taylor Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 My Lab girly is 10 next month ( how the hell did that happen ) Anyhow she has been on rimadyl for 2 years for hip dysplasia, but this summer I decided to give her a go without and changed her over to 2000 mgs glucosamine per day ... and I cant believe how much of a differance it has not made! she started on metacam at the age of 6 then on to rimadyl, now I cant believe that I have had her on chemical painkillers for so long. obviously if she starts to struggle I will rethink but she walks for hours with no limps and minimal stiffness, I am very impressed with Glucosamine. any other experiences guys ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendbert Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Bumpy was on Rymadil for a while last year due to arthritis but for the last year he has been on glucosamine, chrondroitin, msm & vit C and has shown huge improvement. He did go to hydrotherapy for a while, which also helped. Last year he was very creaky and would sometimes cry out in pain if he got up but the supplements really seem to be helping him. Although Poppy doesn't have arthritis as far as I know, she has the supplements too, so will hopefully work in a prevtentative way, if possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Haven't tried glucosamine, but we give our GSD with hip dysplasia Green lipped mussel, and she is doing really well off it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Two of mine have MSM and Glucoasmine, with Vit C, at the moment. I can't comment on Rimadyl or Metacam as they've not had it but I wanted to avoid putting Cassie on anything like that as she started having supplements when she was about 13 months old and I was worried about long term use. I would use Rimadyl/Metacam in the future if I felt there was no other option, but would prefer not to if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 You're probably all fed up reading my story of how taking my oldie, Hannah off Metacam and putting her on Green lipped Mussel gave her at least an extra three years. I wish I'd realised at the time that Glucosamine was natural as it may have helped later when the GLM stopped helping as much, but a pharmacist friend talked about it so I thought it was a chemical thing and wouldn't touch it! Now that I know better, I'd try it too. Really glad you've been able to help your pal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylor Posted July 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) Iv never heard of green lipped mussel, where do you get it from ? and what does it do ? Edited July 2, 2006 by taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 I get green lipped mussel from here Delivery isn't the fastest in the world, but it is reasonably priced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) I have to admit I did chuckle at Muriel's comment about avoiding anything 'chemical'! Aspirin is derived from willow bark and the drug digoxin is based on foxgloves for instance. At least glucosamine is one of the safer herbal preparations in that it has actually been studied properly and has been proved to be effective! Herbal preparations can have worse side effects than prescribed drugs so please everyone just be aware. Also please check that anything herbal or natural that u give your dogs doesn't interact with any prescription dogs , or any other herbal medicines e.eg human patient came in on ginseng, feverfew and garlic,all of which contributed to her bleeding from the stomach as all interfere with blood clotting in different ways. So natural/herbal doesn't necessarily mean safe. I do give my dog glucosamine though and think it is great. More money should go to researching herbal medicines but sadly it doesn't. Green lipped muscle has been recorded as causing the following side effects stomach upset, gout, rashes, flatulence and fluid retention as well as one case of hepatitis There is also some medical evidence that it is helpful for some people with arthritis. Glucosamine has no serious side effects but can cause stomach upset Edited July 3, 2006 by alexis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 Green lipped muscle has been recorded as causing the following side effects stomach upset, gout, rashes, flatulence and fluid retention as well as one case of hepatitis I thought it was a shellfish? Isn't hepatitus viral? Or is it one of those things that can be caused by lots of things including dodgy shellfish? Mollydog is on glucosamine and chondroitin for her arthritic wrist: it seems to help a lot though I am gloomily aware that the time when she needs Metacam as well is approaching. I found that the liquid formulation seemed to have more effect than the pills (though my vet told me it wouldn't. But I'm not sure he knew). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) I thought it was a shellfish? Isn't hepatitus viral? Or is it one of those things that can be caused by lots of things including dodgy shellfish? Mollydog is on glucosamine and chondroitin for her arthritic wrist: it seems to help a lot though I am gloomily aware that the time when she needs Metacam as well is approaching. I found that the liquid formulation seemed to have more effect than the pills (though my vet told me it wouldn't. But I'm not sure he knew). Not sure why I wrote muscle and not mussel! must be exercise on the brain today!And obviously I meant prescription drugs and not dogs! Hepatitis can be viral, it can also be induced by medication and other things. The extract can cause hepatitis even if it is from shellfish (dodgy or not!). All hepatitis is is inflammation/swelling of the liver and its cells which can be caused by a huge number of things including many herbal and prescription medications. REcently there have been reports of people using chinese medicine particularly who have had liver and/or kidney failure from them. Just to remind you also that there are always chemicals added to medication the ones added to glucosamine can include potassium, chloride, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, stearic