Has anyone given an older dog the arthritis medication Deramaxx with GOOD results, WITHOUT side effects?
I have heard so much about possible liver, kidney, or other damage, & my vet does admit there are risks, but still wants me to give this medication to my elderly dogs, a mixed breed & a lab. They DO have severe pain & impaired mobility due to arthritis, but I wonder if the medication will do more harm than good? So far, the mix seems better, the lab is about the same, but I still feel weird about giving the meds. What experiences have other dog owners had with it? Anything GOOD? Thanks.
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
Sorry to hear… I have not had any direct experience with Deramaxx, but did recently write an article about the negative side of the drug.
After research and knowing what I do now, I wouldn’t personally recommmend treating any older pets with meds… There is always a natural remedy available, tucked away sometimes, but out there somewhere.
I will let you read more from the source links below, but pet owners should be aware that most pharmacy drugs for animals were probably created after testing for human usage… Who tested these for our pets?
March 2nd, 2010 at 7:16 pm
You are right to be worried about the side effects. I had one of mine on Deramaxx for 7 months. She did have loose stools, but was fine other wise.
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Our 9 1/2 year old Shepherd is taking Deramaxx, but not every day and we use as small a dose as will work. It appears to be much safer than Rimadyl. You might want to also put the dogs on Joint Max, and Adequan shots could also be helpful. We also got a memory foam mattress pad for our dog which helped his back considerably. He hasn’t had any bad side-effects from the Deramaxx. Good luck.
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:45 pm
I think that if your vet is comfortable giving this to your dog, you can try to trust them. There are side effects to every medication and even to “natural” remedies. It just depends on the dog. Most of these medications provide older pets with a much better quality of life. But remember that there are other things to do, such as try to keep up the light exercise, to keep the dogs’ muscle tone good, do not allow them to be overweight, and discuss using nutrient supplements with your vet.
If you ever read the side effect list for aspirin, you would probably be shocked. So don’t let just the bad things cause you to avoid medication. Remember, all possible side effects need to be reported, even if only 1 in 100,000 pets has it.