Happy Valentine’s Day to the one who pays the bills

I was amused by Flippy’s little Valentine’s Day greeting to me in her blog, thanking me for “putting up with her”.  Seeing as she graciously took three little kittens to the vet last week and paid about $350 for their vaccinations and exams, and then took Eli to the vet today (allowing her to sit on the leather car seats) and shelled out about $450, I think it’s me who should be giving thanks.  Our trip today literally lasted for three hours, too, so I don’t have words for how much I appreciate Flippy’s patience and good nature when we’re in a situation which could best be described as “trying”.  Nothing takes the stress out of a stressful situation like being with someone who makes you laugh.  So, for Flippy, a big “Happy Valentine’s Day” back at ‘cha, and thank you for allowing me to fill your house with things on four legs, things which shed, things which don’t flush, etc.  They all love you, too.  I think I managed to give Flippy the best gift ever this evening… she was on the sofa watching TV, and at one point had three little kittens curled up in her lap, sound asleep.  If you want your heart to go pitter-pat, let a little kitten look up at you adoringly while purring, closing its eyes, and dosing off in the safety of your presence.  It’s the most incredible thing.

As just mentioned, we did spend a large part of the day at the vet.  It was Eli’s annual wellness exam, and I wanted it out of concern that she’s been acting sort of stiff and sore for the past couple of months.  She’s also lost some muscle mass, so while her weight has remained the same, I can see that she’s lost some tone (haven’t we all?!).  So, she had a very thorough exam today, including a ton of x-rays, and that kept us at the vet’s office for some time while we waited for results.  I was getting a bit concerned towards the end of the appointment because normally we’d be done with the vet consultation, and would just be checked out by a tech, but the vet wanted to speak to us.  The longer I sat in the waiting room, the more vividly I imagined that the x-ray had shown odd masses or growths or very bad things.  Luckily, there was nothing of that sort, although the x-rays did reveal Eli’s bad habit of eating small rocks.  The main problem that showed up was very bad arthritis in many of Eli’s joints, especially both hips, her wrists, and her spine.  I knew one of her front feet was bothering her and that she was prone to bouts of limping on it, but I had no idea the other areas were in such bad shape.  They were so bad that it was another case of “I could spot the problem on the x-ray”, and I don’t know anything about this stuff.  Both Flippy and I have always thought of Eli as a bit of a “baby” when it comes to pain, as she’s very whiny about having her ears cleaned, fussy about having her nails trimmed, etc., but she’s obviously very stoic about other pain because she has to be in a lot of it with this degree of arthritis, and she’s only recently started to show it.

We discussed all our treatment options with the vet, but really, we don’t have many.  In theory Eli could have surgery for her hips and even have a hip replacement done, but with two bad hips, she might not have the strength to support the post-surgical leg during its rehab time.  Also, if there was any sort of terrible complication with the leg and it required something drastic like amputation (say, she was allergic to the implant), there’s no way her other rear leg could cope with all the workload.  The other surgical option is a Femoral Head and Neck Resection, but the vet thinks that’s something to keep as a last resort if Eli’s discomfort becomes overwhelming.  As she’s been taking Cosequin and getting glucosamine/chondroitin supplements for the last couple of years we’ve already got that covered, so for now, we’re going with Rimadyl for pain, and I’m going to try to get her to be a bit more active to build up her muscle mass again.  I’ll also try some MSM supplements and see if they help.  We discussed Adequan, but the vet felt that at Eli’s age she wouldn’t get any extra benefit from it than from Cosequin, and of course, it’s terribly expensive.  So for now, Rimadyl, and I’m about to order a pet ramp from Drs. Foster and Smith.  We’ll have another checkup in 6 months because Eli’s thyoid function was a bit low, but she’s asymptomatic right now, so it can be rechecked in August to see if it’s deteriorated at all.  I guess in a 10 year old large dog I should be happy that we got away with just arthritis but a clean bill of health everywhere else.

Today, Eli became our first dog to be tested for heartworm, and put on heartworm meds.  While we don’t really have mosquitos here like they exist in other parts of the country, experts here are expecting a big outbreak of heartworm cases starting this spring because of the influx of heartworm-infected dogs from Louisiana.  I guess all it takes is one mosquito biting one infected dog for it to start to spread, so even if we only have, say, a thousand mosquitos around town, they’ll be able to do some damage.  We unfortunately have to go through the protocol of having all dogs tested for heartworm before they can be prescribed the meds, so one dog down, three more to go.  They need to start the meds by the time overnight temps are consistently around the 60 degree mark, so probably by the end of next month.

Eli is serving as a cautionary tale for us, as she was “hip certified” as a puppy, yet she’s still developed hip problems.  Starting today, Dante, our Anatolian shepherd, was started on Cosequin as well.  He gets some supplementation of glucosamine/chondroitin in his food, but I want to really try to prevent as many problems as possible with him.  The Cosequin is a small thing, but I figure every little bit helps.  Speaking of Anatolians, there are some beautiful ones who were selected Best of Breed at the Westminster Kennel Club show.  We usually just get to see solid-coloured Anatolians, but this year the winners are “pinto” like our Dante.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/13 at 10:10 PM

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  1. So, so sorry about Eli and her joints. You are right, hip and elbow certification only go so far. That image of the purring kittens is so true. Melts the heart.

