Alternatives to Rimadyl?

[lmkersnick]

Are there any alternatives to use for arthritis associated with hip dysplasia? - My poor puppers started limping on her right hind leg, which initially we thought she had hurt herself getting down from the chairs in the waiting room at the vets after one of her chemo treatments (she has lymphoma). I mentioned her limping to the internal meds vet, who kept an eye on it, but suggested a visit with a surgical vet when she noticed some muscle wasting. - She x-rayed and we found that Mitzi hardly has any hip socket to speak of, and has some arthritis. I know she said the Rimadyl would not interfere with any of the Chemo meds, but if there's anything out there that would be more natural to use, I'd rather not pump my dog full of all kinds of medications that might have other effects. I have heard warnings that Rimadyl can have bad effects on the heart - and she's already involved with a cardiotoxic chemo medication. I know they'll be keeping an eye on her heart and liver functions, but still...
Oh, and just to throw this in the mix, Mitzi has EPI, so I have to watch whatever I give her anyway -
Oh - should I mention that she's not quite 4? - So I'm not dealing with an older dog here, but we'd like to keep her around as long a possible, as long as she's feeling good and we can keep the cancer at bay....

[Lauri & The Gang]

Salmon oil - 1000 mgs per 10 pounds of body weight (maybe ramp up to that amount?).

Removing as much grain as possible from the diet should also help.

[Fodder]

Wow, she's got a bit more going on than i bet you bargained for eh? Poor girl... I've got a "severe as they come" HD girl. she surprised each doctor thats viewed her xrays because she's so mobile, so i always get sent home with "well keep doing what you're doing". and what i'm doing is:

Nupro Silver Joint Supplement & Ester-C

that seems to keep her pretty comfortable (despite my stairs, truck, and concrete floors, aka all the no-no's) if we're planning a trip i usually double up on everything the week prior, and she gets a childrens aspirin on an as needed basis (after swimming, hiking, etc).

last but not least - keep her as lean as possible!!! i feed raw 3-4 days a week, and wellness X canidae platinum kibble which averages out to low 30% protein and about 12% fat if i remember correctly.

[lmkersnick]

http://caninecaviar.com/specialneedsdry.html

this is what she gets now, with about 3 tbsp non-fat plain yogurt mixed in, after the enzymes do their thing. -
how would you suggest ramping up? She's about 75 lbs, and so is on 75 mg of Rimadyl 2x/day for now, which I'm getting close to having to re-fill, and I'd rather not if the salmon oil will work. I think I can get some at our local GNC store, but not sure of the quantity.
- would I mix the salmon oil in just before feeding her, like I do with the yogurt?

[lmkersnick]

Originally Posted By: CamerafodderWow, she's got a bit more going on than i bet you bargained for eh? Poor girl...

um, yeah... and we were told her hips were guaranteed... but ever since the epi diagnosis, I've been wishing I could contact the breeder again, just to let them know that they should maybe not breed these 2 parents again.... they've disappeared. We were in touch with them for about a year after we got her, here and there.

Originally Posted By: Camerafodder30% protein and about 12% fat

With the epi she needs the low fat/ low fiber - I can never remember off the top of my head the %'s..... but they say with the cancer she should have more fat than what she can absorb.

Yeah - more issues than we bargained for, but I wouldn't trade her... would love to have another one, if I could by-pass the health issues....

[lmkersnick]

Camerafodder ~
How much of the Nupro Silver Joint Supplement & Ester-C would I give a 75lb dog?

Any many thanks to both you and Lauri & the Gang for the quick responses!!

[Fodder]

i give gia 2 scoops which is the dose for 70+ pounds. i overdosed the first 2 months to get it good in her system, then went back to what was recommended. i can never remember the exact mg of ester c that i give, but i believe its 2000mg in addition to whatever small amount is in the nupro.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Thank you for taking such good care of Mitzi.

Well it's not natural, but Tramadol is a nice pain killer. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_tramadol.html just something to ask about!

I also don't know if Adequan would be a good thing in this situation-you definitely have a lot going on.

I give my two old dogs Synovi G3 and my young dogs Glyco-Flex. The old dogs also get DMG from Vetriscience, which isn't specific to joint issues, but is my favorite supplement in terms of healing (and I have nothing to back that up really). I just bumped a thread up in the regular health section about Cetyl-M. Another thing is hyaluronic acid.

My dogs used to get Nupro-but it made the poop eaters want to eat poop more! So it's good stuff-coming and going! BLAH!

This site has some good information: http://www.helpyourdogfightcancer.com/

Aloha gives their Magic Bullet Fund dogs their supplement: http://www.helpyourdogfightcancer.com/supplements.html

http://dogcancer.net/ which of course is not a cure, or anything that might even help the arthritis, but something to check out.

[LisaT]

for the joints

glucosamine/chondroitin (I would start with something like Cosequin to see what kind of reaction you get)

cetyl myristoleate
Msm
vitamin c

[JKlatsky]

I've also heard Ester-C can be good, as well as joint supplements.

Also not natural, but I know people who use Deramaxx and swear by it for arthritis and HD problems.

Someone I know who worked with a study of it at the UF Vet School had participants crying because they never thought their dogs would move so well again...I guess it depends on how severe the pain is.