Who's used Proin?

[ChelseaB]

Anyone have any experience treating incontinence with Proin? My 3 year old baby girl had been wetting her bed for a few weeks during the night/while sleeping before I finally took her in to the vet. $1100 worth of vet visits and clean urine tests later, the vet said she has spay incontinence and prescribed Proin. The side effects of this drug scare me just a bit, but I'm the first to acknowledge my own paranoia when it comes to my babies. Also, not loving the idea of her needing this every day for the rest of her life (she's only 3!). Can anyone share experiences, positive or negative, with using this drug? Any holistic/natural remedies for urinary incontinence? Much appreciated!

[Enigma]

My dog is on something similar to Proin (it has the same active ingredient - phenylpropanolamine), it's called Propalin here and it comes in the form of a syrup. We started her on it a couple of years ago when she started having some problems with incontinence. It actually went away after we used up one whole 100ml bottle and I've heard of other females whose incontinence was cured at least for a while after taking this drug. I slowly decreased the amount of syrup over time and then stopped giving it altogether. She didn't need it for the next couple of years. The incontinence came back a couple of months ago when my dog got older (she's 12 now) and I've put her back on Propalin. It really does help her, the only thing that bothers me is the horrible taste of the syrup, it must be quite nasty judging by my dog's reaction to it. I'd love it if we couold get it in the form of chewable tablets, but you can only get the syrup here, it's actually the only drug for incontinence available here. My dog never had any side affects to this drug and I've never heard of any dog having any side affects even though there's a long list of them.

[PitFriend]

My 12 year old dog Mocha has been on Proin since she was about 2 or 3 years old. My vet initially prescribed 50 mg once a day (Mocha weighs 40-45 pounds), but there were some unpleasant side effects at that dosage. She seemed very anxious and restless. So I dropped her down to 25 mg a day which was enough to prevent incontinence without any side effects. Once I got that figured out Mocha was fine and we have not had any problems since! Proin can be a lifesaver - just be prepared to experiment a little to ensure your dog is taking the least amount necessary to work while keeping her happy and comfortable. Good luck!

[ChelseaB]

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better, especially since your dog was only 3 when she started taking them too. The vet told me they don't usually see spay incontinence in dogs that young. Kelise started them a few weeks ago. The nighttime incontinence has actually already cleared up quite a bit, but she's had a few minor bouts of vomiting and diarrhea since then that concern me. Sounds like I need to experiment with the dosage a bit. Kelise is also only about 45 pounds and taking 50 mg.

[ChelseaB]

It really does help her, the only thing that bothers me is the horrible taste of the syrup, it must be quite nasty judging by my dog's reaction to it. I'd love it if we couold get it in the form of chewable tablets, but you can only get the syrup here, it's actually the only drug for incontinence available here.

If it makes you feel better, the tablets are supposedly liver flavored, but that doesn't fool Kelise, she hates them, so they can't taste great. Still, at least I can hide them in a pill pocket, the syrup must be miserable!

[Enigma]

he tablets are supposedly liver flavored

Ooohh Brina would gobble those down without even thinking twice if they even remotely smell like liver

[dogs4jen]

You could try DES first, it works for some dogs. Might be worth a try.

[AllisonPitbullLvr]

You could try DES first, it works for some dogs. Might be worth a try.

And it's significantly cheaper, at least here. We always try DES before propalin with female incontinence.

Buddy was on it, then we managed to eventually wean her off, but she ended up back on it at the end.


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[ChelseaB]

You could try DES first, it works for some dogs. Might be worth a try.

And it's significantly cheaper, at least here. We always try DES before propalin with female incontinence.

Buddy was on it, then we managed to eventually wean her off, but she ended up back on it at the end.

Thanks. My vet never mentioned it. Is there any other advantage of DES over Proin (other than price), that makes you prefer it?

Kelise vomited once or twice and has seemed kind of down all day today. But, I haven't found any reliable resources that list nausea or lethargy as side effects of Proin. As I understand it, its usually excitability and restlessness. Nothing else in her life or diet has changed though, so I'm not sure what else to attribute it to. Anyone have or know of a dog that experienced this when first starting Proin?

Anyway, I skipped her dose tonight just to be safe and am calling her vet in the morning, so I'll guess we'll see.



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[AllisonPitbullLvr]

It's a pill, vs a tablet. It can be weaned down and giving once weekly or once every two weeks even in some cases.


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[AllisonPitbullLvr]

That should say, vs a liquid.


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[Amie]

Liberty has been on Proin for about two years, she's about eight now. Increased aggression is another side effect, but not one that's a concern for Liberty. We have to disguise the pill in cheese or something, and occasionally have to pill her, which she is deeply offended by. It's always a surprise to me that she won't just eat it like a snack... for Pete's sake, this dog ate a box of SOS pads and a bag of coffee beans! She was on 25 mg for a while, but we upped her to 50 a few months ago when we noticed additional leaking.

[PITtsburgher]

DES can have some really scary side effects including wiping out the bone marrow; I would definitely consider Proin safer than DES.

[Misskiwi67]

DES can have some really scary side effects including wiping out the bone marrow; I would definitely consider Proin safer than DES.

Yes, this!! Its also not very safe to be handled by humans.

Proin can cause some elevated blood pressure, so blood pressure should be checked at your annual exam.

My male dog ate an entire bottle of 60 tablets one time, he thought they tasted great!! His blood pressure required some time at the emergency vet, but he was fine...

[ChelseaB]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. My little girl is as sensitive as a porcelain doll. She was ok with the Proin for about a month before ahe starting getting incredibly ill. This could have been from the pill pockets, she's very grain and treat sensitive, but I tried the Proin alone for a few weeks and nothing changed. The vet said with as sensitive as she is, it could even be the flavoring used in the Proin setting her off. So for now, we're just putting her water up around 9 or so, and taking frequent potty breaks before bed. Seems to be working ok so far, but if anyone can think of anything else, I'm open to suggestions!