Rimadyl: News, Views & Advisories

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January 2008 -- Rimadyl's Side Effects Continue to Wreak Havoc....a recent case history:

An e-mail message received in January 20008: "In October of last year (2007) I took Tiffany to her vet because she was due for her distemper vaccine. I also wanted her right rear leg and joint examined, for she seemed a little slow. Moreover, she was pulling up a bit short on her walks, something she didn't do before. The examination was about the middle of the month and was conducted, I thought, thoroughly. The vet's opinion was that she was suffering some mild arthritis (she is 12), though everything else appeared normal. She was prescribed 50mg of Rimadyl 2x daily, w/ a five day trial. After the trial period Tiffany appeared somewhat improved, and I filled the prescription. After 10 days to two weeks she appeared almost normal and seemed livelier. At the end of the month I took her w/ me to the family cottage in northern MI to close it for the season. On October 31 we went on a short walk and she was doing very well. I was satisfied w/ her progress. Everything was nominal. The next morning I went out for about an hour and left Tiffany on the bed. When I got back I went to get her out of the bedroom but found her lying down waiting for me. She got up stumbling and falling about and favoring her right shoulder. (It now seems likely that she attempted to jump off the bed--as usual--and may have fallen on her shoulder due to the immobility she was experiencing from the drug.) Frankly, she was a mess and could barely make it to the back door. Her legs couldn't support her and her hind quarters would just splay and flop. This was the beginning of a nightmarish 2 1/2 months for her, a period she very nearly failed to survive. I was immediately suspicious of the medication. I checked the Internet for more information and spent hours and hours looking into the Rimadyl connection, which is how I found your site. I was struck by how similar the circumstances of the case histories, appearing on srdogs.com, were to those experienced by Tiffany. Here she was, twelve years old, complaining slightly about a seemingly impaired gait (a walk that seemed like heaven in retrospect), being placed on Rimadyl, then finding herself stumbling, collapsing, and, just a little later, experiencing partial paralysys of the hind quarters. I felt that time away from the drug would result in her regaining her original form. The profiles on srdogs.com convinced me of this, and those stories lent me the confidence to persevere w/ her. But she seemed to deteriorate. I read extensively on the NSAID "blood brain barrier", about the active ingredient, carprofen, and its role as a COX-2 inhibitor; about Rimadyl belonging to a class of drugs called propionic acids (of which Aleve is one and the strong injunction NEVER to administer Aleve to a canine); about the wrenching, devastating side effects and possible fatal complications of the drug's use; and, finally, about the prognosis for a dog on the drug and the long struggle to endure its administration and aftermath. She also began to lose her spirit. She would sleep endlessly and I would have to massage her awake then carry her outside and in, to and from her food--just everywhere. Then, on one occasion when I carried her from outside and placed her just inside the door, she stumbled a few feet and collapsed. I was on her in a second and held her head in my arms. She didn't respond, and I called her name again and again. I thought she was gone, and I was, too. Just then her eyes flicked open, and she looked at me--as she had done so often at the time--as if to ask what was going on, what had happened to her life. Her condition was so bad that I knew that she would probably have to return to the vet. She was pushing three weeks off the drug, but it wasn't enough. And, while she could walk a bit, she would hop while doing it. The stress was showing throughout her body and spirit. Once back at the vet, my Rimadyl hypothesis was rejected. I was told that Rimadyl reactions are exceedingly rare, certainly nothing like imbalance, partial paralysis, and uncoordinated stumbling could be the consequence of such a thoroughly "vetted" medication. I was given a temporary supply of another medicine, Deramaxx, and told to go slow w/ it. After one day on Deramaxx Tiffany seemed somewhat improved. Then, but 36 hours on the same dosage as the Rimadyl (50mg), she collapsed again, in worse condition than ever. I took her to the vet again, and, this time, he agreed that the NSAIDS were intolerable for her. Now the prescription was a simple one for Tramadol for her aching shoulder--the shoulder she probably injured falling from the bed those weeks earlier. (Also, complete body x-rays revealed no joint abnormalities.) Only now is Tiffany rejoining her condition in early October. Her personality is reviving, and she is starting to climb stairs on her own. I am taking her for walks and she can go about a half mile. She still has shoulder discomfort, but we are working on that via a new diet and MSM\glucosamine supplements (no Tramadol), as well as ground flaxseed and other additives to her food. This will be quite a journey. I wouldn't have found the confidence to persevere w/ her recovery by alternate means and may well have accepted the company line about the Pfizer and Novartis miracle drugs had srdogs.com not been there to inform me of the case histories--those both happy and tragic. I am relating Tiffany's story as a recent addition to that store of knowledge; her story is not a mere anecdote as the drug and veterinary medicine establishment would have us believe. Tiffany is my companion and my friend. We have traveled and explored and lived as one. She has retrieved driftwood in turbulent Lake Superior in November. She has run the rims of sand dunes along Lake Michigan. She has chased deer in the snow-covered woods. We have played endless soccer and fought blinding winter storms. And we are sharing this rock together. Still. Sincerely, R. F. Whitmer"

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September 2006 -- FDA Issues Extensive New Guidelines for Prescription and Use of NSAIDs for Dogs

The Food and Drug Administration has issued new guidelines covering the prescription and use of NSAIDs such as Rimadyl. Please review them, and be certain your veterinarian has seen them, before administering them to your dog. Also see "Pain Drugs for Dogs: Be an Informed Pet Owner," an excellent article published by the FDA.