Long-term Management of Arthritis: Onsior, Buprenex, Tramadol, or Adequan?

[catpack]

Awe, thank you M musicinthesun ! Yes, with Lucky, I do feel like I everything possible and there is a sense of peace with that. He was my baby. My brother rescued him from a dumpster when he was just 10 days old.

Here's hoping the med combination gives your boy some much needed relief! Let me know if you see any improvement with the increase in Adequan!

 

[musicinthesun]

 
Hi,

My 18 year old cat, Sandra, is on Adequan.  She is 9 ibs and is on a dose of .18 ml twice a week.  She just started her third week.  She has advanced arthritis in her lower spine and has difficulty walking.  I have not noticed improvement yet, but the vet wants to give the Adequan a few more weeks to see if there is improvement.  Most of the information I read online says an improvement is seen after a one month loading phase.  So I'm praying that she gets better.  

Sandra is currently not on any pain medication.  I am going to talk to my vet about possibly getting her on medication for pain, specifically Onsior.  I can tell she is very uncomfortable. She is always changing position while laying down and walks slow and wobbly.  The problem is she has stage 3 kidney disease so I don't want the pain medication to cause further deterioration of her kidneys.  I just want her to be comfortable.  It breaks my heart to see her going through this.

 Hi there,

I am so sorry to hear sweet Sandra isn't feeling well That totally sucks and it drives me up the wall seeing them like this! My cat also has arthritis in the spine and in his left hip pretty bad. And his bottom can't/won't touch the floor anymore when he is eating because the vet says his spine causes the crouching so I put his food dishes on shoeboxes which seems to help some. Your dosage for Adequan sounds spot on, yet it can take up to 6 weeks to take effect. I do want to tell you though that Adequan is more of a supplement for long-term health and support. Just like vitamins etc. This is what my vet just told me. So, it is EXCELLENT for them but it isn't exactly going to stave off the pain in the short-term. So Onsior is a good choice but kidney issues it seems that it is still administered but under close surveillance but can be a tricky issue. I am sure your vet will let you know.... and I know we can modify the dosage and dosings to make it what the cat needs. Before being given Onsior they first gave me Buprenex which is safe for cats with kidney issues but I didn't like that it was a narcotic with no anti-inflammatory relief/help. A few other things I am now doing and have researched and asked my vet and all is safe for our cats...

I sprinkle the following on his food:

turmeric (EXCELLENT for arthritis)

ginger

Omega 3 from Nordic Naturals for pets

a gucosamine/chondroiton/MSM supplement, I open the capsule and sprinkle just a little on each food serving - Jarrow brand

and some probiotics as needed - Jarrow brand

Lastly, I hear acupuncture is excellent for cats but I am afraid to know the cost but I guess there are vets that come to your house and treat them. My vet actually recommended although it is all over the internet about effective it is for cats. I will look into it this week and drop some info on this thread about it. And the other thing is is arnica (homeopathy) that I am going to get my guy on this week. They sell the pellets at the local food stores; totally safe.

Please keep us posted on Sandra 

 

[musicinthesun]

@CatPack  I can see how and why Lucky got his name! He was luckily, lovingly rescued from a dumpster and got you as his mom and you also lucked out by him choosing you to be his guardian! What a cool story I will definitely be back with updates and in the meantime I am going to try to not be such a helicopter mom and let him rest 

 

[estreetpoet]

Hi, I came across this site when looking for info about long term use of Onsior. Thanks for all the comments here, very helpful! My vet has just put my 15 year old cat on it with the ok to keep him on it as long as it seems to help. He has bone cancer - inoperable - in one back leg, so pain control is our primary concern. He had blood work done just a few months ago and his kidneys were in good shape then so my vet feels like it is worth the risk - now that we seem to have his pain under control I will probably try to cut down on the dosage and see if that provides sufficient relief. My vet suggested giving him half a pill daily - need to get a pill splitter but will probably give that a try starting next week.

I started him on Cosequin when he first started having trouble with his leg, thinking it was probably arthritis, and it did seem to help - keeping him on it as it doesn't seem it will hurt plus he really likes the taste.

I will certainly watch him closely for any possible kidney-related symptoms. Right now his appetite is excellent and he seems to be comfortable and happy and that's the important thing.

Hoping everyone's cats are as pain free as possible!

 

[ldg]

I realize quite a bit of this thread is about pain management in arthritis. But for helping to manage the arthritis, as if we can reduce the inflammation, then the need for pain management is lessened, I shared my experiences in using omega 3s and a standardized curcumin product - which has quite a bit of research behind it for arthritis at this point - here, if anyone is inclined to add these to the regimen after chatting with the vet. They need not replace anything your cat currently takes, but may be a powerful addition. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/314240/bro-and-advanced-arthritis-and-prognosis#post_3937467