Meloxicam for arthritis in dogs?

DMSO, ask your vet for it. If he cant or wont, order it online. Works wonders, with no side efects.

There are several nsaids that work for arthritis, each has it's potential problems, but properly monitored and dosed they can be given long term with tremendous benefit in quality of life.

Metacam is the brand name meloxicam for animals. The human dose is such that the generic human formulas only work for very large dogs, so you might need to use a compounded or animal formula.

There is no one treatment or nsaid that works best for every animal. If Rimadyl (carprofen) worked in the past there is no special benefit to doing meloxicam rather than rimadyl. Find what works best in your dog (including least amount of side effects) then don't be afraid to use it long term.

I've had dogs on one nsaid or another for 5 or more years with no long term effects. It's important to have regular checks with your vet and be aware of the potential side effects, but these drugs are relatively safe for long term use.

DMSO can be effective too. Most patients progress in the degree of pain to the point where they need more than one drug or treatment mode to achieve a reasonable quality of live.

Doug, DVM

BTW, I'm on meloxicam for my arthritis and it's helpful (not magic but certainly beneficial).

My Father in Law would give his dog a regular aspirin a day, helped the dog a few years more.

Meloxicam has a myriad of serious problems in people. IMHO I would not use it. And like doc said you'd have to have it compounded.

I have a 15 year old with 2 degenerative disks. He was in a lot of pain especially in the 'morning' We tried Rymidal and it did absolutely nothing for him nada.

A last ditch effort my vet prescribed Previcox. All I can say is that for my dog it saved his life.

That and getting rid of the donut bed he used to sleep in which when they curl up all night in the morning these old timerd look like the letter C and are in great pain from sleeping curled up all night which exasperated his condition. Who knew? :S

After the initial dose every day to get him back on track AND only sleeping on flat beds. He was then given one dose ONCE a week. To help him maintain and feel good.

Now he only gets it when the need arises. AND it works within hours on one dose no waiting weeks for it to build up in the system. They feel the relief right away.

Ask you vet about Previcox and if it's right for YOUR dog.

It is in the nsaid. My 15 year is 'very' sensitive to drugs and he has absolutely no side effects from this med.

In fact I am sometimes reluctant to give him one because I know I will be in for a long day of him running around like crazy afterwards! :C

I just am amazed how well it works and why it is not offered more often to the seniors when they are in need.

We have a small Chihuahua that has bad arthritis and we give him a baby aspirin every day. It help him. but he only weight 7 lbs. so you would have to adjust for size. Also DMSO (I use this myself) is great and can be ordered from www.jeffers.com

You really do need to remember that when changing from one drug to another in this class, there needs to be a washout period to allow one drug to clear the system before another one is started.

Jackson, my senior boxer, is on Metacam for arthritis in his shoulders. It's working well so far. He started out on a daily dose, but now is on an every other day dose, unless he's being boarded at our local doggie day care/boarding facility. He is given a dose daily while there, due to increased activity. The least amount that can be given, the better, due to stress it can cause on the liver.

My vet told me that when Metacam no longer works well enough, then it's time to change to an injectable called Adequan. I believe it's given once a week, and my vet said I could learn to give it at home.

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful responses, and expecially from Dr. Doug regarding the long term usage.

One of the things that is challenging is to decide if the medication is effective or not. She is very stoic with a high pain tolerance, so the signs are subtle, and of course she has good days and bad days. For now we'll put her on Rimadyl and next week I need to visit our hometown Vet for other business, so I'll take the opportunity to discuss NSAID choices with him and decide whether to stay with the R or try something else.

Thanks again!