# NSAIDS



## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

We have an 11 year old Golden who is now (and rather quickly) showing the effects of arthritis. We have had him on neutraceuticals (Glucosamine sulphate and Salmon oil) for about three years. He is also hypothyroid- so is managing that well with Thyrotabs - for the past three years (has blood work annually). He had TPLO surgery on his left hind two years ago and recovered very well but we were told at the time that there was pretty much a 100% likelihood that he would eventually develop arthritis.
Because of the possibly collateral damage that NSAIDS can cause, we have put off using them. and started him on 1.3mg Cartrophan (4 weekly loading doses followed by a monthly injection) about five months ago and have a prescription for Tramadol for pain management- which we have used sparingly- only for days that he seems very stiff.
Now he is struggling with stairs, avoids sitting, and although we have area rugs and MANY beds for him- he insists on scrambling on the hardwood. We can see it is definitely time for NSAIDS.
We had his blood work done last Thursday and expect that they will want to start him on Medicam. I know it is widely used- and he was on it for a week after his TPLO surgery with no ill-effects. I know that it can cause organ damage/failure yet also know that many people have used it with great success with their arthritic dogs for many years with seemingly no ill effects. 
Wondering if people can offer some feedback/advice. We want to improve his quality of life and make him more comfortable but worried about frying pans and fires.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

First... I commend you for being informed about the possible dangers of NSAIDs. One of my pet peeves is vets that hand them out for everything and without advanced, or follow up blood tests. However, most dogs tolerate them just fine and many benefit greatly from their use.

My first dog started with noticeable arthritis when she was six and it steadily got worse. BUT, with the things I did with her to help the arthritis, she was in agility classes until she was around 11 or 12, and at least 13 before she got close to where your dog is now, so hopefully some of the things we did will be helpful for your dog as well. FWIW we never put her on a prescription NSAID...

Some of the things we did that we found helpful:

We put her on Zyflamend instead of a prescription NSAID
We kept her lean and exercised
We kept her nails short and trimmed the pads of her feet every week
When she started slipping on the floors, we started spraying her pads with something to make them slightly tacky (I don't remember the exact product but it was something like this.) They also now make toenail grips and pad grips specifically for dogs that may help. I also saw this product while I was looking for links for you.
We got her regular chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture, which I think made a HUGE difference.
We put her on this product as soon as she started showing signs of arthritis. 
Carbs can make inflammation worse, so if she were with me now I would have taken her off kibble and put her on a raw or homemade diet without grains or other carbohydrates.

There is a website called Dog Aware that became my bible as far as things to try (they request voluntary donations so per forum rules I can't link to it, but a Google search should bring them up).

My current dogs (neither of which has arthritis yet) are also on this product: Green Eggs - Natural Joint Support

If you get to the point where your dog needs help getting up, this harness is highly rated by friends of mine whose dogs have either had bad arthritis or a leg amputation.


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## MushyB (Oct 31, 2018)

In my experience with my senior boys (a couple of years out of date), they were prescribed Rimydyl (sp?) to manage arthritis and, and we did bloodwork quarterly to make sure it wasn't having an adverse effect on their organs. We worked with our vet to find the smallest dose that would bring the most comfort but not be too hard on their systems.

That said, we also had to be militant about their weight (SO HARD), and we also did acupuncture/chiropractic adjustments (acupuncture isn't one and done, you have to keep it up but it was SO worth it for our boys comfort), and for our senior boy with degenerative myelopathy, bi-weekly swimming time was super helpful for back end strength. When the stairs got too tough for him some nights (he hated to be picked up), I slept with him in our downstairs guest room.

We did buy the non-slip socks for our DM boy, but he hated them, so I purchased several non-slip long throw rugs (the long narrow ones) to position around the house to help him move around more comfortably: I'm not super concerned about living in "House Beautiful", "House Functional" is more my jam, luckily DH feels that way too 

I still kinda dread the fall months; as the weather cools, joints hurt more, so my heart goes out to your pup. You're being super proactive; I hope some of our experience is helpful for you. Good luck!


