The following was provided to us by Jane Sinclair. Also, visit B.A.R.K.S.
The Doris Day Animal League magazine, "Animal Guardian", has an article on Rimadyl in the Fall, 2000 issue, page 17. You can get a free copy of this issue by going to this link:
QUOTEThe best-selling drug known as Rimadyl, which has enjoyed remarkable success as an anti-inflammatory medicine for pets, has been found to be deadly for some dogs, as witnessed by the FDA receiving more than 6,000 bad reaction reports about the drug manufactured by Pfizer. As a result, the FDA requested that Pfizer advise consumers in their advertising that death was a possible side effect. Pfizer refused and pulled their advertising, however they have included "death" as a possible side effect on the drug label. Plans call for a "Dear Doctor" letter to be issued to veterinarians and a safety sheet will be attached to pill packages.
Pfizer acknowledges a problem with some dog owners, especially the consumer group which mounted a campaign dubbed BARKS, for Be Aware of Rimadyl's Known Side-effects (including loss of appetite, wobbling, vomiting, seizures and severe liver malfunction). The drug company is reported to be contacting pet owners who have told their stories on the Internet, and is offering to pay medical and diagnostic expenses for some dogs who may have been harmed by Rimadyl.
Rimadyl sales continue to grow as does support from veterinarians. While the drug has proved helpful to many dogs with arthritis, it has proven deadly to some dogs. Make sure if your veterinarian prescribes Rimadyl that you thoroughly discuss the possible side effects so you can carefully monitor your dog's health. UNQUOTE
[Note: PGAA's female Golden Retriever Maddie had a very close call after using Rimadyl -- it's not a miracle drug for all pets -- be careful!!]
Following are e-mails received by PGAA that record adverse reactions to Rimadyl. Please challenge your vet if he should recommend a Rymadyl treatment program without first advising you of the side effects and of alternative medications.
Received November 23, 2007: My 4 yr old sheltie had some hip discomfort, so I had him on herbal supplements. My vet told me 2 put him on Rimadyl twice a day, ( he only weighed 35 lbs.). I soon noticed his breath got bad, his gums rucky, he couldn't keep up on our 2-3 mile walks. I feed my dogs organix dog food, dancing paws vitamins and grilled chicken breast, turkey, salmon etc. It never occured to me that my vet would have put my dog on an unsafe drug. I had his blood tested and his kidney failure levels where very high. I tried to figure out what we had done wrong???? Then I looked up rimadyl . Now my wonderful companion whom we loved as a child, has left us last monday, and that is the only cause I can find. My vet never blood tested Dartanian b4 putting him on Rimadyl, or during and NEVER warned us about side effects. I pray others will find out b4 it's 2 late 4 them. Sadly, Victoria and Mark Hammer, e-mail: victoria@brightdsl.net
Received January 17, 2008: One of your post comments has saved my dog’s life. I have a four years old Cocker Spaniel (22 lbs) named Suave. I took him to the vet last week for a discomfort in his back foot, the doctor said that Suave probably had sprained his toe and put him on Rimadyl 25 mg. twice a day. I started the medicine that night (Thursday, January 10/2008) by Saturday morning Suave was almost having a seizure, he was shaking all over, couldn’t stand up and his pupils were fully dilated, he wouldn’t eat or even drink water. I checked the medicine on the internet and found about the side effects. We took him right away to the hospital, his liver tests came out abnormal and he spent three whole days at the hospital, We picked him last night, he still very sick, he could hardly stand up for more than three minutes. We ended up with our loved dog sick and a bill of almost one thousand dollars from the hospital. All of this because of the Rimadyl drug. I am not sure where to go next with this but I will make sure that people is aware of this deadly drug.
paolavarg@yahoo.com As of January 18th Sauve has still not recovered and is unable to hold his head up - 8 days after receiving Rimadyl.
Yet another e-mail with a horrific story concerning usde of Rimadyl was received by PGAA on May 17, 2008.
Dear Pet Guardian Angels of America
Ron:
Thank you for getting back to me in such a timely manner. I am going to give you a little background on my friend Reggie the lab before I go into what happened with Pfizer's Rimadyl.
