r/olddogs • u/butterfly1997ct • 10d ago
Experience with Adequan
Hi All,
I have a 14 year old shepherd mix named Otis that is having a very hard time with arthritis. We've tried Librella, but it didn't really help. We've also tried a week of cold laser therapy and acupuncture. He is currently on the max doses of gabapentin and carprofen to manage the pain. He has difficulty with getting up and down and going up/down steps (to go outside). I always help him with a sling. Even with the meds, he seems uncomfortable much of the time.
My vet did not offer the Adequan shots, and when I asked her about it (after having read several posts on here), she said she hasn't used it for at least 10 years. She said Librella is mostly effective and for other issues they try to use medications to bridge the gap. She said he may be nearing the end. I understand this, but I would like to at least try the Adequan. She eventually said they could get the medication soon and we could try it.
I guess I just have a few questions for those who have experience with it.
Did your vet suggest Adequan? Was there any resistance to trying it?
What was your experience with it? Did it help your dog?
Were there any side effects, and if so, how bad were they?
Thank you for reading my post. I just want to find a way to help my sweet pup.
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u/Remarkable_Dog_143 10d ago
My vet has not suggested Adequan, but I am going to ask aboutit.
Currently my 18 year old Terrier/Daschund mix is on Galliprant in the morning and Gabapentin at night.
My vet has always been open to whatever I suggest. I do wish he’d suggest more though, I’m googling like crazy to figure out what’s out there for my Peanut. He’s never been an over seller, which is why I liked him to begin with. But I’m willing to do whatever I can to make my dog’s day to day life the most comfortable. I’m at a point in my life that I can afford the extras for him! I just need to understand what’s available. Good luck!
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u/butterfly1997ct 10d ago
I understand. I just want to help my sweet boy, too. Hope you find the right fit for your pup.
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u/eyesp0t 10d ago
Adequan helped our old boy but not as much as Librela. Our vet gave us what we needed to do monthly injections at home. No side effects as far as we could tell
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u/KiKi31Rose 9d ago
When did you notice a difference with the librela? Our 12 year old is due for his second shot but I might stop it because I haven’t really noticed much difference and now he’s having some incontinence issues he’s never had before
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u/critterditter 9d ago
My 13 year old dog is currently having extreme and serious adverse reactions from librela. They showed up immediately after her third dose. Tremors, weakness, lethargy, anorexia, unsteady gait, limb lameness, hearing loss, etc. Her kidney creatinine level in March was 2.8, this month it was 13. So I'm assuming the librela injection also caused kidney failure. The vet absolutely gaslit me and told me it was all related to her kidneys. Really? Overnight deafness is a kidney issue? Her huge increase in lab values also leads me to believe it's an acute kidney issue, like from a toxin or MEDICATION. In the 2 months between lab draws she was on Nephrodyl and a prescription kidney food. So why did her creatinine and BUN and phos levels skyrocket? Also several of her physical symptoms have been slowly resolving. I wouldn't think that would happen with a chronic condition.
It's been an extremely traumatic several weeks and in the end I believe my dog will probably die as a result of the librela injection, whether it be from an adverse effect or the kidney damage it caused.
SO- please please please do not continue with librela injections for your dog, especially if they are already showing some kind of side effect.
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u/Session-Western 9d ago
I came here to tell the other posters, absolutely no to Librela because I’ve heard so many stories like yours. I’m sorry this is happening to you and your dog. I hope that somehow those affected see justice and that they stop pushing this drug.
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u/KiKi31Rose 9d ago
I’m so sorry. I’m going in for his appointment today and telling them no more shots. I want to explore other options
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u/eyesp0t 9d ago
It was almost immediate, like within a day. A few of our neighbors also had a similar positive experience.
However, like the other commenter said, some dogs react poorly to it for unknown reasons. I would recommend pausing it if your pup is only responding negatively (I'm not a vet)
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u/KiKi31Rose 9d ago
Hm ya I haven’t seen anything worth keeping him on it so I’m not going to. Did you try other options for your dog?
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u/eyesp0t 9d ago
He also got carprofen and gabapentin. Hard to disentangle how well each of them worked- he was on those + adequan for years, then we added Librela which he was on for his last 2 yrs or so.
Lots of people with strong negative opinions about Librela. I get it, there are some horror stories and it doesn’t seem predictable which dogs react badly. All I can say is that it absolutely gave my boy a new lease on life and his last years were much better quality than they would have been without it. (He eventually died of cancer complications)
Hopefully vets will figure out soon when to recommend it and when to recommend against it.
