Question:I have a 9 year old Rottweiler who is suffering from arthritis in her hips and elbows. We currently give her asprin for it, but it just doesn't seem to be helping as much as it could. I've heard of Rimadyl, I had a dog put on it before, but had adverse reactions to it (after we found out he had cancer). How safe is it? How well does it work? Is it expensive?
Thank you so much for any answers!
Answers:
Your vet can do blood work to make sure the med is not having side effects on your dog. I have used Rimadyl in the past, but have since learned of Deramaxx & have a Dobie that has been on it for over 1 1/2 years & is doing fine. Of course he is seen by our vet on a regular basis. The Deramaxx is more expensive than the Rimadyl. As stated previously here there are side effects on human meds but that does not mean everyone will experience one or any. Talk to your vet & weigh out your dog's options!!
Rimadyl has been know to cause liver problems from time to time, but honestly not anymore than many drugs that people and animals take. If it does cause a problem you can always stop the meds and it wont be permanent generally. Arthritis is tough to deal with and the pain can lead to euthanasia in extreme cases. Try glucosamine/chondroitin also, it takes a few weeks to kick in but has been shown to help in dogs.
Can't wait to see the answers you get for this one---you have opened Pandora's Box!!
Have you tried giving your dog joint supplements with glucosamine and chondroitin? There are some made especially for dogs--I use a product called SynoviG-3 that has glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and Omegas 3 & 6-- the best combination for good joint health and arthritis support.
Ask your vet...
Rimadyl is completely safe with proper blood monitoring every six months using an NSAID Panel to accomplish this. Rimadyl is available in caplets, tablets and injection. We use it quite frequently with nothing but great comments.
My vet prescribed Rimadyl for my 13 yr old cat.
She has arthritis and the tendons in her front legs are shortening cause pain to her paws.
It is a very very very bad tasting pill and my cat would not tolerate it anywhere near her mouth. She would salivate until the pill was drooled out of her mouth completely. I could not get it down her throat and she would not eat her food if I put in with it.
I had quit trying for a few weeks and then heard of a tip so I tried it. It worked, I got it down her. After about two hours I checked on her and thought I would pass out. she was drooling, and could not walk right. I looked at the pill bottle thinking I gave her the wrong meds and found I gave her a full pill when I was only suppose to give her a quarter.
She ended up in the emergency vets overnight to flush her with fluids and bring her blood pressure down. After $550.00 I learned to read the label first and that Rimadyl although can kill a small cat is one of the safer drugs and even though she was going thru alot of stress was in no real danger.
Don't know if this story did anything for your question but there ya go.
I had a sheltie,that has since passed away,we used Rimadyl for her for apprx a year for her problems too-it can be a little expensive,but others are worse! It can cause prblms after usage for awhile,I forget if its liver or kidney prblms-my vet did a blood test at my request,to see if it was effecting her-which it was,so we had to change medicines.But I def would recommend trying it out,it helped it the time we needed it.
My vet suggests Rimadyl for my dogs all the time. We give it to our 5 year old Boston Terrier and 2 year old Boxer when the doctor says to (after surgeries, after shots, and when one was limping). It seems to work well for them and it's not that expensive.
I used to have Rimadyl for my yorkshire terrier because she had liver disease, but she's okay now. I showed it to my veterinarian and I asked him if it's okay to use it for other diseases other than liver disease and I don't know if what he suggested was true or not, but what you can do is that you can ask your veterinarian if this is true for your dog or not because I have a yorkshire terrier, so it might be a bit different from what your veterinarian might say, but he said that:
It's not recommended for all animals, but it's okay if your dog has diseases known as liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease. There can be numerous of numbers of side effects if your dog takes Rimadyl for other uses. Rimadyl should NEVER be given along with any other non-steroidal drug, such as ASPIRIN! You should be careful whether Rimdayl is safe for your dog or appropriate because it can cause other diseases if you don't use it for the right reasons. Not a lot of veterinarians know the effects of Rimadyl except it should be used for important reasons only. It would be a little bit more safe if you talked with your veterinarian about this drug, because you're not sure if this is safe or not. Honestly, you should find out more information about this before you give your dog Rimadyl because my dog took Rimadyl for liver disease, so I guess it might help for arthritis, but it could cause a couple of effects, in which is what my veterinarian told me.
There are much safer products then Rimadyl . We no longer sell or recommend Rimadyl at the vet hospital because of the side effects. IF you choose to use it for your dog you will need to get bloodwork done often to check for liver issues. Your dog will need to be very closely monitored.
As a vet tech i will tell you persoanlly it is a drug I would NEVER consider giving any of my own dogs especially for long term use.
NO
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/rimadyl-car...
I had a Rottweiller that was on Rimadyl for 2 years without any side affects. He weighed 150 pounds and he couldnt stand or walk when I started him on it. It works great! Every medicine has a side affect. I dont remember how much it cost but it is worth it. Your Rott is 9 and she is in pain so you should give her something to help her. I have used Rimadyl on my dogs for arthritis, and as a pain medication since they came out with it. It has worked great and I have never had a problem with a side affect. Good luck on whatever you decide!!
Rimadyl is very safe, usually. There are also other anti-inflammatories as well. Metacam, Deramaxx, etc. Aspirin is probably not the best choice of pain reliever on a continual basis. You should see your vet, have bloodwork checked to make sure your Rotti doesn't have any health probs (liver, kidneys, etc) and see what options they have available to you.
it's safer to talk a vet
I feel so sad that your dog has cancer you need to talk it out with a vetrinarian . or thay will have to put a sleep. I don't want happen to your dog . And don't keep it a secert. keep doing what you are doing. Take it to the vet.
with love,
I used Rimadyl on a chow that I had who developed severe arthritis in his back legs. It was safe and very effective. He had no adverse effects from it and it really helped him to get around. He was 13 when he passed away which was a long life span for a chow. As for expense, it depends where you purchase it, but yes it can be costly. If the aspirin isn't working any longer - which is the reason I switched to Rimadyl - I would recommend trying it. You may be able to purchase it at 1800petmeds or another discount animal supplier. Good luck and I hope it works well for your dog.
ive worked in practice for 7 years now and rimadyl is one of the main drugs dispensed. obviously with every drug there are side effects but they are rare. like any longterm anti-inflammatory drug it can cause intestinal upsets. but youve got to weigh up whether you would rather the dog be comfortable or not. rimadyl now comes in a palatable tablet think its beefy flavoured and most dogs will just eat it out of their owners hands. check with your vet first as other drugs such as metacam are just as effective that comes in a suspension or tablets. the prices do vary from practice to practice. i would also recommend using a chondroitin and glucosamine supplement such as synoquin which you can get from your vet without a prescription. hope youre able to sort something out.
I would go to a pet store or a vet and ask them that they think because if you give it to him then somthing might happen and look in books too.
rimadyl is a antibiotic and does not work for these problems seraquin they are a joint supplement our dog is on it who has hip displacer and you can only get these tablets under vets prescription.
Dk
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