Rosey has an appointment the 23rd..

J

JessLough

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And I'm nervous already :-/

Ok quick backstory in case anybody doesn't know: Rosey is a nearly-16 year old best guess GSD/BC street mutt picked up off the highway at 3 months old. Other than the "normal" age-related issues (mostly deaf, completely blind in one eye and half blind in the other, hindend atrophy/arthritis) she is healthy. No heart problems, no kidney/liver problems, nothing. She is a family dog, yet is my dog through and through and will gogogo and do anything I ask her to do and never give up.

Last week, she took a fall down the stairs and was brought to the emergency vet, where he told me he thinks she just twitched something and gave her pain meds for 5 days. She finished them last Friday, but I have given her 2 additional doses when she wakes up and I've noticed she's sore.

we're going in on the 23rd of this month (mine and my vets work schedule tends to clash, sadly) to have a follow up on that incident with my vet who's awesome and I trust much more.

Is there anything I should ask for/about? Or anything I should be weary of if it's suggested? Most likely will be asking about meds for long-term pain management... Drugs to stay away from? Ones to ask about? She means the world to us, and while we'll do anything to be sure she's comfortable, money is somewhat of a concern as well. I have no problem dropping hundreds of dollars on her...but any testing that's going to be real expensive (especially if it's not gaurenteed to give answers) is not preferred.
 
houlahoops

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First off I'm sorry to hear that Rosey is still having trouble...she has quickly become one of my favorite Chaz dogs!

Mammoth is on Rimadyl for long-term arthritis management and it works wonderfully for him. It was the only pain medication that didn't give him an upset stomach or make him frantic...definitely worth a try if your vet suggests it.
 
J

JessLough

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Aww thanks <3 she def has a way to work her way into people's heart ;)

Thanks, will def keep that in mind! I think she's still having problems because she Will. Not. Stop. Jumping up and spinning 360s? SURE, NOT A PROBLEM. Run around like a maniac? YOU BET. Sleep on the dog bed? BEDS ARE FOR WUSSES, THE FLOORS WHERE IT'S AT
 
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Some of the common long-term ones we use at work are tramadol and gabapentin. Both are super cheap, way cheaper than Rimadyl. We do use rimadul for some dogs, though. Max, my parents' GSD, couldn't tolerate Rimadyl well. He did much better on Previcox, but he was only on it for a couple weeks before we put him down. He couldn't have tramadol, because of his seizures and seizure meds. Rimadyl does come in a generic if price is a concern. I think, though, you've got her on Metacam now? That also comes in a generic tablet (and possibly liquid) that is much cheaper than the dog-specific liquid, just ask for a script for the pills and get it filled at the pharmacy. Meloxicam and carprofen are both NSAIDs, so if you switch from meloxicam to carprofen you need to do a wash-out period before changing, which is usually less than ideal, so most people stick with whatever they started with.

And then there's the old standby, aspirin. Again an NSAID that will need a wash-put period before switching, but it's very cheap.
 
Doberluv

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I hope Rosey's soreness will subside soon. Lots of vibes. Be careful with aspirin...it's particularly hard on dogs gastrointestinal system. They take much smaller doses than humans and be sure it's with food if you give it and an enteric coated one. Aspirin also interacts with some other drugs, such as anti-biotics, cortisones and some others. So, only on advice from your vet would I use that. There are better things for dogs, such as Rimadyl. Too much though, can cause liver damage. And of course, acetaminophin and ibuprofen can be deadly. I sure hope her soreness will disappear soon. Maybe some kind of massage therapy?
 
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I don't have any suggestions or answers, but I hope the visit goes well! Good thoughts to Rosey.
 
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JessLough

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I'm not about to I've my dog anything I'm not 100% sure of without advice from my vet, so really there's no worries about that. She's also not on any medication at the moment (she hasn't even had metacam for a couple days). Not too worried about long-term side effects like liver damage, at 16 it's just making sure she's comfortable at the present time.

Yah Saeleofu she's on metacam presently but not under the direction of *my* vet that knows her and that I trust, so I want to keep open about changing it if she mentions it :) unfortunately, pils won't work -- she's too darn smart and will eat whatever it's hidden in and then spit out the pill. Even the liquid is a pain to get her to believe its not poison.
 
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If pills don't work, liquid Metacam is probably your best bet. Unless she'll eat flavoured tablets - in that case Rimadyl, Previcox and Deramax are all flavoured chewables. Aspirin *might* come in a liquid but if it does you'll have to make sure it doesn't have xylitol and other crap in it.

Is she on a joint supplement? If not you might consider adding it in, along with fish oil. Fish oil is an anti-inflammatory and helps in many different ways with many different things. There is also an injectable joint support regimen called Adequan. I don't remember exactly how often it's given initially and then for maintenance. I think it's fairly expensive, but if it means you won 't have to give oral pain medications and joint supplements every day it might end up being cheaper or at least the same price. All the dogs I've seen get Adequan do amazingly well.
 
J

JessLough

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ok just got home. Had a great visit with the vet.

It's her back. The vet wasn't really surprised.... being a collie type, it was expected well before now. She says that x-rays will likely show arthritis, and that wouldn't really change how we'd handle it, so we opted to not put her under sedation and do x-rays. She thinks even if the fall didn't happen, it would still be there, just we wouldn't be watching as close as we are now and noticing the pain.

The vet was super impressed with her condition (even though I thought she was a little on the skinny side now that she blew her coat and I can see her shape), and really glad with how she's aging/the energy she still has and her puppy antics.

So we got blood work done, and I'll hear today the results. As long as it's not showing any kidney problems, we are to give her Meloxicam (Metacam) as needed, and to not feel bad if that means giving it daily. So long as she's comfortable. The vet is sure that the blood work won't show anything, and will be super surprised if it does, so I was sent home with the meds to wait for a call to say I can go ahead and open them.

She was vaccinated, mainly so she could go to the groomers. 3 year rabies, the last one she'll ever get, because if she's still alive in 3 years, we won't be giving vaccines.

Now to wait for the call to let me know her test results, but I can breathe a little now.
 
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