Should I continue the meds?

HyperFerret

Back in 08/27/09 I posted about how Dutchess, my 13yo, was yelping and couldn't move without pain; how the vet thought she was starting to show signs of developing arthritis. So we started her on Rimadyl, plus I was also giving her Glucosamine-Chondroitin-MSM.

Here's the post:
http://www.dogforums.com/2-general-d...-vet-will.html (Scared of what Vet will say)

Day by day Dutchess got better and better and back to being her old self. Never yelping or screaming again. After the last refill of Rimadyl was empty, to be honest, I never got around to getting back down to the vet's to get the next refill. (Also ran out of the Gluco around the same time.) Well, after a week or so of not buying more, I noticed she still hadn't been complaining ... sooo I went a little longer without any meds to see how she did.

It's been at least a month or so with no meds and she's still running around like crazy. Playing with the other dogs, having sever hyper zoomies after coming back into the house, trotting on her walks, and so on. She doing great. Absolutely no yelping, not even whimpering.

So, even though it's been a while now, is it okay to keep her off of both or am I doing her harm by not continuously giving them to her? Agian, she hasn't been receiving neither the Rimadyl nor the Gluco.

Kyle, my brother, told me when his dog (very young dog) did the same thing, the vet gave him either a shot or something (can't remember) and then Kyle just kept his dog on the Gluco only. And his dog was even to the point where Kyle thought it would be best to have his dog pts. But after the one vet visit and then keeping him on Gluco alone, he's just fine. So if anything, I could always just continue giving Dutchess the Gluco even though all her symptoms are gone. Also, with this next refill I was supposed to get blood work done. Should I still get that done?

What's your opinion? Hope that didn't deem me as a bad pet parent.

Cracker

If she seems pain free (no excessive panting, slow to move, touch sensitive) I would probably not go back to the Rimadyl..the reason for the blood work is to make sure that the rimadyl has not caused liver issues (like all nsaids it can be hard on the system). I would certainly continue with the gluco though...and if her pain increases again (don't let it get to the point of yelping, watch for the other signs) I would go back on the rimadyl.

MoosMom

I agree with cracker. Def keep up on the gluco as this can also be a great preventive to the pain she was feeling before.

GottaLuvMutts

If money is tight, you can always get your gluco in the vitamin section at the grocery store. It's a lot cheaper, and you can find the same dosage. I've asked my vet and he says it's fine to use that instead of the stuff made for dogs that's twice the price (or more)!

HyperFerret

When her yelping first started, it was quite litterally over night. One day she was running around, very next day yelping with little movement. Before the yelping, everything else was normal with the exception of getting up a tad slower after waking up but the vet had dismissed that as just her getting older. But as of now: excessive panting - no, slow to move - not at all! (lol), touch sensitive - nope. (....My reply to you is meant only for clarification, not that I was offended or anything.)

Yeah, I've heard of that before. On the Gluco and on other supplements as well, like fish oil or such. I checked it out once but something made me not buy it. Can't really remember what, maybe I wasn't able to figure out how much to give, or if it was the right strength, or ... whatever. Anywho, I ended up getting the type specifically for dogs. But I'll check it out again.

sassykzt

I also agree w/ Cracker. Given the age of your dog I'd keep up on the gluco as a preventative measure!

HyperFerret

Yep, I'm going to keep her on the Gluco. And I'll be watching for any reasons/signs that I need to go back to the Rimadyl. I figured I'd also start giving Gluco to Camillia as well. She's 11yo, doing great - no problems, but with her age, why not.

Kay Weber

All of our dogs over 13 years old take liquid glucosamine daily - We seen really good results from it.

soliaris

Hi, i am 100% would agree Cracker. If pain free now - maintain it with anything you can without meds and at first symtoms go back to meds and do the course, then start again if needed; regards

HyperFerret

She really likes the taste of the Gluco tablets so I shouldn't have to worry about her not taking it, but out of curiosity, where do you find liquid glucosamine?

Kay Weber

A few years ago we had a old dog Storm with really bad arthritis. The vet prescribed Rimadyl (and aspirin) and he had really bad side-effects -- in fact it almost killed him. So my husband searched around on the Internet for products without side-effects for arthritis - we knew nothing about liquid glucosamine at the time and he found Synflex. To make a long story short, it worked so well with Storm (and a couple more of our dogs since then) that we decided to spread the word and now sell it online. We've also tried the tablets but we were not as impressed with the results.

We sell two different brands - Synflex and Flexicose. I'm sure there are other brands out there. The liquid is absorbed faster without the extra fillers of the pill form.