Hi - I'm looking for some information re keeping a dog on Metacam long-term.   I have a hound with some really bad spinal issues as well as subluxation of the hips.   He's only just turned 7 years and has been intermittently lame on his front (not stiff behind) for quite a long time.  Most recently he went over the back steps and yelped, coming in lame but where wasn't conclusive.  I thought it's time he saw my vet who pulled him and prodded him, but he didn't utter a sound so he was given antiinflammatories and home we came.   Later on that evening he was really uncomfortable to the point I called the Emergency line and he was given what amounted to a pre-anaesthetic shot which held him through the night. Next morning back to his normal vet who had me walking him up and down outside - it was terrible to watch.   He admitted him for x-ray and he was sent home with Metacam and pain relief (Gabapentin).  The next morning he rang and asked us to go back to see the x-ray results.   Not nice!!  There was a fuzzy area at the top of his spine which our vet said would really need to be seen under MRI - BUT cost ... £2K and as he said, what then given all the other problems he has.   Surgery?   I don't think so.

Any how he has since been on a few weeks of complete rest plus Metacam and Gabapentin (2 2X a day but now down to 1 2X a day).   And doing well to the point he's now gradually having more exercise, with my vet's approval - he saw him this week as I was running out of meds.

After all that (and sorry for the length of this), it appears he'll be on at least the Metacam for the foreseeable future and having heard some really bad stories about using this long-term, I'm worried.   My vet did ask about his tummy (at the time I'd not clicked re why) but I'd love to hear some positive reports of dogs on this for an extended period ..... my feeling is it if was THAT dangerous, would it still be available?   Should I get back to him and let him know of my concern?    I don't want him to think I'm necessarily querying his treatment (!!) and I do tend to go with which is the better of two evils - but he is only 7 years, not in the twilight of his life (I hope!).

One of my previous GR's was diagnosed with spondylosis at the age of about ten years. She was prescribed metacam and was on it for the rest of her life, she was PTS at 14. She had no side effects and was well apart from deterioting back legs and loss of control over her BM's, certainly no organ damage that we were aware of.

I would definitely talk to your vet about it. I suspect it's just the first line of anti-inflammatory pain relief and he will use it unless it causes problems then he will try something else. You are not second guessing him to say, "do you think I should be worried about long term side effects of the metacam? Are there other options if he doesn't cope on it long term?". I know one lurcher type dog who was on daily metacam for years after a neck injury (she ran into a tree - there was a similar injury on the supervet once, but the dog I know didn't have surgery) and coped fine, but I also know a few dogs who can't tolerate it orally at all. A bit like humans and ibuprofen I expect. But I would ask.

My collie was on metacam for about 8 years with no problems, I did give her half a ranitidine tablet a day about an hour before her metacam though just to guard against any stomach issues. I just bought tesco own make (indigestion relief ranitidine 75mg) as they were much cheaper than the vets or buying branded zantac.

http://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/meloxicam-metacam    like all the pain relief there can be nasty effects. Having lost a dog to bloat where rimadyl was implicated as part of the problem I would be very reluctant to use and would look for alternatives. Of  course sometimes you have to weigh up the pros and cons and it is the right thing to give

My GSD was on Metacam for a couple of years with no noticeable side effects, just try it and if your dog doesn't do well then you can come off and try something else. I requested a prescription from the vet and bought on line as it was much cheaper and she weighed 45kg so had to take quite a lot of it.  My border collie had one dose and was so ill with v and d that I never tried it with him again so it is a case of trial and error I think.

I knew a golden retrievers who was trained for Agility and Obedience, but was deemed lazy over jumps.

He was hip scored and found to virtually have no hop sockets.  He was on Metacam from five to the end of his days with no issues.  he lived to around 12 or 13.

I've never had a dog on metacam but if the worry is irritation to the stomach/bowel would slippery elm tree bark be of any help? I've never given that to a dog either but I suffer from acid reflux and had a suspected stomach ulcer. The doctors tablets only partially helped but the slippery elm solved the problem.

