Librela

[Bogangles]

I am just posting this to see if anyone has had any issues with Librela. The vet tried to push me into injecting my dog with this but I am hearing very bad issues with this drug.

[FiveRoooooers]

Punkin has been on a mobility cocktail for quite a while and I was starting to see her not doing as well as I'd like. We started Librela injections two months ago and she has a new spring in her step and is doing so much better. We are going to continue with the monthly injections.

Curious, what are the negatives you've been hearing about Librela?

[macoduck]

What is the average price per monthly injection for greyhounds? Is there an office visit charge if you are only getting the injection done?

I'm debating switching podenco Howie from meloxicam to Librela.

Edited February 5 by macoduck

[Potomacpupsmom]

Ivy was started on Librela two months ago and she too has a new spring in her step!  She is running again at greyhound playgroup-even the humans there noticed it!   She is much more active.    The cost per dose is $108, (ouch) but it has made a difference - she seems so much more comfortable! 

Edited February 5 by Potomacpupsmom

[macoduck]

@Potomacpupsmom  @FiveRoooooers How soon did you see improvement after the first injection?

I priced it when I was at the vet today. $98 + office visit fee for the the first shot. Further injections wouldn't require the office visit unless I had a concern.

[Potomacpupsmom]

1 hour ago, macoduck said:

@Potomacpupsmom  @FiveRoooooers How soon did you see improvement after the first injection?

It was within about two weeks after her first injection that she started feeling so much better.  Now she runs with the best of them at playgroup and dashes through the house with Cherry too!

[FiveRoooooers]

3 hours ago, macoduck said:

@Potomacpupsmom  @FiveRoooooers How soon did you see improvement after the first injection?

I priced it when I was at the vet today. $98 + office visit fee for the the first shot. Further injections wouldn't require the office visit unless I had a concern.

Punkin showed improvement within 7-10 days after her first injection. ~$100 per visit and we see the vet. Both campers go to our appointments and get a quick looksee.

[GreyPoopon]

Toodles has been on it since late last spring (I think), when it became available here. It makes a huge difference in her ability to get up from a bed and go up the ramps. I often can see it wearing off toward the end of the interval. She gets her injection at the clinic because she's in weekly for a laser treatment.

I have two foster cats on Solensia, which is the kitty version. It helps both of them, particularly the 12 year old with horrible arthritis in her elbows.

[MerseyGrey]

Chipping in here too. Buddy was on Librela for a year before he died (not related to the drug, and it was like having our 8-year-old back, rather than a 12-year-old. We saw improvements within two weeks of his first injection, and towards the end of the year that he was on it we had to increase his dosage as it was making less of a difference, but had another condition. His quality of life was vastly improved and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it again or recommend it to others.

Not very helpful - but it seemed like our first vet had a random number generator to decide how much it would cost each month! The price was never the same but was always around the £100/month mark. Our second vet allowed the nurses to administer the injection so it would have been around £70 a month.

I’m also curious to hear what bad things you’ve heard about the drug. It had no known side effects with Buddy, but we always had a niggling doubt about Librela’s relationship to his final illness - nothing more than that, there is no causative link as far as I’m aware. Despite this, I would still use it with another dog because of the improvement in his quality of life.

[LBass]

My sister's cat is on the feline version of this med for arthritis in his stifle joints.  It's made a great difference in 16 y/o Seiko.  He now FRAPs with my 6 year old cat!  $106 per injection, no office visit fee since a tech does the injection.

[Bogangles]

Only part of what I have heard:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/949999742415867

[macoduck]

Thanks for the link. I've asked to join the page since its a private group.

[Bogangles]

I am hearing really bad things about this drug all over the place. I met someone in the park and her aussie shepherd had bad arthritis so she gave him one shot of librela and he went down really fast hiding in corners and may have had seizures. They had to let him go and she was so upset

[macoduck]

I've been reading the Librela Experiences FB page.  There are indeed some sad stories, but good ones as well. At least I've learned to be very alert to any side effects.

