| Re: Rimadyl
I dislike giving my guys "pain medication" if I don't know what is wrong with them. If it's a serious injury, then the pain med will mask the pain and they'll be more active than they should be and possibly cause more injury. On the other hand, I also don't like having my critters in pain so I usually get them seen as soon as I can when I have an injury that doesn't resolve itself fairly soon. I know...it's a balancing act.
Rimadyl is an anti-inflammatory drug which does relieve pain. As you've seen, it is controversial. Many dogs do quite well on it. And many don't. My girl has actually been taking it for years due to pervasive arthritis. I've tried everything else and she can tolerate only Rimadyl. We, of course, run labs on her every 6 months.
There is no quarantee that Rimadyl won't do harm in 5 days time. Each dog is different. I'm curious as to why your vet recommended it without a diagnosis and also because there are newer NSAIDS available which have far fewer potential side effects than Rimadyl.
How is your guy doing today?
Che  |