I too have in the past used Metacam long term for odd dogs and never had a problem.

Thanks guys.   I've been thinking (a lot) about all this, and what happened this last time he yelped going out and was lame coming back in.   There's no doubt he was in a lot of discomfort that evening, having seen the vet and been given some pain meds that day, and then seeing the Emergency vet that evening he was given 'pre-surgery medication' to help him through the night.   The next morning, when he was moving SO badly when back at the vet's office, that shocked the vet who saw him the day before, as much as me because he wasn't moving like that initially.    So was his uncoordinated movement the next morning because he was still under the influence of what was given by the Emergency vet the evening before!!!?  There's no doubting what was seen on his x-rays however.

I think I will have to have a chat with his vet in a few weeks time unless I see something I don't like with him - I have to take my Whippet in to have her corn hulled again, so then might be a good time to get into it, as suggesed, not to second guess his treatment, but to voice my concerns about Metacam and NSAID's in general.

Thanks for the feedback.

@ Brainless - that's very reassuring because Frankie has only just turned 7, not that we know how long he has before what's already happened, gets worse.   He has hip sockets, but subluxation which means the top of the bone (femur) isn't properly in the socket.   Hard to describe, but there's a clear gap between the femur and the socket.   I'm determined that his muscle tone doesn't deteriorate as clearly it's helping support his back end and any lameness hadn't previously presented in his rear (until the morning he was admitted for x-ray), but his front.   He has no problem getting up after a rest.

Yes good muscles are really important.  A dog can have the ball of the joint remove and still fiction purely by the muscles and ligaments.  It's  not so much the laxness that causes HD symptoms as the pain due to arthritic remodelling with the I'll fitting joint surfaces rubbing.

It's why a fit dog with awful hips can appear sound.

If you're really concerned, which is understandable, have a look at golden paste, if you haven't already.  It is a potent natural anti-inflammatory mixture and in my dogs has so far worked far better than conventional NSAIDs in every case - in Paige in particular, the limp that daily metacam and tramadol couldn't remove, GP stops completely.  That limp comes from spondylosis which is directly under a prolapsed disc.

Golden Paste is a great idea, I would just like to add a caveat about using it with NSAIDS -it really needs to be looked into carefully. 
I know my Heidi was on borrowed time anyway but, I was giving her GP and then gave her Metacam.  I had to put her to sleep a few days later due to complete shut down of her organs.  As I said, it was on the cards anyway, but you do have to be very careful about potential interactions.

Gp doesn't mix with blood thinners  either

Good point Furriefriends, and for that reason shouldn't be used 2 weeks either side of an operation.

Yes, it does need looking into.  I was thinking of it as an alternative to metacam, if the side effects are the main concern with that - I've found it to be much better than conventional NSAIDs and have been able to take my dogs off them in favour of it.

It's wonderful that you have found GP so effective, Nikita.  I've read so much about it and it's benefits.  I need to start using it myself - I bought lots of organic turmeric for Heidi and it'll be losing its effectiveness if I don't use it soon.  I do think it contributed to her lasting almost a year, alongside raw feeding and getting a pup.
I blame myself about the Metacam -

My Flat Coat was on metacalm for almost a year after having her eye removed and subsequent chemotherapy with no issues. I have heard good reports about GP from lots of doggy people for pain relief due to arthritis or joint pain in their dogs.

> It's wonderful that you have found GP so effective, Nikita.

I must say it's surprised me.  I started on plain turmeric with an oldie and that was better than the NSAIDs she'd had by a long way, and it helped Paige a lot - then she developed that limp.  So I switched her to the paste and it just went.  She can go without for a week or two before I start to see the effects (when I run out and it takes me a while to make more) but the difference in her whole demeanour is obvious when she goes back on it again.  And of course that limps returns when she's off it.