Please beware...NSAID for arthritis killed my dog

[weeluvdisney]

I posted this on 2 other boards that I frequent. I am just trying to spread the word for anyone like me that didn't know this. I don't want to offend anyone, I know some will disagree. Many dogs are placed on NSAIDS for surgery pain, injuries or arthritis. We took our healthy senior 9 yr old boxer to the vet last week because we have alot of steps in our home and he has some arthrits. The vet did bloodwork to make sure everything else was ok and that he could handle the meds. His bloodwork was great. I had done a little homework and saw bad reactions to rimadyl including death and told her of my concerns. She offered previcox. She said it might upset his stomach and to call if there were any problems or changes. Seven days into the meds he had diarrhea in the morning and vomited later in the day. We were concerned but she did say it might upset his stomach. The next morning, day 8 he could not walk and had bloody diarrhea. We rushed him to the vet as soon as they opened and she did blood work and he was in kidney failure. She said they would hospitalize him and do what they could. We visited him later that day, no change. We went to see him the next morning only to find out when we got there that he died early in the morning. I am heart broken and stunned, grief stricken and guilty. If you search NSAIDS killing dogs you will find pages and pages or dead dogs. Dogs of all ages and dogs that were healthy before they took the medicine and then dead either within 2 days or months later. Kidney failure, liver failure, heart attacks. I under stand even some human medication has bad effects and you never know and that all drugs have side effects but death is not a side effect and it death and it is forever. My dog suffered for 2 days and when you see the pages of dogs that died why would you ever take the chance. These greedy drug companies don't care in my opinion especially because it's pet medicine. If I can save one dog and one dog owner from what I'm going thru then I am glad I am taking the time to get the word out. Please research if you have a dog and be careful...it's too late for us.

 

[TnTsParty]

So sorry to hear about your dog. I hope your post will save others the heartbreak you are feeling right now.

 

[Christine]

I'm sorry about your pet and thank you for sharing your story.

My 12 y/o hound mix has been on Previcox for about 6 months now and I've been very nervous about it. She has no adverse symptoms but it still bothers me.

 

[sunshine1178]

I posted this on 2 other boards that I frequent. I am just trying to spread the word for anyone like me that didn't know this. I don't want to offend anyone, I know some will disagree. Many dogs are placed on NSAIDS for surgery pain, injuries or arthritis. We took our healthy senior 9 yr old boxer to the vet last week because we have alot of steps in our home and he has some arthrits. The vet did bloodwork to make sure everything else was ok and that he could handle the meds. His bloodwork was great. I had done a little homework and saw bad reactions to rimadyl including death and told her of my concerns. She offered previcox. She said it might upset his stomach and to call if there were any problems or changes. Seven days into the meds he had diarrhea in the morning and vomited later in the day. We were concerned but she did say it might upset his stomach. The next morning, day 8 he could not walk and had bloody diarrhea. We rushed him to the vet as soon as they opened and she did blood work and he was in kidney failure. She said they would hospitalize him and do what they could. We visited him later that day, no change. We went to see him the next morning only to find out when we got there that he died early in the morning. I am heart broken and stunned, grief stricken and guilty. If you search NSAIDS killing dogs you will find pages and pages or dead dogs. Dogs of all ages and dogs that were healthy before they took the medicine and then dead either within 2 days or months later. Kidney failure, liver failure, heart attacks. I under stand even some human medication has bad effects and you never know and that all drugs have side effects but death is not a side effect and it death and it is forever. My dog suffered for 2 days and when you see the pages of dogs that died why would you ever take the chance. These greedy drug companies don't care in my opinion especially because it's pet medicine. If I can save one dog and one dog owner from what I'm going thru then I am glad I am taking the time to get the word out. Please research if you have a dog and be careful...it's too late for us.

Celebrex killed my MIL, but it is still on the market, and relatives still take it. What happened to our family members is tragic. Unfortunately, there is no perfect medicine, and until there is, we must make do with medicines which provide improvement to a majority of people, even though they may have serious consequences for a small percentage of patients.

 

[mlittig]

 

[DebbieB]

Sorry about your dog. My aunt's collie/shepard mix was in bad shape, she thought he was in his last days, his arthritis was so bad. She got rimidyl from the vet and he was back to his old self in no time. I guess with any drug you have to weight the benefits vs possible side effects.

 

[amg35]

oh my god, I'm so sorry.

My 12 year old dog is on Rimadyl. He had blood tests before he started, and then one month after, now they said he only needs to come every six months because his levels stayed the same.

This terrifies me.

 

[joyjoy]

Oh, no, I'm so sorry. That's terrible.

My 11 y.o. boxer has taken Rimadyl on occasion (after surgery) and it helps her and she hasn't had adverse reactions to it. But still, your experience makes me very nervous.

 

[disneyfans95]

I am sorry to hear of your loss. I really am.

But we have had a dog on that med and everything went very well.

You can't say for sure what cause the loss of your wonderful pet. Please don't blame the first thing you think of.

I also have a neighbor who's lab is and on that now and doing fine.

Sorry again OP and I am sure you are just hurting and not thinking straight right now.

