Bad arthritis

[peppapigkeepsthemquiet]

Any tips for bad arthritis.
We’ve tried so much stuff and nothing is helping. It just seems to be getting much worse, very quickly.
He’s lost 20% of his body weight as advised and is now a healthy weight.
He has youmove every morning.
A magnetic collar.
Metacam.
Pardale.
We’ve tried 2 other tablets which I can’t remember the name of (one began with an A) and they didn’t help.
He has hydrotherapy.
Short walks every day.
Tramadol when he’s really suffering.
I just feel awful that nothing seems to be doing much.
He’s got so much muscle wastage on his back legs that he’s staggering around and slipping and sliding.
Hydro sessions are trying to build muscle, but he can barely walk for a few days after and keeps slipping over.
He’s gone from absolutely fine, to staggering around all in the space of 5 months perhaps.
It’s awful to see.
Any miracle cures?

Has anyone tried turmeric?

I tried turmeric and didn't honestly see a difference, though I do know many people who swear by it.
CBD oil made an incredible difference ddog - really amazing to watch. She also has Yumove and does hydro.

How old?

He’s 10.
How do I go about the CBD oil please?

I started with 2 drops of CBD twice a day in her food. It took 3-4 days to start working but the difference was so noticeable. I used the 500 strength to start with, which is low- medium dose so there is room to move to a higher strength if necessary.

this is a great website for information about arthritis in dogs.

Also very important if he's sliding around to put down rugs so he's not walking or trying to get up from hard floors.

Being blunt - if he’s on that much pain medication and it’s not helping... honestly, I don’t think you’re going to find a complementary treatment that’s going to make that much difference.

A lot of dog owners I know have had excellent results from YuMove.
High quality oils I believe. Vets stock it. You may be able to buy it elsewhere.
I hope your dog is feeling better soon!

Where (in his body) is the arthritis?

If it's in his spine, hydrotherapy isn't recommended and you may be making things harder for him.

@fivedogstofeed would you mind recommending me a website for cbd oil. I can only find one uk page and it seems a bit dodgy to me.
We do have a total of 7 rugs downstairs, plus his bed. But there is still obviously places where we don’t have any. He’s much worse on the laminate flooring.
We’ve started heat packs today, so 3 x of warm wheat bags on his joints.
Arthritis is in his hips, so hydro is ok apparently.
It’s just hard to see him so much worse after the hydro sessions, but it’s because his muscles are sore from being worked.

I’m wondering whether to ask for x rays too as he’s never been x rayed. Or if there’s no point.

Laser therapy is amazing.
Water treadmill hydrotherapy instead of swimming if poss.
If using youmove make sure is the advance 360.
Acupuncture can be very helpful for pain.
Ask a vet Physio for exercises you can do at home to keep his muscles built up.

@peppapigkeepsthemquiet I use this brand which I get in a local pharmacy, though you can also order from Amazon or get in most health food shops.

He does the treadmill hydrotherapy, not swimming, as in his feet never leave the floor, it’s obviously filled with water!
I’ll check out which yumove he has.
I have never heard of laser therapy. Will look it up.

Feeling sad today.
He’s so much worse.
He’s struggling to squat to poo so he’s not emptying his bowels properly.
He can’t squat to wee so the wee is squirting over his front legs.
I just don’t understand how he’s gone from absolutely fine 5 months ago (bar a bit lame after a big run) to struggling to even go to the toilet.

Perhaps there is more going on. I'm afraid I'd be having a frank conversation with your vet. His quality of life doesn't sound great as he is. :(

It's the absolute pits, but I think you may have to think seriously about how much more is fair to him.

I genuinely am wondering if it’s arthritis. He’s not stiff, he’s got jelly legs more than anything.
Got an appointment booked for Monday.

I think he needs the vet.

I don't think I'd be waiting until Monday - can you get an emergency appointment? It could be Cushings?

It doesn't sound good and I would be trying to get the vets to squeeze me in before Monday.

He’s been given some stronger pain killers that we picked up a while ago.
Spoke to vet over the phone who said that him not squatting is due to arthritis pain, so stronger painkillers have been given so we need to see how he goes.
He’s now on 3 types of pain killer.
He does seem a bit more comfortable though and he did squat a tiny bit when he did a wee a moment ago.

I’m genuinely feeling though, that if 3 x pain meds a day are still not helping him to squat etc then I don’t know what the next move would be.
He’s happy enough in himself, he’s waggy when people walk in, he’s eating fine, he’s sleeping through the night etc.
He just really struggles to get up from lying down, like he scrambles with his back legs for a good 10 seconds and his walk is really odd.
His legs cross over themselves and he walks like he’s drunk.
All caused by muscle wastage and arthritis though apparently 🤷‍♀️

If the vet is upping the pain meds and he is still having problems then honestly I would want a second opinion just in case something else is being missed.

Yeah I agree.

It does sound all a bit quick for arthritis - unless there’s been an underlying condition that’s brought it on? Just kind of musing as mine has elbow dysplasia and it’s not unlikely that they’ll just go at some point... it’d officially be arthritis, but the elbow malformation will have caused it if that makes sense?

The thing is, if it’s not arthritis, it kind of doesn’t sound like something that you’d treat any differently? I’m not a medical professional I will add, so I could be wrong.

But my dog also has an undiagnosed spinal issue, it’s undiagnosed because the treatment would be either the painkillers he’s already on, or spinal surgery which I’m not willing to put him through (just too much given his other issues and a ridiculously unfair recovery time).