Adaquan injections - Page 1

Is there any GSD owners who have given their dogs adaquan injections? My 4 yr old has mild unilateral HD been on rimydal, tramadol and a liquid glucosamine. I have not seen much if any improvement. I am switching to cosequin ds capsules to sprinkle on her raw diet. I think we need to take her for the injections. It is killing me seeing her in pain, I was wondering if anyone has had good luck with the injections? Thanks in advance for any and all help.

I did adequan injections and never knew if they were working until I stopped....  They were helping a lot.  I would definitely use them again. 

Darcy

I did 2 courses of Adequan injections on my old man. He had bilateral HD but was turned down for hip replacement surgery due to other health issues. The Adequan is the reasonhis quality of life was greatly improved over his last couple of years. I am so glad I did it for him. He was almost like his old self.

Thanks to both for 2 possitive replies. I was thinking about calling the vet and get her scheduled for the loading dose. Did you guys stop the Tramadol and other pain meds? Or were you not using any? Maybe as needed......what about glucosamine? I guess it can't hurt along with the injections.

Frank

Mine did not get any pain meds. His liver values were already too bad. We just did the Adequan and I supplimented him with triple dosage of Springtime Longevity.

Have you considered a hip replacement? I know they are expensive but that is an awfully young dog.

I have thought about replacement surgery, but yes the cost is a concern at this time. I have also read about stem cell?????? Not too sure what the effectiveness is on that though. Sorry to hear your guy could not go thru with the surgery.

Adequan injections will likely help, but frankly, if your dog is already on Rimadyl and tramadol and you don't feel THEY are doing anything, I can assure you that stopping them and switching over to Cosequin DS & Adequan injections alone will NOT be sufficient to keep your dog comfortable...you will need to continue the RImadyl and tramadol as well. 

Additionally, it is extremely unusual for a dog with *MILD, UNILATERAL* HD to have such severe pain as to require NSAIDs [the Rimadyl] PLUS tramadol at such a young age--are you sure there isn't something else going on, such as lumbar disc compression or herniation, or cauda equina syndrome?  If this were my dog, I would be aggressively seeking more information as to why the dog is in so much pain, because one mildly bad hip should not cause such in a 4 year old dog. In cases of cauda equina syndrome, acupuncture is often quite helpful in addition to traditional medication support.

One final consideration:  if your dog's going to need to be on Rimadyl and/or tramadol for anything other than a short-term treatment, you should look into also giving milk thistle extract as a protectant for the liver; both of these drugs can place a serious burden on the liver, and the milk thistle extract aids the organ in repairing itself. 

Hexe made excellent points about checking the spine.  AND I would get xrays of the spine done and get multiple reads on them.  It took several "experts" years to see my girls lumbo sacral issues.  Well after she was symptomatic and could not work.  I do give cosequin to my dogs and my male that got the adequan was on multiple pain meds and metacam that did nothing for him.  those were for his spinal issues.

If it is just one hip, I have seen a working dog do really well with an FHO and that is much less expensive than the replacement.



Darcy

They did x-ray her spine when this all first started and it according to the vet and an x-ray specialist who read the films said that the spine looked okay. Hexe you make a good point for as mild as the hd is she should not be limping and be in this much pain ( mostly when she first gets up from laying down ) I now wonder if I should save my money or go ahead with the injections.

Big fan of Adequan...Our eleven year old female  has a broken/cracked," bridge" between vertebrae causing back spasms..did the loading dose for a month, then backed off to once a week, now keep her at one every two weeks. Saw a vast improvement within a month. She is also on 200mm of Gabapentin at night for her back.    She  has cartilage damage in an elbow, and seems to help that too.  Our vet wrote a prescription and we fill it and give our own injections. Can be pricey going to vet for the loading dose.  Just learned that after giving a it for a few months of  IM it can go sub q...much easier.  Definitely worth a try.  Good luck.