Weimaraner Addict

Does anyone have any long term experience using Rimadyl. HB just started the medication on Monday for arthritis in his right front leg - and he's only 5 1/2 yrs old. From what I've been reading on the interent, it's not the best medicine as far as side effects are concerned. I was aware of the liver issue and he's already on a medication that has us going in every 6 months for a liver panel. The seizure side effect has me a bit scared because the other med he's on is for seizures. Poor boy is a mess and so am I - he's my baby and every ache and pain he feels makes me suffer. I don't want to take a chance that this med will cause more harm than good but he needs something. We're dieting to see if we can shed some weight to help the leg but Rimadyl has to be taken with food and he's on 100mg twice a day (even though everything I've read says it should be taken once a day). I can't space his food out 12 hrs - tried that and the yellow bile was just too much to deal with. I give him a pepcid AC with the meds but he still has stomach issues. We're taking a walk every night to try to work the stiffness out but after the walk he's even more stiff (guess that makes sense). The vet says it can take up to a month before we see some relief but I just feel there has to be something else out there that doesn't seem to have as many side effects so I am hoping someone out here has some experience with either the Rimadyl or some other pain medication. Help please.

I've used Rimadyl with good results in dogs over the years whenever they have been injured or in an old Lab that I had years ago. I've never used it in a seizure dog though!

Be sure that your vet knows that your dog is on seizure meds.

could you get hb acupuncture for his arthritis instead?

I was going to mention like Pam be sure the vet knows about seizures in addition to rimadyl... We use derramaxx for Blue's arthritis and have his blood tested every six months... I think another pain med w/ less side effects might be tramadol (sp?)
I'd try other remedies myself at this young age first like accupuncture/ k-laser/ PT underwater...

How about Metacam?

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Julia (8yo) has a partial tear of her CCL (cranial cruciate ligament (analogous to the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in humans) - we took her in for prolotherapy and have been very pleased with the results. We live near the mecca of holistic/alternative therapy (Boulder, CO) and went this route after Julia had trouble with Rimadyl and even anti-inflammatory supplements. Rimadyl just made Julia sick. She would all but stop eating after the 2nd dose. We kept having issues with Julia doing too much Frisbee ... and she would be limping in the morning following a lot of exercise or running in snow, for up to a week following an episode. She would have trouble squatting, or sitting ... and would lay on one hip because she didn't want to bend her knee. Also, she would lean against the wall on one side so that she didn't have to put as much weight on that leg. I was skeptical at first, but now, ~6 months after the prolotherapy injections, she has doing exceptionally well.

My disclaimer: Julia no longer chases the floppy Frisbee (now she has the KONG Air Dog Fetch Stick) , and we rein her in if she starts to get too carried away. Frisbee is just too rough on many dogs - all of the jumping in the air, and hard landing ... if you think about it, it just isn't what dogs were designed to do). As we all know - just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Yes - the vet knows about the seizure med (Zonisamide) and said she didn't find any known issues with the two meds together. I should have mentioned that I looked into the physical therapy. There is only one vet around here that has the aqua facility and getting a regularly scheduled appointment is impossible right now. I'm actually afraid to keep him on this medicine. I don't even know why but something just tells me it's not the right med for him. Time for me to call the vet again.

I don't think Metacam is a drug that can be used long term like Rimadyl.

dewfen wrote: I'm actually afraid to keep him on this medicine. I don't even know why but something just tells me it's not the right med for him. Time for me to call the vet again.

I would call... maybe they can try the Derramaxx... I was nervous about either and lost a non-Weim about a month after she had been on one of them (Can't remeber which now, it was long ago...) but def. look into the other meds and really tell the vet you'd rather not use rimadyl... We also use a heating pad for Blue. It's from Bella's Pain Relief (google for website) they have lots of good ideas for arthritis care...
And we do our own PT/massage at home. I can scan his exercises and pm/email them to you if you're interested in trying some...

Have you tried giving him glucosamine and other supplements? Also are you saying you feed him once or twice a day?

