Hi all,

Last week I wrote about a sick dog from my breeding who was in the hospital with kidney/liver failure.

I went to visit him and his owner today and it didn't look good. After a week on fluids, antibiotics and what not, he was not showing any improvement. The vets were waiting to receive some test results on the tissue samples that were sent in. The hospital also did exploratory surgery and found nothing, except for what they saw on the ultrasound.

It was pretty clear that this dog was suffering from some type of toxicity. What I had forgotten to mention was that a little over a week before all this, his owner took him to the vet because he was having some soreness in his spine. Xrays showed some thickening of several vertabrae so he suggested putting this boy on Rimadyl. The vet did comprehesive blood work before giving the meds and they were all within normal limits. So after 8 days of taking Rimadyl, this dog began throwing up and within a few days was in the hospital.

I stayed for about an hour with my friend and this poor boy.

Tonight I got the bad news. His test results were conclusive that he was dying from the Rimadyl! I can't believe this stuff is on the market and so sad for my friend and this poor boy. We both said goodbye to him tonight.

Godspeed Blitz--run free with your grandparents (Dusty and Mimi), and mom (Cherish).

Dianne Mullikin, EMT-B
Los Angeles, CA

I am so sad for the loss of this dog! I know he was a light in your friends life. I hope that we all can learn from this tragedy and know that not all prescribed medications are harmless. The potential good of these drugs must constantly be weighed against their potential harm.

God speed Blitz.

Dianne, I am so sorry for the loss of this well-loved dog.
I, too have experienced Rimadyl toxicity, with Fiona, of course, because EVERYTHING happens to Fiona! She had been on Rimadyl before with no problems, so it was given again after surgery to remove an infiltrating lipoma on her leg.
When she started vomiting, I attributed it to the Cephalexin, but when she continued to vomit, I stopped all oral meds and brought her into the specialty hospital. The intern, Dr. Tong and I were looking at her incision site we both noticed at the same time that she was yellow, on the insides of her ear pinnas and the sclera of her eyes. We did bloodwork, and her liver values were sky-high. She was on fluids for two days, stopped the vomiting, and her liver enzymes improved. I took her home on Denosyl (Sam-E), and I also gave her milk thistle on my own, and she continued to improve.
What the surgeon said was, this was only the third case of Rimadyl toxicity he had seen in 12 years, but the other two were also Labradors. When you think of all the HUNDREDS of thousands of dogs that are on Rimadyl, that is a very small percentage. He said there are dogs that are "predisposed" to Rimadyl toxicity, or may have pre-existing liver conditions that exacerbate the effects of the Rimadyl. A dog could tolerate Rimadyl for one whole course, or for 3 days, or for 21 days, and then develop a toxicity to it. He said it is not easily predicted which dogs will react.
We discussed,why so many Labradors? They populate the world in higher concentrations than any other breed in the history of the world. It's hard to tell whether Labradors are more predisposed to Rimadyl toxicity than other breeds, but it would seem to be attributed to their population density. That being said, it does seem that Labradors have a higher-than-normal incidence of liver disease than some other breeds.
The fact that Blitz's veterinarian did clear bloodwork before putting him on Rimadyl was very responsible on his part. It just goes to show the hit or miss effects of Rimadyl and other NSAIDS.
Rimadyl is much better tolerated than some of the other NSAIDs like Deramaxx or Previcox. No drug is without side-effects, and it's value as an anti-inflammatory is proven and it's safety with the vast majority of the canine population is legendary.
I know that doesn't help Blitz, or his owners, or you, who are hurting from your loss. I am sorry he was a casualty of a drug that was designed to help him, not harm him.
The kidney involvement is not a typical response to Rimadyl, so I would be curious to know if any other drugs were given, or if other toxins were introduced to the body in any form. Maybe there was more than one thing going on with him. Also, biopsies obtained would have had to be done under anesthesia, which is also toxic to the liver. I would have wanted the benefits vs. the drawbacks explained to me before giving consent to anesthesia.
It could be a case of this particular dog having an inordinate sensitivity to drugs in general, or Rimadyl in particular. I'm sorry he did not overcome this insult and recover with fluid and drug therapy.

Robin thanks for that good write up. So sorry for the owners. But my question was how do they KNOW it was Rimadyl ? Some of our Labradors would not be up walking if not for this drug. So hope some don't over react. I have had some on it for years. Just do a blood check every now and then. Watch for signs.

Dianne I'm very sorry about your Lab but please don't be so quick to wish this drug off the market. I know of multiple cases where Rimadyl contributes to a quality of life that otherwise could not be experienced. In particular our little Griff has to be on it because of a accident he had a couple of years ago where one of our granddaughters played too rough with the little guy and damaged his spine. Without it he could not function due to the build up of inflammation. I also know of other multiple cases where dogs have been on it for years with no problems.
Again I'm very sorry for your situation.

Dianne, I too, am so very sorry for this loss to everyone involved. I must say though I have one that is 9 years old and having "issues". The Rimadyl has made a huge difference and we have no side affects. I think perhaps like anything else there will always be those few that react just as a child can react to eating a peanut, rare but it happens. The majority though seem to really do well, do not have side affects and it's a drug that makes a difference in the quality of life.

