My 11 year old Shih Tzu was limping on her front legs after laying for awhile. Xrays at the Vets office show inflammation and also some "spur" growth that has broke off. Cookie has Arthritis too. She was prescribed Rimadyl 1/2 pill twice a day and then after feeling better only 1/2 pill as needed. Is there anything else I could give her to add to her quality of life.

We use Metacam in our older dogs with joint issues. More expensive than Rimadyl, but seems to have less side effects.

I tried Rimadyl and it did absolutely nothing for my dog. Not all dogs see any improvement with this med. And sadly sometimes it's written off to well he's just too old and too far gone. When actually it's the med not working for your dog. There are several other options out there.My Vet prescribed Previcox. I've never heard of this but we tried it.Within hours you can see the results. My dog has 2 bad discs one in neck and one in lower back add to that he is 16 years old!At his worst time when euthanasia was where we were headed vet said let's try one more thing so he prescribed previcox one dose in the evening for a week. The improvement was nothing short of a miracle for him.He is now on one pill once a week. Which my vet has found works well for many of his senior clients.Draw back of this med? He feels SO good he runs around like an idiot after getting what is now referred to as his go go juice pill!:Wp.s. we also found out that sleeping in a round bed at night exasperated his condition. Being curled up all night made it almost impossible for him to walk in the morning and he was in great pain. Threw them all out and he now sleeps flat on a blanket. Problem solved. My vet figured that one out. :C

Rimadyl did wonders for our last senior dog. It gave him several years with good quality of life. As others have said, if it doesn't work there are other pain medications you can try.I think every dog with arthritis (which is almost all senior dogs) should be on a joint supplement like Cosequin or something similar, as well as a good quality fish oil.

Pawz4me wrote:Rimadyl did wonders for our last senior dog. It gave him several years with good quality of life. As others have said, if it doesn't work there are other pain medications you can try.I think every dog with arthritis (which is almost all senior dogs) should be on a joint supplement like Cosequin or something similar, as well as a good quality fish oil.This has been my experience. There are several nsaids available for dogs and finding the one that works or works best is a trial and error thing. Rimadyl seems to have a very high success rate. "joint" supplements that include glucosamine + work in many. If the nsaid by itself does not cut it for pain relief, many use tramadol and/or gabapentin in conjunction with the nsaid and that can give more time that is quality.There are also therapeutic laser treatments, TENS treatments and other medical devices that could be useful.Lots of options out there.Doug, DVM

Appreciate all the info. My Vet did recommend Science Diet with something in it to help with joints. Anyone use this?

Rimadyl Or What | Good Sam Community

23 Replies

SGTJOE
Explorer II
Nov 08, 2015
Just a thought, I know from personal experience human meds are cheaper in Mexico, anyone ever bought pet Meds in Mexico.
xteacher
Explorer
Nov 08, 2015
rockhillmanor wrote:
ReneeG wrote:
AZPops wrote:
BCSnob wrote:
Our vet regularly supplies script for human meds when they are priced lower (due to sales volume, human insurance company pressure to lower price, generics, etc) than the same meds labeled for animal use.

+1

Pops

+ 2

X3
My vet prescribed human meds for my dogs heart condition. I would not have been able to afford the animal script ones. He said his hands are tied on what his supplier of animal meds cost. I am very grateful he did that for me.

I think she was more concerned about the loss of her very high mark up/profit on Metacam..

I am close friends with my vet and trust me there is NO 'huge' markup by your vet on these items that everyone thinks there is. Remember they have to buy their meds from a distributor. They are the ones making the big bucks off the meds not your vet.

So please don't be so judgmental of your vet when it comes to costs of meds. :C

Other vets in my city sell it for less; I imagine the supplier is the same - I've checked. With that being said, I'm bowing out of this conversation. I think it's been beaten to death long enough.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Nov 08, 2015
ReneeG wrote:
AZPops wrote:
BCSnob wrote:
Our vet regularly supplies script for human meds when they are priced lower (due to sales volume, human insurance company pressure to lower price, generics, etc) than the same meds labeled for animal use.

+1

Pops

+ 2

X3
My vet prescribed human meds for my dogs heart condition. I would not have been able to afford the animal script ones. He said his hands are tied on what his supplier of animal meds cost. I am very grateful he did that for me.

I think she was more concerned about the loss of her very high mark up/profit on Metacam..

I am close friends with my vet and trust me there is NO 'huge' markup by your vet on these items that everyone thinks there is. Remember they have to buy their meds from a distributor. They are the ones making the big bucks off the meds not your vet.

So please don't be so judgmental of your vet when it comes to costs of meds. :C
ReneeG
Explorer
Nov 08, 2015
AZPops wrote:
BCSnob wrote:
Our vet regularly supplies script for human meds when they are priced lower (due to sales volume, human insurance company pressure to lower price, generics, etc) than the same meds labeled for animal use.

+1

Pops

+ 2
AZPops
Explorer
Nov 08, 2015
BCSnob wrote:
Our vet regularly supplies script for human meds when they are priced lower (due to sales volume, human insurance company pressure to lower price, generics, etc) than the same meds labeled for animal use.

+1

Pops
Noel
Explorer
Nov 08, 2015
Tramadol, 5mg.........??
BCSnob
Explorer
Nov 06, 2015
Our vet regularly supplies script for human meds when they are priced lower (due to sales volume, human insurance company pressure to lower price, generics, etc) than the same meds labeled for animal use.
xteacher
Explorer
Nov 06, 2015
I was not bashing all vets on this drug issue - just relating the experience I had with my vet. She has a well-known reputation for this in my area. I stay with her because she's a very good vet otherwise.
Jerrybo66
Explorer
Nov 06, 2015
In defense of the high price of Vets meds, we have been trying for years to diagnose the stomach problems of our Pit. He suggested a supplement but had only an out of date supply. He gave me three bottles without cost because they were out of date. One new bottle I ordered was $52.00.. Somewhere along the line he had to recoup his loss. He's just a little guy..For customer convenience they must keep a readily supply of quickly needed drugs that because of government are no longer allowed to be used because of "age". There are probably some vets that do not agree by law they have to give prescriptions to the customer to fill where they choose but try to induce them to buy the meds at their office. Anyway, I try to buy from the Vet. If his price are within reason, I go with him. If a substantial difference I have to get a printed 'script.... In my opinion...
CA_POPPY
Explorer
Nov 04, 2015
It's pretty much unspoken, but there are vets who, on occasion, are worried that the pet's owner may be drug-seeking for themselves. It's a crazy world out there.