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

pawsnpaca said:


> First... I commend you for being informed about the possible dangers of NSAIDs. One of my pet peeves is vets that hand them out for everything and without advanced, or follow up blood tests. However, most dogs tolerate them just fine and many benefit greatly from their use.
> 
> My first dog started with noticeable arthritis when she was six and it steadily got worse. BUT, with the things I did with her to help the arthritis, she was in agility classes until she was around 11 or 12, and at least 13 before she got close to where your dog is now, so hopefully some of the things we did will be helpful for your dog as well. FWIW we never put her on a prescription NSAID...
> 
> ...


Lisa, Thank you very much for your detailed, informative response! Your links are very helpful and I really appreciate especially the connection to the harness and to the pad and nail grips. Many thanks again!


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I feel for you - and I actually joined this forum more than 10 years ago for the exact same reason and questions. My 10-year-old Golden had a limp (arthritis in her wrist) and I was so scared to put her on a daily NSAID. It was the potential side effects, plus the big step and the acknowledgment that she was not going to get better. It broke my heart.

But she was clearly in pain. And so ultimately, after talking to my vet, we put her on Deramaxx. My vet had said, sometimes one NSAID will work for one dog but not for another. We'll try this one and if it doesn't work, we can try a different one. I took a deep breath and we started her on it. And it changed her life. Once the meds built up to the required level in her body, she never limped again. In fact, she ran and played ball for two more years. I felt like it was the best thing I could have done for her. We did blood work every six months to check her organ function, and she never had an issue. Putting a 5 year old dog on daily NSAIDs truly is different from making the decision for an older dog. There will be fewer years on it and that does make a difference, as sad as it is. I hope this helps.


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Sweet Girl said:


> I feel for you - and I actually joined this forum more than 10 years ago for the exact same reason and questions. My 10-year-old Golden had a limp (arthritis in her wrist) and I was so scared to put her on a daily NSAID. It was the potential side effects, plus the big step and the acknowledgment that she was not going to get better. It broke my heart.
> 
> But she was clearly in pain. And so ultimately, after talking to my vet, we put her on Deramaxx. My vet had said, sometimes one NSAID will work for one dog but not for another. We'll try this one and if it doesn't work, we can try a different one. I took a deep breath and we started her on it. And it changed her life. Once the meds built up to the required level in her body, she never limped again. In fact, she ran and played ball for two more years. I felt like it was the best thing I could have done for her. We did blood work every six months to check her organ function, and she never had an issue. Putting a 5 year old dog on daily NSAIDs truly is different from making the decision for an older dog. There will be fewer years on it and that does make a difference, as sad as it is. I hope this helps.


Many thanks for taking the time to relpy- it certainly is a difficult time in the loving of our sweet baby James.


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## Dunmar (Apr 15, 2020)

We did end up with our dog on Previcox. I believe it is an NSAID, for the last 3 years of her life. She was almost 12 when she started it and my vet thought it would bring her the best relief. She was also put on a high dose of glucosamine and chondriton. 

She was like a young dog again after just a couple weeks. It worked amazingly on her. 
They did do bloodwork on her as she had her teeth done yearly and all was good up until she got cancer right before her 15the birthday.


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Dunmar said:


> We did end up with our dog on Previcox. I believe it is an NSAID, for the last 3 years of her life. She was almost 12 when she started it and my vet thought it would bring her the best relief. She was also put on a high dose of glucosamine and chondriton.
> 
> She was like a young dog again after just a couple weeks. It worked amazingly on her.
> They did do bloodwork on her as she had her teeth done yearly and all was good up until she got cancer right before her 15the birthday.


Thank you for the reply. I have looked into Previcox, Metacam, Deramaxx, Rimtdyl- they all have the same side effects witht he potential for organ damage and an alarmingly high incidence of mortality. Still, there seems to be little choice- clearly a huge need to build a better mousetrap. He is already on glucosamine sulphate (500mg daily) and Salmon oil as well as monthly injections of Cartrophen (Penrosan).


