[patm]

I know there'e not much "action" here, but I thought I'd try to start some interest in this section. Skippy is going to be 9 in May, and because of his multiple surgeries throughout the years has quite a bit of arthritis, which is showing up more and more in his "ability" to get up and down, and getting stiff and sore after playing and running. What is a safe med for them to use on a more continous basis for arthritis pain? I have been giving him Co-sequin for years, but that is not a pain med. Any suggestions for something safe and effiicient?

 

[Ninemiler]

My Bessie will be 15 in July - and her arthritis is pretty bad. The vets are routinely puzzled when they see her xrays because she's still quite active and mobile.

I have her on Glucosamine, Deramaxx and salmon oil supplements. Her weight is good, and we're very conscious of keeping her trim so her joints don't have to bear additional poundage. She snoops our acreage at her own pace, and decides for herself whether she feels like joining us when we take the other two dogs for a hike. We adopted her when she was 6, and her arthritis was already severe at that point.

 

[Samson]

Samson was on Glucosamine and Rimadyl for the pain and it really helped him.

 

[MicksMom]

Mick did really well on ArthriSoothe. The horse one is more economical than the dog one.

 

[Yelloweyz]

Indy will be 11 in June, he has been on a Rimadyl (generic of Novox) and Tramadol (brand name Ultram) combination for about 5 years now... He gets labwork done every 4-6 months to make sure his levels are fine....

The cheapest I found the Novox was at www.entirelypets.com and I get the tramadol, because its a human prescription, at Walmart for about 4 bux...(much cheaper than the vet's office).... Without this combination, Indy would not be able to function with the pain, with these, he's still a really happy boy...

 

[Melissa]

Otis is on Dermaxx, 100mg/day. We also have a prescripton of Tramadol but we don't give that regularly. If he's had a particularly bad day - he's been more active, we've had a lot of visitors, kids and he's been running around the year - then we'll give him the Tramadol to help him out.

 

[kiddsmom]

Look at Springtime Joint Health.

 

[cinderbay]

My Cinder has terrible arthritis and was in much pain. We were using gluc/cond (1500 mg/day) but it was not enough. We started using Nature's Farmacy CCM Plus and we have gotten far without having to use pain meds. No rimadyl, no durramax. I have been very happy because she does not tollerate rimadyl.

 

[millstonekennel]

My 14 1/4 only takes glyco flex III, fish oil 2 caps and thats it. He is getting around good. My 11 yrs old gets the same stuff and she is doing great and she has more arthritis than the older dog. If they need something they get metacam and thats rare. What helps the most is chiropractic adjustment acupuncture.

 

[Snowco Labradors]

Lubrysin. I know people getting great results.

More info on natural supps here:

http://www.heartypet.com/blog/?p=25

Also look into Arnica and cellery seed.

It can take time to see results with natural and it is often a combo of things that work.

Please be careful with Rimadyl (be sure and do regular bloodwork for liver) Personally i won't use it.

 

[Socs_buddy]

Arthritis meds

When Socrates first started showing signs of arthritis, at around age 10, I started giving him megadoses of Ester-C. After about 4 days he was running and jumping around again...for awhile.

When his hind legs started giving out altogether the vet prescribed Rimadyl or aspirin. Rimadyl gave him diarrhea, and then I read that a number of labs had died from Rimadyl, so I quickly discontinued using it. I didn't use aspirin very often either because I knew how badly it affected my stomach after just a dose or two.

Another vet suggested Metacam, which didn't seem to be strong enough. I finally began using Previcox, although by that time his hind legs were no longer functional. It did seem to make him more comfortable, however.

 

[2yellowlabs]

My 13 1/2 year old had a very bad reaction to Medicam. I actually thought he was going to die. One evening I skipped a dose and the next morning he had severe and constant diarrhea. That was a Friday and by Monday he had lost about 8 lbs. Our vet who had prescribed it said that sometimes Medicam is not well tolerated, particularly if there might already be a stomach issue. Since then we've fed canned and dry KD and he is doing great. I do use Tramadol if I know he has to do something that could be painful - grooming, riding in a car for any length of time. I know Medicam has a human equivalent - and that might be better tolerated - but the canine version was a liquid. I would be hesitant to give it to either of my other labs.

