# Aspirin or Rimadyl??



## rendirr (Jun 12, 2013)

I have an 11-1/2 year old 45 lb American Eskimo (She's not overweight; she's a big dog) who is healthy except for hip dysplasia and now arthritis. She had an incident about 7 years ago where her rear leg wouldn't straighten out, she wouldn't go up stairs, etc. I gave her baby aspirin for probably five days at that time until she was normal again. I went to the vet and she suggested glucosamine/chondroitin so I gave her one pill every day afterwards and have increased the dosage to twice a day in recent years. I have given her aspirin occasionally with no ill effects.

The vet wants to put her on Rimadyl because she is limping nearly every day now but after reading about the side effects (like DEATH) I am very much afraid to put her on it. It seems like some dogs thrive on it, some dogs it doesn't do any good and some dogs die. You just don't know how yours is going to react. Do I want to take that chance??? No.

The vet says aspirin will damage their liver and cause gastric bleeding but doesn't Rimadyl carry the same risks and costs a lot to boot? Maybe I should increase the gluc/chond. I could use some advice. Thanks.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

There are other painkiller options, too. . .Tramadol, Metacam, etc. Of course all medications have possible side effects but at some point you have to consider quality of life. But talk to your vet about your concerns and other painkiller options.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Aspirin can kill, too. Actually, anything can kill. People die from drinking too much water.

Rimadyl is safer than aspirin and more effective. Cost is something only you can decide about.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

idk if I would necessarily say Rimadyl is "safer" per se but it is more effective than aspirin. You can kind of think of Rimadyl as a stronger aspirin. It is a prescription drug and using it correctly is important to minimize risks. So it's important to really let your vet know everything in regards to any medication/treatment or previous reactions to any medication. 

You can certainly discuss other options like metacam (which is another NSAID) with your vet but all NSAIDs carry similar risks. Tramadol is a narcotic pain reliever (albeit a relatively weak one) which carries their own set of risks and benefits over NSAIDs. It's usually used for more severe pain but doesn't have the anti inflammatory effects of NSAIDs.

I know you're worried but you have to understand it's the internet, you're going to find scary stories about everything. My own personal experience with Rimadyl has been fine, although it was not to treat arthritis so the longest period I've given my dog continuously is 2 months.

Like Willowy said, quality of life is something you need to consider along with risk. All medications have some risk. Being on an aspirin regiment has risks and aspirin can certainly kill as well. Plenty of people die from aspirin every year. The appropriate pain medication really depends on how severe the pain is. So really all of these are things to discuss more in detail with your vet. You can also ask about tylenol or ibuprofen but really if she's visibly limping, the pain must be pretty severe and a prescription pain medicine is probably the way to go.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I tried Myristin [http://www.cetylmyristoleate.com/Product_Dogs.html] and Missing Link Plus, providing some relief to my 12yo, 65 lb Lab mix...


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## rendirr (Jun 12, 2013)

hanksimon said:


> I tried Myristin [http://www.cetylmyristoleate.com/Product_Dogs.html] and Missing Link Plus, providing some relief to my 12yo, 65 lb Lab mix...


Thanks for the tip. I looked into it and I will keep that in mind. For now, I'm increasing her chon/gluc/msm. It's been a week and do I see improvement. I'd rather try something that has a side effect of diarrhea and not permanent damage to liver or kidneys but hey, that's just me.


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## Tuco (Jun 16, 2013)

So long as the pain isn't that severe, we generally go with aspirin as the safer option and less hard on the stomach, especially the enteric coated stuff. Especially if the dog has stomach issues.

But if the pain is bad enough aspirin won't help.

Remember, anything is deadly in excess ammounts


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

Tumeric! the spice, its like $2 for a bag, add to food each day. Tumeric is a natural anti inflammatory. my Happy is almost 13 with arthritis so bad in her left hip she cannot walk on the leg at all, with 1/2 tsp Tumeric a day, most people have no idea she even has a limp.


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

Just so you are aware. A lot of NSAIDS can cause complications to a dog on aspirin ( also a NSAID ) so if you decide to use aspirin then switch to something else. Make sure the vet looks into that. The reactions are nothing to mess with. Knew a dog the owner thats dog violently died because of this.


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## Tuco (Jun 16, 2013)

Miss Bugs said:


> Tumeric! the spice, its like $2 for a bag, add to food each day. Tumeric is a natural anti inflammatory. my Happy is almost 13 with arthritis so bad in her left hip she cannot walk on the leg at all, with 1/2 tsp Tumeric a day, most people have no idea she even has a limp.


I agree, supplementing with turmeric as well as glycoflex will do wonders that no anti inflammatory drug can


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Tuco said:


> I agree, supplementing with turmeric as well as glycoflex will do wonders that no anti inflammatory drug can


Normally I'm not a fan of replacing pharmaceuticals with herbal/naturopathic medicines; but in this case, most cox-2 inhibitor medications are simply the purified form of the anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulating compounds found in tumeric.

OP - it is important to remember that most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have two separate effects: 1) they are anti-inflammatory and 2) they are analgesics (relieve pain). For arthritis, the anti-inflammatory properties are just as important as the pain relief because reducing the inflammation will help prevent further joint damage, in addition to inflammation being a direct cause of arthritis pain.


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## Tuco (Jun 16, 2013)

gingerkid said:


> Normally I'm not a fan of replacing pharmaceuticals with herbal/naturopathic medicines; but in this case, most cox-2 inhibitor medications are simply the purified form of the anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulating compounds found in tumeric.
> 
> OP - it is important to remember that most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have two separate effects: 1) they are anti-inflammatory and 2) they are analgesics (relieve pain). For arthritis, the anti-inflammatory properties are just as important as the pain relief because reducing the inflammation will help prevent further joint damage, in addition to inflammation being a direct cause of arthritis pain.


Also give credit to glucosamine, condrotin and msm. They are probably one of the main reasons why many dogs are able to live with conditions such as hip dysplatia without the nesesesity of giving a lifetime of NSAIDS or opiates that can do horrid things to the liver and kidneys with long term use.


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## emem2323 (Jun 19, 2013)

I have heard good reviews about the drug Seraquin. Maybe ask your vet about that? My vet recommended against giving my dog asprin x


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