Question:
My dog is an 11 year old Collie cross and has been prescribed a course of Metacam by my vet to treat arthritis in her left hip. My questions concern the side effects and long term use of metacam. My dog does not seem to be that lethargic, she still walks all around the local park every day and can still jump on and off the bed, furniture etc. She seems sprightly and alert enough for an 11 year old dog. She is a little stiff in the morning, but does this require a long term and expensive course of treatment? and what are the long term effects of such a treatment?

I am wondering why my vet is so keen to put her on a course of metacam. Could he have spotted something in the consulation that I was unaware of? He actually phoned up to ask how it was going and has given her an initial two week course to take. He did blood work first to ensure that she could tolerate the Metacam, and I imagine she will need regular blood work and will need to be on Metacam long term if there is an improvement.

What kind of improvement can I expect from Metacam? Does anyone have any experiences with this? Is it possible she will become somewhat sedated or made lethargic by the drug? The vet mentioned one has to be careful with the dosage as one can overdose with this drug.

Are there any other conditions for which Metacam is a benefit and which I may have missed during the consultation?

As you can tell by the rambling text, I am concerned about affecting my dogs relatively happy disposition unnecessarily. After reading the leaflet which came with the Metacam there is clearly a trade off between the risks of using it (or any drug) and the benefit it may provide. What are the criteria for starting a course of Metacam?

Thanks to anyone who can provide professional or anecdotal commentary on this.

Lucy

Answer:
Hello...my 12 year old husky/chow cross was having a lot of stiffness due to an old ankle injury and had slowed down.....

the inflamation of the joint was what concerned my vet.
She put Sage on a course of metacam for about a month after a full blood panel to make sure Sage could process it effectively.

After 6 weeks we moved from liquid metacam once a day to a pill form every other day.
As she felt better, she was more able to run and play and jump again, combined with a switch to an all raw diet.
Sage is now only getting 1/2 tablet as needed maybe once a week or so on the day of big hikes and beach swims.
She has lost weight and no longer limps at the end of a run.
She just turned 13 and we are blown away with the overall improvement.

My vet kept a close eye on my dog, doing blood work every 3 months to ensure no toxins build up.

I asked a lot of questions, did a ton of research and keep in close touch with my vet around this.

i don't like to pill my animals if I can help it but in this situation it has given Sage a whole new lease on life which I credit to the metacam bringing down the inflamation overall and the raw diet.

Downside that I know of...it can lead to a build up of toxins affecting the kidneys and liver if they are not processing through properly

It is great you are asking questions. I would at least want to make sure my vet did a blood panel before beginning...

this is Sage today...running in the field......

kimmee

Answer:
My Lhasa was on Metacam last year every day for three months for an intervertebral disc disease flare up. He did great on it. And, like you, we had blood work to ensure that he tolerated it well.

Now, we're onto "as needed". When he's in pain, I'll give him his dose, and within a half hour to forty five minutes, he's right as rain.

I think you guys will be okay on Metacam

Answer:
I think each dog is different. Dracko was on Rimidyl due to Rheumatoid Arthritis. I only gave it to him when he was in pain. Sometimes it was 2 tabs a month. Other times he might not need it for a couple months. It worked very quickly for him.

The vet, due to the dangerous side-effects of the drug, switched him to Metacam. It didn't work for him. He would start limping and not want to move. I would give him a dose. Nothing. It would usually take 2 or 3 days to become effective. Whereas the Rimidyl worked within 1/2 hr.

If I had to keep him on Rimidyl daily I would of course switch to something else as I am aware of the deaths it has caused, but I can't see putting him on a drug (that also has side-effects) that I have to give him 3 or 4 x's as much to make it effective.

Anyway, not downing on Metacam. I know other pet owners who have had sucess with it. But for us it didn't work.

Answer: