Rimadyl OD?

[sea4th]

This time -- or shall I say --- Again, I'm writing about Juta, my Caucasian Mt. Dog, 105 lbs. We have a problem and I don't know how serious it is or what to expect.

 

I came home Friday evening after work to find the dogs' meds strewn all over the kitchen floor. Last time a wrote about Juta, she had scarfed down about 90 1200 mg. caps of fish oil -- with little or no effect on her. I learned not to leave anything on the counters, even if they're pushed way back, so I put the dogs' meds in a head heigth cabinet with a door.

 

Sometime during the day on Friday, Juta had apparently gone through the effort of climbing up, opening the cabinet door and pulling out all of the meds. She ate a few caps of cephalexin, but what panics me is that she ate 19 1/2, 75 mg. tabs of Rimadyl. I couldn't tell how long it had been since she'd done this, but she was acting normally when I got home and if it wasn't for the evidence strewn all over the kitchen, I never would have known. She is alert, active, stools are normal and her appetite is beyond good, IOW -- normal.

 

Now, three days after, she remains normal. I called my vet Saturday who told me to watch her like a hawk for a week or so. I'll be taking her in for some bloodwork in a couple of weeks. The possibilities are an ulcerated GI tract, liver and/or kidney damage --- which don't necessarily show up right away.

 

I'm worried, but I'm wondering if Juta dodged the bullet again. In the meantime, I'm on pins and needles, waiting for the worst to hit her at any time.

[Shoofly]

Having just gone through some liver scares with a couple of dogs, i'd be freaking out too. I'd start giving some liver support supplements at the least. Sam-E and milk thistle are easy to get and proven in studies to be helpful as liver support. You can find info on a veterinary formulation at

http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/products/anima...marin/index.asp

[urge to herd]

I'd call Animal Poison Control Center 888 426-4435. There is a fee per call, but they should be able to give you a better idea of what to look for and any proactive measures you might be able to take.

 

Hope she's ok,

 

Ruth

[sweet_ceana]

Ceana and Poke possibly split 10 pills at 75mg between the two of them at we were told that was a lethal amount to ingest. Both dogs are about 32lbs. Poke and Ceana both acted fine, even though their insides were not in good sorts. Keep an eye out on her eyes and gums to make sure the are not johndous. The e-vet's said that was a key sign to look for. I can tell you that poison control charged us $60 to be told that our dose was leathal and to go to the e-vet, if your vet is already involved it might not be worth the call to hear what you have already heard from your vet.

 

I can give your a semi- timeline for reference of what happened with us:

Poke and Ceana were hooked up to IV fluids and meds for about 72 hours before they were sent home and given the all clear. Two days later they went in for blood tests. If that timeline on Rimadyl breakdown is the same in your dog then it is possible the bulk of it may have already been processed. I would assume if that were the case and she didn't have anything crazy happen she may be out of the woods for the worst. (Of course I am not a vet, nor do I have any experience with rimadyl overdose besides what we went through.) I am also not sure if the meds given to her helped break down and "speed up," the process. Both my dogs came out no worse from the wear as far as tests suggest.

 

Either way good mojo to you and Juta. I hope all is well and she dogged all the bullets.

[sea4th]

Update

 

Well, it's been over a week and Juta the beastie shows absolutely no signs, no symptoms that anything is wrong. Nothing. Nada. What's wrong with her that she can scarf, it seems like anything, down and come out unscathed.

 

Thank you for all of your suggestions and support. I did get some milk thistle for her and she's been on that since last weekend.

 

Incredible garbage disposal --- er, dog, this Juta is.

 

In about three weeks I'm taking her in for some bloodwork. C'mon, you can't eat that many Rimadyl without any ill effects. In Juta's case, though, I really don't know. Garbage gut.

 

They sure make 'em tough in Siberia.

[Lenajo]

I can't figure out why on earth your vet didn't put her on subQ fluids at least. The best way to protect the kidneys from something like this is too flush them well and often.

[Carson Crazies]

I can't figure out why on earth your vet didn't put her on subQ fluids at least. The best way to protect the kidneys from something like this is too flush them well and often.

