Alternative To Carprofen?

[Time4ANap]

7 hours ago, ramonaghan said:

We almost let Sweep go earlier than we did because we thought her mobility had gone so far downhill. It turned out it was the Gabapentin, and I am eternally grateful we tried ditching that first. She never did seem to build up a tolerance to it.

I am glad LaVida's back to feeling more like herownself!

The past few days I was thinking something similar and told her the it is not her time to leave. Tonight she is letting me know that it's dinner time and is stalking and attacking the stuffies, then flinging them across the room. LaVida is back! She's even doing an airborne 180 when she throws the toys, so I guess the cumulative effect of the gabapentin was really doping her up. I'm not so sure that the diagnosis we received yesterday is going to hold. I think there is some LP, but not sure it's the one involving the rear legs after watching her run around here today. 

 

5 hours ago, FiveRoooooers said:

This is such a happy read! Keep feeling better, La Vida!

At some point would it be worth backing down her previous dose to see if just a touch of Gaba could be enough to help her? Just a thought.

It's still an option.  Waiting for lab results before changing / adding or trying anything new. We also back off the carprofen to once a day just to see how much she really needs, as the really bad mobility started when the carprofen dose was increased. She will go back for a re-check once we figure out what she needs. 

Thanks for the comments everyone! We will update when we know more. 

[Time4ANap]

So, just a little update: 

LaVida went back to the vet last week for a re-check. I think I previously posted that we discontinued the Gabapentin due to it causing her back legs to go every direction. A day after stopping it she was walking much better. 

Currently, she is back to walking somewhat crooked with the rear legs making her go sideways at times. The arthritis in her front leg also impacts that a little. She pushes up on her front legs and lets her back legs follow to get up from a bed. She has slowed her daily activity down and mostly stays in one place.

She still takes off running first thing in the morning and after dinner when she goes outside, so I'm thinking the vet is right about this being neurologic and her not being in pain. 

We've sent the vet a video from the weekend showing her current gait and are waiting to hear if there is anything else we should try to replace the gabapentin. She is happy and still coming to us occasionally for a cuddling session. 

So, that's kind of where we are at the moment. 

[FiveRoooooers]

 Thank you for updating us, Don. All best thoughts for LaVida 

[macoduck]

Good girl, LaVida!  You can keep your folks guessing provided you keep improving.

[Remolacha]

 Hope the vet has some more ideas. Have you consulted Peg? 
 

As long as she doesn’t seem to be in pain, that is the most important thing right now.

[Time4ANap]

2 hours ago, Remolacha said:

 Hope the vet has some more ideas. Have you consulted Peg? 
 

As long as she doesn’t seem to be in pain, that is the most important thing right now.

I think my email crossed with your post here.  EMail has been sent to Peg - awaiting response. (Peg is one of our local vets who makes housecalls for those wondering.) 

[cleptogrey]

adequan injections?

dd's dog is on pregabalin vs gabentin. more $$$ but processed differently by the body and is used in conjunction w/ metacam. i had great results w/ adequan for felix and her dog is now getting shots as well and there is a marked difference. Maggie has major arthritis to her shoulders, no sign of cancer just really bad arthritis. yup, she still had a gimp w/ the drugs but the adequan made a big difference.

 

[greytpups]

Emmy and Simon had their annual exams recently and our vet told about this new product. She also showed me some videos of some remarkable improvements. Librela is not a NSAID, so it’s completely safe. It’s been used in Europe for a few years now and just recently available in Canada. It may be worth checking out.

Librela

Edited June 29, 2023 by greytpups

[Time4ANap]

10 hours ago, cleptogrey said:

adequan injections?

dd's dog is on pregabalin vs gabentin. more $$$ but processed differently by the body and is used in conjunction w/ metacam. i had great results w/ adequan for felix and her dog is now getting shots as well and there is a marked difference. Maggie has major arthritis to her shoulders, no sign of cancer just really bad arthritis. yup, she still had a gimp w/ the drugs but the adequan made a big difference.

 

I gave Rocket Adequan injections which worked well until they didn't make a difference. We did ask the vet about Adequan and are waiting for all of the most recent labs  to come back before discussing those options.

In the meantime, our previous vet who does house calls will see LaVida next Thursday to decide if cold laser, accupuncture, chiropractic etc may help keep her comfortable. She's only our former vet because she went into holistic practice full time and no longer does primary care, vaccinations etc. So we have a primary vet and then the holistic vet for other therapies. At this point I am not transporting LaVida back to the primary vet unless the appointment is for 8AM or extremely urgent to avoid triggering LP with the intense desert heat here. Going to the E-Vet in the summer heat is how we lost Petunia to LP and I'm not risking that again. Cars do not cool adequately in the summer here no matter how long you run the AC.  They get cool but not cold when it's 110 plus. 

 

1 hour ago, greytpups said:

Emmy and Simon had their annual exams recently and our vet told about this new product. She also showed me some videos of some remarkable improvements. Librela is not a NSAID, so it’s completely safe. It’s been used in Europe for a few years now and just recently available in Canada. It may be worth checking out.

Librela

Thanks for this. I will ask about this in the next vet discussion.