Tizzy was diagnosed with hip displasia years ago, and we've controlled it with hydro and Perloquel. She had xrays a couple of weeks ago from which they diagnosed severe arthritis in her elbows, believing this was the cause of her lameness they put her on metacam. There was no change so last week I took her back and they added Tramadol. Still no change. I've ordered some Devils Claw, but can't see this working either if the other isn't, and really concerned there's something more sinister. The vet has said next step is to xray higher for possible cancer.  The past 24hrs she has had terrible diarreoh, could this be the meds?

She's 10 now so don't want to put her through too much, I just want her to be comfortable!  Any advice/suggestions greatly appreciated.  She's a 2yr old in a 10yr old body and she just doesn't understand that she has to slow down :(

Metacam has given mine the squits, I think it says that this is a possible side effect on the info sheet.
Hope things improve for you.

Have you not not tried Glucosamine with Chondroitin? It does take about 6 weeks to have an effect. My old Golden was diagnosed with severe HD aged 6 (his score was 96 so almost as bad as it could get), a year or so later he was dragging his hindlegs behind him, could not get up when he'd laid down etc, and all the medicines from the vet had stopped working. I put him onto G&C (cheap stuff from health food shops, not the super expensive stuff the vet sells) and he lived until be was 13 and was able to go for walks and have a normal life -all he couldn't do was jump.

Metacam can cause diarrhoea and I believe if bit does it has to be stopped as it can be very dangerous. Same with Rimadyl.
http://www.buymetacam.co.uk/ (Just one random site I got when Googling Metacam death.)

Good luck! Everything crossed here for it to not be anything more sinister than arthritis and HD.

I was going to say i'm sure i've heard it causing liver damage if used over a long period of time too, which Marianne has provided a link for.

Hope you find something which works Susie and its not the worse as to what you're thinking xx

Thanks everyone.
I've just ordered some of the glucosamine & chondrontin, can I use the devils claw alongside? 
I'm also going to get a magnetic collar but the prices seem to vary wildly, are there 'better' ones or will the cheapest do the same job?
Also, am I safe to pull her off the meds she's on (she's not had any for 24hrs because of the diarreoh, and neither were helping the lameness anyway) and self medicate as above or should I discuss with the vet first?
She doesn't appear to be in any pain, although the lameness would indicate she is, she still tries to tear round after the boys!  I just need the piece of mind she's comfortable...............if only they could talk huh?!

I can say about the bioflow coller as bought one 2 weeks ago. £30inc P&P and came 2 days later.
Fingers crossed it seems to be working :)
http://www.ecomagnets.com/bioflow-dogcollar.htm
Lea :)

A few things I give mine are fish in oil, just tinned sardines or pilchards (once a week), obviously you may want to avoid tomato sauce as any level of solanine (found in tomatoes and members of the nightshade family) may exacerbate the arthritis.  I also do my own blended veggies and add turmeric and apple cider vinegar, one teaspoon/capfull between two dogs for a week, so not huge amounts, but both promote healthy joints, and turmeric is an anti carcinogen.  The other one which I don't use but have been recommended, is green lipped mussel extract.   I also use glucosamine/chondroitin, just one tablet a couple of times a week with Indie, who has had slight lameness in the past on her front end, but also suffered a full cruciate rupture and has arthritis in that knee. 

I have a spare bioflo collar if you want it?  The clips a bit broken, it didn't make a jot of difference to my bitch Indie, and is somewhere in the outside shed if you want me to dig it out for you to try?  Some people swear by them but they seem to be one of those things that sometimes work and sometimes have no effect. 

I def have to second the Glucosamine with Chondroitin- Junior was so bad every time he moved he cried and never wanted to walk much- put him on this stuff in about 6 weeks he was running and jumping back onto the couch to have a cuddle. Best thing we ever did for him, I now have all 3 of my dogs on it- we all take a pill in the morning :-)

I bought a bioflow collar at Midland Counties for my old boy after everyone I asked about stiffness reccomended it. She asked if I was at LKA and said come back and tell us if it's worked, it's got a good guarantee too.

I take it as well but not much good at jumping yet!!

Joint aid, marvellous stuff. Several of my friends plus myself have their oldies on it. It seems to give them a new lease of life. Leaping around like loonies.

I had a thread going recently about my GSD with hip problems. She has Carprodyl as pain killer which works well, (she also has inflamm. bowel disease and this med does not upset her at all), but the difference when I put her in a Bioflow collar was noticeable within a couple of days. She was very close to being pts because of the awful pain she was in, but within a couple of days with the collar she was a different dog and now is back to her old self, ( still not very mobile but can mooch around the field at her own pace with no pain ) I am not sure if cheaper collars work but the bioflow was worth every penny. She also has Joint Aid for long term use.

Sillysue, I'm so pleased to hear this I was wondering how thigs were going :)

Thanks Karen,
As with everyone we love ( animal or human ) every day is precious and to be enjoyed to the full as we never know how many days we will be allowed to spend with them.