Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / August 2006

There are other "cheaper" methods of pain relief, but it's important to
go over all your options with your veterinarian.  Rimadyl is costly,
I'm sure Deramaxx is as well.  Our hospital has been using Metacam
which is a brand name for a NSAID called meloxicam.  It is somewhat
cheaper then the Rimadyl and Deramaxx, but it depends on what your
veterinarian offers.

The glucosamine and chondroitin (I'm guessing you're using Cosequin or
the equivalent) is a very good product and I'm not saying don't use it,
but it's not going to do too much to releive surgical pain.  The
function of those is to aid in the lubrication of the joints and
decrease the degeneration of them (there are many studies out on
glucosamine if you scan the internet)  I don't know off the top of my
head how much more aspirin you can give a dog of his size and age due
to the fact that I don't know what other issues he has going on.  Call
your vet and see how much more aspirin you can comfortably give.  You
have to be careful with aspirin because it's a thins out the blood.
Surgeons can tell (and they hate it by the way) when a patient has been
on aspirin because they bleed a lot during surgery...especially
cruciate surgeries from what I've seen.

Hope I was a help.

P.S.  In case no one has told you yet... NEVER give your dog an aspirin
substitute... like Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, etc... ONLY give straight
aspirin or buffered aspirin

I had a lab mix who went through the same thing.  He had luxating patellas
and blew both knees out.  One at 5 and the other at 7.  Yes the Rimadyl,
Deramaxx and Metcam all have risk but so does the aspirin you are giving
him.  All of them can cause stomach issues and internal bleeding.

I personally would go with a low dose of Rimadyl twice daily and see that
gives relief. Talk to your vet on the amount it depends upon the dogs
weight.  If you don't see any relief with the low dose then gradually
increase it but don't go over the amount recommended.  If the Rimadyl
doesn't seem to do the trick try the Deramaxx.  Barney was on Rimadyl for
almost 2 years till we maxed out the dosage for a dog his size.  The
orthopedic suggested switching him to Deramaxx.  All three are an Nsaid and
cox 2 but they work differently.  Barney went from barely getting up to
running and playing again in less then 48 hours after switching to Deramaxx
and over time we didn't need to increase his dose.  He stayed at 50 mg daily
till he passed away.  Get preliminary blood work to check liver & kidney
function and get the follow up lab work with your vet in about two weeks and
every quarter.  Also learn what the warning signs are for side effects.

Not every dog has problems with these drugs they are life savers for many
dogs.  Barney was one of them, without the medications I would have had no
choice but to put him down.  He had severe arthritis and it was a quality of
life issue.  He spent over 5 years on these medications with out any issues.
In the end it was cancer that caught up to him.

I currently have Buddy a beagle/cheasapeke bay retriver mix who is taking
Rimadyl for an ACL tear.  It's a minor tear and not fully blown and the
orthopedic doesn't want to operate unless he blows it out.  I didn't think
twice about starting him on the Rimadyl.  He had his preliminary blood work
and had a follow up just 10 days ago and everything is fine.  I don't expect
to have any problems but I watch him closely anyway.

Celeste

Thanks to Dave and Celeste for their response and advice - very
insightful.

Frank