I mentioned the FB page and my vet said she follows all the Librela pages. She first used it on her very old cat and he did well on it.

Howie got his first shot this morning and I hope it helps. He didn't help himself though when he jumped into my living chair (rather than the lower ottoman) and promptly did a face plant when he jumped off before I could catch him.

[ramonaghan]

I hope Howie does well! Add me to the list of people who have used the cat version Solensia with success. Our cat is 15 and definitely has an easier time with the stairs now. The improvement was subtle after the first dose, but really apparent after the second. It does give her dry, scabby skin around her neck, which is weird but doesn't seem to bother her much. We administer it at home and are able to go longer than a month between doses.

[MerseyGrey]

1 hour ago, macoduck said:

Howie got his first shot this morning and I hope it helps. He didn't help himself though when he jumped into my living chair (rather than the lower ottoman) and promptly did a face plant when he jumped off before I could catch him.

This was one side effect I did notice: it made Buddy think he was much younger than he was so we had a few scrapes and tumbles. I miss that silly boy. I hope that the only thing Howie bruised was his pride 

[GreyPoopon]

5 hours ago, MerseyGrey said:

This was one side effect I did notice: it made Buddy think he was much younger than he was so we had a few scrapes and tumbles. I miss that silly boy. I hope that the only thing Howie bruised was his pride 

 That's a great side effect, although a bit hard on the humans.  

[Bogangles]

Very funny. I hope this does not come back to bite you. After all the mistakes done to my dog outside of this I pray yours do not suffer by using a drug which has so very many downsides and deaths.

[GreyPoopon]

On 2/8/2024 at 5:46 PM, Bogangles said:

Very funny. I hope this does not come back to bite you. After all the mistakes done to my dog outside of this I pray yours do not suffer by using a drug which has so very many downsides and deaths.

The fact that some of us here have had positive experiences with the drug apparently doesn't fit with your pre-conceived notion that it is evil. 

[Ilaria]

My Max (nearly 14yo) has been on Librela for a year and it worked great for him. Unluckily now it isn't working even on a higher dose (vet said he has immunized) but I can't spread enough good words about Librela

[FiveRoooooers]

1 hour ago, Ilaria said:

My Max (nearly 14yo) has been on Librela for a year and it worked great for him. Unluckily now it isn't working even on a higher dose (vet said he has immunized) but I can't spread enough good words about Librela

Thank you for sharing. It's good to hear how well Max has been doing, and closing in on 14! That's a celebration!

[GreyPoopon]

14 hours ago, Ilaria said:

My Max (nearly 14yo) has been on Librela for a year and it worked great for him. Unluckily now it isn't working even on a higher dose (vet said he has immunized) but I can't spread enough good words about Librela

Hmmmm. I must ask my vets about immunization to Librela and Solensia (kitty version). 

[macoduck]

It's been 13 days since Howie's first injection. By the end of the first week I saw improvement. Now he is more flexible when coming up off his bed in the morning. I am also seeing him more active during the day as well. And perhaps I'm reading too much into his facial expression, but I am not seeing pain there anymore.

Regarding the FB page, the bad stories about Librela are scary so I no longer view the page. I see the different opinions akin to discussions about dog food brands that are good vs horrible.

Edited February 13 by macoduck

[FiveRoooooers]

1 hour ago, macoduck said:

It's been 13 days since Howie's first injection. By the end of the first week I saw improvement. Now he is more flexible when coming up off his bed in the morning. I am also seeing him more active during the day as well. And perhaps I'm reading too much into his facial expression, but I am not seeing pain there anymore.

Regarding the FB page, the bad stories about Librela are scary so I no longer view the page. I see the different opinions akin to discussions about dog food brands that are good vs horrible.

Yay for Howie! Thanks for updating, Ducky.

[LBass]

for Howie!