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Our almost 9-year old Bernese Mountain Dog will begin Adequan treatment next week. He lost a hind leg to histiocytic sarcoma in October of 2011. He's been doing great - certainly better than anyone predicted - but the wear and tear on his remaining limb is starting to take it's toll. Part of the reason is because we had to discontinue the more commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications because his liver/kidney values aren't great. He's now struggling a bit with getting up from a prone position and climbing stairs.
Anyway, I was wondering if any of you had any luck with Adequan.
Thanks in advance.
Max
3:34 pm
Hi Max,
I posted about our Adequan experience in your other thread- but I am going to repeat it here in case anyone in the future is searching the forums for Adequan.
I have a almost 13 year old quad pug named Tani. One of my main concerns with her now is arthritis- she has it in her back and all four legs. We have slowly ramped up the supplements and meds to keep her comfortable, she was diagnosed with arthritis when she was six. We started her on Adequan in December- it was pretty much the last thing we could add to the mix of treatments and meds. What a HUGE difference! We did the loading phase in December of two shots a week for 4 weeks, then we went to monthly shots. I now give her a shot every other week and she is doing well. I was starting to question her quality of life before we tried Adequan, it has given us more time together. During the loading phase I saw incremental improvement, but she got better every week. I guess the standard protocol is to go to monthly shots after the loading phase but that just didn't keep Tani comfortable. My vet found a reference that indicated every two weeks was appropriate to treat arthritis. I've also heard of pups getting shots once a week. Hopefully the shots will give Gus some relief.
Karen
krun15 said
Hi Max,I posted about our Adequan experience in your other thread- but I am going to repeat it here in case anyone in the future is searching the forums for Adequan.
I have a almost 13 year old quad pug named Tani. One of my main concerns with her now is arthritis- she has it in her back and all four legs. We have slowly ramped up the supplements and meds to keep her comfortable, she was diagnosed with arthritis when she was six. We started her on Adequan in December- it was pretty much the last thing we could add to the mix of treatments and meds. What a HUGE difference! We did the loading phase in December of two shots a week for 4 weeks, then we went to monthly shots. I now give her a shot every other week and she is doing well. I was starting to question her quality of life before we tried Adequan, it has given us more time together. During the loading phase I saw incremental improvement, but she got better every week. I guess the standard protocol is to go to monthly shots after the loading phase but that just didn't keep Tani comfortable. My vet found a reference that indicated every two weeks was appropriate to treat arthritis. I've also heard of pups getting shots once a week. Hopefully the shots will give Gus some relief.
Karen
Thanks Karen! I'm sorry I somehow missed Tani's story but I'm so glad that it's worked out for you!! Also, the cost wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It's certainly not cheap, but it's sort of a 'drop in the bucket' compared to Gus's 4 surgeries.
I'll be sure to post an update after a month or so.
Thanks again.
11:37 pm
21 February 2012
Offline
Hey Max,
Another type of treatment for you to consider is Animal Chiropractic. I work for an Animal Chiropractor and I have personally seen what it can do to help the structure of a dog. When animals are missing a limb their bodies will compensate in many ways and because they are amazing creatures they will contort their bodies in strange ways just so they can get around and usually without any complaints, however, over time these changes in their body structure can cause adverse effects to the rest of their health, especially to the remaining limbs.
Anyway, not sure if this is something you have access to in your area but if you do it is a great alternative.
Good luck 
Roxy…Border Collie cross born on approximately October 27th, 2011;
Rescued in January 2012 by Oops a Dazy Rescue & Sanctuary;
Right hind leg amputated on January 20th, 2012 due to a severe spiral fracture;
Adopted on February 21st, 2012 by Teena, a devoted human & Charlee, a purebred BC.
Hugs, tail wags & sloppy kisses
Kermit has been doing water treadmill, physical therapy, acupuncture, electrical stimulation, massage... you name it. But within a couple weeks of starting his loading dose of Adequan, I'm seeing a HUGE difference in his ability to run, lay down gently instead of crashing to the floor, and in his stamina. Truly remarkable.
He even bolted across the yard and treed our cat a couple days ago & tried to climb up after him. 
