Deramaxx

[Josie]

So it was Tuffy anual check-up at the vet today.

Our 8 years old big boy is in good health, lungs and heart are good. Teeth needs a cleaning but it's not too urgent... the only sad part is that his arthritis may have worsen... on palpation of his knees it look painfull around the interior sesamoid (fabella), and his back (around T13/L1) too... The vet said that I was doing good giving Tuffy gluco and chondro (1500mg/900mg) every day but that he needed something for the inflamation...

He give us derramaxx for 2 weeks (1/2 pill every 24h) and will see if it helps...

what are your experiences with that drug? good results? any side-effects?

thanks!

[Guest Energy11]

I have been using Deramaxx since I started working for my vet in Florida years ago. Goldie is on 37.5 mg/daily now. I have NO complaints with it, AND it works!

 

Now, I do give it with a Pecid AC, because any NSAID, canine or human, can and sometimes does, upset the stomach.

 

Goldie has bad arthritis, but with the Dasequin and Deramaxx, she is 100%!

 

Sending love to you and you pup! Dee and The Five

[PatricksMom]

Perfectly good results, a month or so for athritis, switched to tramadol due to costs, but the derammax worked fine and didn't cause any problems. I'd say the tramadol works a bit better, but we didn't experiment with the derammax dose as much.

[RobinM]

Our vet prefers deramaxx over rimydal for long term use. We always use deramaxx when we need to. Beau, Teddy, Polli and Ollie have had to be on deramaxx for about 2-3 weeks at one point.

[Josie]

thanks for your replies!

we will see after this 2 weeks how it does... the vet was talking about getting the good dosage and maybe give more next fall to prepare for winter (that's not a good time for Tuffy usually)...

 

Energy11: should I wait and see if Tuffy has stomac issues before giving him pepcid AC? what dosage of pepcid do you give Goldie? is it every day?

 

Patrikcmom: tremadol is cheaper you say? I pay 27$ (cnd) for 7 pills at the vet today... dont now if you can compare with the cost of dog medication in the states..

[PatricksMom]

Patrikcmom: tremadol is cheaper you say? I pay 27$ (cnd) for 7 pills at the vet today... dont now if you can compare with the cost of dog medication in the states..

 

I don't remember the exact pricing of deramaxx, but it was more than we could handle. I currently pay $8/month (US) for tramadol, and Patrick takes a rather high dose.

[Guest Energy11]

thanks for your replies!

we will see after this 2 weeks how it does... the vet was talking about getting the good dosage and maybe give more next fall to prepare for winter (that's not a good time for Tuffy usually)...

 

Energy11: should I wait and see if Tuffy has stomac issues before giving him pepcid AC? what dosage of pepcid do you give Goldie? is it every day?

 

Patrikcmom: tremadol is cheaper you say? I pay 27$ (cnd) for 7 pills at the vet today... dont now if you can compare with the cost of dog medication in the states..

I give the Pepcid AC (*generic is fine) 10 mg/just to be safe. I worked with a doc in the human ER, and she always gave an anti-acid with the NSAIDS, which always stuck in my mind. I'd go a head and give it with the Deramaxx. Why have the tummy upset? :-)

 

The price of Deramaxx varies. It is usually much cheaper through an online pet pharmacy like 1800petmeds, or Discount Pet Drugs. Most vets will write a script for you.

 

Good Luck!

[GeorgeofNE]

George takes 50 mg (half a chewable) of Deramaxx daily. No side effects at all! Has helped with the pain from his L.S. Vet even suggested we drop the dose down a bit for long-term use.

 

On days where he seems very uncomfortable, I also give him a Tramadol at bed time.

[Guest eaglflyt]

We give Deramaxx to our elderly Aussie. Jake is very arthritic in his front legs and there's a real difference when he takes his Deramaxx. We also give him glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM & fish oil to try to prevent further progression, but those supplements do not seem to help his current discomfort. The Deramaxx definitely makes a difference. We don't keep him on it continuously, but frequently. He also has regular blood work to make sure he's doing OK with it. Good Luck and Best Wishes for Tuffy.

[Guest bigbrindlebunny]

Pee. No accidents inside, just had to go out with more urgency, and once outside he peed like a race horse.

[Josie]

Pee. No accidents inside, just had to go out with more urgency, and once outside he peed like a race horse.

