Sponsored Links








Add to Technorati Favorites

Rimadyl for Dogs can be Deadly

Sunday, February 06, 2005

An article published on KHOU 11 News discusses a veterinary drug called Rimadyl, that can be beneficial to many dogs, but deadly to others.

Rimadyl is used to treat arthritis in dogs, and most dogs seem to respond to it very well. However one dachshund named Elvis almost died from it.
"He went into immediate liver and kidney failure," Jester says.

Her veterinarian says Rimadyl almost killed the dachshund.

Three weeks and thousands of dollars in vet bills later, Elvis is okay. "We feel very blessed and just lucky that's he's still with us," says Jester.
The article goes on to say that since 1997, there have been 12,516 complaints about Rimadyl to the FDA.

In more than 2,300 cases, owners say their dog died or had to be euthanized. Most cases involved liver or kidney failure or internal bleeding.
"I would not give it to my dog," says vet Bob Rogers.

Rogers, is Elvis' vet and says he was so concerned about Rimadyl's side effects, he pulled the drug off his shelves.

"There is a risk any of these arthritis drugs could kill your dog," says Rogers.

12 Comments:

  • The dogs without the drug are suffering and would normally be put to down. Rimadyl gives hope and can give a pain free life. The few side effects are true of all drugs---there are RISKS and life is a gamble.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:05 PM, February 06, 2005  

  • My dog would not have a good quality of life if he did not take Rimadyl. The drug helps more dogs than those that suffer from the side effects. You should continue to have your dog blood tested after starting Rimadyl to ensure there is no damage to liver. Rimadyl is an excellent drug if used with the knowledge of the risks upfront.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:31 PM, February 07, 2005  

  • Rimadyl may be a miracle drug for many but my little 5 year old Jack Russell Maxx almost died from liver failure this week and although improving not out of the woods yet.He was being treated for a problem with his joint capsule. The bottle from the vet did not include anything from Pfizer with their warning. It did have the vets info sheet gently stating it may cause mild side effects. If we knew the risks we never would have put Maxx on.He was on it 2 weeks. I now found out my brothers Yorkie was put down 3 years ago because of liver failure due to rimadyl. My vet says he has never had this problem with animals he put on it. Although the web sites are full of stories like ours. I feel awful because I am a registered nurse and for my family I always check out all meds we take first and weigh the pros an cons.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:39 PM, June 16, 2005  

  • I cannot help but feel rimadyl caused renal failure in my golden retriever. He began to drink more and more and ultimately stopped eating and then drinking. When I raised questions regarding this drug I was told by the vet that their office had never seen any problem with this medication, however my precious golden did not have these problems prior to beginning rimadyl. My guilt is overwhelming as I feel I contributed to his death.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:49 PM, July 16, 2005  

  • Three days after becoming lame in his backend I was taking my little dog (11 yrs. old) to the university vet school for observation. He had gotten a little better, able to walk. I was carrying him to the open car door but decided to let him urinate first. I watched in horror as he broke loose from me and made a 'flyin' leap to the car and jumped in without any problem. The only drug he had at the hospital was Rimadyl. By the time he came home he could hardly stand. He was very, very weak and vomited after I gave him one pill. I immediately stopped the drug. He has been home four days now and is getting better and better. Walking with no staggering, nose is shiny but his eyes still look dull. He is eating good and I feel he is almost totally well. I feel so bad that I allowed them to give him such a horrible drug (IMHO) Now, he is on Joint Care and Transfer Factor Plus and the heating pad on low (occasionally) for about 20 mins. I am so grateful that I get to watch him and his cute little ways a few more days/weeks/months/years??? one day at a time...

    By Blogger Lovelaffs, at 11:15 PM, October 21, 2005  

  • Prince was put on Rimadyl for arthritis several years after being hit by a car-Due to the lack of disclosure by the drug company his liver levels were not addressed which were elevated-I found this out after his death from the drug. The Vet happened to have mailed them to me with his sisters lab records when I left the state In other words-He died from liver failure. All of the sudden he began throwing up white foam-he was stabilized after an evening of shock and extremely high blood pressure.
    I blame the Drug compny-the incompetent Vets in 2 states who did NOT check enzyme levels. There is NO education about this drug-except by those who have lost their best friends. DON'T PUT YOUR PET ON RIMADYL

    By Blogger nancy, at 9:53 AM, February 07, 2007  

  • My Golden Retriever "Molly" Died yesterday morning and I think it was because of Rimadyl. She healthy except for some arthritis in her back and had a hard time getting up because of it. She had been taking Rimadyl for three weeks and she was doing better however, in the past week she slowly started to lose her appetite and she couldn't get up anymore on her own. On the night she died I made her some hamburger meat and she didn't eat it. I made an vet appointment for the next day but I found her dead the next morning. The Vet didn't explain the side affects with Rimadyl and I am very upset with them. I think Rimadyl should be taken off the market.

