Arthritis: Help for rhuematoid arthritis

[Trish]

Hi Everyone
I have a 7 yr old chihuahua/toy fox terrier. On December 5, 2005 she had surgery on hind left leg for a luxating patella. This was an operation that we discussed over and over and we came to the decision to do it because Lexi was such a happy hyper dog and this was bothering her so much. We just wanted to help. Well a few weeks after surgery she was still not walking on that hind leg. The surgeon said this was normal, being she was never sick and never went thru such a change that she was now babying herself. After another week or two I said this was not right. I made an appointment with the surgeon and the director of the vet and they both said she was fine. I left unsatisfied and with a week I went back. Lexi now had problems on her front paw. It was going down (she was walking on her heel) This I KNEW was not ok. The vet now tells me she has Rheumatoid Arthritis. To make a long story short my poor girl has 3 paws that are down. The 2 front and 1 hind. The 4th leg is not far off from looking like this. In between the parts I skipped I have been to another specialist who put her pred for pain. I am willing to do anything for her, but no one seems to have any answers or cares enough to help. She is doing ok with medication and I give her warm/cold foot baths, but she is sad because she was once a crazy hyper little thing and now she is very limited to playing. Our house is a mess because we block off couches so she can not jump up anymore and I have slept on the floor with her since December. We shut all the doors to the rooms so she can't get on the beds anymore (we always had steps for the bed for my other dog since she can;t jump too high) but Lexi wants to constantly go up and down and the weight bearing is not good for her paws. If anyone has any input, information or anything please let me know. I would appreciate any advice right now. I just want to make my baby as comfortable as can be or even fix this if possible.
Thank you
Trish

[Bendy Kitty]

I'd like to know what your vet based this diagnosis on. For people the symptoms are usually bilateral, so it would be both knees, and it is an immune system dysfunction so it is treated with immunosuppresants, often prednisone.
Is his leg swollen? red? or is he just limping?
I know a fair amount about this disease because I have it.

Sounds more like something went amiss in the surgery. I"d get a second opinion on him.

suspeicious,

Bendy Mom

[Bendy Kitty]

ok, entirely mis-read your description, thought you ment by 3 paws down that she had 3 she could walk on and one foot, the one that had the surgery, was bothering her.

Still, this is treatable, have they tried her on any anti-inflammtories or immuno-suppresants?
prednisone?
metacam?
I"d still get a second opinion.

heat helps my joints, but some people find that cold helps. gentle range of motion is also good, if the joints don't flex at all they will become even stiffeer and more painful.

hydrotherapy is supposed to be very good, i hate water so never tried it.

Bendy Mom

[Christine]

Hi Trish,

I know nothing about r.a., but you might want to check out this supplement. A good friend is using it on her dog with great results and one of the ladies here also had some good things to say about it. Wish you the best with your baby.

Love,

Christine and Bailey



http://www.doggonepain.com/

[Tony G]

Wow have I found something that can help your issue. There is a product that I take (i am human) that has helped me for 8 years now. The success was so good that they introduced a pet version. You can find it at www.juliecare.com then click on the left side for pet health. The main ingrediant is OPC3 and they added glucosamine due to demand. The brochure explains how it works. Personally I think they missed the marketing plan, it should have said human tested before giving to my precious pet.
Good Luck
Tony



http://www.juliecare.com

[Sophie]

I have posted this a hundred times, so I am just going to copy and paste it from another post I made okay??

Have you tried an injection treatment like Catrophen Vet (Pentosan Vet) for your pet?? Catrophen Vet has been fantastic for my cat. She had arthritis-I say "had" because it is nearly all gone-seriously. The injection helped re-build up her joints. I have had many friends who have had simmilar fantastic results.

I can't sing it's praises enough. It's a supplement, and can be taken with many drugs as it doesn't really interact with anything.

You usually have about four shots a week apart, and then a booster every 4-12 months, or as you need it.

It is a treatment for arthritis, but my vet also uses it for animals with other joint problems too. It helps kill pain and reduce inflammation, but the best thing it it does that by improving the animals joints as well. I have seen animals previously unable to walk properrly start walking normally again in one to two months. I cannot say enough good things about it really!! I figure it's good for a try at least if possible.

This is from a website: (http://www.arthritis.au.com/htm/vet_01.htm)

CARTROPHEN VET is a semisynthetic polysulphated polysaccharide which possesses disease modifying and anti-arthritic chondroprotective properties. CARTROPHEN VET has been shown to exhibit the following actions:

Stimulates chondrocytes to synthesize cartilage matrix;
Stimulates synoviocyte biosynthesis of hyaluronic acid;
Inhibits enzymes and release of inflammatory mediators implicated in the degradation of cartilage matrix components;
Mobilizes thrombi and fibrin deposits in synovial tissues and subchondral blood vessels, thus increasing the perfusion of the joint, with resulting improvement in nutrition;
Mobilizes lipids and cholesterol in synovial and subchondral blood vessels.

RECENT FINDINGS

Increases the levels of natural inhibitors of metalloproteinases in cartilage;
Stimulates plasma levels of tissue plasminogen activator and decreases plasminogen activator inhibitor, which improves clot dissolution;
Increases plasma lipase levels.

I also think massaging would help, it can't hurt anyway. My cat really likes a good message, I think it makes her joints feel really good.

For arthrtitic pets, I also find ramps help (for areas they cannot climb up). Heated wheatsacks when it's cold (to warm their joints), gentle exercise helps (especially swimming for dogs) etc. You can also buy glucosamine supplements or special joint diets which can be excellent as well. I found a product called a SnuggleSafe heat disk too. It's fantastic, it's like a heated wheatsack but you put it in the microwave for a few minutes and it stays warm for around 12 hours.

I have also found a powder product to put on food which is very good-Sasha's Blend. I have really noticed the difference, and animals seem to love the taste too.

Good luck with all the options, and tell us how you get on. I really cannot rave enough about catrophen vet/pentosan vet injections (by the way I think there is another product on the market called catrophen-so watch you don't get mixed up). Look for Pentosan (one of it's brand names) if you are confused.

[Christy Mullady]

Hi Trish.
I'm not exactly sure what all could be different between Human and Canine Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I would think they would be similar in symptom, diagnosis and treatment. Did they test blood? Urine? How did they come to the conclusion it was RA? MRI? Scan? Draw any fluid from joints?

Here are some sites that I hope help out some in understanding the disease and possible causes/treatments. If there is an orthropedic animal specialist, or even a Rheumatoid specialist for canines, I think maybe I'd try to find them and have them make the diagnosis and provide you with information that might allow you to rest better knowing that the very best is being done.

Just understanding a disease is half the battle sometimes. It's the fear and the unknown that can just eat away at us. Good luck and let us know how things are going!

http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/clerk/gronfeld/index.htm (Canine Rheumatoid Arthritis)

http://www.dogfocused.com/dog-health/ca ... hritis.php (Dog Focused: Canine RA)

http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-and-a ... ritis.html (How to treat Canine Arthritis)



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