# Happy 12 year old with osteoarthritis hindlegs; Supplements? NSAIDs?



## weloveriley (Apr 25, 2017)

HI!...Our 12 yr old GR is a tall, lean guy (69 lbs) but from prone position must use his forearms to hoist himself up, and therafter he can walk around. He no longer climbs the stairs to our second floor, he no longer can jump into back seat of our SUV, he can get his forearms up but we hoist his hindlegs and once he's in the car, he can jump by himself onto the back seat of the car. He can't climb the "two steps" that lead into some of the doorways into the house, he enters the house into the doorway with just one step up. Generally, he's a happy soul who has a good nutritious diet.....and fortunately due to his leanness and strong forearms, can pull himself up.....this condition has been almost a year now.

...I don't expect any supplements or NSAIDs to bring his legs "back", but we try. Once we gave him Previcox for close to a month but frankly, taking NSAIDs indefinitely because of arthritis isn't necessarily healthy, and who knows if the drug was effective in terms of just relieving pain (it's not a whopee pill that could help him climb the stairs to our house). We gave him a basic Cosequin, total of 1500 mg of glucosamine and 1500 mg of MSM a day, but lately we give him 4 tabs a day of Trader Joe's product (total 1000 mg of glucosamine, 800 chondroitin). It's not clear if these supplements do anything. Q: Does anyone have experience giving human glucosomine/chondroitin, such as what I purchase for myself at Costco....just cut down the dosage....these vet products (including Cosequin) are priced exorbitantly compared to the human products....or any other thoughts? MANY THX


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

At this point, you have to balance his pain against the risk of the daily NSAID. I started my 10 year old on an NSAID because she had started to limp on one side. Turned out, she had no cartilege left in one ankle. The Deramax gave her a new lease on life. She never limped again, and could run and play ball again. We got her blood work checked every six months, and there was never an effect on her organs. 

At 12 years old, I'd go with the pain medication. The glucosamine/chondroitin probably isn't doing much at this point, unfortunately.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Adequan injections.


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## Joanne & Asia (Jul 23, 2007)

My 12 and a half year old girl is having the same issues. I have been giving her glucosamine for the past few years but now am also using Deramax every second day or so. It does seem to make her more comfortable but I don't really see much of a change with her mobility issues. She doesn't limp but struggles getting up and is very slow when walking up an incline. At this age I agree that pain meds are the way to go.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Joanne & Asia said:


> My 12 and a half year old girl is having the same issues. I have been giving her glucosamine for the past few years but now am also using Deramax every second day or so. It does seem to make her more comfortable but I don't really see much of a change with her mobility issues. She doesn't limp but struggles getting up and is very slow when walking up an incline. At this age I agree that pain meds are the way to go.


At this point she needs pain medication DAILY, not just occasionally. It needs to be kept in her system all the time for maximum benefit. Just imagine she gets a pill, feels some better, then the pill wears off and now she's hurting again, and feels worse because for a little while she was more comfortable, but now back to being uncomfortable again. It will take longer for the medication to give her relief with that kind of cycle. 

Please put her on the medication every day and don't miss. It really will help her, and the longer she is out of pain the better she will get around.

OP, I think this holds true for your girl as well. Manage their pain, it's really the best thing to do for our senior dogs.


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## weloveriley (Apr 25, 2017)

THX for responses!.....When our boy was taking 227 mg Previcox daily a couple of years ago, the price from our vet was about $3 a pill. Is that the going rate, are there alternative reliable sources online perhaps? 

I am also willing to add to the daily cocktail daily doses of 750 mg of MSM from my Kirkland "Extra Strength" glucosamine/MSM which might help.....and of course, keeping his body weight at 69 lbs, so that his long forearms can still pull him up from prone position.... 

PS: One of our GRs living in Rainbow Bridge suffered from bone cancer and I recall the days of Deramaxx and Rimadyl well. In our guy's case, the vet has never mentioned those drugs, only returning to Previcox.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

There are several different NSAIDs. I remember when we were first putting my old girl on one for the ankle limp, my vet said, we will try this one, and if it doesn't work, we will try another. We lucked out when the first one we tried, the Deramaxx, worked so well for her. It can take 4-6 weeks to see an effect, as the drug needs to build up in their body on a daily dose. If you feel you aren't getting good options from your vet, you can find a second opinion. 

Truly, the glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin is just not going to do anything at this point. They are very low level, low dose joint supplements. I'd talk to your vet about injections (adequan, for example, as mentioend above), Dasuquin, fish oils... but ultimately, it does sound like your old guy needs pain management. As Mylissyk said, it's the kindest thing we can do for our senior dogs.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

hotel4dogs said:


> Adequan injections.


Plus Trammadol


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