Can anyone give me some advice on Librela please?

[OneFinger]

I wonder if anyone can help me with some advice regarding Librela.
I know there are no guaranteed results with its use but am going around in circles with the on line information given, and when is best to start it / side effects of long term use & its possible effects on the dogs immune system.
My vet is suggesting it - but not pushing - but does keep mentioning the negative side effects of the Rheumocam that my dog is on at the moment.

For background, I have a 9 year old rescue lab. No real idea of his background regarding joint protection as a puppy & castrated when we got him (at about 11 months).
No specific injuries but has got a bit stiff over the last 18 months. Limps often but always walks it off after a few steps.
He takes YuMove and goes for hydro sessions.
He doesn't avoid movement and is more than happy on a long walk just pottering along. He does chase about a lot with his younger 'brother', but his stiffness & pain don't seem to be affected by what type of exercise he does.
X-rays show just general, age related changes.
His weight is well managed to keep him on the lean side but he's a lab so prone to the chonk if I don't watch him carefully!

Any advice / personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

Our lab is on it and has been for over two years. No adverse effects that we know of. She definitely got an extra year of walks etc from it. She can’t really do walks now but we can see a difference in her with regards to stiffness and limping the week before the Librella is due. She is now on daily Loxicom as well as the monthly Librella.

She is 14 now.

Thanks Peridot.
Do you think she'd have more benefit / longer benefit if she had started it sooner?
I think my concern is that he doesn't seem that bad at the moment , and wonder if it is better to start sooner or leave it as more of a 'last resort'..

Our 9 year old Goldie is on it, has been for around 6 months. It was suggested by a vet friend and I asked our own vet who said he felt it would be beneficial.
Its not magic but we feel that DDog is less stiff on it, especially when getting out of bed etc.
No ill effects at all

@OneFinger - I really don’t know. I think my gut would be to start asap and give them the best quality of life for as long as possible. Our dog went from being on Loxicom and paracetamol daily and then they added in Gabapentin which sent her loopy to only being on Librella and her quality of life improved drastically. She was the first dog to be put on it at our vets as it was relatively new then.

As I said she is now back on the Loxicom as we think she is in more pain now but at her age it could be more than just the arthritis. It’s hard to know as they can’t tell you but we just don’t want her in any pain.

If I were you, I would take my dog off the current meds and move onto Librela. As you've said (and your vet said), Rheumocam has some awful side effects. In my experience (as a former vet and an owner with multiple dogs who have been on Librella) the side effects are less with Librela .

My cocker is on Librella. She gets a dose every 5 weeks and it has massively helped her arthritis. But more than that, it's helped her - she's noticeably happier in herself, more likely to engage in play time with my other dogs, more content to snooze on the floor rather than a dog bed etc. Because of the pain of her arthritis she was a bit snappier and sad - and her stiffness was really early onset (I got her on the medication within a month of noticing the stiffness). That's all gone now. She's honestly like she was 4/5 years ago.

My neighbours dog has been on Librella for four years and it's as effective for her (a lab) now as it was four years ago. My sisters dog has been on Librella a year, but it's already not working as well. And that's the risk you run, you can't be sure how long it'll work effectively for. But ultimately, if it does work - even for a short time with limited side effects - that's better for your dog.

Killing - it's interesting what you say about your dog being sad. Mine gave me (gives me) no signs of being in pain other than one or two stiff steps when he first got up. He was put on the Rheumocam for something else and the difference in him was so noticeable - not really on his stiffness or limping but he was happier..!

I don't know why I'm second guessing it so much - I suppose I read one or two bad articles and that's playing on my mind...
He sees the vet again on Monday, so I want to have made a decision by then.
Thanks for your advice

@OneFinger - happy to help!

Remember your vet will likely never advocate for treatment for a dog. They will advise you, but never push - they can't afford to have recommended treatment if something goes wrong because then they will (likely) be sued. It's awful they can't do it, because so often (not in your case) it would be the right call.

I am a vet and am on the fence about Librela. It also has side effects some of which are pretty severe. Drinking more and weeing more is one of these, sounds not too bad, but I have had owners who this has been a flooded kitchen floor overnight. There can be neurological side effects. Librela is good pain relief, but has no anti-inflammatory benefits.
Meloxicam ( metacam, loxicsm, rheumacam and Arthrocam) does have side effects in some individuals as dose any drug, however it does have anti-inflammatory benefits. Many patients with arthritis do have inflammation around their joints.
I have patients on Librela, patients on meloxicam and patients on both. I also mix and match with other types of pain relief too there is no one solution for every paymtie t.

Vet lessons has just done this talk on it.