 

[mikehn]

The Food and Drug Administration approves and regulates all medications for humans and animals. Unfortunately, some drugs that are approved still kill some people and pets.

 

[Coconut36]

I am sorry to hear of your loss. I really am.

But we have had a dog on that med and everything went very well.

You can't say for sure what cause the loss of your wonderful pet. Please don't blame the first thing you think of.

I also have a neighbor who's lab is and on that now and doing fine.

Sorry again OP and I am sure you are just hurting and not thinking straight right now.

I agree. My lab used it and had no issues.

Like with humans some animals can react poorly to a medication or have a serious side effect/life threatening reaction. It's tragic but it doesn't negate the benefits for the others who will not react that way.

I use myself as an example..I am so deathly allergic to penicillin (any 'cillin) that I can't even touch it without breaking out in hives (ingesting it would be death). I am the exception to the rule and my reaction does not negate the safety and benefit of the medication for others who are not allergic to it.

I'm sorry for your loss and I am sure you are struggling with it right now.

 

[minkydog]

I'm sorry for the loss of your beloved doggy.

My Minky took Rimadyl for several years until it no longer helped his pain and he was switched to Tramadol. Never had a minute's trouble from either. He lived to be 11yo, long time for a large dog

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am sorry to hear this. You must be devastated.

One of my dogs died during elective surgery and I was similarly devastated. As a result, I don't rush into any surgery that's not absolutely necessary.

With that said, I think that pain is a real issue for elderly dogs and as we know from humans who can tell us about it, chronic pain is a really hard thing to live with. I have had many patients tell me they no longer want to live because of pain. Luckily, modern medicine has come a long way and we are fortunate to have some of the medications we now have to help control pain. Most of the time, they are safe. You always have to weigh the benefits and risks of any medication you take, and that includes those we choose to give to our pets as well.

My last dog that had arthritis was maintained for years on uncoated baby aspirin twice a day. This was a decision between my vet and myself, and one of the reasons was because of the side effects of some of the other medications used for pain (the vet's concern as much as my own). When he got to be older, we gave it to him. I would never have wanted him to die from taking it, but by the same token, I didn't want him to suffer with pain.

I guess my point is that I'd probably do as many things as I could to help a younger dog with arthritic pain, short of using some of the more serious pain medicatons. Keeping their weight down, keeping their muscles strong (to support the bones underneath), regular, non-stressful exercise like swimming and walking would be a priority, and aspirin twice a day as usual (which can have its own side effects). But even knowing the potential for serious complications, I'd probably still give an NSAID if it was necessary in an older dog because I'd be weighing the balance of the risk of a bad side effect with the prospect of living with horrible pain every day.

Having pets is challenging in this way because they can't tell us what they want and we have to act - or not act - on their behalf anyway. I can't help but think that if the pet had a choice, they'd want the medication to help ease their suffering somewhat, just as most humans do. (I know I'd be lost without motrin when I'm in pain.) Overall, medications, just like surgery, are not something to take lightly. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am so sorry for your loss.

One of my dogs needs her teeth cleaned however I afraid to do that. She has been weakened by ehrlichiosis (tick disease) and she has a ton of fatty tumors. She is almost 8yo.

Again, sorry for your puppy. You must be heartbroken. Oh and thanks for the story and the warning.

 

[MichelleVW]

I'm sorry for your loss. I won't give Rimadyl to my elderly Golden because he had kidney issues when he was younger and it affected him badly the one time I gave it to him, but I just gave it to my 6 month old puppy last week when she had complications from her spay and she is doing great.

I think people need to be knowledgeable on what they are giving their pets and not just blindly listen to their vet, but I think people need to do the same thing when it comes to their own health.

 

[PlutoPony]

So sorry for your loss . It's hard to tell how dog is feeling so knowing whether a drug is needed, let alone working and causing side effects is tough. If only they could talk.......

We've had problems with Rimadyl but not Previcox. Our last lab had significant stomach ulcers requiring emergency surgery to remove part of the stomach, and the vet thought they were probably caused by the Rimadyl. So when our current lab got the point of needing to take something for his arthritis we went with Previcox. He's been on it ~3 years and we're not aware of any problems at this point (he does get checked by the vet regularly). We've been able to keep him on a low dose, and hope that helps keep significant side effects at bay. This dog has survived surgery for a serious cancer and chemo, and thanks in part to the Previcox has a very high quality of life now at age 12+. If the drug does cause systemic problems, I guess I can live with the trade off of qualify of life vs life span given his age. But I'm not sure what I would do if I had a much younger dog who needed medication for arthritis......

