Rimadyl

[jesn]

Hi, My chow puppy (6months old) has just been through entropion eye surgery and neutering. He's home now and his eye is terrifyingly swollen! The vet assures me that its normal and that it will die down in a couple of days. However, my question is that my vet has prescribed him with Rimadyl, a pain medication - half a tablet to be fed once a day for at least 4-5 days. I've heard some terrible things about Rimadyl here on this forum and I expressed my concern to the vet but he just said that over a long period of time, it is bad for the liver and kidneys but for just 4-5 days at that kind of dosage level, it should be fine. What do you guys think? I've fed him 1 tablet over 2 days so far and he seems fine... normal appetite, eager to move around etc but the only thing that is a little different is his shortness of breath. Because of his cone, I've taken to holding his bone/bully stick for him to chew and after chewing for like 5min, he starts panting! I'm not sure if its the pain causing it or Rimadyl. Either way, I'm afraid to continue feeding it to him but I'm also not sure if he can bear with the pain without the medication! Its only his second day after surgery.... what do you guys think? Thanks!

[Sarahloo]

If the vet says it's okay, it's okay. Someone who studied Veterinary Medicine for many years knows more than people do here. I'm really getting sick and tired of vet bashing, pet food industry bashing, ... . Why would we know more than people who have made it their lives' mission to help sick pets? The mere idea is absurd! My vets are decent, hard-working people that would never think of harming an animal for the sake of profit. So listen to what your vet says, he knows best!

[Victory]

This is from the VetInfo site: http://www.vetinfo.com/drimdyl.html

Warning: Rimadyl will cause liver damage in some dogs. There have been some deaths in dogs with this reaction. This effects 0.02% of dogs and 70% of those are geriatric. More information can be found by consulting the Small Animal Clinics of Pharmacology's latest edition.. This is a remarkable drug for many dogs. Blood work however should be done prior to beginning treatment and one or two weeks into treatment to monitor liver values.
Read more: Medication - Rimadyl for Dogs

The health care system in Germany is very different than the one in the US. Here in the US it is always prudent to research ANY medication prescribed and to know all the facts, this is in fact bein encouraged by most Doctors,Pharmacist and Hospitals. That includes any good vet. In the US new meds for both people and animals come out everyday, and aren't that well tested sometimes, and/or the results of those tests aren't passed along to the Doctors giving the medications. The Rimadyl problems being asked about are well documented, and real. As stated above .02% of young dogs are affected by liver problems caused by this drug...but 70% of older dogs, (those for whom it was most prescribed) are affected.

Here are some of the cases and litigation: http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadylfr.html

Yes, we in the US are litigation happy, but it is our only defense against the corporations we have to contend with everyday. Our government doesn't protect us as it should anymore. So please don't come here and make statements like you did. Jesn's concerns are legitimate, anyone who has a concern and has done some research into a medication or treatment or behavior of a Vet, should feel free to do so on this site without being summarily told that "if a vet says it's okay, it's okay." Come live here for a while and have a vet tell you, "I don't treat chows because they are dangerous," (which happens all the time here) Then tell us how they went to school etc, etc...

[Victory]

Hi, My chow puppy (6months old) has just been through entropion eye surgery and neutering. He's home now and his eye is terrifyingly swollen! The vet assures me that its normal and that it will die down in a couple of days. However, my question is that my vet has prescribed him with Rimadyl, a pain medication - half a tablet to be fed once a day for at least 4-5 days. I've heard some terrible things about Rimadyl here on this forum and I expressed my concern to the vet but he just said that over a long period of time, it is bad for the liver and kidneys but for just 4-5 days at that kind of dosage level, it should be fine. What do you guys think? I've fed him 1 tablet over 2 days so far and he seems fine... normal appetite, eager to move around etc but the only thing that is a little different is his shortness of breath. Because of his cone, I've taken to holding his bone/bully stick for him to chew and after chewing for like 5min, he starts panting! I'm not sure if its the pain causing it or Rimadyl. Either way, I'm afraid to continue feeding it to him but I'm also not sure if he can bear with the pain without the medication! Its only his second day after surgery.... what do you guys think? Thanks!

