Parker has a problem! Need your help Desperately!

I'll start off by saying Parker has been limping for the last couple months. I took him to the vet, she examined him and said it was in his elbow. Then she took x-rays and couldn't see anything wrong. She suggested that I give him medicine (Deramaxx) for a couple of weeks to see if that helped. It seemed to help some but he still had the limp. Then she suggested we send the x-ray to a Radiologist to look at it. I just got the results back today. They think he has elbow displasia (not sure if that is the right spelling). There are two things we can do. Continue to medicate him with the deramaxx or send him to an orthapeidist (again not spelled right) and possibly do surgery. Even with surgery he will probably never be 100%. The problem is the deramaxx is expensive $90.00 for one month. Not to mention I don't really want to medicate him for the rest of his life. I can't really afford to take him to the orthapeidist. I don't know what to do. I just want my baby back to normal but from what the vet says that won't likely happen no matter what I do. I need your help. Do you have any ideas about what I should do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Stacey

 

MixBreed lover:I suggest taking him to a Holistic Specialist and see about homeopathy remedies.

I'm checking into it right now for unrelated issues. It just seems Vets are so eager to administer drugs and do surgeries. Unfortunately it's still fairly new and can cost some money.

Whatever, get a second opinion from another Vet. From there you can decide.

 

I agree with Luvdapits on getting a second opinion if possible.

 

I am realy sorry for you and Parker, I have no suggestions, I just wanted to tell Nern I lové her new signature!

 

Poor Parker, I would try him try him on glucosime, that really works for joint problems, but it does take like a month to work, and much cheaper than derramax which is an antiflamitory.

How about an accupuncturist? and I would check with a holistic vet too.

I think there many alternatives that are cheaper than what teh vet is suggesting, but thats just my 2 cents

honeybear

 

I believe in 2nd opinions for pets and people! And check out the holistic methods if you can. I would also ck on the glucosime that honeybears suggested and I will say prayer for you both!

 

We have been thru something simliar. I am wondering. How many miligrams of deremax is your dog taking daily. Is it one whole tablet 25 ml. Thats what my poodle takes. I can't remember if your dog is bigger. My vet charge $57 a month for deramaxx. It hepls some. My girl started having her knee pop out. I had her xrayed and everything. She has been dealing with arthritis too. So turns out she has barely any cartlidge left in that knee. What I decided was to try more supplements. She had already been taking glucosamine-chondroitant and they helped. I finally added 99.9 pure MSM and her kneee is not even showing any signs of popping out. Weird huh. Do you want the site to where I get her MSM. Its only around $25 for 2 1/2 lbs. Its great. Besides her back knee she has other problems in two of her other legs all pertaining to arthrtis. But she's coming along alright for whats happening. She's happy.

 

You could try Cosequin for dogs. It is somewhat expensive but it is the best stuff for joint issues - it is glucosamine and chondroitin and other stuff. I would try that first.

How old is the dog? I was wondering b/c if he is young, I personally would go ahead and get the surgery. I don't know much about elbow dysplasia but I have had experience with hip dysplasia. It really is something that you cannot cure except through surgery. And if he is young, the constant meds will no longer do the trick as he gets older.

 

I agree that if she is young and thats her only problem it would be worth fixing. My poo has something wrong with three legs, if I were to have the surgery done, it would affect her other hind leg greatly.

 

I was actually doing some researsch last night on elbow dysplaisia. Everything I could find suggested glucosamine. I am also looking into Holistic Vets. Should the glucosamine be made for pets? Do they even make it for pets? Puttin510, Parker is on 100mg of the deramaxx. He is a big boy about 100 lbs. He is actually been getting a little chunky. I haven't been exercising him so much sence this all started. I was afraid to make it worse. The Vet said I should go ahead and exercise him. Lean body is much better on the joints. I would love to see that MSM site. Thanks!elizavixin, Parker is just over a year old. That is my main concern about medicating him. I know it won't fix the problem. I am concidering having the surgery but I'm worried about how much it will help. Not to mention it's expensive and right now I just don't have the money. If I can just make him comfortable for now maybe in a few months, I can consider the surgery. It's just frustrating. I have a puppy and he is in pain and I don't know how to fix it. Thanks for all the great advice.

 

Alrighty, here it is.
http://www.theholistichorse.com/210350.htm


Also, people do give their dogs human gluco-chon products. If your dog will just swollow it without a problem then you could. But if he's picky then you will need one that tastes like something he would prefer. You can also buy missing link which is a tasty powder form you just sprinkle on the kibble. I use something very similar to that, What I use is harder to find for most people, its what our pet supply carries, but missing link is good too. It gets very confusing because there so many brands.

 

Well I spoke to the vet earlier. She actually recomended a product that they have. It has glucosamine and MSM in it. It also has other things that are supposed to help and it comes in powder form. The cost is $70.00 for a three months supply so that is allot cheaper than the deramaxx. She said that because it's a supplement it would be good for long term. So I think I'll try that. Thanks you guys for the help. Without your suggestions I wouldn't have known to ask her about it. Hopefully it will help my baby. He is so lame right now. I just want him better.

 

Your welcome. Remember that you can find products just as good outside the vets office that are not as expensive. You can expect to see improvement in about a week to two weeks, just give it every day. So what is the stuff called.

 

Oh she told me what it's called and now I forget. Should have wrote it down. Duh :-({|=

 

just dont forget as puttin said it can take 2 weeks or longer, sometimes as long as 30 days because it has to get built up int eh system. It has been a life saver for me. I could barely hold a pen before i started taking it, I like the powdered form, it does so much better than pill form

honeybear

 

I don't know what your vet gave you. But I figured I would give you a link for the stuff I give my dog. It has glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM. And I think it is a good price (plus they have these specials like buy two get one free).

http://www.springtimeinc.com/live/details.asp?prodid=33

They also have tablets - chewables but my dog didn't like them so I use the powder.

 

Mine could care less for pill form too. Just something to go by. Maybe powedr is better.