Arthritis

[Guest Celestrina]

My sweet 10 year old Angie was diagnosed with mild/moderate arthritis today. The vet prescribed rimadyl and tramadol. How fast does it typically progress? Do supplements like fish oil help?

[cleptogrey]

Welcome to the club! Each vet has their own protocol and each dog responds differently. There should be quick pain relief with that combo.

 

My dogs use metacam and adequan injections. I did not see any changes with joint suppliments and I bought everything. Your dog might respond differently. Best of luck keeping your pup comfortable, I do notice that Felix now sunbaths much more than ever. Probably to warm his aching bones from the airconditioning.

Edited September 6, 2017 by cleptogrey

[Guest Celestrina]

Welcome to the club! Each vet has their own protocol and each dog responds differently. There should be quick pain relief with that combo.

 

My dogs use metacam and adequan injections. I did not see any changes with joint suppliments and I bought everything. Your dog might respond differently. Best of luck keeping your pup comfortable, I do notice that Felix now sunbaths much more than ever. Probably to warm his aching bones from the airconditioning.

Thank you. How long have your pups had arthritis?

[krissy]

As a vet, I frequently use Metacam and Tramadol for arthritis pain relief (on top of a joint supplement or joint diet and Cartrophen/Adequan injections). However, I think I'm going to move more towards just gabapentin as a first line drug after using it on my own 12 year old recently. He really slowed down in the past 6 months or so, and while his bloodwork is good, his kidney values have been very slowly rising over the past 2 or 3 years so I was reluctant to start an NSAID like Metacam. I decided to try the Gabapentin, and because of his weight and the sizes of capsules I had in stock I ended up deciding to start with a very low dose (typically dose is 5-10 mg/kg every 8-12 hrs, but he's getting about 3 mg/kg every 12 hrs). I arrived home from work about 5:30 pm and gave him his first dose. 2 hours later I decided to take him for a walk, and was amazed that he trotted almost the entire way. A few days later I asked my boyfriend if he had noticed Summit moving better. My BF doesn't really have a whole lot to do with the dogs (he loves them, but he's just not really involved with their day to day care) so he said he hadn't especially noticed anything. 2 weeks later while I was out of town, he calls me and tells me that he's amazed how much better Summit is... that he's running around throwing a toy in the backyard and trying to chase the girls.

 

So, suffice it to say I'm a big fan and I'm going to try using gabapentin on its own with my arthritic, older patients more frequently.

 

But that said, Metacam and Tramadol should work pretty great. You should probably notice a difference in under a week.

[cleptogrey]

krissy, interesting about the gabpentin. i will ask my new vet about it in the future. i have personally been dealing with a combo of woes of my own feet- a neuroma on one foot- the podiatrist formulated a cream that includes gabapentin- IT WORKS!!!! then like a klutz i really sprained my ankle, the other foot. she put me on Mobic- human Metacam/meloxican. i'm on week 3 of it slowly healing....the cream w/ gabapentin is more effective(it has lidocaine and other goodies as well).

 

both started to show mild signs when they turned 8 or so. also, mine have been positive for Tick Borne Diseases and i'm monitoring them. have you had your dog checked recently?

[DocsDoctor]

This was something that I went through with my old boy, Doc. You are already getting good advice re medication, which I think is something which has to be assessed for each dog individually. He did well on Tramadol for instance, but I know other dogs don't get on with it.

 

Other advice from my vet which really helped was to make sure that he didn't get/ stay cold, had plenty of soft bedding to rest on, and kept on taking exercise to prevent his joints from seizing up. Frequent, shorter walks worked better than one long one.

 

I do think supplements can help. Initially I gave him a fish body oil capsule, a spoonful of raw turmeric, and a human supplement containing glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM in liquid form (more easily absorbed). Then we used an all-in-one supplement recommended by the vet, who had used it on his own dog. This specific one probably isn't available in the US, but I am sure you can find others which are similar:

https://www.viovet.co.uk/Stride_for_Dogs/c394/

 

Doc was diagnosed with his arthritis (plus a couple of compressed vertebrae) at the age of ten, and we were able to manage his condition and give him a a happy life right up to the grand old age of thirteen years five months.

[GeorgeofNE]

Human doctors do not believe supplements work on arthritis--at least my orthopedic surgeon and my rheumatologist don't. They urged me not to waste my money.

 

He should be feeling just great on an NSAID and a pain killer!

 

Do not think that him not exercising is going to help; it is critical you keep him moving, keep his muscle mass up, and his weight down. Just like with a human patient, excess weight is the worst possible thing you can do for your joints. Regular leash walking will do him a world of good!

[DofSweetPotatos]

We have a non-grey who has arthritis in his shoulders from overuse. We have had good luck with Legend injections and the cool laser as well as a daily supplement of glycoflex3. As someone mentioned above turmeric with piperine is added to his food too.

We also use gabapentin/metacam as needed.

Good luck to you and your pup.

Edited September 9, 2017 by DofSweetPotatos