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In respect to pain management Galliprant has worked as well as, but not better than, other NSAIDS for my 15 year old. The side effects of course are hopefully less. I hope the $30 rebate holds out for as long as my dog holds out, because otherwise it would be $85 month.
We have enttered a new phase. As I mentioned elsewhere I went to get him evaluated for dementia hoping to start Anipryl ASAP. He has been "sundowning", waking bolt upright at 8:30 pm and sometimes pacing off and on for hours. But the vet didn't know anything about dementia and had no positive experiences with Anipryl. I called my former vet who I trust a lot more, and she said the same thing. She had even tried Anipryl on one of her old dogs, but she said all it did was sedate him.
So I started rethinking my plan to use it. I decided that dementia or not, getting both of us rest at night is the real goal here. Anipryl interacts with phenylpropanolamine, trazadone and potentially tramadol, and I'd potentially have to go over a month without those being available (2 weeks before and after using Anipryl-although my trusted vert said you can use Tramadol with Anipryl, with care), and that seems unacceptable. I tried Gabapentin again but at lower doses it did nothing for his pain and at higher doses it makes him fall down at least once a day which is not acceptable. It didnt really seem to help his pain at higher doses either. Tramadol does keep him calmer at night and had been my go-to drug but with Tramadol sometimes he still wakes up restless at 3 or 4 am. It has a shorter half-life than Trazadone.
So 2 nights ago we started Trazadone and so far it has worked pretty well. He's a bit groggy and sleeps a lot, but doesnt stumble or fall, and hopefully the grogginess will wear off. He slept well 2 nights in a row and I slept well for the first time in weeks last night so I'm hopeful this will continue to work for us. We're starting to run low on good options, but on the bright side with 3 regularly timed pee trips per day he has been off the phenylpropanolamine (Proin) for a week and has not leaked a drop.
I'll mention this again here, for people whose dogs can tolerate higher doses of Proin (mine can't). When he was on the recommended dose not only did he stop having fecal incontinence for that entire week, it also improved his hind leg weakness. These are not well known side effects AFAIK, but they were unmistakable in this case. When I reduced the dose to eliminate undesirable side effects, these beneficial side effects went away too.
Last edited by Deserterer; 05-09-2018 at 09:03 AM..
Our 15 year old lab is having similar issues. "Sundowning" behavior mentally. Neuro-degenerative disease affecting the rear legs. And just plain old arthritis pain. Unable to squat properly to poop without falling in it sometimes. Constant panting even when we have the windows open in winter or a/c cranked down to 62 in summer. Have been through many of the mentioned meds with mixed success.
But what has really worked is CBD oil(Fairwinds CBD Companion tincture). Complete transformation. Not falling anymore and has more control of his rear legs. Not panting constantly. Has his head held up and the tail is wagging again. So nice to see considering we were thinking it was his time. Not that I expect it to work forever but I wouldn't be surprised if this buys him another 6 months of a good life.
Our 15 year old lab is having similar issues. "Sundowning" behavior mentally. Neuro-degenerative disease affecting the rear legs. And just plain old arthritis pain. Unable to squat properly to poop without falling in it sometimes. Constant panting even when we have the windows open in winter or a/c cranked down to 62 in summer. Have been through many of the mentioned meds with mixed success.
But what has really worked is CBD oil(Fairwinds CBD Companion tincture). Complete transformation. Not falling anymore and has more control of his rear legs. Not panting constantly. Has his head held up and the tail is wagging again. So nice to see considering we were thinking it was his time. Not that I expect it to work forever but I wouldn't be surprised if this buys him another 6 months of a good life.
It would be helpful to me or others to know which specific meds you used and and are currently using, and how they helped or didn't help which symptoms.
After a week on Trazadone I had to start the Proin again because he was peeing while he slept. I think the dose of Trazadone he needed to keep him calm all night also sedates him enough to make his mild and very occasional incontinence much worse. So when I got the Proin dose up to where it worked, back came the side effects, both good and bad. For the past 2 days he was reeeealy jacked up. His hind legs were almost like he was only 10 again. After all day pacing and panting I decided I had no choice but stop the Trazadone so i could reduce the Proin too. In the next 24 hour period I gave no Proin, but my nearly 16 year old was so jazzed he could have hiked the Appalachian Trail. Finally I got enough Tramadol in him so we could sleep.