    By Blogger Matthew, at 1:22 PM, April 11, 2008  

  • My longhair lurcher appears to be suffering from rimadyl toxicity. She went off her food a day or two after starting on the pills and then this was followed by chronic vomiting. She was admitted to the vet this morning (She'd thrown up on herself during the night and just gone back to sleep!) with a VERY high temperatute and bleeding from the nose, mouth and rectum. She has started showing signs of jaundice as well. All this still 3 days after we stopped giving her the drug. Its posible that she isn't suffering from rimadyl toxicity but the more i read the more i find it hard to believe. Fortunately, her temperature has dropped a degree since this morning and her blood test is due tomorrow so she is looking on the mend a bit. I do hope she pulls through. I'm really worried about the poor girl.

    By Blogger Goz, at 10:51 AM, April 23, 2008  

  • Rimadyl risks are not explained. My dog, a dalmatian, treated for osteo-arthritis died after 8 months on Rimadyl(a short time on Deramaxx). Both of these drugs are of the same drug type pulled off the market for humans that were causing heart-attack and stroke(Vioxx and Celebrex). The bottle of Rimadyl says death is rare when in fact the US FDA states a 13% death-rate(which I believe is probably a huge understatement).
    Debbie

    By Anonymous Debbie, at 5:19 AM, December 04, 2008  

  • First off i'm sorry if this is long but i'm hoping i can at least warn or help someone that might read this. My dog and best friend for over 13yrs Holley was killed by rimadyl 3 days ago on December 15th. Never once was i told anything by the vet it wasn't until after when i started researching what could have happened. My dog was very healthy and only had one problem which was her right hip due to arthritis. She started having slight pain walking back in 2006 and the vet x-rayed her and ran tests and then if i remember correctly prescribed Previcox. After taking all the pills she was perfectly fine until last month late November 2008. So i called the vet and told him and said i couldn't remember the name of the meds he prescribed but it looks like Holley needs more. He said that he would look it up and give me another prescription and there was no need to bring her in. So i went and picked up the meds which were now rimadyl. I did not know it was a different medication but i did noticed that it was to be administered twice daily which i didn't remember doing that back in '06.

    After one day Holley started walking better but i was told by the vet to keep giving her the meds until they ran out. A couple of days before they ran out Holley was now hardly able to walk, her back leg could not touch the ground. I had thought that maybe she had hurt it. She was by that time consuming tons of water, shaking a lot, and her appetite was diminishing. I took her in and talked to another one of the vets there and told him these pills didn't seem to work and looked to me like they were harming her. I told him about all the symptoms and he informed me that Previcox was what was prescribed back in '06 and prescribed me them. He also tried to get me to buy a 1 month supply of some other arthritis pills for $80 and said they might help or do nothing at all. I told him that i'd rather wait and see about the Previcox first. He said to give a half tablet a day until she quit hurting and then only when needed.

    Well i gave her these pills for a couple of days (total 1 1/2 pills). She was not eating anything and she kept going outside and staying out there longer than usually. I decided that i would call and take her back in the next day, but the following morning she was laying in the back yard foaming at the mouth. It was obvious to me that she was having a seizure or stroke. I quickly grabbed her and took her back to the vet. This time it was another vet there, the rest were at lunch. Holley was breathing very fast and was she completely out of it. I quickly summed everything up including all the symptoms shes been having and when i expressed my concern that i had a feeling it was the pills he got very irate and defensive. He named out some of the ingredients of the meds and said theres no way the pills could have done any of the symptoms and that they were just anti-inflammatory drugs. He roughly poked around on her for a bit before saying that he'll do blood work on her.

    He called a few hours later and said that her liver and kidneys were in bad shape and was asking me if we had any toads in our back yard that Holley could have messed with. He said her gums and heart were fine and she had a seizure. He said she was out of it and was not in any pain, which was my main concern, and he told me to not give up on her and he'll call me the next day. Well just like i feared at around 8am the next morning they called and said Holley died during the night. Two days later i get a large bill from them.

    I'm very upset that Holley was given the wrong pills and never was any warning given or side effects to look out for. Also i was lied to by the vets when i kept saying what was happening and was told it wasn't the pills. It greatly saddens me that Holley is gone and that it was me that forced fed her this poison, cause after a couple of days she did not want to take these pills. So i feel like its mostly my fault for her death and also for putting my trust in these vets and not researching stuff from day one. Holley took these pills from November 24th and she died December 15th. She was very strong to last this long and i'll miss her dearly. She was the nicest most caring cocker spaniel you could ever wish for and she didn't deserve this. I'm positive she would have lived for a few more years if she was just given the proper medicine that she took back in '06. I just hope Holleys story helps somebody out before its too late.
    Michael.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:41 AM, December 18, 2008  

  • I too am unfortunately about to lose my 3 yr. old lab from rimadyl. He was very healthy and in extremely good shape- until after he took rimadyl for a short time. Now he is in renal failure, and his days are numbered. It is absolutely crushing and unfair. What a horible way for him to go...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:38 PM, January 29, 2009  

  • I too am unfortunately about to lose my 3 yr. old lab from rimadyl. He was very healthy and in extremely good shape- until after he took rimadyl for a short time. Now he is in renal failure, and his days are numbered. It is absolutely crushing and unfair. What a horrible way for him to go...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:39 PM, January 29, 2009  

Post a Comment
Back to Homepage