 

That's what I'm wondering, too. Bree and Ginger once snarfed up a box of about 13 pepto-bismol tablets (which amounts to basically aspirin) and the E-Vets induced vomiting, put them on fluids, fed them charcoal, etc., etc. Cost me over $600 to spring them from the joint, but it was my fault for leaving the stuff where they could get to it (didn't realize they could, though).

 

I believe if something like this were to happen in the future I'd consider it an emergency. They explained to me with things like this the danger is things like ulcers in the stomach and intestines, plus kidney and/or liver damage. Scary, scary stuff - and Rimadyl is dangerous enough for the liver and kidneys even under NORMAL use.

 

I'm really glad to hear that it appears Juta may have gotten lucky again though! Hope she continues to be OK.

[Lenajo]

About 2 years ago Dinah (35 lb, no fat Border Collie) removed, shredded the bottle, and ate 11, 75mg Rimadyl chews from my closet. I had no idea I'd even kept the medication - what I'd actually done is toss it in a box of "stuff" when a vet insisted I take it home for a dog. I hate the stuff - there are so many better ways to deal with pain.

 

So my payback for not being tidy was utter panic at 11pm at night. Since Dinah has no fat cover, her metabolism is like a Sighthound -fast and supersensitive. I estimated she had eaten the tablets 1-2 hours before

 

We have 1 emergency clinic - very expensive and positive legendary for their deadly screw ups.

 

Knowing that I called my holistic vet and over the phone she told me to start with making her throw up (hydrogen peroxide), followed by a copious and messy amount of activated charcoal by syringe (available at any vet supply, and thank doG I had a bottle), and half a liter of Ringers sq (available from your vet and very easy to be trained to do). We followed the fluids up 3 times a week the next week, then twice a week...etc

 

1 bottle of hydrogen perixoide $2

2 emergency phone consults $50

4 bags of LR $20

1 syringe 50 cents

1 bottle of Activated Charcoal $12.50

10 minutes of training to do subQ: Free

A Lifetime of Experience Earned in Frightened Tears: Unmeasurable

 

Seeing Dinah's normal labwork 6 weeks later and knowing that we saved her: Priceless

[SoloRiver]

I hate the stuff - there are so many better ways to deal with pain.

 

What do you usually use? Solo is on Rimadyl every morning for his arthritis and takes it along with a Pepcid AC (OK, the Costco version of Pepcid AC). So far, so good. He's on Rimadyl rather than Metacam because Metacam almost killed him.

[Lenajo]

For chronic arthritis pain I use Glycoflex 3. I do think the raw diet helps.

 

For more oomph I have used Phenylalamine, an amino acid that Jean Dodds recommended to me - people take it for fibromyalgia as well. This seems to really work well on big dogs - LGDs, large working breeds like Bloodhounds and Fila

 

Most dogs I know do well on the above, and a few with severe bone or muscle pain also get Tramadol.

[SoloRiver]

Ah, thanks. Solo is on GlycoFlex 3, the soft chews, since they are the only joint supplements he will actually eat. I tried things like Synovi G3 powder on his food, but eventually he would not eat it (and would give me baleful looks that said, "Why did you ruin dinner by putting that stuff on it?"), and I am not such a hardass that I will force my dog to eat something he obviously thinks is disgusting. He thinks the GlycoFlex soft chews are quite yummy.

 

Solo also has a script for Tramadol for when he has bad arthritis flare-ups (which are rare, thankfully) but it makes him get totally stoned and pace endlessly so it is a total last resort.

[Lenajo]

I keep Beinn on the double dose of Glycoflex - what is that 2000mg a day...I think? His wrists and feet are badly arthritic and it really helps.

 

Ah, thanks. Solo is on GlycoFlex 3, the soft chews, since they are the only joint supplements he will actually eat. I tried things like Synovi G3 powder on his food, but eventually he would not eat it (and would give me baleful looks that said, "Why did you ruin dinner by putting that stuff on it?"), and I am not such a hardass that I will force my dog to eat something he obviously thinks is disgusting. He thinks the GlycoFlex soft chews are quite yummy.

 

Solo also has a script for Tramadol for when he has bad arthritis flare-ups (which are rare, thankfully) but it makes him get totally stoned and pace endlessly so it is a total last resort.