Rimadyl vs Prednisone

[karenmcil]

My Rottweiler was recently diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. She also has a history of arthritis and spondilosis but has not needed meds for that as yet. The vet has advised against surgery given that she is almost 12 years old. He has prescribed her Prednisone which she has been taking for 4 days. It has not seemed to help, she appears to be in pain when she moves and is pretty much immobile as her back end appears to be weaker than last week. We had been on a short walk last Friday. I had her on Rimadyl briefly for 3 days prior to the vet switching her to Predisone. She seemed to be more mobile when taking the Rimadyl. Not sure if switching her back to the Rimadyl would be better for her or whether her symptoms are more disease related and a change in meds won't change things. The vet has advised to keep her on Prednisone.

[Donray12]

Please try our safe, non-toxic pain reliever for dogs-CanineActiv. No side effects or drug interactions. MUCH safer than Rimadyl and usually as effective. Go to the CA website and contact us for free 28ct capsule travel pack. We also have a vet only product called Rejuvenate Plus, but you would need to get through your vet.

[karenmcil]

Thank you for sharing your story. After doing some research I found that Tramadol was a pain relief option and started giving it to her this afternoon after checking with the vet. Ashes is down to 77 lbs so I'm giving her 100mg twice daily. It seems to be helping her a bit but her mobility is not improving. I'm not sure if the immobility is tied in with the liver cancer or if the stress of the liver cancer is flaring up her arthritis.

[JanisM13]

I am so sorry to see your girl has liver cancer,
your vet has made a wise choice to NOT do
surgery in this case.
Our Rottie Zena had cancer in her left rear leg
she also had arthritis,you might ask your vet
what he/she thinks of using Tramadol to see
if this would give her some relief. This is pain
medication,Zena was using Chondroitin 1,200
mg. and Glucosamine 1,500 mg.- 2 tabs a day
(crushed in her food) for the arthritis. This is a
"herb" we bought OTC for humans but it will
not work as fast as a drug,about a month to
kick in.
Anyhow the Tramadol helped her for over a
year until the day came she could not get
up on morning,Zena weighed 124 pounds.
Talk with your vet and see if this could be
used to help your girl? ( I did not use
Prednisone due to the side effects but
that is just my thoughts) I do see it is not
doing much to help her?
I hope something works to help her and
bring some comfort to both of you.
Jan