Now on the lower dose of Proin again, his hind end is sagging badly and we're back to his "normal" level of extreme restlessness and anxiety or cognitive disorder, whatever it is that starts in earnest at 9PM, where he gets up every few minutes to take 2 sips of water, walk back toward his bed, look around like he's expecting someone, walk back for 2 more sips of water, walk back and looks around like he's expecting someone, walk back and takes 2 sips of water.....
Its exasperating and exhausting. We're now back to where we were May 1, on Tramadol and Proin (and Galliprant), which wasn't enough then and won't be enough now.
Our 15 year old lab is having similar issues. "Sundowning" behavior mentally. Neuro-degenerative disease affecting the rear legs. And just plain old arthritis pain. Unable to squat properly to poop without falling in it sometimes. Constant panting even when we have the windows open in winter or a/c cranked down to 62 in summer. Have been through many of the mentioned meds with mixed success.
But what has really worked is CBD oil(Fairwinds CBD Companion tincture). Complete transformation. Not falling anymore and has more control of his rear legs. Not panting constantly. Has his head held up and the tail is wagging again. So nice to see considering we were thinking it was his time. Not that I expect it to work forever but I wouldn't be surprised if this buys him another 6 months of a good life.
Notnamed and Deserterer, our dog's symptoms are so similar. Thank you both for taking time to write about the meds you are giving to your canine "relatives". (A dog IS the best relative one can have, right?)
New development (not good) for Hobbs two nights ago. At midnight he started vomiting, had diarrhea, and was losing control of his legs, was panting and heart racing. Clearly he was in pain and also extremely disoriented. I was up all night with him. 36 hours without sleep was a new experience for me--at my age, I'm still recovering. Our vet clinic's emergency line was not working so we took Hobbs to the vet first thing the next morning. That doggie life jacket with the handle on top sure came in handy for getting him into the car and onto the cart at the clinic. Vet did blood tests and said Hobbs was a little dehydrated, had an infection (source unknown). Vet suspects there could be a spinal tumor.
Hobbs is at the vet this weekend for antibiotic and hydration treatment. They started him on prednisone (carprofen had been discontinued, so okay). I called the vet today and she said "not much change but diarrhea better". We are hoping he'll improve by Monday but I am wondering if we at the end of the line for this sweet dog.
I hope Hobbs makes it through and comes home Monday. Hopefuly it was just an infection. I have thought we were near the end several times in recent months but so far we aren't there yet.
My blue healer I got after my EX GF left him when she left me three years ago is around 12 or 14. The past month his back legs gave out and he collapsed on our walk. I've never seen him look so scared. I let him lay for a while and helped him up, made it back to the house and he layed down the rest of the evening. His symptoms comes and goes, some days he runs and plays like old times, other days he can barely move.
I can't afford a vet bill, so I give him Cosequin and make sure he's comfortable. He doesn't seem to be in any pain but our long 2 and 4 mile walks are done.
I hope Hobbs makes it through and comes home Monday. Hopefuly it was just an infection. I have thought we were near the end several times in recent months but so far we aren't there yet.
Sad news: Mr. Hobbs went to doggie heaven today. The vet called this morning to say that Hobbs was not improving and not responding to meds. She said she'd be at the clinic (on a Sunday, bless her) if we wanted to come in. We were there to be with Hobbs during the euthanesia. It was definitely time. The vet believed it was likely a tumor on the spine. While I suspected he wouldn't make it, as you know, it's still hard to lose a good friend. I'm going to check in the Rainbow Bridge group. 10 great years with this sweet dog. Thank you all.
I'm sorry to hear of Mr Hobbs passing. Our own old dog, Caesar the peke, is 11 and his eyes got so bad with glaucoma and ulcers that we had them both removed last week. He is not happy that he can't see even a little but he is eating and drinking. I never had a blind dog but this very loved dog will get even more love.
Sad news: Mr. Hobbs went to doggie heaven today. The vet called this morning to say that Hobbs was not improving and not responding to meds. She said she'd be at the clinic (on a Sunday, bless her) if we wanted to come in. We were there to be with Hobbs during the euthanesia. It was definitely time. The vet believed it was likely a tumor on the spine. While I suspected he wouldn't make it, as you know, it's still hard to lose a good friend. I'm going to check in the Rainbow Bridge group. 10 great years with this sweet dog. Thank you all.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
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