Dog Community

Previcox, a drug...do NOT use on your dogs

Posted : 3/21/2006 12:17:28 PM

I came accross on another website and thought it worth passing along:

Subject: Fw: Previcox, a drug...do NOT use on your dogs

I am passing this along. This is a very sad situation and I think we =
all need to be aware of the potential dangers of this drug.
Marti Foschini
Memphis
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 10:20 PM
Subject: Previcox, a drug...do NOT use on your dogs

If anyone is given this drug for their dog, FLUSH it down the Toilet!

Last month, Righty. Tootsie's Son, 8 months old, was running in the =
field with the rest of the puppies. There was either a collision, or he =
fell or crashed into something. Righty came in on 3 legs in obvious =
pain. He was holding the leg strangely, and screeching every time we =
tried to touch it, so we decided a quick trip to the Vet was in order. =
The Vet went over the leg, and decided he had either crashed, or fallen =
on the shoulder and wrenched it badly.=20

Because of his extreme discomfort, she wanted us to rest him and give =
him Previcox once a day for 7 days. He was doing well, eating =
ravenously, and feeling better by the next day. He finished the last =
dose of Previcox the morning of Saturday the 11th of February. That =
night he ate his dinner with gusto, had normal stool, and went to sleep. =
In the morning, he was hanging his head, and his heart was racing at an =
alarming rate. Off to the Vets again.=20

Emergency surgery. He had a hole in his stomach, and horrible =
peritonitis. He never made it off the surgery table. He went into =
cardiac arrest and died as they were closing him up.=20

I didn't post anything on this til I received the findings from the =
autopsy performed by the University of Pennsylvania. Those results came =
in today (3/9/06). Basically, they proved that there was NO WAY this =
puppy should have died. This Drug KILLED him! I am beyond disgusted that =
this drug was touted as safer than Rimadyl and all the other NSAIDS.

My Vet has removed it from her shelves. I hope no-one else has such a =
horrible experience. Light a candle for Righty. a sweet boy unfairly =
taken away.

Kerri McIntyre Murphy=20
Cu Fleadh Irish Wolfhounds=20
Winfield, KS
=20
Permission to cross post or contact me directly.=20

dyan

Posted : 3/21/2006 12:29:38 PM

Thank you Cathy, another NSAID that is causing problems. I hope my vet never wants me to give one of these drugs to Bubblegum. I know she was given injectable Rimadyl when she was spayed, didn't know it until after though.

Did you know that over 10,000 people die annually because of human NSAIDS? We pop them in our mouths at the thought of a headache but they are not really save drugs either.

dyan

Posted : 3/21/2006 12:38:24 PM

I'm going to try to post a chart from the FDA comparing our pets NSAIDS. I think I tried this once before though..
NOPE, won't work so I will send you the link, its a chart with all the adverse reactions of NSAIDS reported to FDA a year ago or so. I don't think there is a current number right now. You can see its near the bottom of reported reactions, but then its much newer also.
[linkhttp://www.dogsadversereactions.com/nsaid/comparison.html]http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/nsaid/comparison.html[/link]

cakana

Posted : 3/21/2006 2:01:24 PM

Dyan - thanks so much for passing on that link. I've bookmarked it. I'd seen all the bad press on Rimadyl but I had no idea that it had caused so many deaths. I had my lab, Jake, on it for the last few months of his life (he died of nasal cancer) and honestly, I'd do it again to keep him as comfortable as possible, but I sure wouldn't use it for anything less than a terminal illness. I also didn't know about all those other drugs and their dangers either. Gosh, it just shows how important it is to be educated about your dogs health, as well as our own. Thanks again!

sandra_slayton

Posted : 3/21/2006 3:13:43 PM

Cakana, how right you are. I also would use it as a LAST resort, or for a terminal dog, but not for use "everyday use." Vets prescribe rimadyl for every thing from a broken toenail to after surgery pain and of course arthritis. On one of my golden boards a dog was given rimadyl for pain after being neutered. The owner flushed it down the toilet when she got home. Another reported that her vet routinely used rimadyl injections for dental work. She told him NO WAY would she allow that poison into her dog for such a reason and if he insisted on using it, she would find a new vet. I forget which board--it could have been here--where a dog was given rimadly after breaking his toenail off very low.

Most seem to pass out NSAIDs like they are candy. I believe rimadyl to be the worst, probably followed by deramaxx (?). I understand there is one used in Canada that is a lot safer, but isn't on the market here in the states. I can't recall the name of it off hand, but maybe if someone from Canada is here they will know.

dyan

Posted : 3/21/2006 5:07:54 PM

Hey Cathy, you said you bookmarked that website, one day when you have nothing else to do (lol lol lol) check out the whole website. Its filled with good information about NSAIDS, vaccinations, and the 6 month injectable heart worms shot that was taken off the market for now. There are tons of stories of sick and dead dogs listed because of these drugs, very sad but they are tributes by their owners. The website was started by people that had gotten that 6 month shot for their dogs and learned afterwards what a mistake it was. Eventually the NSAIDS side got started then with the same kinds of stories. The vets say they will bring that HW shot back out again in one form or another soon, it kind of scares me.

cakana

Posted : 3/21/2006 5:19:19 PM

It scares me too and I feel like it's all done in the name of "convenience". Some uneducated people will think "oh, one shot instead of a pill every month - sounds good". In my mind, there's just no viable reason to even think about it. I have the Revolution for Sassy and it's about the time of year I should be thinking about using it, but with all the other things she's got going on and not knowing what they are, I'm not putting that on her until I'm sure it's okay. If that means never and we have her tested every six months, then that's what I'll do. She's only had vaccines every 3 years, so at least for the 4 yrs we've had her, I know we've done good on that [

].

dyan

Posted : 3/21/2006 5:43:16 PM

I don't blame you, I wouldn't do a thing to her right now until you get her skin problems cleared up.. hey Cathy,,,speaking of Revolution,,,, the Dane down the street had skin problems with it last summer, her mom said never using it again. Ollie had trouble with it when he had it,,,,,, you wouldn't by chance think that it could have anything to do with Sassy,,,,,,,do you???

cakana

Posted : 3/21/2006 5:54:38 PM

She's actually never had Revolution. I had her on Heartguard, but when I started the elimination diet in January, they told me I couldn't give her Heartguard (it has a meat-based flavoring). They gave me a script for Revolution but I haven't used it yet and don't plan to unless I feel it's safe. I've read some worrisome stuff about it too.

dyan

Posted : 3/21/2006 6:59:35 PM

Hopefully you won't have to wait long to get her better!!!

sandra_slayton

Posted : 3/21/2006 8:18:09 PM

My vet stopped carrying Revolution when several of his clients dogs came down with heartworms while on it. also, it is the 2ed leading killer of the heartworm preventatives...if I remember correctly.

William Smith

Posted : 3/22/2006 12:15:21 PM

I really dont think there is a drug out there that has not caused or been blamed for the death of a pet.

dyan

Posted : 3/22/2006 7:59:28 PM

While I totally agree that there is not a drug out there that hasn't been blamed for the death of a pet (and a human for that matter), I would personally want to stay away from a drug that is known to be on the high side of the list of drugs that are reported to cause deaths. I would personally stick with the things that are known to be a little safer, AND THEN worry that they will be okay for my dog!