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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Dog Arthritis And Possible Rimadyl Adverse Reaction


Our Linguini, an eleven year old female dalmatian mix, has been diagnosed with dog arthritis

She's had arthritic type signs for a long time. Due to recent sudden weight loss accompanied by acute vomiting, we rushed her to the dog vet to find out why she was wasting away so suddenly. What was making her so ill? The Rimadyl, the fish oil for dogs, or Proin (phenylpropanolamine), the hormone to help control her dog incontinence? The vet did x-rays and ran a new blood test (her last one was ten months ago).

The telling x-ray

The above x-ray clearly shows that our girl's left leg is heavily afflicted by dog arthritis, as is her spine. Surprisingly, her right leg doesn't show any signs of dog arthritis! After a thorough physical, our dog vet added that the dog's probably suffering fro a blown cruciate and will most likely need surgery. 

We're waiting for the blood test results to come in before we decide how to proceed. We are also playing around with her medications, to figure out which one may be causing the excessive and violent vomiting (the fish oil for dogs is not a suspect at this point). The cruciate surgery is promising. The chances of full functionality are really good. There are rare complications (breakdown) with this type of surgery, but we are lucky because our dog vet happens to specialize in it. The cons are significant as well: with a senior dog there is always an elevated risk during sedation, the recovery is long, and the cost makes us wish we had heeded our own warnings an PSAs and gotten pet insurance!

To be continued . . . 

Twinkie

17 comments:

Casper Bear said...

Poor Linguini! I do hope that all goes well and that makes a full and speedy recovery.
Lotsa Licks
Casper Bear

JacksDad said...

Here's hoping everything goes well!! I ran into the same vet bill issue with another dog, so I've got insurance for Jack. If a pet owner can afford it, I highly recommend it!

Asta said...

I'm so sowwy that Linguini has that Awthuw Itis
Thank dogness you have a clevew , good dogtow
I'm sending extwa healing smoochie kisses
ASTA

Shmoo said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The Ladies of Beaglebratz Manor said...

From the mom - Oh poor dear Linguini - try tu du what is best and this is what happens. How long has she been on the Rimadyl - I have heard PLENTY OF BAD STUFF from using it too long. Too many vets are med happy - they don't always practice preventive medicine. Shiloh has had problems with arthritis and Degenerative disk disease in his tailbone - he was on Rimadyl for a short time but then I stopped it - use a preventative supplement with Chondroitin and Glucosamine.

Two French Bulldogs said...

Linguini we sure are thinking about you. Hope the medicines work for you
Benny & Lily

K9 Katastrophie said...

Linguini! I hope you feel better soon!

Licks,
Ruthie

Peggy y Mhathy said...

Hi friends, we wish the best for Linguiny. Hugs Peggy and Mhathy

Nubbin' Tails said...

Poor puppy! Mommy has that in her back too. She understands. Keeping our paws crossed.

Wags!

Mr. Nubbin'

♥Mona + Prissy + Angel Weenie♥ said...

Oh no Linguini,

WE are so sorry your having problems with this. I gots it too but not so bad as Mommy's. I take Rimadyl too but only when it kicks up. Mommy needs a total knee replacement but so far I don't. WE will keep prying that you get better soon.

{{{huggies}}}...Mona

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Oh dear, poor Linguini. We hope that this all works out in the end. Tough when you think you are doing all the right things and then it all goes nutso. Paws crossed for Linguini to be doing better soon.

Hugs and Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Pup Fan said...

Poor Linguini! Hope he gets well soon.

Molly the Airedale said...

Our paws are crossed for Linguini!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Piappies World said...

We hope that Linguini feels better really soon. We have our paws crossed for him.

Love,
Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Pai & Wai-Max

Oskar said...

Oh no, we will keep Linguini in our prayers!

I hope the vomiting stops right away.

Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar

Cosequin Equine said...

Hello,

Dog arthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects one out of five dogs and in most cases, occurs most frequently in older dogs. Thank you...

rox wisely said...

Good luck to the surgery. Osteoarthritis can be really painful both for the dogs and for the caring pet owners. To deal with it, surgeries and a lot of medicines can be helpful.

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