I rescued this lab I call Reggie at about the age of 5 mos. from a local pound, and gave him my word to care for him. We became very close and he would never leave my side. He was a very happy tail wagging and energetic dog with a zest for life and play. As a puppy he was very healthy and soon grew into a big boy weighing 90 lbs., a very big boy. As he grew it became apparent he had knee problems with his build and size. NOT fat just a big boy. I took him the vet to have this checked out, and was told he needed surgery on both back legs. As a man of my word and my love for animals I scheduled the first surgery. After the first surgery and the successful healing of his first leg I scheduled his other leg. A number of months after complete healing of the first leg to give time for it to carry his weight I had the second knee done. However this knee was more of a problem than the first so after a number of months and many visits to the Vet we had to have a new sugary to fix something that was not repaired the first time. This surgery went well but brought us to the subject at hand.
Reggie's leg was hurting to the point where he was needing relief around March 4th, 2008, and I called the doctor but the surgery was not until the week of March 10th, 2008 so the doctor had me pick up a prescription for Rimadyl and directed me to give it to him one 75mg table twice a day as needed for pain. I gave Rimadyl the first day as directed, however the next day Reggie seemed to be doing much better so I cut the dose down to one half tablet in the morning and one half tablet at night just to keep him comfortable. He seemed to be doing fine on this. I continued this until his surgery the week of March 10th. I took Reggie to his appointment, After blood gases and all tests proved that he was in good health and could withstand the surgery the surgery was done. As I also have a female lab that loves to play, I boarded Reggie with the Vet to give him time to heal well without the other dog trying to play with him. Reggie was boarded until April 1st, 2008 as the doctor and I felt he needed this time to recuperate in a quiet setting. I picked Reggie up April 1st, 2008, and after talking to the doctor he didn't send me home with any more Rimadyl as I still had 12 of the original 20 that were giving on March 4th, 2008. The doctor directed me to give the Rimadyl as needed to keep Reggie comfortable, and a half tablet in the morning and a half tablet at night seem to do the job.
I continued giving Rimadyl one half tablet in the morning and one half-tablet at night until the original prescription ran out. On April 11th, 2008 I called the doctor and told him I was out. At that time the doctor told me to come pick up perspiration for 20 more 75-mg tables and I did this on April 12th, 2008. I continued this until I ran low and I again call the doctor and explained I was almost out of Rimadyl, at that time we talked and Reggie was on such a low dosage he told me to come pick up a prescription for a full bottle of 60 tablets. On May 2, 2008 I picked the new prescription up. This was a Friday, and as I had one more tablet I did not open the new bottle, instead I broke the last tablet I had in half and offered it to Reggie. For the first time he would not just take it a chew it, instead he turned away. Thinking nothing of it I put it back in the bottle and gave it no more thought. That night Reggie also turned down his dinner and he has always been a very good eater. Knowing he would only eat when hungry again I didn't think much of it. The next morning I offered him his normal breakfast, and again he turned this down, not like him to turn down his food two times in a row I became concerned. And started watching him close, and again that night he turned down his dinner. Not like him at all.
The next morning I got up to find him vomiting and very lethargic. Nearly unable to move or pick his head up I became very worried and started looking for a vet open on Sunday. I found an after hours Animal Emergency and rushed him in. I got him there around noon or some time close, the vet looked at him just for a moment and immediately to him back and started an IV. Reggie was dehydrated and from what the doctor told me near death. The doctor told me he was going to keep him and run tests, and treat him the best he could, but no promises he would even make it through the night. Later that night I called and was told all Reggie blood gases were messed up. Showing kidney and liver damage, and as the doctor knew the only medication Reggie was on was Rimadyl immediately started treating him for a toxic Rimadyl reaction. The doctor told me that he had nearly ruled out the Rimadyl as a cause until we talked and discussed the dogs health history and the low dosage the dog was on.
I was directed to pick Reggie up the next morning and take him directly the his regular vet. I took Reggie to his vet that Monday morning and he spent the next week on IV's as a very sick dog. I picked him up at his vet on May 13th, 2008. I have spent all my time trying to get him to eat or drink. He is still a very sick dog. As I sit here writing this warning to others he is at my feet almost unable to move without help. Pfizers Rimadyl, that was to help my dog almost killed him. In fact he still may not make it. If he does make it he may have to be on a special diet the rest of his life for liver and kidney damage.
Given the fact that there were many blood tests over the last couple of years, both before and after all his surgeries and the fact the blood test only showed this damage after taking Pfizers Rimadyl. I implore you to take caution, and not just accept Rimadyl without full understanding and much research on the possible side effects of this drug. This once very heathy 90 lbs Lab is now just a sick little puppy that looks to me for help. If you love animals as I do, and are willing to spend what I have to save this dog, PLEASE SPEND the time to find out all side effects and KNOW its right for your animal.
