On metcam for life?

[DanielaDressen]

Ddog has been diagnosed with arthritis, she’s 11yo. She’s started on metcam and seems a bit better already which is obviously great. She will need blood tests to check kidney function…I’m worried about this. What are the chances of kidney problems? Though I guess a shorter life not in pain is better than being in pain.

not sure yet how much regular medication and the blood tests will cost. She is insured but because of her age I have a £250 excess and a 20% copay so it may not be worth claiming. I’m guessing also when her renewal is up her cost will rocket due to this diagnosis and I’m worried about not being able to afford insurance. Do dogs get to an age where it doesn’t make sense to insure them anymore?? Because I guess major surgery, etc if she needed it for any reason wouldn’t be in her interest at her age?

Talk to your vet about librela ,its a monthly injection sometimes lasts more than a month and if it works which it most likely will then you will very likely not need as much ,if at all metacam.
You will read pros and cons to all meds this included but as a vet nurse I see daily how librela gives new life to arthritic dogs ,we have been using it for years ,its actually amazing in many cases.

As for Insurance you could call them for advice as to how your future claims would be affected ,they may not go up too much.
For me there are so many things I would not do to an elderly dog that would make Insurance uneconomic for me ,lots of people just save a monthly amount as a back up Instead ,but I would not cancel until having a chat with Insurance first.

What breed is your dog?

I have a small 14-year-old dog who has had arthritis for a few years now. She's been on a variety of meds for this (currently on librela in combination with another painkiller) and they do have to keep an eye on kidney function.

I pay excess + 35% now for her insurance but I still think I mainly come out on top (but she also has a bunch of other health issues). For my insurance, I only pay the excess once a year for ongoing issues (obviously the 35% every time). Depending on the breed, 11 isn't necessarily all that old and of course the risk of other health issues increases with age, so I wouldn't cancel your insurance before working it out carefully.

My late dog was on Metacam for 2 yrs prior to his death ( unrelated) . He was a 15 kg patterdale x . Had his bloods done every 6 months and was fine on it .

My old do had metacam , you only pay the excess once so it cud be worth claiming. We claimed for the rest of the year then the following year we reinsured as it was too expensive to include his ongoing condition. From that point on we got a script from the vet and bought online as it was significantly cheaper.

My old dog was on painkillers (metacam, then previcox which I found better) alongside paracetemol for over 10 years. I also tried librella but it didn’t work for him.

He eventually died of kidney failure of 14, so 10 pain free years was worth it. In an old dog quality of life is definatley better than quantity. No use giving her an extra few years if they are painful ones. You don’t say which breed but 11 is already old sadly so I wouldn’t hesitate to put her on long term meds.

Inaurance wise I stopped insuring when the premium went silly. Mine increased into the £100s per month and I wouldn’t have done surgery or anything drastic so didn’t think it worth it.

She’s a cavachon so could potentially live to mid teens. I’ll ask about the librela injection. Saying that the metcam is working well, she’s charging down the stairs every morning now where as previously she kind of bunny hopped down. I don’t think I’d realised how much she’d deteriorated as I guess it was gradual. But the switch in a positive way has been dramatic the last couple of days which is great.

the vet mentioned about selling me a prescription and buying the drugs online for cheaper. I don’t think the meds will actually be too much.

My dog is 14. She was on metacam and then onsior for arthritis, until they stopped working, when the vet wanted her to have a week off meds before trying something else. In desperation I gave her supplements from Vince the Vet for that week, there wasn't much else I could do. I saw an improvement within days and by the end of the week she was skipping around again. She's still on just the supplements and still running around happily.

A year ago she was diagnosed with stage 1 kidney disease. The vet said that they wouldn't normally intervene until it progressed and even then it's just managed rather than treated. I changed her to raw food and put her on additional kidney supplements and though it took about a month, she improved enormously.

The quote for her insurance renewal was over £200 a month. I don't think it would be in her best interests to treat her if anything catastrophic happens, and fortunately I can fund routine treatments, so I won't be renewing.

Definitely ask about librela. My arthritic elderly dog was on metacam “for life” and now has an injection every 4 weeks instead, with incredible results. His mobility is massively improved.

No idea about dogs but one of my cats takes Metacam everyday - he's been on it for nearly two years and has no issues. His bloods always come back fine.

Mine’s been on metacam for eight years or more (chronic joint issues) with no ill effects at all. She’s now on paracetamol and librela as well. I reckon the librela turned the clock back on her deterioration by two years or more.

Librela is a game changer. It gave my late BC an extra 2 years of good quality life. He had severe arthritis.
My very old rescue is on it and it's helping, he is also on pardale v and galliprant as he is almost 17 years old.
Get all your medications online, you will save hundreds of pounds.Toby isn't insured as l adopted him at 15.
I hope your girl continues to improve with treatment.

Thanks, will definitely ask about liberla.

For those with dogs on librela can you buy it online and inject it yourself (I’m a midwife so used to giving injections).

the vet mentioned about selling me a prescription and buying the drugs online for cheaper. I don’t think the meds will actually be too much.

I do this. I have two rabbits on twice daily metacam (for different reasons) so we get thru a lot.

Slight update, was back at the vet yesterday. Vet thinks pain relief could be better so has added paracetamol into the mix. I asked about the liberla injection and the vet said to try paracetamol first as it’s cheaper. But if that doesn’t work then the next step is the injection.

I asked about buying it online and doing it myself and the vet is happy with that, she says she’d want to watch me do the first one. But that would halve the costs. So will give it a couple more weeks on metcam and paracetamol and if no more improvement then start the injections.

Please thoroughly research Librella, there are so many people who have lost dogs immediately after being injected

Thank you, I’ll do more reading.

Insurance is a personal choice, but it gets to a point where I wouldn't put an old dog through expensive surgery or chemotherapy. I switch to putting into a savings account after about 7.
NSAIDs like metacam are still the first line and are safe for the majority of dogs, but if they get a stomach upset stop and contact your vet. Getting a 6 month prescription and buying online will cost a 1/3 of what it costs from your vet! Librela is great for some dogs but there is a new FDA warning out against it. Personally, save it for the future because arthritis is progressive and you often need to add things in.
Have a look at Canine Arthritis Management and Holly's Army on Facebook. They explain everything really well and there is a lot of things you can do at home and on walks which make a difference

Thank you. I just read about the fda warning earlier. Will check the fb groups out.