Riley help, please (Rimadyl reaction)

    • Gold Top Dog

    Riley help, please (Rimadyl reaction)

    Well Riley had an eye issue (most likely some little twig or dirt in his eye) that caused his eye to become inflamed, red, and emit a yellow discharge. We saw the vet and have been applying a Neopolydex ointment 3x a day and 75mg Rimadyl a day to reduce the inflammation and pain. His eye is 1000x better. I think the Rimadyl may be upsetting his stomach. He's been drooling a lot while he's been on it, has been somewhat less active (especially during the morning. last night he was very energetic). This morning, he coughed up some drool on the floor and I'm pretty sure there was a small amount of blood in it, though I'm not positive that's what it was.

    Do you think it's the medicine? I'm not going to use it anymore, but will of course keep applying the ointment.

    • Gold Top Dog

     http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadyl.ade.steps.html

    I would suspect the Rimadyl.  If this was my dog, I would stop giving it immediately.   I would also follow up with a vet visit and have the dog evaluated for gastrointestinal problems, but that's just me.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Just an update. Now, Riley is not touching his food. He's never denied his food before. It's the same Canidae lamb & rice he's been getting for a year. He has no interest in it, and has been lying near the door all day. He coughed up a little more blood. We are bringing him to the vet now. I've been reading up on Rimadyl and quite frankly I am TICKED that I was not given a warning of the health hazards of this drug.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I should add, we just recently switched to a new vet, and this was our first visit. Am I overreacting or should I be as upset as I am that we were not warned of the side effects?

    • Gold Top Dog

    any drug has the potential of side affects. it's not your vets fault that your dog didn't do well on it.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I know that. I'm not upset at the vet for the reaction. It's that we weren't even warned. Thousands of dogs have died from this drug, as early as a few days of it being administered. I feel that we should definitely have been told that it can lead to death, GI problems & kidney failure so quickly.

    • Gold Top Dog

    and I've used it on 100's of dogs with no problems. it's hit and miss, honestly.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Right, but vets should always tell the owners what side effects to expect. He (the vet) didn't even mention any of the side effects, but as I found out today, had written down in the computer that he had mentioned them, which is false.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    ANY nsaid (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) can cause gastric bleeding, liver problems and kidney problems.  So can that aspirin you may take yourself.

    It's one of the reasons why many of us who post here warn repeatedly about certain drugs like this.  But even more pertinent -- ***YOU need to ask*** at the vet.  When the vet prescribes something say something  like "Tell me about potential side effects please?"  You don't need to be abrupt or nasty -- just willing to hear and understand.  Most people don't WANT to hear that kind of stuff (their eyes glaze over, the brain freezes) so vets don't tell them because it's a relatively safe thing.

     People ignore safety warnings ALL the time.  But it's honestly on the individual. Both in your own health and your pet's health -- to investigate these things on your own.

    Now -- what do you do NOW?

    1.  milk thistle.  It's safer and far far less expensive than marin.  (marin is a good drug -- it's the pharmaceutical version of milk thistle -- highly refined so it's not an 'herb' any more ... but that also tends to decrease it's safety). 

     You can get milk thistle at Wal-Mart to start with.  Milk thistle helps protect the liver and it helps detox the liver.  But since Riley's body has seen the Rimadyl as a 'toxin' and it's made the stomach sore, you'd be wise to do milk thistle.

    2.  chamomile tea -- cheap and easily found anywhere.  Grocery store - but get **plain** chamomile (not with green tea or vanilla or anything else in it -- just plain chamomile).  Brew the herbs and let it sit until cool.  Add the soggy herbs to Riley's next meal (they don't taste bad).  Add just a tiny bit of beef broth or honey to the tea -- and Riley will likely drink some on his own.  Add it to his food.  Use a baby syringe to squirt behind the canine tooth (hold the mouth loosely shut -- so he can work his tongue to swallow). 

    Chamomile is healing to the stomach.

     3.  Here's my vet's "slippery elm cocktail" recipe.  This works INCREDIBLY WELL on gastric bleeding and ulcers.  It helps heal the stomach:

    SLIPPERY ELM COCKTAIL

     

    1 -- half a cup of boiling water.

    2 -- add 1 rounded tsp. of ground slippery elm

    3 -- let cool totally

    4 -- add 1/8 c. + 2 tablespoons of aloe juice

    5 -- add 10 drops of chlorophyll

    6 -- Add 2-3 capsules (open the caps) of acidolpholus

     

    Once you get it mixed up and whipped smooth, it keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days (after that the acidopholous dies). 

     

    Use a baby medicine syringe and load it FULL.  Give about half an hour before a meal.  Just put the tip of the syringe behind the canine tooth and hold the mouth loosely closed.  Squirt slowly so they can work their tongue to swallow.

    Where to get the stuff:

    Slippery elm you can get at most health stores -- if they don't typically sell it in bulk they may have slippery elm 'tea' in bulk (that's the same thing).