acid, silicone dioxide and magnesium stearate Edited July 3, 2006 by alexis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 Not sure why I wrote muscle and not mussel! must be exercise on the brain today!And obviously I meant prescription drugs and not dogs! Hepatitis can be viral, it can also be induced by medication and other things. The extract can cause hepatitis even if it is from shellfish (dodgy or not!). All hepatitis is is inflammation/swelling of the liver and its cells which can be caused by a huge number of things including many herbal and prescription medications. REcently there have been reports of people using chinese medicine particularly who have had liver and/or kidney failure from them. Just to remind you also that there are always chemicals added to medication the ones added to glucosamine can include potassium, chloride, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, stearic acid, silicone dioxide and magnesium stearate Here is a good site with some of the trials into herbal medicine http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/booths/altmed.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 Here is a good site with some of the trials into herbal medicine http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/booths/altmed.html It mentioned quackwatch as a "site worth visiting" on the first page I looked at - not a particularly neutral site then? Let's not forget some people and animals experience side effects from conventional medicine - sometimes that's what causes people to look into "alternatives" or complementary therapies in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted July 4, 2006 Report Share Posted July 4, 2006 Let's not forget some people and animals experience side effects from conventional medicine - sometimes that's what causes people to look into "alternatives" or complementary therapies in the first place. Exactly Ange! That's why I started learning after aspirin and then Metacam nearly killed my first girl despite the vet assuring me they were perfectly safe! Fortunately I have eyes that can see if a bit belatedly at the time as I made the mistake of trusting him as I did the doctors who filled me full of drugs that have harmed me badly. In my experience dogs tend to do a lot better if treated with herbal/Homeopathic or some other form of natural 'alternative' as they are gentler on the system and seek to work with the body instead of fighting it with a toxic substance. There are occasions when I would use a chemical, but not often now as I know more. Alexis, I'm perfectly well aware that Aspirin and in fact many prescription drugs have plants as their base, but nowadays I prefer to use those same plants in their Herbal or preferably their Homeopathic form as they are generally safer. Naturally anything should be checked for side effects, interactions etc before taking whether it's herbal, homeopathic, or allopathic, I think most people are aware of that. Taylor, the Green Lipped Mussel I used for Hannah was in Runaround from Stock Nutrition www.doghealth.co.uk It also has Shark Cartilage and Vits C & E. You can get Green Lipped Mussel in most chemists. Obviously if the intended recipient is allergic to shellfish it's not a great idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted July 4, 2006 Report Share Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) Taylor my Milly was diagnosed at less than a year old with severe HD - the vets who have seen her have told me her hips are awful. The ONLY thing which made a difference was liquid glucosamine (Synflex). She is still running round like a loon more than 2 years later and hopefully will continue to do so for a very long time. You would never think to see her run that she had anything wrong with her, so I am a huge glucosamine fan She has metacam but I only give it to her when she's overdone it and I can see she's limping a bit. Milly clip Edited July 4, 2006 by madmerle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 (edited) Muriel could you please explain to me how the body detects the difference between a natural medicine and a non natural one?How does the natural one ' work with the body'? I also don't understand why the body is more likely to 'fight a 'toxic' drug any more likely than it is to fight a herbal medicine, the body will see both as a ' foreign' substance and so deal with them in similar ways. Anything taken orally is digested and broken down by usually the liver and absorbed and broken down. The broken down products are what treat the problem. Why should a herbal medicine be any less toxic to the body than a non herbal one? I'm sorry, just makes no sense to me at all. Incidentally a friend who is a vet and is interested in homeopathy was very upset today as an owner insisted on giving her horse Devils claw instead of a veterinary drug and this has lead to liver damage. Apparently the devils claw more often leads to this than the vet prescribed equivalent. I'm afraid also that I cannot fathom how on earth diluting something down so hugely as in homeopathy has any chance of working at all beyond the effect of a placebo. From what I can gather herbal medicines have just as many side effects as any other medication. It's just they have been studied less so little is known really about long term effects and side effects than about prescription medicines. What evidence do you have that herbal medicines are safer? I'm afraid that some of the evidence I've seen contradicts this. Sorry if this sounds like I'm having a go at u muriel, I don't mean to. I'm waiting for some good quality large scale trials looking at herbal and alternative medicine. Most of the ones I have seen so far show that a lot of herbal medicines are no better than placebo and in some cases are more dangerous and some have been taken off the market but this doesn't get as much publicity as it does when prescripton drugs are withdrawn so you don't really hear about it. Edited July 5, 2006 by alexis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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