Adequan Feedback

[Guest sknydog]

My Irish Wolfhound is getting ready to start Adequan injections. He has NO cartilege in either of his elbows. We are guessing he is around 3 years old and looks like he was born that way. The specialist said he has never seen such bad looking elbows before. I have had him on DGP - Dog Gone Pain since I adopted him and he has done really well on it. He went from only being able to raise his front paws about 3 inches off the ground and can now put his paws ALL the way up in the air...especially if he is begging for a bite off my plate! The negative to DGP is the cost which is about $21 - $25 per 60 count. Based on body weight, Murph has to take 5 per day so 1 bottle lasts less than 2 weeks. Anyway, the adequan will end up being cheaper in the long run when we go to once a month shots.

 

So my question is has anyone had a BAD experience with Adequan? Is it really supposed to encourage cartilege growth as I have heard?? I read a lot of positive posts on it and still need to do more research before I give my vet the OK to order it. Lynn, I look forward to your opinion on it!

Edited February 5, 2008 by sknydog

[Guest crazy4greys]

My greyhound Phoenix had the injections for LS. He did well on it. He seemed to get relief and started running again.

 

 

[Remolacha]

Sugar just had her second injection (well, third really, she had two the first time around) It made a HUGE difference for her! She was so bad (arthritis) that the day before Thanksgiving, we had to carry her into the vet, she could only stumble a few steps before falling A course of Pred and lots of pain killers got her walking, but still slowly and painfully. About a week later, she got an acupuncture treatment and her first Adequan shot. Second shot a few days later, and a few days after that, she was running in the back yard! OK, short runs, but she obviously felt so much better. It lasted almost two months before I could tell she needed another shot. I know it doesn't work this well for all dogs, but that is the only negative I have heard of, sometimes it has little or no effect.

[NeylasMom]

I just had an extensive conversation with my orthopedist, Dr. Sherman Canapp about Adequan actually. Dr. Canapp speaks all over the country on issues like the efficacy of adequan and his opinion is that it's out of the system within a few days and is not useful for the longterm. I know there's a lot of anecdotal evidence on here of it working, both in dogs and in horses, but according to Dr. Canapp there is no evidence (he asked the makers of adequan to provide it and they couldn't) that adequan works as a long-term program where it's given monthly or something similar.

 

Not saying one thing or the other, just sharing what he shared with me. Maybe someday there will be evidence, but right now, given how expensive it is, I would be a lot more thoughtful about it before giving it to Neyla again (I had just spent $120 on 4 injections for Neyla that another vet prescribed for her DJD).

 

 

[Guest CyndiW]

Alex somehow injured his back/neck last summer. He was yipping every time he tried to get up or down and bit a couple of people because of the pain. After one injection, he no longer seemed to be in any pain. I don't know how it worked that quickly but it did. He went twice a week for the injections for 4 weeks. They said if the pain returned he could have one shot every 3-4 weeks long-term but that we would have to keep an eye on his bloodwork. They had one dog on it for 2 years and either the kidney or liver values increased (I can't remember which) but the values returned to normal after they discontinued it. Our vets use the injections a lot and that was the only negative reaction they had seen and that was after long term use. They described it as being very natural and that it works like a major lube job to the joints (filling in where there needs to be cushion). Good luck with your boy!!

[Guest BradyzMommy]

We have been using Adequan on Brady since we discovered he had degenerative arthritis in both rear hocks about a year ago. It worked for a while, but now he is back to being a 3-legged dog.

Our vet suggested CVS in Carlsbad, California. They are doing stem cell treatment on hip dysplasia and arthritis. Apparently, they take fat cells from the neck and inject it into the problem area. The cells then begin to regenerate. We have a consultation at the end of this month. We are hoping that Brady will once again be able to run without limping.

[PatricksMom]

My vet uses it in her elderly dog, she really likes it although said it seems to produce a similar effect to using cosequine (and suggests whatever is easier/more acceptable to the dog.)

[onrushpam]

My sister's elderly lab could barely walk last spring... she started the Adequan injections and by the time Lady joined us at the beach for a couple of weeks in July, she was walking 2-3 miles per day and swimming like a maniac. She continues to do well. Anecdotal or not, she's had NO other treatment/medication. So, either the Adequan worked or she had some sort of divine intervention.