[chebeau]

Hi,

Our 9 year old lab, Cheney, suffers from hip issues and an elbow issue. He currently takes Tramadol and gets Adquan injections. The cold weather has caused him to seem more stiff as of late. My husband is interested in getting him cortizone injections. I am interested in hearing people's experiences with them.

Also, has anyone tried the Back on Track blanket/jacket for dogs? Did it help?

Cheney is a happy dog. He still plays fetch every day and is walked regularly. We want him to be as comfortable and healthy as possible.

Thanks!
Jessie

[Elkie]

I wish I had heard of pentosan when my lab was younger. She's 14 now and it's late to put her on this, but you may want to check into it. Horses, humans, dogs and cats for arthritis.

[SarahKing]

Is he on a joint supplement or supplemented food? Have you tried adding an NSAID such as Previcox, Rimadyl, or Deramaxx? Have you tried adding gapabentin (different class of pain med) to his daily routine? Steroids are generally a last resort / short term use kind of thing.

[SquishTheBunny]

Well the good news is there are SO many more options out there now than there were 15 years ago.

Cortizone will work for some, and show no effect in others. Its certainly worth a try if you get no response from other medical management.

There is also a variety of differnent NSAIDs and other narcotics/non-narcs that you can use to add to the daily protocol.

Ie Metacam, Dermaxx, Rimadyl, Previcox. Most patients do very well on these, however a handful do experience GI ulceration and liver changes. The nice thing with these NSAID's is that you can play with them a little, never extra dose, but you can certainly taper a dose or only give it during a bad day (rainy days etc)

Gabapentin is often added to an arthritis protocol too, simply because it has few drug interactions and little side effects. Some patients benefit greatly from this, while others dont as much.

Pentosan/Cartrophen - for some bizarre reason I havent seen it work as well in dogs than in cats, but maybe something to consider.

Cosequin DS. Of all "neutroceuticals" I think this one really gives impressive results.

Polyglycan - similar to adequan

Physiotherapy - always wonderful for arthritic pets. Im lucky enough to work with a boarded rehab/sports medicine vet and she has some wonderful stretches/workouts for patients with arthritis.

Holistic remedies

Food supplimentation, ie. fish oil



Lots of things available to help your pup

[chebeau]

Thanks for the input so far. I am passing this along to my husband. He is the primary one who does the vet visits because his schedule is more flexible. We've made sure Cheney has multiple comfortable beds across the house beyond the time he spends on the sofa. He's done well on the Adavan/Adaquan (? spelling) injections with Tramadol and another med ( karprophen or something with the K or C beginning...sorry I can't recall right now.) that is escaping me at the moment. The cold weather has been highlighted the stiffness lately. Once he is warmed up he is ready to play. Also, my husband massages him daily. Since he still enjoys life wew want to do all that is possible to make him a happy dog.

Thanks!
Jessie and the Yellow Fellow aka Cheney