    Chlorophyl -- you only need a bit -- but most health stores sell it and you may have to buy a big bottle

    Acidopholus - that's a probiotic.  Get it again, at a health store.  Just get a good general acidopholus. 

    This has to be refrigerated.  It doesn't "spoil" in 3 days -- but the probiotic will die.  (a probiotic is live "good" bacteria).

    Aloe -- you can also buy this at a health store (Wal-mart carries this too usually).  But you need one that is consumable (you drink it).

    Notice the directions above say "1/2 hr before a meal".  That's so it coats the stomach and soothes it so it's not too sore to receive food.

    Kibble may not work -- because it's rough (and the stomach lining is SORE -- so rough kibble is .. yep, scratchy and more sore).  I would cook up ground beef and rice.  Don't use chicken -- it's too inflammatory.  There's a recipe in this on my website:  http://www.critturs.com/prissy.html

    I'd keep Riley on soft food for a week or so.  BLAND diet.  Easy to digest.  When you cook the rice way way **way** overcook it.  Don't use brown rice it's too hard to digest.  But rice made with extra water, cooked until it's blown apart and mushy.

    In future?  You will likely want to pay more attention to the health stuff.  Recently Bugsy reacted badly to Rimadyl.  You've got a new puppy -- and frankly you may want to become far far more aware of things like vaccines and common stuff to prevent problems in the little one.  Poodles are delicate in many many ways.

     Holler if I can help.

    Don't get mad -- just become determined to know more.  Rimadyl, and the other dog nsaids, are FAMOUS for this stuff.  They can be used fine and easily with many dogs ... and then there is the one dog who becomes sensitive to it.  The answer is *you* becoming more aware.  It really is. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    Just as you wouldn't blindly take anything for yourself, you have to do the same for your pets. It's up to YOU to ask, research and question. Like Callie said- most people glaze over, or are to overcome with other things to listen if a vet wants to talk about something. In my clinic, people constantly question - they ask what will happen, what could happen, and what wont happen. Anything you put into yours or your pets bodies can cause a risk.

    As for writing down something - saying they did it, and not doing it - is falsifying records - a felony offense. I don't think you could take it that far - but something to think about. I would be horrified to find my vet falsifying my pets records... or my doctors mine.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Thanks for the suggestions Callie. I'll write the recipe down and save it. :) We went to the vet and of course stopped the Rimadyl. He's now on 20mg Famotidine/day, and 2g Sucralfate/day, (plus his 3x daily Neopolydex ointment) so I'm going to hold off on the milk thistle and stuff for now. Again, the vet should have warned me of the side effects and known dangers of this drug. In retrospect, I should've asked myself, but we discussed so much about actually healing the *infection* that I did not pay much attention to the inflammation treatment. Yes, I should have asked, but I've always trusted vets, and I learned my lesson not to be too trusting. Much like a regular doctor, it's a vet's job to make any risks known. Oh, and Callie, I think you may have me confused with someone else because Riley is a 2 yr/o Irish Setter, and I haven't gotten a puppy since I adopted him, LOL. Just to clear up any confusion. :)

    • Gold Top Dog

    Milk thistle will augment what the vet has given you -- it won't "collide" with it.  The Rimadyl has likely given the liver a load ... and this will help relieve that.  It will actually help what the vet's given work better by taking the load off the liver and helping it function better.

     The Slippery Elm Cocktail also will not go against anything the vet has done and it will help *heal* the stomach. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    I'm sorry you are going thru this.  And I DO believe that while you should have asked....I think its the vets responsibility to tell you....100%.   Now... in the case of the vet that I work for, they hand out a paper talking about all NSAIDS and what to watch for. As a receptionist AND more than that from a poster with tons of reading experience on the dog forums...I always told the clients to please read that handout because Rimadryl COULD cause problems althought mostly with long term patients.

    That said, in the almost 4 years that I worked there and doing follow-up phone calls after a vist...and answering phones and taking complaints and making appts for follow-up visits... I can not remember even one problem with Rimadyl, although I only worked a few days a week, there might have been problems that I was unaware of when I am not there.  Believe me..... I am very involved in reactions to things for our dogs...I was LOOKING for reactions.

    I think one of the very most important things you can do now ( OTHER THAN GETTING YOUR DOG BETTER FAST ) is report the reaction to the FDA. If people would report things like this we would have better knowledge on these problems...usually theyonly report if their patient dies and thats not good enough...we need to keep count on all reactions. This phone number is from a link that I will provide.

    How do I report non-emergencies about veterinary products? Report any problems with veterinary drugs and animal feed to FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine at 1-888-FDA-VETS (1-888-332-8387). You can also find the reporting form on the center's Website

    Last thing I want to say that there is a very good website to look at...it was started by one of our posters here years ago...over the 6 month injectable heartworm prevent called PH6.Lots of work has since been put in that website....lots of studying and research.  There is a very large section on NSAIDS for our pets. Please read it..there is lots of good information including a comparison chart on the different NSAIDS and their reported problems.   http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/index.htm