Long Term Anti-Inflamatories

[Guest Shermanator]

Echo has a wrist on her front leg. It's crooked, hyper extends, and the muscles in her wrist are weak. After a 2nd opinion, there is really nothing we can do to repair it. It really has not slowed her down- she races through the house and back yard like a mad-man. She'll limp, but she always limps. She's not crying out in pain.

 

However, about 2 weeks ago, she started hopping on it. That's new, she used to limp on the leg, not hop. Off to the vet we go, who determined her tricep on the bad leg was bothering her, as a result of her compensating for her bad wrist. She was prescribed some anti-inflammatories, and completely bounced back within a day. The anti-imflammatories obviously have given her some relief.

 

She is on anti-steroid anti-imflammatories. Has anyone had a pup on long term anti-imflammatories? When we go back to the vet, when she finishes them, we'll discuss long term usage. I've been looking up information on the internet, and getting mixed information - yes, its ok, no its not ok to give them long term.

 

Any experiences?

[CaliforniaGreys]

Several of mine have had to be on an NSAID long term and there were no issues. Values were checked every 5-6 months to be safe.

[GeorgeofNE]

George gets NSAIDs every day. No problems thusfar. Routine bloodwork to look for any possible problems is important.

 

My last dog, not a Greyhound, took Rimadyl for years.

 

You have to weigh the potential risks against the quality of life--being in pain versus being comfortable. For me, it wasn't a hard decision. As someone who is in pain every day, I know how much it sucks.

[Guest Shermanator]

Her quality of life is extremely important to us. I want her to run and play, and not pay for it, by hopping and bad limping.

 

What levels are checked? Liver?

[CaliforniaGreys]

Her quality of life is extremely important to us. I want her to run and play, and not pay for it, by hopping and bad limping.

 

What levels are checked? Liver?

 

and kidneys

[celbee]

It's a controversial topic. Our not-usually-this-conservative vet won't give any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) for longer than 3 weeks without checking lab values (kidney and liver) and then it is only for another 3 weeks and then re-check (this is not a ploy to increase revenue). (And most of the time, I think he thinks that I overreact about many things!) We were surprised by this because humans pop NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen/motrin and Naproxen/Aleve like candy. And, if the pain is due to inflammation, doesn't it make more sense to treat the inflammation? Apparently not after a certain amount of time. And apparently not in dogs.

 

Another option is to get the inflammation down (as you are doing) and then use another med for pain for a while... and then just use on bad days. Tramadol is NOT a steroid, but it does not reduce inflammation-- just works on the pain. As long as your grey can tolerate it, there are no lab values to monitor for long-term use of tramadol. Faster has never had any issues with it-- he has been on it since September. (We know another grey who has been on it multiple years.) He has bad arthritis-- this has improved his quality of life a lot.

 

I hope that helps. There is no one size fits all answer to the question-- but you are wise to be thinking about things like this.

 

Carol

[Guest Houndstown]

Pre's gone on anti-inflammatories over the past year. He's getting up there in age now and they are helping him "bounce back" after a run in the yard, etc. He's been doing great. The vet does request we do a blood screen about every 6 months to make sure there are no changes in his liver, kidneys (the organs that can be affected by long-term use of medicine). We just had him checked last week and no issues, thankfully!

[Batmom]

And, if the pain is due to inflammation, doesn't it make more sense to treat the inflammation?

 

Actually, it almost certainly does. More and more findings in medical research that chronic inflammation does really bad things to any organism.

 

I've never heard of a vet requiring tests every 3 weeks forever. Usually you do something like baseline, and then assuming no side effects, 3 weeks, 3 months, continue every 6 months. You don't have to do a full CBC/chemistry for most dogs, usually just the chemistry values you want to track. You should get the package insert from your vet or manufacturer's website and familiarize yourself with potential side effects.

[sweetdogs]

Is she on other anti-inflammatories like glucosamine, et al.? The Greyhound Gang sells a whole whack of supplements that are helpful. I've heard good things about Fresh Factors & there are lots of other products that can help Echo & minimize her NSAID use.

[Guest Shermanator]

No, she's not- there are so many choices out there- does anyone have any experience?

[racindog]

Fresh Factors can't be beat.

[Remolacha]

Sugar was on Metacam for 3-4 years with no problems (arthritis) and Fletcher has been on various NSAIDs for the last three years (also arthritis) I give a milk thistle capsule once a day to support the liver, and I use Springtime Joint Health and Fresh Factors for all the dogs. Greyhound Gang's stuff is great, and a lot cheaper, but it is a powder and Fletcher didn't like it. The dogs all think their Joint Health & Fresh Factor tablets are treats

[Houndtime]

Fuzzy was supposed to be on deramax, long term for his back issues. He got so sick and lethargic, we thought that we were going to lose him. He takes 8 drops of yucca with food, twice a day. He is fine (knock on wood, please). It took him several months, but he is there, now.

 

I also give, Joint Max triple strength and missing link with glucosamine. These are all natural anti inflamatories.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Houndtime

[Guest Swifthounds]

As others have said, you can reduce inflammation in ways other than the double edge sword of NSAIDs and without side effects. Things like omega3s from fish oil, yucca, botswellia, etc. can make a world of difference in quality of life.

[juliemac]

If you go the route of long-term NSAIDs, you may want to add milk-thistle to the diet to help fight kidney/liver damage. I'm sure there are folks here who can elaborate on how it works, but I use it whenever I give any kind of medication to my hounds (including heartguard) as an additional supplement.

[greytlucy]

Our lucy was on meta-cam for two or three years. First occassionally and then on a daily dose that slowly increased over the years. We never went to over a half daily dose until the last few months of her life.

 

We used it long term in conjunction with several other therapies,etc. Included in this were Adequan shots, accupuncture, and several different supplements. Over the years we adjusted as needed. I have two vets I work with - one at a clinic and a mobile one that uses traditional medicine in combination with holistic treatments. Together we all worked out plans and treatments to best address her pain and mobility issues over the years from arthritis and then involved a heart specialist on the team when CHF became an issue and we needed to balance treatment for that with the arthritis treatments. SHe had bloodwork every six months to check organ values and included in her treatments were holistic supplements to support and/or prevent any damage that might occur from the meds. She had strong liver and kidney values til the end.

[PatricksMom]

Have you thought about/do you have access to physical therapy--either to strengthen that wrist or help the back leg? It's out there for dogs, although I don't know if it would help with this particular problem.