Arthritis Treatment

[Dakota]

just wanted to update everyone on our Ranger he will be 9 in September and about 6months ago was really having trouble with his front left elbow. X-rays showed extreme arthritis basically there was no definition in the joint the arthritis was so bad. He was limping a lot and in discomfort the vet prescribed teamadol which his belly did not tolerate so I started looking for other options.

Found a vet about 40 mins away that did acupuncture and wanted to try Adequain which is an anti- inflammatory injection that is given inter-muscularly. We saw some small improvements but Ranger HATED the accupuncture. The vets office was purchasing the companion laser which stimulates cell growth, decreases inflammation and has had excellent success in both humans and pets. Well Ranger is now back to his puppy antics and running around the yard. He is back to his happy self. He will always have a limp but is now able to get around much better and you can feel the difference in his elbow the swelling is gone. He goes once every three weeks for his injection and laser treatment and he is on no other medication.

I am so glad I sought out other options for him and didn't just put him on pain meds for the rest of his life

[Cindy]

I've heard some great success stories about the use of laser treatments for all kinds of things so glad it's working for Ranger. And Ranger not liking acupuncture well - I've heard that before too. I wonder what it is that animals don't like? I have a vet friend who uses acupuncture on horses with great success. You'd think that if a horse doesn't mind it (think how sensitive they are to a fly landing on them) then why would a dog? Interesting.

[Barb Wright]

Ah yes, alternatives....so glad you thought to do that and so happy to hear the good news about improvement. Re accupuncture, Cassie had that once and she was so good about it, just layed there and was quite still for almost 20 minutes, I was amazed with her cooperation Unfortunately the procedure didn't help, but having it just the once was not a fair test.

Hoping things keep going good for your boy

[LMayhew]

This seems like an older post, but I wanted to second that we are having great results with cold laser therapy for Darby's arthritis. Darby will be 12 the end of February and we've had him on glucosomine since he was 8, just so he could keep that spring in his step. I've also changed his diet to a partial raw diet and we've been walking him religiously to manage the stiffness. A few months ago, I took him into the vet for some fatty tumors. The vet wasn't concerned about the tumors - I thought they had gotten bigger, but they hadn't. The vet was more concerned about his arthritis in his hips and back - he thought Darby was in pain. We went through all the options and he recommended the laser therapy over the rimadyl or adequan. It's more expensive, but no side effects like rimadyl.

I cannot recommend the cold laser therapy highly enough. He just moves more freely now and is overall much happier - as the OP noted, the puppy antics are back. We thought he was laying around pouting because he was bored. But he's stopped that, so I now think that is how he acts when he is in pain. He can't jump into my truck any more - which was always hard for him - and sometimes his back end doesn't quite make it onto the bed with his front end. But the general stiffness is gone and he is back to his goofy, silly, self - shredding his toys, chasing squirrels, and even running after turkey vultures with glee.

I definitely recommend the laser treatments - they are worth the money!

[plkoslov]

My Beau will be 14 in March. He has been limping quite severely for a couple months. It seems like it is one back leg and one front leg. My vet feels it is arthritis and she is very conservative, but I'm wondering if there is more I can do for him. She has prescribed Gabapentin for pain and says to give him a baby aspirin a couple times a day. I asked about Rymadyl and she didn't recommend it, due to stress on his liver. He has gotten glucosomine/chondroitin for many years and also salmon oil. He always wants to go, whenever the other dogs go out, but he pays for it if we take him too far. Poor guy. I will ask about cold laser therapy, but I'm wondering if others on the Board have any other input with regard to arthritis in old dogs. Thanks.

[Barb Wright]

Try sea mussel....one name it is called by is Perna from DaVinci Labs. It is actually New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel....but sea mussel in general seems to do a super job of helping the body regenerate the cartilege that cushions the joints. I have used this for myself and it did wonders for my knee....torn ACL and torn Miniscus, made them like it had never happened. Can't hurt the dog unless they are allergic to shell fish, may help with the joints. I'm a believer

[Dakota]

we are doing the companion laser therapy which is a warm laser therapy. The vet explained that the heat relax muscles, it also stimulates blood flow and improves circulation, helps increases range of motion, and reduces stiffness in painful joints. Here is the website www.litecure.com