Again, very sorry for the loss and terrible situation.

Diane, I am also sorry for this loss but I have to agree with Gregg. I had bitch who tore her ACL at age 11. Because of her age we opted to not do surgery but instead put her on Rimadyl with the knowledge that it could shorten her lifespan (all proper bloodwork was done). She lived to be 14 1/2 and if not for this medication, she would not have been able to get around like she did. In her last year she was on alternating days of Rimadyl and Pred. It did wonders for her.

Her daughter who will be 14 this weekend is now on Metacam because she fell off the deck and hurt her back. It is very $$$ and I know very little about it except that it worked magic on her. I can only hope that she does not have any reactions to this drug and so far, so good.

I personally cannot take anything with Codine but I would not wish it removed because of how it effects me. Any time drugs are administered, chances are taken.

Thank you all for your thoughts and condolences.

I understand that this may have been an isolated incident and yes, I've given my dogs Rimadyl on numerous occasions. I've never thought twice about, but after this situation, I will be a lot more reluctant to use it. I do know it's helped a great number of dogs, but as Lisa pointed out, we sometimes get too comfortable thinking if a Vet prescribes it, it must be 100% safe. It's not and it's so sad to see what effects it can have. Like Robin pointed out, she's seen/heard of similar problems with this drug too (Love you Fifi!).

The tissue biopsies that were done showed conclusively that the damage going on was from the drug itself. The vet told my friend to call Pfizer and report the results.

If anything, let this be a warning to PLEASE watch your babies carefully when on ANY medications for signs of toxicity.

Thanks again guys,

Dianne Mullikin, EMT-B
Los Angeles, CA

I am so sorry for you, your friend and his poor dog.

Rimadyl scares me. I've heard of too many cases like yours. I won't use it. JMO.

Prayers for both of you in this terrible loss.

Dianne

I am so sorry for your loss. I do think we have a higher incidence of liver issues in labs, why, because I lost a perfectly healthy girl to liver failure just after whelping puppies.

When Rimadyl was changing their dosing from twice a day to see if it could go to once a day recommendations our girl Talin was in the drug study. They did full xrays and joint studies at the start and extensive bloodwork at the begining and throughout her study at no cost to me. Talin did wonderfully on it except for some loose stools at the start but then that was resolved. She was on it for years and did well, then we took her off and use Adequan, chiro and accupuncture and just a buffered aspirin. When she was older we tried the Rimadyl again but this time it made her have too much GI upset so since she wasn't expected to live long she was on Celebrex which she had no issues with.

On the other hand I lost our JRT to complications from Metacam so I always have to consider the risk versus therapuetic effect for each medication.
I myself am allergic to Codeine and all it's derivitives so I'm stuck with morphine which I find too pewerful and knocks me totally out and leves me nonfunctional and let me tell you even with the anaphylactic side effect from the codiene I would still rather take that than the morphine

The only problem with using a Human label product is if something happens to that animal the manufacturer will not help with any of the costs. Most Veterinary Pharmaceutical companies will back their product and help with medical costs if they are communicated with the practicing veterinarian about the issues on hand.

Dianne, I am very sorry for your boy. I had a boy who was on Rimadyl the last 2 1/2 years until he passed away at 12 1/2. It made him very comfortable during his senior years as he injured his knee when he was 10. No drug is without its risk,and I say that as an anesthesia provider. Some people are allergic to Penicillin, others are not. We don't know how any person or animal will react to a drug until they are given it. We must carefully monitor them, their blood levels and stop the drug at the first sign of problems. We must also look at the risk vs benefit ratio in order to do what we think is in the best interest of our animals.

Thank you Patty, Tiffany and Tami. It was sad to see this poor dog suffering at the end like he was. It's such a shock to know that it was caused by something that was meant to help him.

Dianne Mullikin, EMT-B
Los Angeles, CA

I will not use the Rimadyl on any of my Labradors at the request Of Dr.Ross in New York and my vet also.
I had a girl operated on 5 years ago for a torn piece of cartilage in her hock very young 6 months old after many trips to 3 vets and including Cornell no one could find the issue from films or hands on exams. Took her to Dr. Ross he found it right away she was scheduled for the operation and I was given Deramaxx 100mg. to bring home for the pain after the operation.She was on it for 4 days only 1 per day.
Since then I have only used this every other day for 1 week if she has a flair up from to much playing with the other dogs.
Dr.Ross and my vet both told me this can and will cause liver cancer in Labradors. I choose not to even dispute this and have only used the Deramax for any flair ups this works overnight for issues of joint inflammation and pain. She is good as new in the morning. Dr.Ross is at Colonial Animal Hospital by Cornell in New York and suppose to be top ortho man on our coast . He did well for my girl so who am I not to head his warning about the Rimadyl and my vet to! I never checked it out on the web to see how it compares to Rimadyl. Never had a reason to she never became ill from it during my use of it with her. Also another boy that twisted his leg was on it for 7 days good as new in no time. Never used it with him again.I sure hope this med is safe as they have told me.I am sure if taken for a very long period of time it would have some effect but they do not keep them on it very long they will take breaks in between the treatment to every other day.