Is metacam worth a try?

zaksmum

My dog Lucy will be 12 next birthday. Her back legs are becoming quite stiff and she's reluctant to walk and struggling to get up. She doesn't seem to be in any pain though and still wants to play and tries to chase the seagulls.

I take her for 2 or 3 short walks a day and she can still go upstairs at night, but slowly. We help her get into the car and make sure she has every comfort we can provide.

She's a golden retriever cross weighing 40kg - vet says her weight is ok. I'm giving her Yumove which does seem to help a bit.

I've made an appointment with the vet for next week and a neighbour says I should ask for metacam as it will really help Lucy.

But it has unwanted side effects and she can only stay on it a short time.

Has anyone tried metacam for their dogs and what was the result?

chris_n_tj

I havnt tried it Zac's but my friends very large dog has been on it for about 19 months now. It has helped Raven and he is now enjoying his walks again.
Have you also thought about trying a magnetic collar? I know many are sceptical but anything is a go with our oldies I think. x

Toooldforthis

Worked wonders with our dogs and a friends dog... my dad joked he wished they made it for humans !

puppy999

If you go on to vetuk and click on Metacam for Dogs oral suspension there are a few comments that may help you good luck xx

Paradigm

My girl has been on Metacam for around 6 months now (suspected Arthritis in her elbow) & I can honestly say it works... for her.

The thing I like about Metacam is that you can reduce the prescribed dose to find the minimum that still gives relief, mine is on half & it's made a big difference.

As for side effects, every drug you give a dog (or take yourself) has "possible" side effects but that doesn't mean Lucy will suffer from any of them.

IMO it's well worth giving it a try.

P.S. Get a prescription from your vet & the Metacam online, around 50% cheaper than what I paid.

krlyr

There are a few things to consider here.

She's not moving stiffly just because she's old. There's no such condition as "old age", just conditions that are more likely to happen in an aging body. So establishing the cause of her stiffness is the first step towards treatment.

Given her age and breed, I would expect it's quite likely she could be suffering arthritis, or there could possibly be hip dysplasia in the mix (or both - hip dysplasia often leads to arthritic changes in the joint).

Arthritis has no cure, and, making an assumption here, I think you'd be unlikely to put a 12 year old dog through a total hip replacement - so I imagine you'd be looking at management of her condition.

Metacam is an option - it is an anti-inflammatory pain relief. Think of it like Ibuprofen for dogs. You wouldn't take it long-term, as in years and years, but I myself was on it for an extended period of time (on and off most of my late teens) due to tendonitis in my shoulder - you need a long course of anti-inflammatories to break the cycle (joint rubs, it swells, it rubs more, it swells more). The vet should take the dog's age and health into consideration when prescribing any medication - Metacam can affect the kidney and liver, so in an older dog, the vet may want to take bloods to assess the organ function of the dog. Similar to Ibuprofen for humans, long-term use can affect the stomach too.
You can read the contra-indictions of Metacam here, if you want a more informed view of it. However, take a look at the contra-indications of any pain relief or medication in your own house - many list just as scary side effects, it doesn't mean they will always occur.
http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Boehringer_Ingelheim_Limited/Metacam_1_5_ACY-nbsp_ADs-mg_ml_Oral_Suspension_for_Dogs/-44440.html

There are other options. My GSD with hip dysplasia was on Metacam, but we trialled Rimadyl for a while (went back to Metacam as it seemed to have more of an effect). We also tried cortisone injections to help - sadly, these didn't work for her either, but I know many dogs respond brilliantly. It's only one injection a week, so not too invasive a procedure (providing the dog doesn't mind the vets!)

Treatment options with my GSD were limited due to her behavioural issues, we had to stick to the minimum. She tolerated Metacam well enough, she was on it a couple of years and never suffered any side effects from it. Sadly, her hips deteriorated a lot and we had to have her euthanised quite young, so I couldn't say how long she'd have managed on the Metacam without any issues. But being realistic, your dog is in her twilight years - I would not be worrying about the long-term effects of a medication, especially if it would give a huge improvement in her last years. As said, I would just be slightly concerned that she may be more susceptible to some side effects given her age, but blood tests should help establish how healthy her organs are, and this could be re-checked on a regular basis.