Michael
Another bad experience reported July 30, 2008
My dog was put on Rimadyl for a severe pulled tendon or spraine. He died unexplainedly last Friday after only 1 week on this medication. He had an acute attack with symptoms of loss of appetite, change in drinking habits, increased water consumption, vomiting, lethargy and partial paralysis. One vet said it could have been Rimadyl. The other said that was only over a length of time, not an acute attack. However, there is no explaination for his death, except of an acute adverse readtion to this drug.
Suzanne Hill at shill@tso.com
An adverse Rimadyl reaction in October 2008
I don't exactly know who will read this but I AM SO SAD & MAD!!!!!!!!!!! On 09/15/2008 I took my 9 year old yellow lab "Skeeter" to the vet because of a hard lump under his right eye. He recieved a distemper shot that was due and was said to have a tooth root cuss something. My apologies for the incorrect term. I recieved an estimate for a teeth cleaning, anestesia, x-ray, possible tooth extraction if necessary, antibiotic (clandimyicin?) and pain (rimadyl). At this point in time I requested a blood test due to a previous blood test (01/2007) that showed an elevated ALT # of 278 and remember being told that it would be dangerous to be put under anesthesia, as the elevated ALT indicated some type of liver disease and it was something we needed to keep an eye on. the blood test results on 09/15/2008 showed an ALT # of 617. I was told that maybe the (clandimyican?) might help whatever was going on in the liver and that the tooth issue was likely to be painful so (rimadyl) would help that. After 5 days use the first symptom occured (vommiting) so I figure like an adult the meds were making him sick and decided to take a break. After 3 more days I noticed his bowl of food was still full and did not remember filling it. On friday 09/26/2008 I came home late from work and needless to say lots of vommit, loss of appetite, trembling and no energy. On Saturday morning 09/27/2008, I phoned the vet with the desciption of the symptoms and indicated I was bringing him in. I picked Skeeter up later that day after being told he was put on an IV which will have flushed out any bad things?. I could not look at him and be SAD & MAD. On Monday 09/29/2008 I phoned another vet and explained my story and was given an appointment for Wednesday 10/01/2008. In the meantime the new vets office requested his records from the old vets office. Once recieved and reviewed by the new vet I was called in as this was said to have been an emergency. Since 09/29/2008, Skeeter has been on an IV, has had an ultrasound on Tuesday 09/30/2008 and as of today Thursday 10/02/2008 he still has not had any interest in food. Unfortunately he can't hold anything down which makes it that much harder. I KNOW RIMADYL IS TO BLAME AS WELL AS THE OLD VET. I was never told about the side effects or the fact that it should of never been prescribed to "Skeeter" for the mere fact it should not be given to anyone with a liver problem as this drug has to be metabolized by the liver, So basically his prexisisting liver condition was oh the edge and the drug rimadyl pushed him over. What do I do? Is there anyone who can help? I am thinking about bringing him home tomorrow for the weekend and making the decision I wish I did not have to. So if anyone can help I would be most grateful. All the research I have done on liver disease. rimadyl, treatments and other relavent info I find myself SAD & MAD. I have contacted Phizer and have a case# for adverse effects with hopes for the best. I even considered Michigan State vet school / hospital for intensive care.
So thoughtful for your quick response. All the websites you have linked me to are ones I have already been on. This has been the end of my days well time spent. Unfortunately the stories on the adverse effects of Rimadyl are not happy endings. Today is Sunday October 5, 2008 and I decided to care for Skeeter at home this weekend to see if that might help. I picked him up from the vets office yesterdat (Saturday 10/04/2008) He is still on an I.V. for fluids as he does not continue to eat and minimally drink on his own. He was so happy to leave the vets office, once he left the building he went to the first car he could get to. When we got home all his 3 sisters (my daughters) greeted him with joy. I disconnected the I.V. for some time outside, it was such a great day, beautiful weather. He seemed to be himself again looking for moles, he loves mole hunting. We came in after a few hours and I thought he might want to eat, but nothing so I had to force feed. I connected the I.V. and put him in our room as it was time to sleep. He still continues to tremble and I can't figure out why? This weekend is in hopes that maybe it helped in his recovery. We will find out tomorrow when we take him back to the vet. He seems to be in good spirits but I feel he is just being brave for me and thats not fair. I will update you as we continue or road to recovery. Please use my story for others at it is a recent one. It is currently 10:50 a.m. Skeeter is laying by the sunny, warm patio sliding doors with the view of the yard. He is trembling greatly, but he is home (for me) which is very selfish of me.
Margie, e-mail: graniteworks@peoplepc.com
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