 

[nmhmadison]

Have you tried Glucosamine and Chondroitin?

 

[mastergardener]

Hi gang, My Maddie will be 8 in September, and I notice in the last couple weeks she is slower to rise on her back legs. We took her to the vet earlier this summer when we noticed she was slowing down, and the vet did not see that she was in pain and felt it might be early to start her on meds. But that was before the slow rising to her legs started. What can I give her that is OTC and natural but that might make her more comfortable? Should I begin discouraging her from jumping up on our bed? She gets walks 2x a day and I don't notice any change in her gait. Maddie is my first dog and I don't know what to expect as she gets older. Feedback much appreciated!

 

[mosmama]

My Mo was on Meloxican (generic for Mobic). Same as Rimadyl, basically. I have issues with it now because I believe it contributed to his liver problems, which is what took his life. I'll NEVER use them again on another. I'm still very, very, very angry about losing my baby, my best friend.

 

[erika348]

Our Merlin takes Dermaxx and Glucosamine daily. Lately, he's just been moping around more and more. Not really getting up much. He's only 12. Anyway, he has his good and bad days, bad more often that not now.

We just found out that the Dermaxx is negatively affecting his kidneys and he only takes a half a pill a day. I will talk with our vet about other alternatives as suggested by other users.

 

[Snowco Labradors]

Hi gang, My Maddie will be 8 in September, and I notice in the last couple weeks she is slower to rise on her back legs. We took her to the vet earlier this summer when we noticed she was slowing down, and the vet did not see that she was in pain and felt it might be early to start her on meds. But that was before the slow rising to her legs started. What can I give her that is OTC and natural but that might make her more comfortable? Should I begin discouraging her from jumping up on our bed? She gets walks 2x a day and I don't notice any change in her gait. Maddie is my first dog and I don't know what to expect as she gets older. Feedback much appreciated!

Walks are important for her to maintain muscle mass to aid in her arthritic pain. The right amount of protein helps maintain that muscle. I prefer at least 26% protein.

Natural suggestions here:

http://www.heartypet.com/blog/?p=25

Look into Arnica. This is from a friend of mine that uses it at the advice of her holistic vet:

"Arnica is a homeopathy that you can buy at the health food store, it's for people but can be used safely in dogs. It's not expensive, here it costs $7.00 for 200 pellets (Lab sized dogs can have 1 to 2 pellets every 6 hours). It's an anti-inflammatory, anti-pain natural thing."

Good luck with whatever you try. Keep in mind it can be a combo of natural things that do the trick. Let us know what you try and how it works.

 

[nalicrom]

My 13 year old lab was on Meloxicam and Tramadol (one in the am, the other pm) and it helped a lot. He also had routine blood work done to check levels, etc. We got both Rx's at Walmart for $4/rx. The Meloxicam was enough to last 2 months. He sadly passed recently from an unrelated nasal tumor. But, the difference in his mobility was night and day once we started him on the meds. Keeping an older dogs weight off is also helpful. Have your vet check thyroid levels as well. It is common for thyroid to diminish with age. A supplement can be added which will help keep weight off.

 

[kassabella]

I have found now the only thing that helps him is swimming and monthly Adequan injections. If any time he is bad I give Tramadol and only do this as a last resort.

Ernie used to have coated asprin for pain as well as the glucosamine and green lip mussel. Then he went to 8-10 week injections and Metacam. Now with his gut issues Metacam/Peroxicam are all out.

 

[Thomas D]

Rimadyl and Cosaquin or Dausequin here. I have had one dog on Deramax for a while after surgery and it seemed stronger than Rimadyl.

Shots into the muscle or under skin of Adaquin seems to be the new thing around here. It is supposed to last a month.

Another thing that can help is to watch the dogs weight. An extra 5 or 10 lbs makes a lot of difference.