rubiton Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Does it work within a day of the first dose? You may (or my not) remember I posted ages back about the dog being lame after resting after exercise. Well she got worse again the other night so wet to vet. Vet said that she could feel the less muscle tone and stiffness in the back legs moreso in one than the other. Said that indicated arthritis and recommended course of cartrophan injections. Dog is only just 7 but when younger use to happily throw herself down and roll on paving (yes throw the hip onto the ground with a WHACK from a run no dropping and rolling). Now only reserves thatmove for inside and on grass. But anyway had injection last night and tonight dog has energy to burn running/bouncing around like a mad thing - coud it really have worked that fast? Vet said usually takes up to the third injection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 I guess like humans all dogs are different... I haven't noticed any great changes in Tia and she has been on Cartrophen for many months now... Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wazzat Xolo Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 My dogs live with Cartrophen as a second mum ( the older ones) many a work dog has worked on successfully with this "helper" Good site is http://www.arthropharm.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caslero Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 My 9yr old boy had a course of 4 weekly injections of cartrophen late last year for arthritis in his front pasterns/feet. We noticed a distinct improvement @ 5 days after his first injection and he continued to improve from there. He's hardly lame at all now and much more inclined to play and run around The vet did say for us to take him in for another course of 4 injections before the real cold weather sets in this year though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 How often do you have to have the injections? I had to inject Tia quite often at first and now I do it once per month... Maybe I need to up her dose? Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Frequency depends entirely on the dog. Mine bitch had a course of weekly for a month, then once a month for three months and now she is once every three months. I also have her on a senior dog food with glucosamine and chrondoitin, and also give glucosamine tablets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim'sMum Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Our old ACD had it from 10 yrs to 14 yrs. Initially the result was quite dramatic........he would have the 4 x weekly dose at the start of winter. The first year he became like a puppy again after a few days and I have seen the same result in an old dog we see almost daily at the park. This old fellow literally galloped across the park and gambolled with my two, just a day after his first injection, whereas before I had to be so careful my two were not too rough with him. For the last two years our ACD had extra injections and Rimadyl at times....I guess his arthritis was too bad for Cartophren to have all that much effect anymore. It's marvellous stuff........wish I could have it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Frequency depends entirely on the dog. Mine bitch had a course of weekly for a month, then once a month for three months and now she is once every three months.I also have her on a senior dog food with glucosamine and chrondoitin, and also give glucosamine tablets. She was on injections every week for a month as well and now once a month... She is also on metacam every day... I'm waiting for the Sasha's blend to come through... She just seems so frail and does limp Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy beagle lady Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 My youngest guy has had Cartrophen shots (and also due again before the cold weather sets in), Metacam (another life saver) and saschas blend- the improvement i saw in my little guy was amazing..within days of his 1st and 2nd shots he was alot more mobile and in alot less pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula- Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 When Angus had the initial four-shot course, he had a very dramatic improvement very early on. We were told it affects different dogs in different ways, but that we had a very good result. We've now had to increase the frequency of injections for Angus to monthly, he is bouncy and happy (spent Sunday night tearing around the house with Phoebe and Chloe and barking like a lunatic ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastgals Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Not a dog, but one of my elderly cats underwent a four month course of cartrophen because of crippling arthritis. Like your dog, he sparked up noticeably within 24 hours and within 48 hours this cat who had hardly been able to move tried to trot along after me on the backyard....then went "ooh, ouch, that hurt" and slowed down again . Within two weeks, the physical affects on his joints matched the tonic effect that he had felt within the first two days. My vet said that such a very fast reaction was fairly rare, but not unheard of as the cartophen also acts as a general blood tonic. Regards, Fastgals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Hmm think I might do mine fortnightly for a couple of months... Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckillop Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 i used to hav a little dog on cartrophen. monthly, it was great it you could see improvement really quickly and then by the end of the 4 weeks he was a bit stiff. it was for his back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Cartrophan is a great drug and does great things for a lot of dogs. I hate to say it Mel, but it doesn't work for all dogs Try changing to fortnightly injections and see how you go, but unfortunately, sometimes it just doesn't work. I put Tyler through an entire course last year and saw no improvement at all. Fortunatley she only suffers from it ever so slightly. I will find out when winter fully hits how the Sasha's blend has gone. She has been on it for nearly a year now and on Omega Pet for over a year. It has been quite cold all week and I haven't noticed any problems as yet, so finger's crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Tia has been stiff and sore all summer She has arthritis in her spine I'm just about to start on the fortnightly injections - fingers crossed for her... Sending healing white light to Tyler... Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyM Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 My 11yo Kelpie X has arthritis and finds it difficult getting up alot of the time. She also is slower going up steps. The onset of all this came when we moved from Sydney to Darwin. It was like instant reaction to the humid weather. We took her to the vet and she had a course of Catrophen and used Sashas Blend on her dinner each night. I don't really think Catrophen worked enough for her to benefit but we shall keep up with Sasha's Blend. Mind you her personality has picked up since the humidity began to go. The reason why I am here is I did a google search on metacam. I am feeding my neighbours German Shepherd and have to give him a dose of metacam each night. So I'm pretty much trying to find out more info about it and so on. The thing is we are only prolonging the inevitable but as long as her personality is still around, so is she Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 My 8yo red cattle girl also responded immediately to the Cartrophen... isn't it just a Godsend? I'm so glad to hear that it is helping so many others also. We originally gave her the injections as we were told that she had arthritis, and it freed her movement up so much, it was like a wonder drug. However, when she was on the monthly course you could see when it started to wear off at the end of the month. After she was diagnosed with blown cruciates, and before her surgeries, I can't tell you how many long weeks Cartrophen got Chloe through seemingly pain free. She went from a dog who would struggle so badly to get up it would make me cry, to a fully mobile hound again. Hopefully with her 2 successful cruciate surgeries she may only need it based on how she goes in the winter, but it's very heartening to know that as she ages and gets stiff again, I can always rely on Cartrophen (and Previcox - another Godsend - if really bad) and keep her in comfort. I also use Sasha's Blend, but with her surgeries etc it's hard to tell if it really works or not - I guess as long as she is going so well I believe it's a combination that's working well for her and would be afraid to change it now. Chloe's orthopedic surgeon said supplements like that have not generally been scientifically tested to show proven results as to how effective they are, so it's a bit like flossing teeth.... ie, you do it because you believe it MAY help and you want to do whatever is possible... but if you don't floss your teeth they hardly fall out of your gums!!! Hehehehe, I had to laugh when he told me this... I can relate cause I have no time to floss and never have, and I have perfectly healthy teeth, not even one filling!!! But still we do it cause we believe it may help our little ones, even if it's only a little bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mygirlruby Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Chloe's orthopedic surgeon said supplements like that have not generally been scientifically tested to show proven results as to how effective they are, so it's a bit like flossing teeth.... ie, you do it because you believe it MAY help and you want to do whatever is possible... but if you don't floss your teeth they hardly fall out of your gums!!! Hehehehe, I had to laugh when he told me this... I can relate cause I have no time to floss and never have, and I have perfectly healthy teeth, not even one filling!!! But still we do it cause we believe it may help our little ones, even if it's only a little bit... A floss a day, keeps the dentist away!! Flossing IS proven to reduce the incidence of decay and particularly gum disease. He, he, he..... a little off the subject, but had to be said!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 (edited) Yes I know, but I didn't mean flossing wasn't proven to help, but that these supplements have not been scientifically proven in effectiveness (although they are believed to aid in some way) and will not cure on their own.... but he was just referring to the fact that if you don't floss for a year your teeth won't fall out (as long as you are brushing of course!!). It was just his analogy and I do see his point... although for the comfort of my girl I keep giving her everything that I believe may help her in the slightest!!! I hope I made sense... Edited July 10, 2006 by Kelly_Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malleerr Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Got it Kel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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