Arthritis Meds

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Georgie'sMom

Forums Regular
Gracie is almost 4 years old. We are trying to get some weight off of her, but for the last year she seems to find it hard to walk sometimes; it's as if she feels stiffness in her joints. Other times, she seems okay.

Our vet wants her to take Tramadol and VetProfen (an anti-inflammatory). I have 3rd stage kidney disease from taking too much ibuprofen for my arthritis, so I am worried about what these will do to her kidneys, but I don't like to see her suffer, either.

She had a blood draw for some tests, so I am inclined to wait to see what they say. We've been giving her a treat that has glucosomine and chondroitin, which seems to help a little.

Anyone have any experience or advice about this?
 
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You might want to look into astaxanthin which is extracted from algae. It is a very potent free radical scavenger. It has been EXTREMELY beneficial for Mally. It has helped him in many ways and has indeed turned the clock back for him. There is quite a bit of research on this for dogs and humans (it has helped me as well) . It has many therapeutic qualities and is something Mally and I will continue to use. Mally gets 4 mg per day the brand Nutrex comes highly regarded. It is well tolerated and does not appear to have any side effects.
 
Do you have a definite diagnosis for arthritis or dysplasia yet - and is it hip or elbow?

Generally a pain killer and NSAID are only given for severe arthritis or for immediate relief. I'm assuming for Gracie it's the latter and he wants to give her some quick relief to get her moving again. Personally I'd not worry about the Tramadol and just go with the NSAID, if she has arthritis the NSAID will give her pain relief anyway.

With long term use it really is a matter of quality vs quantity. Deska has had arthritis in his elbow since he was 2 yrs old, and he is now 9yrs, Tully had a hip replacement at age 6yrs (she's now 8yrs). Deska has been on NSAIDs basically since he was diagnosed. He is on daily NSAIDs - a half dose, and has a stomach protectorant with it, which I found is necessary for long term use. He gets additional pain relief in winter and when he is really sore. He has annual bloods to ensure he's doing okay on the drugs. Without the NSAIDs he would have no quality of life. In the end, for me, his life would have been so much shorter if he didn't have the NSAIDs and was living with pain all time.

Tully on the other hand has NSAIDs sporadically. She just could not stomach the NSAIDs more than 2 days in a row, even with the stomach protectorant, which is one reason she had the hip replacement.

So yes, a dog can have NSAIDs long term but it depends on the dog. You may also need to try different NSAIDs as some are easier tolerated than others.

I'm wondering if your vet wants to try this in the shorter term. Depending how advanced the arthritis is, she may get enough benefit atm from losing weight (I know a couple of dogs where that was enough when they were young). It makes a big difference when they are pain free to getting the weight off. Deska put on weight before he was diagnosed. But once he was on the NSAIDs he dropped the weight fairly quickly and now maintains a light weight. I think the big difference was he was generally moving around more once he was on the NSAIDs, not just on walks, but around the house he wasn't just laying around like a lump all the time.
 
Is the difficulty walking from the weight? How overweight is she? Obesity causes huge joint issues, so I'd think getting the weight off is job #1 before you start medicating.
 
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