I need help for my precious smokie

Hi Everyone..

So anyone who has seen the threads on Smokie's arthritis, I have some bad news.

It's worse- and this entire week he has been crying, snapping, biting, and clawing.

How do I know when the good days outweigh the bad or visa versa?

They can't tell us how bad they hurt. I just don't know when it's time to say bye, and make the heart wrenching decision.

He is only 8- We have been to the vet, he is on very strong NSAIDS (Meloxicam) and it doesn't help very much, maybe slightly.

Ideas?

Adequin injections have helped our senior, as have 1/4 tablet low dose aspirin every 3 days. He also gets Torbetrol every night. This combination has helped our old guy tremendously.

But, only you know how far you are willing to go and how much you are willing to spend. It's just not a fun decision. I'm sorry.

Have you tried Adequan? It's supposed to work very well. It's expensive though. I would also look into getting buprenorphine prescribed for his pain. It really works very well for pain and can give Smokie a much better quality of life. He can remain on it long term. And it's better for his body than meloxicam.

If you do get buprenorphine (aka Buprenex) ask your vet to call in a prescription to Roadrunner Pharmacy and have it shipped to you. Buprenorphine is very expensive if you get it from the manufacturer but Roadrunner is a compounding pharmacy that makes it themselves at a much lower cost. If you are not afraid of giving shots get the injectable version. The oral version is much less effective as a large part of the dose ends up being swallowed, which it shouldn't be, and broken down by the liver. The most effective way to give buprenorphine is injected into the muscle. It's really not hard and I think it could do wonders for Smokie.

Yes, the Adequan does work good- and it is high high high dollar. I just can't afford it-

I may look into the Buprenex, but it is high dollar to...

I have a fixed income, and while I wish i could say money is no object on taking care of my babies- it is.

I love them, like children- but I can't have our electric or water or gas shut off because of them either. I know it sounds cold, I know it sounds callus, but it isn't. I would rather put him down humanely, then have him remain in pain from not getting the needed meds.

I'm not ready to give up. I just wish I knew if it would get better, or if he is destined for euthanasia.

I'm crying as I type this, my child my baby my precious- I can't handle this. Not at all....

and ya, with my paramedic license I know how to give shot.s

I have given shots numerous times. Penicillin, vaccines, you name it.

But also *I* can get the same med for a $2.50 copay geez..

Get my Rx for MY arthritis, pay the copay- go to a compound tell them the exact dose i need that the vet Rx (the .1 (point 1) ml

Did I read that correctly, are you giving your meds to your cat? Ask your vet about the aspirin therapy. I give Bogey 1/4 low dose aspirin every 3 days. I bought a bottle of generic aspirin forever ago and it's still going strong.

I understand Adequan is expensive, especially the ramp up. Once we made it through his ramp up his shots are $26/month. When we looked into it for our big dog, the ramp up was going to be over $400 with a monthly cost of $108. I'm so happy the meloxicam worked for him!

Where are you getting the Meloxicam from? I get the generic on Petmeds.com and it has worked beautifully. No issues.

Watching them hurt is no fun. Only you and your kitty can decide when enough is enough.

Have you discussed the use of hyaluronic acid with Smokie's vet? My understanding is that it is available OTC as a supplement and not expensive, yet has worked wonders for many kitties (and people) suffering from arthritis. http://primev.com/arthritis/arthritis-hyaluronic-acid-connection.aspx

No I'm not giving my meds to my cat,, I don't even have the meds Rx for my arthirtis (we use tramadol or lidocaine gel)

However, If I was to get that particular Rx med, my copay would be $2.50

I was toying with asking the dr to Rx it for me, and then going to a compound pharmacy to get it into exact dosing for Smokie.

But he is doing better today, playful- joyful. The meloxicam is good-, and through all this I am finding out a lot of human meds are the same as animal meds, just in much larger doses for humans.

This coming from the person who has ordered Fish-Pen and used it as well as shot myself up with OTC penicllin from the tractor supply......

Buprenex is very expensive. I paid $2.30 per dose when I got it from my vet. But getting it from Roadrunner Pharmacy (which is a compounding pharmacy for pet medications only) is much cheaper. A bottle of the injectible version is $42 and it lasts for about two months. The oral version is about half of that and the shipping is free. I would not be able to afford Buprenex from the vet either but I can afford the cost from Roadrunner. I would recommend asking your vet to call in a prescription to them asap and give it a shot. Smokie's crying, snapping and biting shows that he's in a lot of pain and proper pain management will make a huge difference.

If you can afford the injectible version I would highly recommend that and give him IM shots (sub-q shots are not as effective as not all of the medication is absorbed into the blood steam). But if you can't afford the injectible kind the oral version helps too as long as you give it correctly. The problem is that a lot of people don't but if you understand how this drug works and how it has to be given you'll be able to give it correctly (the oral kind from Roadrunner is flavored which makes it easier to give). Buprenorphine is broken down in the liver and made ineffective. If it's swallowed it is absorbed by the liver and broken down thereby never making it to the blood stream to provide pain relief. So for buprenorphine to work it has to go straight into the blood stream and bypass the liver. In order for it to go straight into the blood stream it has to be either injected or absorbed by the mucus membranes in the mouth. In humans oral buprenorphine is given in pills that you put under the tongue to let it dissolve and be absorbed by the mucus membranes. In cats you instead give them a liquid that you put on the gums between the gums and the cheek. The key, that most miss, is to give it very slowly to allow all the liquid to be absorbed. If you give it too fast the liquid will be mixed with saliva and automatically swallowed rendering the drug useless. I'd give it a drop at a time to make sure that the whole dose is absorbed.

Please note that if you do get buprenorphine from Roadrunner that their medication is just half as strong as the Buprenex from the manufacturer - 0.15mg/ml versus 0.30mg/ml - so the dose has to be adjusted accordingly. My vet missed this fact and continued to tell me to give my cats 0.2ml, but since the Roadrunner meds is just half as strong my cats really just got half the dose they used to. They really should get 0.4ml.