What can I give her for pain?

[EmmaLove]

Emma has a muscle/back issue that flares up about once or twice a year. It happened again this morning and poor thing has been uncomfortable all day. I gave her the last Rimadyl I had this morning, and have been icing her and gently massaging her throughout the day. She's gotten a little better but I'd like to give her something for the pain/discomfort until I can get her to the vet tomorrow.

I know aspirin is questionable in dogs and I'm afraid to give her that. Anyone know of any other over-the-counter pain or anti-inflammatory I could safely give her? Or would one aspirin be okay if it's just this once?

I was going to run to Petsmart and see if they have any dog meds that might help, but what I see on their web site is just dog aspirin (which appears to just be regular aspirin, flavored to be more edible for dogs).

Thoughts/suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Aspirin is the only OTC pain med that's "safe" for dogs, but if it were me, I'd rest her as best as possible and get some more Rimadyl tomorrow.

[Madeleinemom]

Aspirin is the only OTC pain med that's "safe" for dogs, but if it were me, I'd rest her as best as possible and get some more Rimadyl tomorrow.

x2

[EmmaLove]

Thanks for the advice guys.   I was tempted to give her an aspirin just this once, cuz I hate seeing her uncomfortable like this, but I'm taking your word and holding off.  

I did pick up this non-aspirin stuff at PetCo to hold us over until tomorrow.   I can't imagine it will actually help, but in the off chance it might, I got it.  Worth a try I suppose.

[Savage Destiny]

What are the ingredients?

Arnica is a great natural pain reliever for dogs. We have an arnica based pain medication on hand for Riddle (Traumeel), and it works great for her.

[EmmaLove]

What are the ingredients?

Arnica is a great natural pain reliever for dogs. We have an arnica based pain medication on hand for Riddle (Traumeel), and it works great for her.

The Aches & Pains tablet ingredients are: Glucosamine, Bromelain, Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), White willow Bark and Yucca. I actually just read the reviews on petco.com and everyone raves about it, though it sounds like the success comes from more long-term use for older dogs. I'm not sure it will have the same effect on Emma right now, but I gave her two tablets anyhow.

I haven't put the Pain Relieving Lotion on her yet. As I read reviews and ingredients on that, it sounds like it's more for sores and to prevent licking- not so much joint or muscle pain relief. And after seeing your post about Arnica, I thought maybe I'll wait on this lotion and instead go get some Arnica to try. I just talked to my boyfriend and he said he's used it before and it's like a Ben-Gay type of thing. Is Traumeel a lotion like that or a pill, and is it OTC? Fred Meyer is open until 11, so I'm hoping I might be able to find something there.

Thanks for the feedback!

off-topic/p.s. Jealous that you live in Bend! That's my favorite town. I always made pitstops there on my drives from Cali to Washington, and we make annual trips to Sunriver every summer... I just love it there! What a great place it must be to live full time.

[EmmaLove]

No luck at Fred Meyer so I ran over to Walgreens and found Arnica gel, so I'm goin home to slather it on her- paws crossed it helps my baby! Thanks everyone.

[patty]

Good thoughts that emma will be more comfortable shortly
. Snuggle for the night.

[EmmaLove]

Good thoughts that emma will be more comfortable shortly
. Snuggle for the night.

Thanks Patty

[Savage Destiny]

What are the ingredients?

Arnica is a great natural pain reliever for dogs. We have an arnica based pain medication on hand for Riddle (Traumeel), and it works great for her.

The Aches & Pains tablet ingredients are: Glucosamine, Bromelain, Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), White willow Bark and Yucca. I actually just read the reviews on petco.com and everyone raves about it, though it sounds like the success comes from more long-term use for older dogs. I'm not sure it will have the same effect on Emma right now, but I gave her two tablets anyhow.

I haven't put the Pain Relieving Lotion on her yet. As I read reviews and ingredients on that, it sounds like it's more for sores and to prevent licking- not so much joint or muscle pain relief. And after seeing your post about Arnica, I thought maybe I'll wait on this lotion and instead go get some Arnica to try. I just talked to my boyfriend and he said he's used it before and it's like a Ben-Gay type of thing. Is Traumeel a lotion like that or a pill, and is it OTC? Fred Meyer is open until 11, so I'm hoping I might be able to find something there.

Thanks for the feedback!

off-topic/p.s. Jealous that you live in Bend! That's my favorite town. I always made pitstops there on my drives from Cali to Washington, and we make annual trips to Sunriver every summer... I just love it there! What a great place it must be to live full time.

I got the Traumeel from my vet, but I do believe it is an over the counter medication. It's a pill/tablet. Since it's a homeopathic remedy, you don't give it like a normal pill. A human would dissolve it under the tongue, but for dogs you crush the pill and pour the powder into the cheek pouches. Riddle is 55lbs, and her dosage is 1 300mg tablet. You want to give it 20 minutes before any food.

I haven't tried the arnica gel. Did it make Emma feel any better?

And yes, I adore Bend! So much, especially in summertime. We make daily trips to the Sunriver area in the summer- we have a secret, little frequented swimming spot down there.

