Rimadyl

[memphiesmomma]

Hi just a quick question for everybody. Would you put your dog on Rimadyl for 5 days to help with pain after a fall? My seven year old male was chasing our other dog and he wiped out on the hard wood floor. He seemed fine at the time but now he doesn't want to put much weight on it. So I called the vet today to see what to do. She recomened Rimadyl untill Monday and if he wasn't better to bring him in. The last time this happend he was fine in a few days. After I went and picked it up I came here to see if there was any info about Rimadyl and now I am scared to give it to him. What should I do?

[Che54]

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

[memphiesmomma]

He is doing better but is still limping some. I went ahead and gave him the pain meds and he seems to be fine. I am taking him to the vet tommorow to get checked out. Thanks for the info.

[unsung]

I was advised to use coated Bayer aspirin instead of Rimadyl.

[julsquincy]

A few different Vets I have talked with have given me the OK to give my 7 1/2 yo male with HD a buffered aspirin called Ecotrin. It is aspirin with a safety coating and it dissolves in the small intestine instead of the stomach. Ecotrin is the name brand and can be found at stores like Wal-mart, Walgreens, CVS. The Vets concern is dosage - mg per lb (weight of dog) and duration. I give only 1 a day (325 mg/95 lbs) as needed when he is a little limpy or stiff. Within 12 hours, I can tell he feels better.

Keep us posted.

[targonrotts]

benn there, done that and read the book. with active dogs and in active sports a wipe out is bound to happen. i have never had a problem using short term rimadyl on a healthy dog.
never mix rimadyl or any NSAID with another or another steroid or aspirin.
magnaprin,ascriptin, ect are maalox covered aspirins. always give with some food to avoid stomach upset.
we recommend giving famotidine or carafate to dogs with sensitive stomachs.


hope your guy is doing fine now.

[memphiesmomma]

Just an update Memphis is doing fine now thankfully. I think that I am going to look into giving him some kind of joint supplement. Any suggestions?