The cost of Rimadyl just went up...good alternatives?

Question

My 4 year old lab mix has severe hip dysplasia. During the winter, I give him his Rimadyl twice a day, during the summer, just in the evenings. It was $89.00 for 60 - 75mg tablets. I picked up his prescription from the vet yesterday, they told me it went up to $95.00. Basically costing me $95.00 for a month's supply (at least during the winter months). Also, I'm concerned about the effects on his liver. Yes, he gets his blood tested twice a year to screen for any liver problems. Can anyone suggest good cost effective AND healthier alternatives?

I looked up Baytril on the site you suggested. It looks like it's an antibiotic. Rimadyl is a pain reliever/anti-inflamitory.

Answer 1

You might try talking to your vet about Metacam and/or Tramadol. These are both medications similar to Rimadyl, except I believe they don't have as bad of an effect on the liver. I don't know how price compares either, but it's worth asking!

I'd also suggest having your vet write you a prescription and filling it online or having your vet call in the prescription. I like Foster and Smith for prescription drugs. You can get 60 75mg Rimadyl tablets there for $47.40 ($0.76 per pill), which represents a significant savings over your vet's office. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

You can get the same from Valley Vet for $48.95. http://www.valleyvet.com/

Alternatively, you can see if your vet will price-match to any of the online stores.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Baytril is not what you give a dog with arthritis so just disregard that person's response. I think you should look into Metacam or Deramaxx. Also see if you can buy it in large quantities from an online vet supply company but I don't recommend 1800PetMeds because they were found to be purposely selling out of date medications and incorrect dosages. Drs Foster and Smith is a good company. If your dog is above optimaly weight then weight reduction would possibley help reduce the dose. Also look into hip surgery as once you add up at least another 10 years of NSAIDs for the pain it might balance out. I'm not saying that the surgery will eliminate the use of these pain meds but it might drastically reduce it. Good luck

Answer 3

Ask your vet about previcox. It is alot like rimadyl but much easier on the liver. Im not sure how much cheaper it is than rimadyl but i do think it is a little cheaper. Where I work we don't normally recommend rimadyl unless for some reason they can't take previcox because of how hard it is on the liver. We have some dogs that have been on previcox for years and have no problems. Ask you vet about it and see if he or she thinks it is right for your dog.

Answer 4

Do you give the dog natural supplements like glucosamine, chondrotin, MSM, Glycoflex(for dogs made with green lipped mussle supposedly excellent!!), and Fish Oil. Vitamin C (Ester C) can help too.

You might be able to do the natural supplements and a less drastic pain relife like metacam.

Answer 5

Have you tried baytril ?Its cheaper,also check online at mypet drugstore.com is one of the cheapest to get alot of supplies and meds.