My german shepherd, Mike, is old. At least 13, probably quite at bit older. For the last 6 months or so he’s been on prednisone for his athritis. We started with Rimadyl, but that didn’t seem to do anything except eat a hole in his stomache. So the vet prescribed prednisine, and it’s worked okay, not great. Presently I have him on 20 mg of pred., an enteric-coated aspirin and a pepcid every day. Ever since I lost my other old dog, Mike’s companion for the last 11 years, Mike’s been very hard to keep weight on. He’s never been very interested in food, and I"ve had to start doctoring his food with canned food, making chicken and rice stew for him and sometimes even have to sit beside him and hand-feed him to get him to eat. He has interest in his favorite things, like chasing my horse, but this last week he seems to have just gone downhill as far as his back end is concerned. When he stands, he no longer stands up, but sort of slouches in the back. He’s losing his balance in the rear, too, almost falling over at times (before the pred. he would occasionally fall over). Recently he’s been walking himself into a corner and it’s like he can’t figure out how to get out. Today he’s been panting a lot, which I associate with pain, so I gave him an extra aspirin. I’ve been thinking of trying Adequan, but it’s quite expensive. I’ve been unemployed/under-employed for almost a year. I wouldn’t mind spending the money if it has a good chance of giving him some quality of life. Has anyone tried Adequan, or does anyone have any other suggestions? What about Bute? I’ve lost two dogs in the last 6 months (one from old age, the other hit by a car) and I don’t think I can face losing Mike, too.
Could his balance problem be inner ear infection?
Our old dog had arthritis and was going blind. even when his hearing got bad he could get around OK until the inner ear infection became a problem. We just couldn’t get it to go away.
He would walk in circles until he could smell something familiar and then he seemed to be ok.
One day he had trouble all day long. I got to thinking if I’d like to live like that. The next day I put him down.
He was a good old dog.I even wrote a tribute to him here on SDMB.
Check his sight and hearing and take a look at those ears.
I know you don’t have much money, but I’d suggest taking him to your vet. and having a thorough physical examination performed. The things you described don’t really sound like a worsening of his already diagnosed condition, rather they sound like there is a good posibility that he is developing some new problems (something to be expected in a dog that age).
justwannano - I had a dog with an inner ear problem once. It was a rapid onset thing and she couldn’t walk in a straight line or stand up. It was very different than what Mike has. Mike’s actually appears neurological in origin, but the vet as said it wasn’t.
Long Time First Time - A trip to the vet is definately in order. Fortuantely I have a wonderful vet. I’ve told the story about when my Ruffi was hit by the car in December. The vet stabalized her, treated her for shock, stitches, X-rays and anti-biotics and only charged me $60. The Adequan I was inquiring about costs $300 for the initial 4-week/8 shot treatment. I’m planning take him to the vet tomorrow. I’m just sort of afraid to do it.
Mike Update - MIke’s somewhat better. His appetite has picked up considerably. This morning he even raided the other dogs’ bowl of plain old kibble after finishing his food. He’s guarding a rawhide bone, which he usually doesn’t care about. His mobility is somewhat better, too. He passed a piece of tape in a bowel movement yesterday. He’d gotten into the trash. Maybe he just had a stomache ache or was kicked by my horse. Mike likes to come up behind Irish and bark and pull his tail. Irish is a thoroughbred, and although he’s even-tempered, he gets tired of it sometimes.
I still plan on taking him in for a check-up, but he seems a world better than two days ago. Still, there’s no getting past the fact thathe’s an aging dog. I just have to live with the fact that I have done my best by him.
Prednisone has many side effects, it’s also not a good idea to be giving it daily on a long term basis. Aspirin, even buffered, can be hard on the stomach.
There are many newer pain medications and anti-inflammatories, like Metacam or tramadol. You really should see your bet and discuss your dog’s current therapy and some of the newer meds. You could also try supplements like glucosamine chondroitin.
Wile E - We’d tried Rimadyl before the prednisone, but it didn’t seem to do anything except give him a whopping ulcer. Prednisone is what the vet recommended. I’m not too worried about the long-term affects of the steriods because I figure at his age, he doesn’t have too long to worry about long-term. I’m interested in alternative treatments and about quality of life.
Wile E - We’d tried Rimadyl before the prednisone, but it didn’t seem to do anything except give him a whopping ulcer. Prednisone is what the vet recommended. I’m not too worried about the long-term affects of the steriods because I figure at his age, he doesn’t have too long to worry about long-term. I’m interested in alternative treatments and about quality of life.
Sorry for the double post, I missed a couple things in your OP.
