad day" or not. He limps a little when he gets up from a nap almost everyday! Dogs can't tell you if they're having a bad day and they don't complain. How bad of a day is Rimadyl worthy?!

 

[xxaprilrose]

M jovi was on carprofen which is a generic version of rimadyl. We had to go get a refil and they did not sell carprofen anywhere so now she is on truprofen which again is another generic brand. She takes 75 mg. after being in severe pain it took about three days for them to full take affect and she started feeling better. We have had no side affects and they seemed to work great!

 

[ddnene]

My Roxie had arthritis in her neck and hips… I gave her NuVet, NuJoint, coconut oil and Adequan injections. They seemed to help her at first, but we found out she had other issues as well.
[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] used the laser therapy on her baby…

 

[1Chumly]

I personally don't have any experience with Rimadyl but my son has his old dog on it when necessary. He only uses it for a short period of time because of the possible side effects which as we know can be quite serious. I think it is maybe one of those drugs that are a necessary evil. It does help his dog though, that's for sure.

 

[nycbullymama]

Like you said, everything has side effects.

But I look at Rimadyl as the doggie version of Aleve. Neither one should be used long term (long term to me means years) but it will help drastically with inflammation and pain.

Wellie's been on it for almost 3 weeks due to a shoulder sprain. It's helped tremendously and he's going to be on it for at least another week. There haven't been any side effects.

 

[kaikousha]

Thor has arthritis in all 4 elbows (confirmed via xray) - our vet told us Metacam (another anti-inflammatory, generic is meloxidyl) is safer than Rimadyl long term so he has that at the moment. He also gets Dasuquin chews and salmon oil. He goes to an orthopedic specialist in a few weeks though, but I don't know whether they're going to want to put him on Adequan or scope his elbows or what. Kind of nervous. The metacam and tramadol keep him mobile, though. But not up to his pre-arthritic standards. Keep us posted - maybe ask your vet about Metacam instead?
Our other bully Odin had Metacam for 6 months after he sprained his back leg (xrays confirmed no ACL issues, etc.). I never noticed any adverse effects. He's been off of it for a while now. [MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION], what other issues did your dog have? Also, what is the laser therapy for arthritis?

 

[DoughnutsMom]

My guy was recently diagnosed with arthritis. We've been doing the adequan shots, as needed (1 every 3-4 weeks), and deramaxx pills. He's been doing so well and I haven't seen a single side effect.

 

[TyTysmom]

My guy was recently diagnosed with arthritis. We've been doing the adequan shots, as needed (1 every 3-4 weeks), and deramaxx pills. He's been doing so well and I haven't seen a single side effect.

Are the injections painful to them?


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[DoughnutsMom]

Not at all. He doesn't even notice it. They inject it into the skin between the shoulder blades/neck area.

 

[nycbullymama]

[MENTION=13133]TyTysmom[/MENTION] Jessica, a trick I learned from Blues first vet regarding shots- she always had Earth's Best organic baby food, the ones in the small jar. Blue always had his face planted in that jar while she would give him his shots. He never even noticed..lol..

 

[ddnene]

Thor has arthritis in all 4 elbows (confirmed via xray) - our vet told us Metacam (another anti-inflammatory, generic is meloxidyl) is safer than Rimadyl long term so he has that at the moment. He also gets Dasuquin chews and salmon oil. He goes to an orthopedic specialist in a few weeks though, but I don't know whether they're going to want to put him on Adequan or scope his elbows or what. Kind of nervous. The metacam and tramadol keep him mobile, though. But not up to his pre-arthritic standards. Keep us posted - maybe ask your vet about Metacam instead?
Our other bully Odin had Metacam for 6 months after he sprained his back leg (xrays confirmed no ACL issues, etc.). I never noticed any adverse effects. He's been off of it for a while now. @ddnene, what other issues did your dog have? Also, what is the laser therapy for arthritis?

I actually forgot all about the Metacam… I didn't use it regularly, but that really helped Roxie when she was in pain. I did not notice ANY side effects w/her except for maybe loose stools. I actually did the Adequan injections at home for Roxie, and she never had any issues w/the injections. I noticed right away that she would be back to her old self...

Roxie ended up having cushings disease as well, which is in layman's terms tumors (pea-sized) on the pancreas. She was taking meds for that, but we realized that she also had a tumor in her brain and that was causing her to have seizures and she became unable to walk or eat. We made the painful decision to have her put to sleep in Feb, but she lived to be 10 years 8 mos which is a pretty good span for a boxer.

 

[ddnene]

Are the injections painful to them?


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Oh gosh absolutely NOT… I was giving them to Roxie, they go just barely under the skin (like insulin) Roxie never even moved.

 

[TyTysmom]

I don't really know the answer, Jessica, but I'll be interested to hear what other members have to say. My dog Jack has some arthritis in his left hip where he had surgery. The side effects are scary. And the two vets I've talked to about it say that it should be used when necessary. For example, the instructions are if Jack is having a bad day, give him Rimadyl. If he's having a good day, don't. That sounds so vague to me! I guess for me it's hard to tell if he's "having a bad day" or not. He limps a little when he gets up from a nap almost everyday! Dogs can't tell you if they're having a bad day and they don't complain. How bad of a day is Rimadyl worthy?!

I'm in the same boat as you Donna, I mean what is good vs bad. Yeah, he's slow to get up, but gets up fine. He may limp a little for about 30 seconds and then he's fine. I really don't know. I need to keep doing more research. I'm going to look into the injections as well to see how they compare.

 

[TyTysmom]

I actually forgot all about the Metacam… I didn't use it regularly, but that really helped Roxie when she was in pain. I did not notice ANY side effects w/her except for maybe loose stools. I actually did the Adequan injections at home for Roxie, and she never had any issues w/the injections. I noticed right away that she would be back to her old self...

Roxie ended up having cushings disease as well, which is in layman's terms tumors (pea-sized) on the pancreas. She was taking meds for that, but we realized that she also had a tumor in her brain and that was causing her to have seizures and she became unable to walk or eat. We made the painful decision to have her put to sleep in Feb, but she lived to be 10 years 8 mos which is a pretty good span for a boxer.

The more research I do, the more I'm starting to lean towards the Adequan injections. I read that you have to do 2 a week for up to 4 weeks. I wonder if this is initially then you use as needed? I also read alot about just doing the injections as home. Gosh, decisions. I am going to talk to the vet tomorrow - I should get his bloodwork results then. And see what she thinks. The injections have WAY less side effects vs the rimadyl.