    Posted by Diana  on  02/14  at  06:40 AM

  2. I once had a Lhasa Apso who was my best friend for 15 years.  At the age of about 10 she developed quite disabling arthritis. She was treated with Metacam.  I could not believe the difference this medication had on her life.  She once more ran and played. It was like a small miracle.  I know these meds can have side effects.. but when they work, it is wonderful for our furkids.  Best of luck with the Rimadyl.  I hope it helps your sweet girl.

    And Happy Valentines Day grin

    Posted by Simply Coll  on  02/14  at  08:16 AM

  3. Hi Leigh-Ann,

    My sister in Canada is going through these same issues with her Keeshond. She is currently giving injections of Glucosamine every two weeks in order to get some quicker relief as she has had more difficulty in getting up from laying down. However, the Cosequin is an excellent product though especially since you have been already using it.

    I think Rimadyl is faster acting for pain relief while the Metacam takes a few days to take effect but is preferred over Rimadyl for long term use. Both do have side effects though. Since Eli seems to still be mobile and you mention that she doesn’t seem to show advanced symptoms of pain or lack of mobility, maybe a natural product may help. I have heard good things about Yucca, Solid Gold makes a good product. It does sometimes cause stomach upset for some pets though. Another Wholistic product I have come across is “Wholistic Run Free” which you can find with a Google search. Just thought I would suggest it since it is fresh in my mind…

    Good luck smile

    Posted by Cheryl  on  02/15  at  06:59 AM

  4. I can’t really believe that the glucosamine is doing any good in light of the recent human studies. I’ve had clients that have claimed that it helped, and others who said it did nothing. Since the oral came into fashion I haven’t used enough adequan to form a good judgment. Have to admit, though, that in spite of all the fear, I’ve had great success with Rimadyl. Deramaxx is pretty good, too, but more expensive. The most important thing: keep your dog lean. REALLY lean.

    Posted by arlo muttrie  on  02/16  at  06:47 AM

  5. Thanks, everyone, for your responses, especially the ones mentioning alternate pain remedies such as Metacam, Deramaxx, etc.  Now, everyone run out and buy stock in Pfizer, because even though I consider myself to have “better than average” awareness of veterinary products and treatments, Rimadyl is just about the only pharmaceutical treatment for arthritis pain that I was aware of.  They obviously do an incredible job in the marketing department, and being innundated with posters and signs about Rimadyl everytime I’m in the vet’s waiting room has been very effective.  It’s a bit frightening, really :p

    I’ll check out the suggestions regarding Yucca and Wholistic Run Free as well.  Eli’s definitely doing better on Rimadyl (she wants to play catch now, and there’s no longer a “tense” look about her face), but I’ve been giving it to her twice a day.  The vet wants me to try to cut back to once a day, and then I’ll know if it will still be effective.

    A question, for whomever has an opinion—if you’re pilling once a day for pain, would you pill at night so your dog sleeps comfortably and gets up easily in the morning, or would you pill in the morning so you dog has a pain-free day?  When I was on Oxycontin for 12 months, I preferred to take it just at night, before bed, because then I slept well and woke up feeling refreshed and energetic.  If I took it in the daytime, I was more aware of side-effects, and my sleep wasn’t as restful.  I was supposed to take it every 12 hours but the side-effects aren’t too pleasant, and I could cope with just once a day.  My temptation is to pill Eli once a day before bed for those same reasons, but should I be thinking about it differently?  Being a dog, perhaps waking up in pain isn’t “depressing” for her, and I just want to give her the most effective relief.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  02/18  at  10:33 AM

  6. Hi Leigh Ann. I just want to comment that the various NSAIDs (rimadyl, deramaxx, previcox, metacam, etc) all work a tiny bit differently, and an individual dog may respond differently to each one - so, if the rimadyl isn’t doing the job well, it might make sense to try a different one. But if the rimadyl IS doing the job well, I think it tends to be cheaper than the other newer ones, so I’d stick with it. Also, regarding the timing of the dose - that would be something to “read the dog” vs “read the book” about, IMO.

    Now, are you giving rimadyl once a day? Because while it can be dosed that way, many vets prefer to give it twice a day, since the duration of efficacy is only about 16 hours. So instead of 2 mg/lb once a day, you give 1 mg/lb twice a day, and that works very well for many dogs. It is something to consider and discuss with your dog’s own veterinarian, of course.

    take care,
    h, vmd

    Posted by Hillary, vmd  on  02/19  at  04:21 AM

  7. Hi Hillary --

    Eli is being dosed at 1 mg/lb twice a day.  However, the vet was pretty insistent about trying to get her down to just 1 mg/lb once a day, and when the tech brought the pills out to us in the waiting room, she reinforced the, “twice a day, but the less frequently the better” concept.  Also, if we stick to the twice per day dosing (which is what the instructions on the pill bottle say), we were only given enough pills to last us 15 days, which I think is a bit odd.  Eli is doing very well on twice per day, and if I’m late on a dose, I can see that stiffness has already set in.  In any case, I’ll check about it on Wednesday, when the kittens go in for booster shots.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  02/19  at  09:29 PM
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