The problems associated with Rimadyl are found mostly in older dogs and affect the liver. A young do shouldn't have a problem, unless he/she is one of the 0.02% that are sensitive to it. His shortness of breath is most likely being caused by increase of pain, while chewing on the bully stick, chewing like that can pull the stiches on his eye. All those facial muscles are attached you know. Breathing problems aren't associated with Rimadyl. I'd stop with the bully sticks for a bit, at least until the swelling around his eye goes down. If you are still concerned have the vet run liver and kidney function tests on him, but I don't think there is a problem.

[Sarahloo]

The health care system in Germany is very different than the one in the US. Here in the US it is always prudent to research ANY medication prescribed and to know all the facts, this is in fact bein encouraged by most Doctors,Pharmacist and Hospitals. That includes any good vet. In the US new meds for both people and animals come out everyday, and aren't that well tested sometimes, and/or the results of those tests aren't passed along to the Doctors giving the medications. The Rimadyl problems being asked about are well documented, and real. As stated above .02% of young dogs are affected by liver problems caused by this drug...but 70% of older dogs, (those for whom it was most prescribed) are affected.

It was only two years ago that I last had an old dog who required pain meds on a daily basis. The thing is: they're all nasty! They can all have horrible side effects. Rimadyl was the nicest one that we tried, and when we had tried them all unsuccessfully, we had to put her on cortisone which ultimately killed her.
What I was trying to say is we should be wary of scaring people, of promoting hysteria and distrust in the medical profession. Jesn's dog had an operation, and now it needs pain meds for less than a week. Why shouldn't she/he listen to the doctor? Does she know best? Do we know best? Probably not! She/he asked her doctor about side-effects, which was the responsible thing to do, he ensured her that it was save short-time, so great, ease the dog's pain.

[jesn]

Thanks for your replies and I'm sorry if I provoked a disagreement. I freak out way too easily because he's my baby and I want the absolute best for him. I did eventually give him the Rimadyl because he started pacing around and was obviously in discomfort. VIctory, you're right as usual! I didn't think that the chewing part would be bad for his eye muscles but of course it must have! Especially for a fresh wound like that so yeah I've stopped giving him something to chew on. I just feel really sorry for him that he's so bored and he can't exercise/play with the cone on

Yeah I think I should trust my vet more too but after experiencing my first regular vet who told me to use the alpha roll to establish dominance, whose own dog is incredibly aggressive and who pushes science diet at me.... i'm a little disillusioned to say the least. I've since switched vets but I still don't know my current vet very well yet. Anyway I basically freaked out after reading the posts on this forum about all the sudden deaths/side effects of other dogs and i really didn't want the same thing to happen to my chow. So yep he seems fine now and I'll trust my vet a little more.

[chow315]

my dog who has the enlarged lymph nodes. her dr put her on half tablet of rimadyl just yesterday. it seems to have helped her alot. seemingly no side effects

[Ursa's daddy]

ALL drugs are chemical agents that are capable of creating change in biological activity. Therefore, there are risks associated with the use of drugs. The use of drugs is a risk benefit trade off. As a consumer of drugs, it is important to discuss with your doctor (should you be the actual user) or your vet the possible side affects. The good news is that the internet makes research of side affects easy. The bad news is that the internet does not effectively filter or quantify this information. As Sarahloo points out, all drugs can be nasty. Rimadyl is a NSAID, as is aspirin and a whole group of drugs. Short term use is "generally safe and effective" to use the standard US label statement. Long term use would require additional consideration, but if you are using a drug long term, you are generally treating a chronic medical condition requiring more frequent visits to a physician.
This probably did not help the discussion, but I thought I would throw in my two cents.