Panting can be a side effect of the pred, be careful about increasing aspirin. Prednisone (glucocorticosteroids) delays healing, aspirin and pred together could lead to an ulcer.
You asked about Bute, I assume you mean Phenylbutazone. It may still be used in horses but I haven’t seen anyone use this in small animals in a long time. It’s also hard on the stomach. As I said in my previous post, Metacam and tramadol seem to work well with less side effects. There may even be some other newer pain meds or NSAIDs that I am not familiar with, that might work for your dog.
My disclaimer: I am not a Vet, but I am a Veterinary Technician and have been for 22 years.
Wile E - Thanks for the info on the interaction between aspirin and prednisone. I’ll ask the vet about other pain relievers. Do you know anything about Adequan? It’s not a NSAID, but rather an injectable POLYSULFATED GLYOSAMINOGLYCAN (PSGAG) and is the only FDA approved product of its type in the arthritis treatment market. It’s a prescription-only injection administered by licensed veterinarians (this is from their website). It was originally developed for performance horses. In the beginning you had to inject it directly into the joints, but it’s now an IM injection.
“My veterinarian had been looking for an opportunity to try out a new ‘cocktail’ of drugs that goes into a needleless syringe and is applied to the gums,” says Charlie’s owner, Marion Lane of New York City. Absorbed directly into the bloodstream, the drug took effect within seconds. Charlie relaxed and soon fell asleep right where he was lying. He enjoyed sweet, soothing sleep for the next six to eight hours.
It’s 2 pages and talks about relieving pain. Man, I wish I knew this when my cocker and border collie were dying of cancers. The prednisone made them so agitated and miserable. Hell, I’ve taken it myself and I went a bit off my nut–but I KNEW what was going on.
As far as my opinion…I’d spoil them rotten and give them half my dinner off the same fork if it would make them eat and keep them happy. I’d give them any drug that would ease their pain–and this cocktail seems to be a good beginning…especially since you can just rub it on their gums. Hell, I hope someone cares enough about me to help me out when I’m old!
Best, of luck to you. It is just so very hard to know that your heart is so slowly breaking.
I’ve used Adequan for a dog that had had a broken hock and developed arthritis in it later on. It worked pretty well for that specific instance, but it won’t enable you to discontinue the other medications you are using - it is not a strong medication, and if your dog is now experiencing pain in his spine (which he could be if his back legs aren’t holding him up well any more), it won’t do any good for that. My oldster that I used the Adequan on also had neck problems, and it doesn’t touch disc-related pain like that. You really need your vet’s opinion on what source the pain is from (to the best of his knowledge) to decide what the best treatment options are.
And yes, for sure ask your vet about the combination of aspirin and prednisone. NSAIDS (i.e., aspirin, Rimadyl and its chemical cousins) are generally not to be used with pred due to a increased risk of stomach ulceration. If a pain reliever is needed in addition to prednisone, a narcotic-based one is preferred. Tramadol, as mentioned by Wile E, is a new narcotic-based medication that seems to be very promising.
You could also try one of the new(er) NSAIDs, like Metacam or Zubrin, in combination with Tramadol. Not all NSAIDs are created equal - while one may not be tolerated well, another might be, and do a better job of relieving pain for that individual. If you decide to try a combo that includes an NSAID, though, he’ll need to be tapered off the pred.
Give your pup a hug for me - I hope you are able to find some relief for him.
I talked to my vet on Saturday. She recommended that I increase the pred to 30 mg/day and start him on glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM. She’s never used adequan and will research it. She’s on older country vet, very practical. He’s been eating a lot better, even raiding the other dogs’ bowls of kibble in the middle of the night if he gets hungry. I’ve been giving him several small meals and his supplements include aspirin, 30 mg prednisone, 1000 mg glucosime with chondroiton, MSM, multi-vitamin and a tagamet. He’s moving better, if not totally well.
Can anyone tell my if any of these meds could be making Mike restless? He gets his meds with his evening meal, but then he doesn’t want to settle down at bedtime. He has no problem being still during the day. I could change the meds to the morning, if that’s what’s causing it.
sj2 - I read the article, but that morphine-derived med seems more like a short-term pain reliever than a med for chronic pain. I don’t want to have him doped up for whatever time he has left. I’ll research other NSAIDs, though.
Yes, the prednisone can cause restlessness, panting, excessive hunger and thirst, and a cornucopia of other side effects. Steroids affect just about every system in the body, so there are lots of potential side effects, many of them dose dependent (in other words, the more you give the more side effects you may see).
Here’s a couple of links about prednisone use in animals. Not the greatest, but the one very good one used to have no longer works.