Fee Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 Callie was very stiff and arthritic when she came to us, nearly a year ago. We started her on Seraquin, which are glucosamine supplements, and until recently these definitely improved her mobility and she seemed reasonably comfortable. Over the last few weeks, however, she has stiffened up again and her back legs in particular have become very wobbly. She has slowed right down on walks and seems to have trouble getting herself up and started in the mornings. I felt really depressed about her at the weekend, her quality of life seemed to have deteriorated so much I wasn't sure how long it was fair to keep her going. I took her to the vet this morning and he has recommended a course of Cartrophen injections. We had the first one done this morning, and she will need 3 more over the next 3 weeks. It's very much a 'try it and see' but if it doesn't help her I'm not sure that there are many more options we can try. I just wondered whether anyone else's dog has had this treatment, and how successful it was? Also any other experience of dealing with severe arthritis that has gone past the stage where diet/supplements seem to be helping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 None at all, but for Callie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pboae Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Sully had them and in all honesty they have been a miracle. He was on max dose of Rimadyl before that for about a year, but they weren't working well enough, so we tried the injections. He had to come off the Rioamdyl before he started the jabs so he got worse first, and there was no improvement for ages Then after the 3rd one I was thinking maybe he was a little better, but the vet was talking about putting him back on the Rimadyl because he was really struggling, but he just suddenly started responding and we've not looked back since. He's off the Rimadyl completely at the moment (he still has his joint supplements, etc), I was toying putting him back on a low dose the last few weeks cos it has been so cold and he has been feeling it, but I didn't in the end. He is still better than he ever was on the Rimadyl. He had the last one a couple of months ago, and we will start another course in a month (3 months is the soonest he can have more). After that he should be able to wait 6 months for the next ones. And just so I know I am not imagining it, over Christmas he managed to jump up on his hind lings to steal a joint of gammon he'd never have been able to do that before hand. But, on the other hand I don't want to get your hopes up too much, the vet said he had responded amazingly well to them, and he hadn't expected such a good response. He said about 50% of dogs do well on them, 30% have a slight improvement and 20% no difference. But with minimal side effects it's got to be worth the risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted March 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Thanks Pboae. Yes, those were the sort of odds my vet quoted me as well in terms of how many dogs were helped. It's encouraging to hear they helped Sully so much, though, I'm just praying Callie is one of the 'lucky' 50% as well. Apparently we aren't likely to see much improvement until after the fourth injection, so it's a bit of a nail-biting wait to see what happens. I hope Sully continues to do well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Milly had cartrophen injections for her HD and tbh they made absolutely no difference whatsoever. The only thing which made a difference is Synflex (liquid glucosamine) - she's been on it for nearly two years and it's still working wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Lily had cartrophen injections and unfortunately is made no difference to her at all. Her vet was very suprised though as she'd seen quite good reactions from most dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kats n greys Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Megan (our bridge girl) had one set of Cartrophen Injections and she showed a marked improvement. Unfortunately we stopped after the second injection in the next course as Megan appeared to get depressed and her appetite went to almost nothing (unfortunately something we struggled with until we lost her ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted March 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Thanks for the replies, everyone, it's interesting to hear peoples' different experiences. On the basis of this thread the vet's assessment of 50% of dogs showing significant improvement sounds about right. Keep everything crossed for my Callie, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melp Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Charley Foo had cartrophen and it made no difference whatsoever I would have tried anything though and it has worked for a lot of dogs so is worth giving a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonak Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 my dog has just had his first injection. my vet said her dog didnt respond to the first course but a definate improvement on the second. she also gave it to another dog who improved almost straight away. my pointer has ocd and he is on canine cortaflex HA. i would definately recommend it. also, stride HA which my old horse has but they dog a canine version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted March 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Good luck with your dog, leonak. I hope the injections help him/her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted March 4, 2006 Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 Is it Callie pictured in your avatar Fee? I've been admiring the grey face for a while now! Just thought I would add that if you seriously get to the point where you are questioning Callie's quality of life (having given the cartrophen a good time to work) I think you have nothing to lose by trying some of the standard pain-killers (metacam, rimadyl etc). Supplements have never been enough to keep Lily mobile and she has tried a variety of pain relief medications over the last few years, some with better effect than others. It could be that these treatments are the cause of her current digestive problems, but the way I look at it is that they have given her 4 years of active life when she could have been written off at the age of 4 because she was in a lot of pain and very depressed. Hope that makes sense and hope Callie feels a bit better soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted March 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 Thanks Karen - yes that is Callie on my avatar. I have discussed with the vet using a painkiller - my other oldie dog is on glucosamine supplements + Metacam which seems to work well for her and hasn't caused her any problems so far. Unfortunately Callie is also taking something of a cocktail of heart medications which the vet feels would not mix well with Metacam etc. If the Cartrophen injections don't work, then he suggests a course of painkillers/anti-inflamatories by injection (I can't remember the name of the drug), but he has given a fairly stark warning that although that will make her more comfortable it is likely to make her heart worse and will probably shorten her life. Obviously in the end it's quality of life that's important, but of course I'm hoping we can achieve that with the Cartrophen and without the side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted March 4, 2006 Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 Toblie had the injections combined with glucosamine condroitin and hydrotherapy for his shoulder problems, he's 4 years old and went from limping terribly to no limp at all now for over a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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