My lab is 15 and has cancer, he was on steriods and we switched to Rimadyl.what are the differences.?

Answer 1

First, may I offer my condolances. I'm going to assume you know the side effects of steriods, so I'll just go to Rimadyl. I'm not sure how much good Rimadyl will do though. It's a muscle relaxer. From everything I read online it has no pain killing attributes.
1. you may use one mg per pound of his body wieght.
2. according to my vet Rimadyl will destroy his kidneys in around 2 months.
3. I can't confirm that, but everything I read online seemed to bear that out. I had to put Apache down at the two month mark, because of other problems. He had spinal spondilosys(spurs on the vertebra, and in his case were pinching the spinal cord-no cure) he was in constant pain and lost the use of his hind legs.

bottom line: with your having already used steriods, I don't know how long you can use Rimadyl. My guess is the steriods will have a negative impact.

Answer 2

There is a big difference between the two. Rimadyl is an non-steroidal pain reliever. It is the exact opposite of steroids like dexamethasone or prednisone. It is recommneded to wait at least 24 hours between switching from a steroid to a non-steroidal drug. All of your cox 2 inhibitors, rimadayl, deramaxx, previcox, etc. have a possiblilty of affecting the liver. Guidelines recommend testing before the start of an NSAID and periodic testing afterward to keep an eye on liver enzymes. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

My lab was on rimadyl for over 2 years for her arthritis, and it really helped her pain. I don't know how it would help cancer though. I think at this point, whatever eases his pain the best is the way to go. I'm very sorry, been down this road and my heart goes out to you.