Now if only these drugs didn't cost so much.... can't believe how much Previcox has gone up in the time I've been buying it

 

[weeluvdisney]

Thank you for the support.
I am extremely upset and angry but I am thinking very CLEARLY.
I am 42 and it isn't my first rodeo. I know there are side effects from medicines but death shouldn't be an acceptable side effect.
I just want to get the word out for people that have pets and love them.
I thought I would be helping my dog and instead he died. He had the bloodwork ahead of time. He was completely healthy other then arthritis.
The whole point to getting the word out is so people know that you are taking a chance giving any NSAID to any dog of any age including a young healthy dog. When you give your dog this medicine, you have NO idea which if any could kill your dog. I couldn't be more happy for the loving dog owners that can give their dogs rimadyl, previcox, deramaxx, metacam or any others, with no problems. The problem is what happened to my dog could have been prevented in some way if I was more educated and the vet was more open. I take complete responsibility although I am changing vets for a new start and educating myself and if I can save one dog thats my goal. Now that this has happened, I will always know to make my own decisions and then I can better deal with the outcome. There should be a warning in big bold letters on the outside of the box that this medicine has killed many dogs and its possibey that major organ damage can be done before you even know anything is wrong with your dog. At least with people unless they are already deathly ill, they can tell somone that something is wrong or they are very sick. A dog can't tell you anything.
Also, I am not blaming the first thing. The vet said that this medicine ended up being toxic to my dog.
On a final note, I am not here to argue. Facts are facts! I am here to help anyone that I can to not go through what I am going through right now. Everyone has a right to their opinion. An opinion is a personal observation and a fact is a fact. Thank you to each and everyone one of you that are supportive and sympathetic. I have had a miserable 3 days of grief and guilt but one day at a time I suppose. I never thought in a million years I would love a dog this much but I did. He was a stray that wandered in our yard one day October 2004...I was terrified of him and didn't want to keep him but when no one claimed him my husband talked me into it and I'm so glad.

 

[PlutoPony]

I thought I would be helping my dog and instead he died. He had the bloodwork ahead of time. He was completely healthy other then arthritis.
The whole point to getting the word out is so people know that you are taking a chance giving any NSAID to any dog of any age including a young healthy dog. When you give your dog this medicine, you have NO idea which if any could kill your dog.

Let me preface this by saying I don't mean this in an argumentative way at all, I'm looking for info

Is there anything the vet could have done to recognize your dog had a problem before it got to point of taking his life? Is there blood work that could/should have been run on a more regular basis that would have shown a problem? It seems like a vast majority of drugs have risk/reward trade-offs, so finding out which risks can be mitigated (by testing or some other means) is the key

 

[EllenFrasier]

So sorry to hear about your dog. I guess pet medicine is the same with humans - there are risks and side effects and you have to way the benefits against the risks. In your case, your dog was having difficulty getting up stairs so you tried what the medical profession suggested. We do the same thing with human medication - if you pay attention to commercials or read the labels, many of them say "in rare cases can cause death" - uh, no thanks then. You should not feel guilty - you did what you thought was right for your dog and you trusted your vet.
As for missing the pup - it will take time, lots and lots of time, before you are used to not having him around. Do you have other pets? Not that they can take his place, but it does help ease the loss a bit and is comforting.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I posted this on 2 other boards that I frequent. I am just trying to spread the word for anyone like me that didn't know this. I don't want to offend anyone, I know some will disagree. Many dogs are placed on NSAIDS for surgery pain, injuries or arthritis. We took our healthy senior 9 yr old boxer to the vet last week because we have alot of steps in our home and he has some arthrits. The vet did bloodwork to make sure everything else was ok and that he could handle the meds. His bloodwork was great. I had done a little homework and saw bad reactions to rimadyl including death and told her of my concerns. She offered previcox. She said it might upset his stomach and to call if there were any problems or changes. Seven days into the meds he had diarrhea in the morning and vomited later in the day. We were concerned but she did say it might upset his stomach. The next morning, day 8 he could not walk and had bloody diarrhea. We rushed him to the vet as soon as they opened and she did blood work and he was in kidney failure. She said they would hospitalize him and do what they could. We visited him later that day, no change. We went to see him the next morning only to find out when we got there that he died early in the morning. I am heart broken and stunned, grief stricken and guilty. If you search NSAIDS killing dogs you will find pages and pages or dead dogs. Dogs of all ages and dogs that were healthy before they took the medicine and then dead either within 2 days or months later. Kidney failure, liver failure, heart attacks. I under stand even some human medication has bad effects and you never know and that all drugs have side effects but death is not a side effect and it death and it is forever. My dog suffered for 2 days and when you see the pages of dogs that died why would you ever take the chance. These greedy drug companies don't care in my opinion especially because it's pet medicine. If I can save one dog and one dog owner from what I'm going thru then I am glad I am taking the time to get the word out. Please research if you have a dog and be careful...it's too late for us.

That explains what happened to Lucy, in march she stopped eating (after she was on NSAID for arthritis. This was treated by having her kidneys flushed out twice. I didn't put this together at the time as I was so freaked out by it (the previous month my mother died of kidney failure due to cancer) I was told it was kidney failure and she should eat a special kidney food and she wouldn't live more than a couple of months. She refused to eat the special food so she has been eating normal dog food and although the arthritis is making going up stairs a bit hard (I carry her as she gets distressed if she doesnt sleep with me) she has been fine. Scratch tht she has been taking shameless advantage. Of her "illness" to get away with blue murder but as she is 13.5 years old she get the privilege of old age!