For some dogs as pain relief it works really well, our orthopedic vet said early after release they had some dogs injure themselves overdoing it as without visual reminder like limping owners would forget still need to manage the exercise as It does nothing for inflammation and doing more may speed up the joint deterioration.

It does seem to become less effective after a a while and some conditions, potential neurological/spinal it may make worse from loss of NGF.

I was quite positive about Librela when it was in the pipeline to be released but my dog had stem cell treatment. Having followed librela experiences for years I've seen a common list of side effects occurring which isn't unusual for any medication but the way it was sold to vets as having no side effects meant they were not considering it could be linked, dogs usually older so easier to attribute to something else and trying to treat side effects as separate conditions rather than stopping the librela. You do have to take people's responses on LE page with a pinch of salt as many are upset and blame librela when it may be coincidental. Others are more factual and detailed enough to see when it is more likely related. I.e dog had front leg lameness, lost use of hind legs post injection or where they've been health & had ok blood test prior and it's been repeated post injection when ill.

Also a vet and I would have a long discussion with your vet re librela.

I would not give it to a young dog. I would use it as a last resort.

There is a lot that can be done to help make a dog comfortable before using librela.

Correct use of supplements especially green lipped mussel, hydro therapy and physio. Modification including exercise, dogs bed and living areas .Considering combining medication so that is lessens the side effects.

In practice we have seen some very unpleasant side effects with regard to librela or happening when a dog is on librela. We have also seen dogs made more comfortable on librela. It is hard to know what it would be for an individual dog.

Remember librela does not cure or make anything better it just changes how the dog feels the pain so in many instances improving the cause of pain is still possible.

It would not be ethical for a vet on here to make a specific suggestion eg if the dog was mine to take them off the medication. However I would go back to your vet and ask about all the options available of which there are many.

My 13 year old lab has been on Librela since he hit 11. He was on Loxicom before, and we moved to Librela when it was still on trial.

It has given him extra time and a lot of relief. But he does now have polyneuropathy and is struggling in his hind quarters. This could just as easily be a genetic thing which would have happened either way, or indeed we may have had to let him go due to pain earlier 🤷🏻‍♀️

It does nothing for the arthritis , it just masks it, and it does it well, so you have to monitor the dog to ensure he does not overdo things.

am very much on the fence about it, such that I refused to start my younger dog on it recently , and decided to use more traditional treatments . She is only 9 so while we may progress to Librela in time, for now she is on Galliprant.

Both dogs get all the supplements, plus physio , and the physio has made a huge difference.

Hi I have an eight year old Lab who is on it it’s been life changing. He doesn’t like anymore after his walks. I’m very happy with it. What are your concerns?

Very different dog but I have a 15 year old terrier. Similar stuff, on daily NSAIDS but noticed him slowing down a bit, taking a few attempts to jump on the sofa, limping and some muscle wastage on shoulder etc.

He had his first dose 3 weeks ago and results have been very significant so far, it's like he's had a new lease of life. He's frolicking rather than plodding now

@Billybuddy thank you for posting the wonderful Mike Farrell video.

Anyone considering librela would be wise to watch the video.

Mike Farrell is a world leading expert so always worth listening too.

The video does highlight some of the issues I see in practice and acknowleges that for some dogs it is effective (but amazed at the small percentage)

Some of the issues on this thread several people have mentioned weakness in different areas but put this down to age or would have happened anyway may not have occured if the dog was not on librela?

There are many reasons that the human equivalent of librela has not been passed for licence.

@Billybuddy thank you for that video. I haven't had a chance to look at it in full and I think I'm going to have to take notes!

Thank you everyone for your comments and I think they sum up my concerns - some will rave about how good it is and some will only highlight the (potentially really horrid) side effects, but I know that can be the same with any medication.

I come from a physio background and I think one of my concerns is that if I was treating a patient I wouldn't mask the pain - I'd try to manage the cause, which in this case is the OA / inflammation.
More research this weekend I think! At the moment my gut is saying not to start it yet and discuss other options with my vet first.
I can step up the hydro / continue with the Yumove etc in the mean time.

If anyone has any more experiences I'd be really grateful to hear them- might confuse me even more but I'd rather have more information than too little.

My previous dog was diagnosed with elbow arthritis age 9. Mataram for life was suggested but I wasn't happy with that at such a young age and I asked for a referral to an osteopath. Dog never needed metacam, 6 weekly osteopath treatments kept him sound until he died age 13 of other causes. I also gave him riaflex with green lipped muscle and devils claw.
My mum's dog had a dose of librella and had a vestibular attack within a fortnight. She's recovered and is on different pain relief now.