Deramaxx alternative?

[abbydog2010]

My old dog, who I adopted at the age of 9, had arthritis when I got her. Glucosamine/Chondroitin helped her immensely for awhile. Now she is deteriorating to the point where she needs Deramaxx nearly every day.

I don't want her in pain, but the cost of the meds ($80/month) is a bit of a stretch. Is there anything else I can use to control her pain that might not be so costly?

[Bobbie]

Have you ever tried aspirin? Some dogs do fine on it, though a lot don't. We had a setter who took aspirin for 7 years without any ill effects.

You can also see which NSAIDs available for dogs are generic and cheapest and try a different one if one is cheaper. I'm not up on that but it should be easy to research.

[CarolC]

Well yikes. I was going to go into a cost saving suggestion below, but then I found a website that said Novartis has stopped making Deramaxx indefinitely.

Novartis has stopped producing and/or shipping the above medications - Interceptor, Sentinel, Program, Deramaxx and Clomicalm - for an indefinite period of time. This affects veterinarians and pharmacies everywhere. Please rest assured we will do everything we can to offer these medications as soon as they become available.

Here is what I was going to write before I saw they had quit making it:

I am going way out on a limb here, watch me get in trouble. I am not a vet and this may be just plain wrong.
I'm assuming this is for Abby who is about 55 lbs?

Dosage and Administration: Osteoarthritis Pain and Inflammation: 0.45-0.91 mg/lb/day

That comes out to 24.75-50.05 mg once a day for a 55 lb dog.
It says tablets are available in 12, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg sizes.

The above insert says the medication is more bioavailable if given with food, so possibly she could take less of it by taking it with food if she isn't already. The insert says the tablets are scored, so you can break them. So you could buy the large size tablets and halve them and save money. For example, if she was on a high dosage, you could buy the 100 mg tablets and break them in half. Or if she is on the low dosage, buy the 50 mg tablets and break them in half.

For example, if you buy a large bottle (90 tablets) of the 100 mg size from Foster Smith, the pills are $2.66 USD each, but broken in half you pay $1.33/day which is $40/month. That would be if she is on a high dosage.

If she is on the 25 mg/day dosage, it presumably would be even less, I can't do the comparison because Foster Smith doesn't have the 50 mg size on their website.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=23267

____________________

OK, plan B. What would Rimadyl cost? Let's see.
Here is the insert for Rimadyl.

https://animalhealth.pfizer.com/sites/p ... _21308.pdf

The recommended dosage for oral administration for dogs is 2 mg/lb (4.4 mg/kg) of body weight daily. Rimadyl tablets are scored and dosage should be calculated in half-tablet increments.

So you'd want 110 mg for a 55 lb dog. When I go to look up the medication online I see chewables or caplets. You could get a bottle of 60 100-mg caplets from KV Vet for $73.95 USD, which would last 2 months, or $37/month. (Ignoring shipping, tax, etc.)

http://www.kvsupply.com/KVVet/productr. ... 834A97483E

The 100 mg chewables are a little cheaper, 60 for $69.95, or $35/month.

Foster Smith may be a little cheaper (don't know, check tax, shipping, etc, I did not check any of those)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=23266

If you buy the big bottle of 180 chewables (100 mg size) they are $1.11 each, or $33.30/month
Caplets in same size are $1.14 each, or $34.20/month

You might find it even cheaper if you shop around online.

Don't know if this helps at all. Check my math, don't trust anything, check everything, it's late and I'm worn out.

My old dog was on Rimadyl and it did a great job for him for 6 months, then he started having GI problems from it, but those 6 months it was very helpful.

[abbydog2010]

@Bobbie - yes, I've given Abby aspirin and it seems to have no adverse effects on her..no tummy problems anyway.
The last time I saw my vet, she didn't approve of aspirin, so I just give it once in awhile now.

@CarolC - thanks so much for doing all that research and figuring for me. I'm very mathematically challenged and could never do all those calculations.

I just went to the Foster&Smith site as you suggested and saw 180 Novox® Caplets (bioequivalent of Rimadyl) for 68$ and thought "Yay", but when I tried to order them I found out the prescribing vet must be licensed in the US, and I'm in Canada.

How disappointing. Infuriating, actually. I also asked my vet if there was any other similar drug that may cost less and the answer was "No".

I dont' know of any place I can order prescription drugs in Canada.

I just read elsewhere about Tramadol. Is that like aspirin? Where would one find this product?

[Bobbie]

Tramadol is a narcotic-like pain reliever, not an NSAID like aspirin. It is used in addition to an NSAID or sometimes when a dog can't tolerate the NSAID but it has no antiinflammatory effect.

You should be able to find Novox in Canada.

http://www.canpharm.com/index.cfm/fusea ... d/9618.htm

for example.

[abbydog2010]

Thanks bobbie.

This is really funny, but not amusing. The Canadian Pharmacy says;

"At this point in time we do not ship any of our products to Canada."

[SandyNY]

Used Deramaxx for a past dog. she took aspirin also.
one vet suggested i give ascriptin- which is aspirin with maalox; more expensive than regular aspirin but buffers the effects.
just looked up aspirin dosing for my brother's dog- apparently there has been one, possibly two, studies that showed enteric coated aspirin could stick to stomache lining - possibly release all at once and could cause death... also a suggestion that the enteric coated aspirin could be passed whole thereby potentially not providing theraputic effects. found dozens of sites that referenced these concerns but did not find the source of study or studies...just FYI. I used buffered or enteric coated aspirin for my dog. understood the risks but when benefits outweigh the risks then you do it. they used to sell dog aspirin in the pet catalogs ( foster and smith etc) i imagine they still do. The dog I had Deramaxx on, again, the risks outweighed the benefits and she had no ill effects from the long term use - ( only it was mighty expensive!) I get coupons from manufacturer generally once a year - for deramaxx, cosequin etc.. usually around January so i will search to see if i still have coupons and if they are still good. if so, will contact you!
BTW, had another dog on rimadyl - lot less expensive

[abbydog2010]

Thanks Sandy!

I did look at F&S again and found what they call "Dog aspirin"....is this what you are referring to?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/p ... atid=23283

[SandyNY]

yup.
didn't find coupons - must have expired will see if i can get ANY discount/ coupon!
Nicki was included in a Deramaxx poster - probably the dogs who most supported the company! LOL! different life then!
hope all is ging well there! ! !

[abbydog2010]

I just wrote to F&S to ask about ordering since I'm in Canada. I think I'll get someone I know in the US to order it then send it to me since I have a feeling that the shipping charges will be horrendous.

Thanks again.

[LisainCAN]

I have had success ordering from 1-800-pet-meds and I am in Ontario. I have also used jefferspets and I did a search and found 3 results for coated aspirin:

http://www.jefferspet.com/search.asp?ca ... ztMbMsb%2F

[abbydog2010]

OH great! I did find a place where the shipping is reasonable, so I ordered from them. I'll save the site you linked and try that next time. Perhaps the charge will be even less.

I want to wait and see how Abby does on them before ordering a larger amount.

Thanks all!:)

[recycledpups120]

My 12 year old dog has been going to a holistic vet that does chiropractics also. He could not get up or down and with one adjustment he was able to almost run out of the office. She prescribed Deramaxx and tramadol and chinese herbs called Hindquarter Weakness made by Jing Tang. He is doing sooooo much better.

I have been trying to find Deramaxx and found this website that is a generic from Canada.

http://canadageneric.com/index.cfm/fuse ... ct_id/5500

Does anyone know anything about Deracoxib in comparison to Deramaxx and can we find it in the U.S.?

Thanks...