[suzanne]

Just future reference never give Rimadyl right away after an aspirin dose, and never given aspirin right after giving rimadyl. I think Aspirin has a short life... like 3-4 hours, Rimadyl I think can last for up to 24 so when making the switch you need to wait 24-48 hours. Both are NSAIDS and contraindicated with each other.

Does your vet know your dog has this problem? If so, you should be able to refill the Rimadyl and I would imagine get some methocarbomol which is a muscle relaxer. If it's truly muscle your dog might benefit more from a muscle relaxer than just NSAIDS.

[EmmaLove]

Well wouldn't you know, Emma woke up fine this morning! I still took her to the vet just to have them do a once-over and be sure all was fine. They suspect it's the same problem she's had before, a soft muscle tissue thing (?) that she likely strained or maybe even just slept wrong. So they gave me more rimadyl to have on hand and some tramodol.

I haven't tried the arnica gel. Did it make Emma feel any better?

The arnica gel did nothing for her . She got worse after a few hours and I broke down and gave her an aspirin (it had been 13 hours since the rimadyl, so there wasn't an interaction issue by then). I just couldn't stand seeing her so miserable. But now I have a supply of rimadyl so in the future I won't have to resort to aspirin.

Does your vet know your dog has this problem? If so, you should be able to refill the Rimadyl and I would imagine get some methocarbomol which is a muscle relaxer. If it's truly muscle your dog might benefit more from a muscle relaxer than just NSAIDS.

That's a good point, I should've asked about a muscle relaxer- sorry I didn't check this before I went in today. They'll be calling to check on her in a couple days and I'll ask them about that. Though I'm surprised they didn't mention it.

Thanks again for all of the feedback and suggestions, I appreciate it!

[Misskiwi67]

DO NOT give aspirin within 14 days of giving Rimadyl - they do not go well together and you are risking a serious GI ulcer.

Aspirin has been shown to be 4 times more likely to cause GI ulceration than Rimadyl/Previcox etc, it causes permanent changes to platelets, and it alters the lining of the stomach making it extremely unsafe to use with other NSAIDs. Its also been shown to cause minor GI ulceration in the majority of dogs on it long-term.

This is scary in my world, and aspirin is by far the safest of the human pain medications. The rest are even scarier. A single tylenol will kill a small dog, and a single Aleve can send a dog into renal failure, Ibuprofen will do the same to the liver.

Glad to hear your pup is feeling better and you got a refill of the Rimadyl to have on hand. The above is mostly for anyone reading who doesn't know the truth about aspirin.

[EmmaLove]

DO NOT give aspirin within 14 days of giving Rimadyl - they do not go well together and you are risking a serious GI ulcer.

Aspirin has been shown to be 4 times more likely to cause GI ulceration than Rimadyl/Previcox etc, it causes permanent changes to platelets, and it alters the lining of the stomach making it extremely unsafe to use with other NSAIDs. Its also been shown to cause minor GI ulceration in the majority of dogs on it long-term.

This is scary in my world, and aspirin is by far the safest of the human pain medications. The rest are even scarier. A single tylenol will kill a small dog, and a single Aleve can send a dog into renal failure, Ibuprofen will do the same to the liver.

Glad to hear your pup is feeling better and you got a refill of the Rimadyl to have on hand. The above is mostly for anyone reading who doesn't know the truth about aspirin.

Ugh, now I'm concerned that my vet didn't have a problem with the aspirin! My regular vet wasn't available, so I saw the other doctor at the clinic who I've never seen before- she was very sweet and attentive, but when I told her what I'd given Emma, she said "aspirin is safe". And she noted that I had waited long enough between the Rimadyl and aspirin that it wouldn't be an issue (13 hours, nowhere close to 14 days!). I have an another appointment with my regular vet next week for a separate issue, so I want to bring this up with her and see what her take on aspirin is. If she also says its fine, am I not in good hands with this clinic? Why is aspirin so freely advised as safe (sold at Petsmart, etc., and from what I've read on the boards here, plenty of vets say it's fine)?

And now I'm worried because Emma had bad diarrhea this morning and afternoon (not typical of her at all)! I thought it may have been from either the Rimadyl I gave her yesterday, or from a giant dog cookie/chew treat my sister sent her in a care package (I so RARELY give her random treats like that, so I thought perhaps being outside of her regular diet it may have upset her tummy).

Could ONE aspirin cause any damage, and that soon? No more diarrhea tonight, so maybe she's fine... but I'm sure going to keep an eye on it now (and probably worry about every tiny thing out of the norm!).

[Misskiwi67]

One is probably fine, but the rimadyl is much safer. Each NSAID blocks a pathway called the COX pathway in a different way. Cox-1 pathway is what causes the changes to platelets (which is good for heart disease, etc.), and also affects the kidneys and GI tract. COX-2 is more related to inflammation and has less effects on the kidneys and GI. I really can't remember much more than that, sorry.

Those who are "fine" with aspirin haven't seen the problems with it, and aren't reading the VERY new information about it. I work at a referral center, so I see all the dogs that have problems.

Here's a link to a chart with withdrawal times for NSAIDs and steroids.

http://www.sovsc.com/DYKnsaids.htm