Moonbeam, my 8 year old Cocker Spaniel has been having trouble with her left knee. She limps for the first several steps every time she gets up from a nap or from being immobile for a period of time. The limping soon stops after she gets going and does not appear to bother her until she lays down again.
Our Vet has just prescribed Metacam, once daily, for our 25 pound doggie. He has had me feel her knee. It pops and grinds through the gears just like my knees. So, I am pretty confident that this is her problem.
Mainly, I would like to know if you have used Metacam and if you feel that it will help my little girl. Also, I am very concerned about long term use. Any long term (years) complications? She was on Temaril P (prednisone steroid) for five years until I read this forum and found out that that drug was not meant to be used for long term. I have taken two months to wean her off of that medication.
Thanks in advance for your experiences and advice concerning Metacam.
Regards,
Dawn
Kevin & Dawn
Doggies:
Persalina, We love you & miss you so very much!
Moonbeam
Chloie Pearl
'07 Itasca Suncruiser 35L
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Our dog Hannah took metacam for at least 2 years before she passed due to breast cancer. She had no problems from it. However, have you tried the glucosamine/ msm/chondroiton route? It is a little softer on the dog and some do well on it.
My 8yo Chocolate Lab, Hershey, has been on Metacam for about 1 year now following his TPLO surgery on his right knee. (Left TPLO was done a year prior to that!)
For us, the Metacam is working great! He had some complications following his last surgery and didn't seem to "bounce back" as quickly as before. I has taken about a year, but he walks great now with no limp! He does have a goofy gait due to the new geometry of his knees. He can run and play with no ill effects! No jumping ever again.
We tried Deramax and a few others (Been awhile!) but the Metacam works best. No appetite loss or anything! We do check his blood twice a year, but so far, no ill effects on his liver, a common problem. He also gets his Glucosamine/Chondroitin (bad speller - sorry) every day and I feel that helps too.
If for some reason, I miss a dose of Metacam, He does not show any immediate symptoms of pain/lameness. I went three days once and only then he started to gimp a bit. I have concluded he'll be on it for the rest of his days. He actually gets 1/2 a dose once a day, so he's on a low amount.
Hope you find something that works! Good luck!
-Lab
(Geez Barb, you type fast! LOL!)
2008 Nissan Titan LE Crew 4x4, DOHC 5.6 V8, Big Tow Pkg.
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"I asked God for a true friend: He sent me a Labrador Retriever."
HIDEOUT wrote: Hi,Our Vet has just prescribed Metacam, once daily, for our 25 pound doggie. He has had me feel her knee. It pops and grinds through the gears just like my knees. So, I am pretty confident that this is her problem. Regards,Dawn
Did you have ex-rays taken of her knee?
31 ft Four Winds
Chevy Tracker 4x4 BlueOx Aventa LX We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
Our DoxieX recently did her back an unkindness - was is quite a bit of distress. After X-rays showed some arthritic degeneration about the shoulder area of spine was on course of prednisone. Much better but still not completely herself again - Vet put her on Metacam once a day - after a month or so is doing well enough is not currently needed. As long as she is pain free will not give - if she starts showing symtoms(hiding-grumpy-tail down-not hungry)the pain is back I'll start giving it to her again. Vet said o.k. long term on as needed basis. Good luck - hope she gets feeling better.
Jake, the big guy we rescued, came to us age 3 1/2 and with a bottle of metacam for arthritis in his knees, the aftermath of tearing both ACLs. We were also told he had hip dysplasia and was arthritic in the hip area too. We were advised to give metacam each day and limit his exercise.
After consulting with our vet, we embarked on a fitness regime aimed at reducing Jake's reliance on metacam. He started with walks, then longer hikes, then running short distances with me, to running 3 miles with me. He now loves running and getting out for long hikes. Jake lost 10 lbs, down to a svelte 96-98 lbs from 108 lbs.
We also stopped the metacam and switched him to a product called Recovery SA, which is a powder added to food intended to assist with "mobility issues".
Jake has done so well on Recovery that DH and I switched from taking glucosamine supplements to the human version of Recovery. If it's good enough for my dog, it's good enough for me! And I feel more benefit from it than with plain-Jane glucosamine.
The best news for Jake is he recently had x-rays that revealed no hip dysplasia and very mild arthritis in his knees. And, for now, the Recovery SA is keeping him very mobile and happy.
Since posting my questions, I checked further on this medication (Metacam). The prescription has a warning for dogs with heart or liver trouble. Moonbeam's last blood work showed her liver enzymes to be at 250 (a little high). So, I think that we will try Glucosamine first. That way we will have the time to check her liver enzymes once again and see where we are with that first.
I don't know if you read my posts about Temaril P. That medication has an indication that it could have caused the liver enzyme count to be high. I have weaned Moonbeam off of the Temaril P (part steroid) now and will check her liver enzymes again in a few weeks.
Thanks again for your posts. Frankly, I don't know what I would do without this forum.
So, here are my thoughts. Since, Moonbeam's knee pain is minimal (I believe). She gets up and after two or three steps of limping she always gets her get-a-long going normally. Also, since the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Complex has helped my human knees immensely, I plan to try this first for moonbeam. I now believe in the minimal approach for my pets. If this does not appear to help her after a trial period, I will then go back to this post and check for your heart felt alternative suggestions.
Mainly, after just loosing Persalina and the fiasco with Moonbeam regarding the Temaril P, I want be very sure about what I give to our little darlings! As sure as possible.
Oh, by the way! Since Moonbeam is no longer taking Temaril P (part steroid for itching), she does have a little more licking her feet. However, it is not nearly as severe as before. Under the circumstances, we are very patient with her. We ask her to stop and she will. She usually just takes a nap.
We also changed her food to Canidae. Apparently it has fewer fillers and I believe it is helping her itchy condition too. Recently we put her on Wild Alaska Salmon Oil for Dogs. She has only been on it for four days and her coat already feels soft and I am hoping it will improve her skin condition too. I can’t smell any more, but Kevin tells me that she now smells like fish. Doesn’t bother me at all!
I am very hopeful that with these two non invasive products we will see a great improvement soon.
We have a Blue Heeler that has been diagnosed with SEVERE hip dysplasia. The only "cure" is hip replacement surgery. We have opted to stay away from ALL NSAIDS (Rimadyl, Metacam, Previcox, etc.). We have had her on Dasuquin with MSM and have started her on something called Dog Gone Pain. I HIGHLY recommend this product. DGP can be purchased at vitacost.com cheaper than other places.
Good luck!
Gary & Ashley
& Holly (our mini schnauzer)
& Buckets (our Blue Heeler)
Shelbyville, TN
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