 

I found that it could increased thirst...

[greyhndz]

I'm afraid I'm going to be the fly in the ointment here.

 

One of my osteo girls, Arielle, took one dose of Deramaxx. She developed severe abdominal pain and intractable vomiting in less than 24 hrs, and bled out (from a GI bleed). She'd had no symptoms whatsoever prior to taking this one dose.

 

Never again. JMHO.

[FiveRoooooers]

Tramadol is for pain control, it doesn't contain the anti-inflammatory properties that Deramaxx has.

[Guest Smiley]

We've had good results with Deramaxx. We used to kick up the frequency with which we gave it in the winter and cut down a little for the summer and Smiley did really well. We also used gluc/chond as well as a product called Duralactin. It's an all-natural milk derived product that can help with arthritis pain. We were able to purchase that with the glu/chon at our local pet feed store.

[RobinM]

Just rereading some of the posts and like with anything else, if you've had neutral or good experiences, then it's a good thing. If you have had bad experiences, then it's bad.

 

So, you will have to gauge how your boy does on it and give the feedback.

[Walliered]

Dee, Please e-mail me Walliered@aol.com and tell me what I need to have my 4 year old (about 75lbs) male taking for general health. He has no issues except loose bowels which are much better now that I switched to Bison and Potatoe kibble. Thanks, Nan

[Josie]

UPDATE-April 8th

 

It's been 2 weeks today that Tuffy started deramaxx. We seen a difference and he is doing ok on it. Poop is normal, appetite is a little so-so but with yogourt everything is ok

He seems to have less pain, runs and jumps more...

We are going to the vet tonight to discuss what we do now.. to see if he needs a higher dosage..

I know Tuffy wont be like he was at age 5 when he arrived but he is more active now on deramaxx.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Josie

[krissn333]

Tramadol is for pain control, it doesn't contain the anti-inflammatory properties that Deramaxx has.

 

That's what I was going to say - Deramaxx works like Aleve does for people. Tramadol just takes the edge off of the pain, it doesn't help with inflammation.

 

I second the Duralactin - I've always heard good things!

 

We choose Deramaxx over Rimadyl here - Rimadyl seems to make most of them act like zombies. Sutra takes Deramaxx when his shoulder is bugging him. If it's really bad, I'll give him a tramadol to help him sleep, but usually the Deramaxx is enough to help him relax.

[Hubcitypam]

My Rex was on Deramaxx for quite a while with no problems. I was very worried as he had bouts of colitis and Deramaxx is noted for being hard on the stomach but it never bothered him. The only pain was to my pocket book as it is one pretty costly pill.

 

 

[Guest Smiley]

Duh. Already posted!

Edited April 8, 2010 by Smiley

[tbhounds]

Any of the nsaids used may or may not cause bad side effects--rimadyl, deramaxx, metacam, piroxicam ect. Some dogs respond well to one and not to another. Ask 10 people which works for their dog and most likely you'll get 10 various responses. I know many here claim that Deramaxx is tolerated and works well for their pup--personally, it's not my favorite as a saw a dog die from the GI perf from the use a Deramaxx. The drug was used as prescribed and was not used long-term, it was just tragic that the dog had a horrible intolerance to it. Would another nsaid been safer we will never know.

If cost is a factor you might want to ask your vet about Mobic. Mobic is the human version of Metacam and is on the $4 list. The catch is you pup needs to be heavy enough to be given the proper dose which is 1/2 tablet by mouth once daily. If your lucky enough to have a large enough hound it's very ecomonical to use--just fyi

[Josie]

thanks tbhounds. I'll talk to the vet here to see if mobic is available in Canada...

 

Update from the visite to the vet this evnening

we are back from the vet, he thinks that Tuffy is doing about 20% better now..

Tuffy got a shot of cortisone to boost the relief of pain. In 3 days I'll give 1 deramaxx and after 1/2 pill daily. The vet is trying to see wath dosage is best fot Tuffy. He also prescrib zantac for his stomac ache.

Back to the vet in about 3 weeks to see if it's going better and to adjust the dosage (and the tech is supose to call every 4-5 days to get news too).

 

I have to slwly increse the walk distance too... getting Tuffy back to shape... I did cut back on walks during winter because of his pain but now we are going to take great long walks together