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

sevans said:


> I have looked into Previcox, Metacam, Deramaxx, Rimtdyl- they all have the same side effects witht he potential for organ damage and an alarmingly high incidence of mortality.


I encourage you to read up on that Zyflammend product I mentioned. It’s a herbal Cox 2 inhibitor intended for people. I found this article which may be of interest: https://www.cuteness.com/article/zyflamend-problems but there’s a lot on line, including some interesting human studies regarding its use in treating things like prostate cancer. Pass it by your vet if you want, but I think it falls into the “likely won’t hurt, may help“ category…


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

sevans said:


> I have looked into Previcox, Metacam, Deramaxx, Rimtdyl- they all have the same side effects witht he potential for organ damage and an alarmingly high incidence of mortality.


But there are ways to mitigate this risk. Do blood work before starting the NSAID - get your dog's base level. And then check the blood every six months. If there are organ issues, the blood work will show it. I understand your concerns - I had the very same ones. But truly, seeing the positive effect the NSAID had for my girl, I have never had a single regret about the decision. We checked her blood every six months, and there were never any issues. She was on the NSAID for more than two years, and eventually died from cancer - nothing to do with the NSAID. Every drug - whether for humans or animals - carry the risk of side effects. Not every one will experience them, and the benefits almost always will outweigh the risk


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Sweet Girl said:


> But there are ways to mitigate this risk. Do blood work before starting the NSAID - get your dog's base level. And then check the blood every six months. If there are organ issues, the blood work will show it. I understand your concerns - I had the very same ones. But truly, seeing the positive effect the NSAID had for my girl, I have never had a single regret about the decision. We checked her blood every six months, and there were never any issues. She was on the NSAID for more than two years, and eventually died from cancer - nothing to do with the NSAID. Every drug - whether for humans or animals - carry the risk of side effects. Not every one will experience them, and the benefits almost always will outweigh the risk


Yes, thank you- we know. Because he is hypothyroid- he has regular bloodwork in addition to the urinalysis and blood panel done prior to startung anything. Nonethelss- it seems bizarre that there isn’t an NSAID that does not do such collateral damage.


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## Dunmar (Apr 15, 2020)

sevans said:


> Yes, thank you- we know. Because he is hypothyroid- he has regular bloodwork in addition to the urinalysis and blood panel done prior to startung anything. Nonethelss- it seems bizarre that there isn’t an NSAID that does not do such collateral damage.


My girl never had any damage on the Previcox. Maybe she was lucky but at her age I just wanted her to feel better in her final years.
She was on them 3 years with regular blood checks without any issues. She actually had her teeth done 6 months prior to her cancer diagnosis. She was always healthy up until the lymphoma. I understand the concern for organ damage but at her age I just wanted her to feel good. It got me 3 more years and she lived 3 months shy of her 15th birthday


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

sevans said:


> it seems bizarre that there isn’t an NSAID that does not do such collateral damage.


But that's what I'm saying. They DON'T all cause the damage. But there is a risk, so it must be labelled as such and you can mitigate the risk by doing regular blood checks. Millions of dogs take NSAIDs without any side effects.
NSAIDs pose the same risks for humans. Look at all the potential side effects that Advil lists:





Frequently Asked Questions About Advil Pain | Advil


Get answers to frequently asked questions about Advil products including uses, ingredients, dosing instructions, safety, side effects, interactions, and more.




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And how many millions of people take it with no issues.


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Sweet Girl said:


> But that's what I'm saying. They DON'T all cause the damage. But there is a risk, so it must be labelled as such and you can mitigate the risk by doing regular blood checks. Millions of dogs take NSAIDs without any side effects.
> NSAIDs pose the same risks for humans. Look at all the potential side effects that Advil lists:
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, and intellectually, of course, I know you are right. It is just very scry when you hear about “those cases.” Sigh. Thank you for your support.


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

So we decided to go with Galliprant- is anyone else using this NSAID?


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