Once more, I would consider glucosamine/chondrointin if you haven't already. Sometimes that can work wonders, without all the side effects of Rimadyl.

As with any medication there are side effects and interactions with other drugs. Make sure your vet knows everything you are giving you dog, be it medication or holistic meds. DO NOT use prednisone with Rimadyl...they can react together. I work at a clinic and we put lots of dogs on Rimadyl, Deramaxx, and Metacam. None honestly should be used long term...in my opinion. I have a 5 year old that had a back injury in Agility, she gets the occasional Rimadyl for stiffness and pain. It isn't a drug that needs time to build up a blood level. Tramadol can be safely used with most meds as well, but it is only a pain med no antiinflammatory effect. If you have any sort of reservation of using the meds talk to your vet. I refuse to use deramaxx because I had a dog have a horrible reaction to it. Just do your research and realize alot of the info out there is worst case scenario.

Luther is 13 and has hip dysplaisa and arthritis. He has been on Rimadyl most of his life and never had a problem. He thinks it's a treat. Mindy, on the other hand, never had a problem with it until she started taking Lysdren for Cushings. Then it caused liver problems.

I don't know how large your Weim is, but Luther is about 80 lbs and is supposed to only take 75mg twice a day. (Mom is bad about forgetting the night time one.) I was told last fall that 150mg was the max for him. When Luther first started Rimadyl daily, it took some time to make a difference, but once it did, I could cut back some. It has only been the last 9 months, he has been on the twice daily routine constantly.

Exercise/physical therapy will help. I didn't keep it up, Luther lost muscle in his right leg (the worse one) and now he has problems putting weight on that leg.

Try the glucosamine/chondrointin supplements, they can't hurt and can help. Have you tried Adequan injections? On some dogs, Adequan can stop the progression of arthritis and sometimes even reverse the damage. A neighbor's golden retriever had chiropractic treatments and acupuncture. It helped her.

I don't know the cost or feasibility, but they do do hip replacements for dogs.

Lynne

Thanks everyone for replying. HB does take glucosamine/chondrointin/MSM supplements along with his meds. He has also now become a complete zombie. All he does is lay around and doesn't even get up when I leave the room now. I think the combo of his seizure meds and rimadyl is just too much for him. I called the vet to discuss and haven't heard back yet. But on my own, I've stopped giving him the Rimadyl this morning. I just can't take how his personality has changed. I want my old happy guy back. I know that's not entirely possible but there has to be something out there that won't make him so groggy and won't have the same possible side effects. I'll discuss all my options (poster's suggestions - thanks again) with his vet when we talk. She is a new vet to HB - his old vet left the practice and suggested this new one. I think I'll give her a chance and then if I'm not happy with where it goes for H, then I'll look around for another new vet.

Rimady is just an NSAID. It wouldn't change his personality. That is most likely due to the seizure meds, but once his body adjusts to them, he'll come around.

Scout, my HOD boy, has been on Derramaxx his whole life. He is 7. But he only gets it on an as-needed basis. Mostly only in the cold winter months.

Get him a heating pad. Scout has one and he loves it. It absolutely helps. Keeping him as light as possible is a very good idea. My guys have been getting Nupro Joint supplement for years now and I think that helps. I was also giving them Dasaquin for a while but I stopped it and they stayed good. They are not that old yet, Scout being the oldest and I will add the Dasaquin back in maybe in a couple of years.

Good luck with your boy. He is so young to be having these problems. I hope he feels better soon.

Lynn

Dewfen-

I know this sounds a little crazy but have you considered accupuncture for HB? My boy Houston goes to a holistic vet that is into herbal remedies and accupuncture. My husband and I jokingly call her the "witch-doctor" but in all honesty, her accupuncture and all-natural supplements have done wonders for a lot of Houston's issues (when our traditional vet just wanted to medicate). This is just an idea and you may be totally against it, but if it means no long- term use of medications it may be something to look into!

Best of luck and hope HB's arthritis gets better!

Lauren