Hello - I wonder if anyone has any advice. I have a 12 year old Flatcoated Retriever who has arthritis in the back legs/hips. Took her to the vet (who is a new one to me as we have moved house). He put her on Rimadyl. After about 2 weeks, she was fractionally better, but I didn't like what I read about it and wasn't prepared to spend vast amounts of money on a drug which seemed dangerous. Went back to the vet and he suggested aspirin for 2 weeks. She got progressively worse and I then had to drive her to the vet as she couldn't walk at all. Saw a new female vet. She gave a shot of pethadine and then put her on PLT (which the dog had had before). It worked wonders. Within 24 hours, she was a different dog. Walking better, demeanour better, eating well and going for short walks!<p>Went back to the vet and saw the first vet, who put her back on Rimadyl. After 2 days, she was back to limping, not happy and totally refused to go for any walk at all. Would only go to the garden for the usual.<p>Husband went to the vet today to see about some more PLT. This vet obviously doesn't like PLT and said it shouldn't be used for longer than 10 days. He gave us a 10 day supply, but can anyone please tell me - nothing else has worked. Is this PLT steroid ever used for long periods. I am getting conflicting opinions and just don't know what to do for the best.

PLTs are brilliant I always thought they were a strong painkiller anyway if you are happy with the drug then you are withinn your rights to ask your vet to prescribe them,I have used them for years with my dogs with no ill affects,but stress that I only use them with old dogs as with young ones they mask the pain so well they are tempted to overdo things but old dogs stay within their limits IMHO

Have answered you on the other thread, go for the PLT the bitch has no quality of live without, sorry it's not my place to say that, I should have said I would go for the PLT. Best wishes.

My feeling exactly jackie I mean that she should go for PLT

Mattie & Jacky - thank you - that's what I think, but it's very difficult when you consult a vet and 2 vets give directly opposing advice. I was so happy to see her better and couldn't believe it when she went down again. Can you also tell me if after the initial 10 days of dosage, the dosage went down? I keep reading that the dosage should be adjusted downwards until the right amount is found. This is a 50 pound bitch that is not overweight at all. She is on 1.5 tablets twice a day. I noticed that she pants a bit and her appetite has improved, but as I don't feed her any differently, her weight should remain the same. You comments have relieved me greatly. How long was your dog on the drug for?

Hi.
PLT or "prednoleucatropin" is a combination drug, "pred" being Prednisolone which is a steroid and the "leucatropin" being anti-inflammoatory and pain killing drugs. My vet used them as a last resort when my dog injured his back, they are strong tablets and can be harsh on the stomach, some vets recommend giving something like "antisepsin" (sp?) before the tablets to coat the lining of the dogs tummy as they can sometimes make them sick.

Have you tried "Metacam"? This is a NON steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and most dogs respond really well.

As for long term use, well at 12yrs old and making her feel that much better, if she were mine she would have them, even if I sought the opinion of another vet.
Good luck.
Dawn.

Jean, I have had two dogs on it long term, one for 5 years and one for 4. More details in other post. Mine were 23 & 25 kgs think that is about 50 lb and they both were on 1 tablet twice a day, it can cause weight increase and also reduces the immunity, so sometimes it is needed to reduce the does or stop altogther whist an infection is cleared. But it works wonders in cases where the non-steroidal drugs don't work.

Jean

Why not try Syn-flex. Its not a drug its a natural alternative. Glucosamine and chondroitin with shark cartilage etc added & in liquid form so maximum benefit is gained.

It also costs alot less, and has no known side-effects. Alot of people on this site have had good results from it including me (well Taz anyway).

At worst it will do nothing, at best remove the drug requirement.

Good Luck, its a tough one.

Julia & Hooligans

I think it is can be very good, but it is wrong to say no side effects I know of a human who ended up in intensive care due to a severe allergic reaction to glucosamine, rare I'm sure, but I would still observe carefully when first giving anything herbal or pharmaceutical.

Hello Julia and everyone else who has answered. She is on Synflex as well. So far, no improvement. I am on it too!! No improvement for me either. We have both been on it for 4 weeks. As an update. Last night we gave the first of the new batch of PLT. The dog had been lying down all day and had refused any form of walk apart from a painful stroll to the garden for pees & poohs. 2 hours after the first PLT, she walked into the sitting room, picked up her bone and started chewing it - hadn't done that for days. Today, my husband took both dogs in the car to the beach, where she walked about 100 yards and back reasonably normally. This drug is amazing! I am aware that it is a strong steroid and may have side effects, but to see the dog happy and walking around is probably enough for me. I will return to the female vet on Wednesday and discuss, because this is the only thing that has worked. This is a wonderful site and I thank you all for your comments.