There's also the supplementation route. This website is a fab read on all the different options for arthritis. They cover almost all bases - from how the diet can affect the dog (e.g. grains are thought to be inflammatory), vet treatments, therapies, etc.
http://dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html

I had a really good experience with a physiotherapist when Kiki had tendonitis this/last year, and I know she works with dogs with arthritis and hip dysplasia too. As said, they're not curable conditions, but a physiotherapist will be able to suggest exercises that may strengthen the muscles to take the strain off the joint a bit, and will advise on general day to day exercise that isn't too strenuous. Mine also did electromagnetic therapy on her visits, and I know she offers accupuncture too.

Of course, it may not be arthritis - it could be a soft tissue injury, or another condition causing her stiffness. Treatment could be completely different, so I think getting an accurate diagnosis is important. My vet thought Kiki's stiffness was arthritis, but x-rays showed it wasn't, and we've managed to completely treat her condition (she's even started coming out running with me again - something I didn't think I'd be doing with her again)

rustyboy21

Rusty was on Metacam for maybe 5+ years and it did make a difference. You could tell when he was due the dose.


We went away for a weeks holiday with him, to Anglesey and I forgot to pack it. By the 2nd day, you could tell he was in pain, so had to dive over to the other side of the island and get some from the vet there. Dosage is done by weight of animal so 40kg for you. Just fill up the syringe to 40 and spray it on their food. We used to give Rusty shredded boiled chicken on top of his food and spray it on that. He was addicted to chicken, so we knew the dose was taken.


It is worth a try, they cannot tell you when they are in pain, but for me, it was great to see him be more fluid in his movement and a smile on his face !

zaksmum

Thanks everyone. Krlyr, Lucy had full bloods taken just a few weeks ago as she needed an op to remove a lump. Bloods were fine.

I will check with the vet rather than assume arthritis. Lucy has full insurance for up to £7K a year and the policy's due for renewal in September so I'll get her sorted now before the next year's £7K kicks in.

God knows what the renewal cost will be, but Lucy's welfare is more important. She does have supplements in the form of the Yumove - it contains glucosamine & green lipped mussel among other things.

I have been taking diclofenac for many years without a problem and I know metacam is similar. I will also ask the vet about cartrophen which I've heard can be effective.

Fosterdog

If you can get her X-rayed and it is arthritis I can't recommend Cartrophen injections enough. They have been amazing for my boy, he started off on one course a year and now is down to every nine months and will eventually be on monthly injections. We did try him on Metacam but it gave him a runny tummy so had to take him off quite quickly. We do have done pain meds for him for very bad days but as a rule he doesn't need daily dosing because the cartrophen works for a long time

My girl is on metacam and is doing well on it but we reduced her foes to the minimum to control her pain

krlyr

I wouldn't worry too much that claiming for treatment now would bump up your policy, companies vary on how they change the premiums. I had pretty much identical percentage increases for my two dogs (both the same age, so no difference there) - one of whom has had no claims whatsoever in his life, and one who I claimed over £1200 for last year.

Also - and I really don't mean to be morbid, but being realistic about her lifespan, if you were to claim the full £14k in the next two years (or even just half that), it's very unlikely her premiums would rocket high enough that you would be out of pocket as such.

My POV on it would probably be to use up as much of this year's £7k now, to investigate it before September. If it is something as "simple" as arthritis, it gives you plenty of time to get a thorough diagnosis and then work out a combination of medications and treatments that works for her. Come her renewal, you can then work out whether any increase is still worthwhile (e.g. to pick a random amount, it goes up £40 a month but you're claiming £40+ of meds/treatment a month anyway) or whether you're better off doing something along the lines of an accident only policy and covering her meds yourself (getting a prescription and ordering online can save a fair few pennies)
If it turns out to be a little more complex, then September isn't too far away to plan a specialist referall - Kiki's physio said these can be in the thousands anyway, so assuming it was a minimum of £1000, that would mean even with an increase of up to £83 a month, you'd essentially just be spreading that cost over the year - with all the perks of the rest of the policy coming it at what's effectively the same price as you're paying now. So that could make renewing next year worthwhile, even with a big jump.

Shoshannah

You can certainly stay on an NSAID such as Metacam long-term, provided your tum's tolerating it and regular blood screens are all okay. Loads of dogs are on it for the rest of their lives once they develop arthritis.

I think it's really upsetting how many cats suffer pain every day because they don't show obvious signs of arthritis and their symptoms are put down to 'old age'. More than 90% of cats over the age of 12 have arthritis. Only a tiny proportion receive any pain relief, poor things.