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Has anyone experienced bad side effects of rimadyl?
Marley has been on it for 16 days now. She's had very few bowel movements – every few days or so and very loose. Last night her stool was solid and black! She's been needing to pee in the middle of the night where she used to make it 12+ hours (we'd have to drag her out of our bed). She also has been scooching – having an issue with her anal glands. I just dropped of her black stool to my vet to have tested.
I just did a search online of Rimadyl side effects:
staggering, stumbling, weakness or partial paralysis, full paralysis, seizures, dizziness, loss of balance
jaundice (yellowing of the skin, mucus membranes and whites of the eyes)
also listed at rimadyl.com:
Decrease or increase in appetite
Vomiting
Change in bowel movements (such as diarrhea, or black, tarry or bloody stools)
Change in behavior (such as decreased or increased activity level, incoordination, seizure or aggression)
Yellowing of gums, skin, or whites of the eyes (jaundice)
Change in drinking habits (frequency, amount consumed)
Change in urination habits (frequency, color, or smell)
Change in skin (redness, scabs, or scratching)
9:46 pm 29 January 2009
cartersdads
Richmond, VA
Tripawd Friend
posts 21
2
Carter did experience the dark stool after about three days on rimadyl and the vet had us take him off of it. We stayed on the tramadol and the trepalexin only. They also had us give him pepcid ac to calm his stomach.
10:15 pm 29 January 2009
jerry
The Rainbow Bridge
Admin
posts 4342
3
Hmmm, sounds exactly like what I went through when I had a bad reaction to Previcox, another NSAID painkiller.
The Yahoo doghealth2 group can tell you more about the warning signs of intolerance to certain NSAIDs.
Call your vet asap to let them know what is going on.
For me, the solution was to get off the drug, soothe my belly with Pepcid AC, and wait a couple of weeks before going on Metacam, another NSAID (you must do this when switching drugs). Many dogs do just fine on the NSAIDs, but others like us have bellies that just can't handle them. It's so important for vets to warn pawrents of the warning signs of reactions to them, I wish more vets would remember to do this.
Any NSAID can cause GI bleeds which can be serious and (rarely) cause perforating ulcers. If your dog is having dark stools but no vomiting I would stop the Rimadyl and ask your vet for Carafate (sucralfate) which coats the stomach and helps heal the bleeding areas. This is often given in conjunction with Pepcid or Prilosec (ask your vet for dosage). If your dog is also vomiting then hospitalization may be necessary.
Jerry is right you must wait 3-5 days before trying another NSAID and I find Zubrin or Metacam to be the easiest on the gut. Your dog may do fine with Tramadol alone like Carter.