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| Paulderby |
I have a 16 1/2 year old Alsation / Collie cross dog, who about 3 years ago was put on Rimadyl to help his arthritis (back legs mainly). Prior to this he was on 1/2 paracetamol tablet morning and night to try and help ease his discomfort. Our vets were aware of this, and for 2 years said no problems, then 3 years ago new vet at the practice said she was horrified we were giving him paracetamol and could be causing a lot of long term damage and immeadiately prescribed Rimadyl.
I looked up Rimadyl on the internet and found out it can cause serious problems, so rang and discussed this with the vets, they said there were some problems with some dogs on Rimadyl, but they hadn't had any problems so far when prescribing it and to 'give it a try' and see how he went on it.
He was on a low dosage for about 9 months, then went up to standard dosage for his bodyweight until about 3 months ago, when he seemed to be struggling a little and went onto the maximum dosage for his size. Within a month he had to be hospitalised due to serious upset stomach, kept on a drip for 24 hours and then placed on 'special i/d diet' to help settle his tum.
He didn't take to the diet really, and had become more and more difficult to feed, some foods taken for one or two days, then refused. Vets advised keeping him on the Rimadyl at present as he was still struggling with moving. In the last 3 weeks he has had another problem with vomiting and lost interest in eating. Vets now said due to high dosage of Rimadyl it has upset the mucus in his stomach and advised taking him off the Rimadyl until his stomach settled, approx 1 week or so should do the trick.
We withdrew the Rymadyl and have been feeding him scambled egg and rice, cooked chicken breast and rice etc. as soon as we started the Rimadyl at a low dosage he seemed to go backwards and was vomiting again within 2 days.
Along with this while on the Rimadyl over the period of 3 years he developed a few what we took to be 'senior' ailments - confusion at times and some night time bed wetting, for this the vets put him on Selgian, also in the last year he was diagnosed with a heart murmor and fluid on his lungs, for this he was put on Corventol D to clear his chest to try and help his heart.
We have stopped the Rimadyl totally at the moment, also stopped the Selgian and Corventol. He actually appears better without any of the medication, though he still has little interest in food.
At present we are trying to help him with Glucosamine / Chrondontin tablets, along with a probiotic / multivitamin suppliemnt. He is at present able to get up unaided, walk reasonably well without getting breathless, and seems happy.
We have been advised to try herbal suppliements (by a friend who is a dog breeder) These are a 'Tree bark powder' to help his stomach, along with Garlic / Fenugreek Tablets to help his joints.
Our vets have also suggested accupucture as a possible treatment for his arthritis, which we are willing to try when he's a little better and stomach is more settled.
I would welcome any suggestions
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Paul |
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| Normanmike |
| I am sorry but your dog is not going to get any better. It is 16 1/2 years old and seems to have had a good life. Please do not do what I did with my old Patch. I kept him alive because I wanted to and in the end he had to be put to sleep. I realised I was keeping him alive not for his sake but mine. Really he was suffering and I should have done it earlier. I know your vets will try and carry out your wishes and treat him for as long as YOU want but ask yourself is it best for the dog. My vet warned me weeks before that he had had a goof life and I wanted him to carry on but in the end he just stopped eating. He was telling me the time had come. Do not go on letting your dog suffer when there is a more dignifyed was of letting him go. |
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| Paulderby |
Michael
Thank you for your reply, I know he is a good age, and that he will never be as fit and active as he was, however our vet has not even suggested that the time for putting him to sleep has arrived.
I've just come back from a short walk with him, he's managing to walk better in the last couple of days than he has for some time. He still enjoys a walk, interacts with other dogs, just takes him a bit longer to cover the distance.
If we felt he was suffering more than he was enjoying life then we would consider euthanasia
Thanks
Paul |
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| Paulderby |
Sadly Matty went down very quickly, he spent the last 3 days in the vets on a drip to try and re-hydrate him and give him nutrients. He was still going down and starting to suffer some pain so after discussion with the vet we reluctantly decided we had to let him go.
We went to the vets and spent some time with him and stayed while they put him to sleep, it was heartbreaking. |
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| Owned By Ferret |
| Paul, I am so sorry to hear of your loss, my heart and prayers are with you and your family. Just know that you baby knew how much you loved him, and that he is your little angel watching over you from Heaven. God Bless, LYNN |
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| Paulderby |
Llyn
Thank you for the kind words. We had 16 1/2 wonderful years together with Matty. We are very sad to have had to let him go.
We now accept that while the Rimadyl may have contributed to his final illness (Liver failure). It did allow him to carry on for several years without too much pain from his athritis and we might have had to face parting sooner due to this.
Any drug given for whatever reason has some effect, it's a question of do the benefits outweigh the side effects. Looking back now I have to say for Matty the answer was yes.
Paul |
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| Owned By Ferret |
| I work for a vet as a tech, and all I can say is that I would not give that rx to my own animals. I could say lots more, and about other procedures and rx's, but I don't want to upset anyone. |
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