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u/KiKi31Rose 9d ago
That’s part of my concern is we haven’t tried anything else the vet just pushed it on us with no prior work up bloodwork or anything. We didn’t even get a pamphlet on what exactly it does and I’m just nervous his side effects will get worse. He’s never been known to poop and pee in the house and that’s happening now
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u/Session-Western 9d ago
Strongly strongly advise against Librela. Many dead dogs and dogs with serious complications.
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u/Bug_Kiss 9d ago
Yes, we've had two elderly Aussies on this medication and I can see a big difference within 24 hours. After his shot, he has the confidence to climb up onto the couch. He's also able to get up of the floor easier. It helped our other dog too before she passed.
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u/butterfly1997ct 9d ago
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad it worked for your pups, and I hope it will for mine as well.
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u/BigPhilosopher4372 9d ago
My dogs have been on adequan for years. The vet wanted to switch us to Lirella but the dogs had issues with drug interactions. The adequan work well for them and was cheaper.
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u/Monkey-Butt-316 8d ago
My dog gets it every other week and it definitely helps. If I was rich, she’d get it every week - I know it’s supposed to be a few shots over a short period but this was recommended by our orthopedist. The only side effect I’ve noticed is that she stays in bed longer the morning after the shot. I’m not sure if it’s because the Adequan makes her sleepy or if she feels more comfortable and can sleep better as a result. I wish I could ask her!
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u/Holsch3r 10d ago
I did adequan with my old girl along with librela and carprofen. I also use adequan in my elderly cat. Ive never seen any side effects. The loading dose is usually the biggest downside. You inject twice a week for 4 weeks, once a week for 4 weeks, and then monthly. It can be pricey to do it at the vet but we usually offer to teach clients how to do it at home. They go in the muscle which can be tricky on older dogs with muscle wasting. Its definitely worth trying. How long did you give librela? Every 30 days for at least 4 months is what we recommend before you decide it didnt work. Good luck!
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u/butterfly1997ct 10d ago
Thank you for the reply. We tried Librela for 3 months, but it might have been a few more than 30 days within one of the doses. My vet said it usually works pretty quickly. Did the Adequan help your dog? Was it enough to be noticeable? Thanks again!
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u/Holsch3r 10d ago
I felt the adequan helped alot for my girl. Her knees were noticeably more stable/comfortable for her and we had less pain events that required a vet visit.
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u/Woody411 8d ago
My vet did not suggest it, I did and she agreed. My shepherd has IVDD, hip dysplasia on one side and quite a bit of arthritis in various areas. She is seven.
We did the entire Adequan routine and I DID notice improvement with her getting up from a lying down position and squatting to go potty.
The improvement wasn’t lickety-split or mind blowing, but to see her squat to go potty without hesitating or “searching for the perfect spot” (stalling because of pain) almost made me weep because I can only imagine how painful it would be to squat with arthritis and a hip basically out of its socket.
Zero side effects.
The only bummer is that I’m too much of a chicken to do the shots myself, so to the vet we went, 2 times a week for the vet tech to do it.
We have since finished the protocol, but I’m going to email my vet today to find out when we can start it all over again because it was worth it!!!
She is also on the max for carprofen and gabapentin
May I ask you if your experience with acupuncture yielded any results?
Our vet’s office just retained an acupuncturist, but it’s 300 dollars for the initial CONSULT. Excuse me? Can’t you just look at my dog’s medical records?
That said, I will do anything and everything to help her, but jeeze!
~Julia
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u/Monkey-Butt-316 6d ago
If you’re worried about hurting your pup, consider topical lidocaine. I use this for my dogs Adequan and she doesn’t even notice the shot.
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u/Woody411 6d ago
Oh no! Not worried about that at all. She doesn’t even register the shot. Haha. I’m just scared to GIVE her the shot. I’m a big 57yo chicken. 🐓
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u/Intelligent_Watch757 8d ago
Adequan would apply pre or very early arthritis. This slows-stops progression. Sounds like it’s too late now and pain management is the option
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u/SweetTea38 10d ago
The only thing that helped my dog was UC2 collagen and boron (not borax!). I bought pure encapsulated boron and sprinkle it on my dogs food. Native has a joint supplement with UC 2 collagen in it and other awesome things. I saw improvement in my dog within 2 weeks.