FLEXSPRINKLE

Green Lipped Mussel Extract for Dogs - Joint and Mobility Treatment For Arthritis

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Drugs Used to Treat Arthritis

Vets increasingly recommend the use of supportive non prescription treatments like Flex Green Lipped Mussel as well as pain killing anti-inflammatory drugs that they may prescribe  because prescribed painkillers usually have side effects. Gastro-intestinal upsets and even long term damage are real risks.

Flex Sprinkle has a wide usage in supporting precription anti-inflammatories. As a natural anti-inflammatory it relieves the symptoms of pain and speeds your dogs natural recovery either alone or following surgery. The natural glycoaminoglycans, vitamins and trace minerals all assist in helping your dog live with joint wear or disease by stabilising the joint and slowing the rate of decline. If your Vet has prescribed painkilling drugs then Flex Sprinkle is extremely useful as an additional supplement. There is recent evidence from clinical trials that the specific green lipped mussel extract in Flex will reduce the negative gastro-intestinal side effects of these drugs.

The following information on anti-inflammatory drugs is provided to help your complete understanding.

Most of the drugs available to us relieve pain and nothing else. Some actually make the joint worse, despite relieving pain; while others do help to restore the normal structure of the joint and its cartilage.

Pain Killers

Pain killers are the Vets main treatment for arthritis, and have been for a great many years. Most of these belong to a family of drugs called NSAIDs (pronounced en-sayeds), which means Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. There is a large range of these on the market partly because no one drug is universally effective. All have a slightly different effect.

Of all the drugs in common use in veterinary medicine, NSAIDs show the greatest differences in toxicity between species. This means that a drug that is very safe if one species can be very toxic to another. Good examples of this are:

   * Paracetamol - this is very safe in people and dogs, but a single dose of a quarter 500mg tablet can be fatal to cats.

   * Ibuprofen - this is very safe in people, but toxic to dogs.

   * Phenylbutazone - this is very safe in the dog, but was banned for use in man (except for certain special circumstances),       because of serious adverse effects.

It is very important that you do not give any pain killer to an animal without veterinary advice first. It's best to insist on being prescribed a veterinary licensed product on all occasions. These have been shown to be safe and effective in the target species.

Metacam® is currently the first choice NSAID for the treatment of arthritis. It has an acceptable safety profile, but can cause vomiting or diarrhoea. It is presented as a liquid with its own dosing syringe.  Metacam doesn't have any adverse effects on joint cartilage, but because of side effect fears, many owner avoid its long-term use.

Rimadyl® is an excellent pain killer, and side-effects occur, though more commonly than with metacam. Dose adjustment is not so easy because it is only available as 20mg and 50mg tablets.

Ketofen® is a good pain killer, but unfortunately, it can only be safely given for 5 days. This makes it unsuitable for the long-term treatment of arthritis.

Predno-leucotropin®(PLT)  is a mixture of two drugs. Cinchophen, a fairly mild NSAID, and prednisolone, a steroid.

Unlicenced NSAIDs Commonly Used

Piroxicam(Feldene®)  is very closely related to meloxicam. It is unlicensed for use in animals in the UK, but was used extensively before meloxicam was introduced. It is much cheaper than meloxicam, but also considerably more toxic. Vomiting and diarrhoea are quite common. It has a much greater potential for damaging the kidneys than meloxicam. It is however an excellent pain killer, and only needs to be administered once every 2 days.

Aspirin  This is the oldest NSAID in use. It's cheap, and available from practically every grocer's shop in the UK. In the dog, aspirin is quite good as a pain killer, but vomiting is common. Giving the drug with food helps to prevent vomiting in some individuals. Aspirin can also hasten the course of arthritis, because it inhibits the production of important proteins within cartilage. It does not have a veterinary licence in the UK, and it is generally better to use one of the more modern drugs with a better safety profile. (Also note: aspirin must not be given to cats except on specific veterinary advice).

Paracetamol  Like aspirin, paracetamol is cheap and readily available. It appears to be less effective as a pain killer than aspirin, but vomiting is usually not a feature. Although paracetamol is classified as an NSAID, it has no anti-inflammatory effect. In the UK, paracetamol alone is unlicensed for use in dogs, but it is licensed with a combination of codeine, and is marketed as Pardale®. Care must be taken when calculating the dose, as it can be fatal if used incorrectly. In small dogs, it is very easy to give a toxic dose. For instance, one 500mg paracetamol tablet could be fatal to a Yorkshire Terrier weighing 2kg.

Paracetamol must never be given to cats. (Why?)

The following NSAIDs should not be given to dogs under any circumstances:

   Naproxen (Naprosyn®)

   Indomethacin (Many brand names)

   Ibuprofen (Nurofen®, Brufen®, and many other brands)

This is not a complete list of all the NSAIDs that are unsuitable for dogs. If you are taking an NSAID for arthritis, and you think it's the best thing ever, it does not mean that it will be good, or safe to give it to your dog.

Adverse Effects of NSAIDs.

The following side-effects are seen with NSAIDs.

    * Vomiting

   * Diarrhoea

   * Stomach ulcer

   * Loss of appetite

   * Apathy

   * Reduced blood flow to the kidney, (and hence kidney failure)

   * Liver Failure

   * Abnormalities of blood cell production

   * Inhibition of phagocytosis, (a phagocyte is a white blood cell which destroys bacteria, and foreign proteins, and is an        important part of the immune system).

   * Foetal abnormalities

Steroids are commonly used to treat arthritis in the dog. They are potent inhibitors of inflammation, and very useful pain relievers as a result. While these drugs can be very effective in controlling the symptoms of arthritis, especially in the short term, they can seriously adversely affect the condition of the joint. That is, they make the disease worse rather than better. This effect is much more pronounced than any of the NSAIDs. In addition, steroids have masses of other side effects.

Pentosan polysulphate (Cartrophen) is in the only class of drugs used to treat arthritis that relieves pain by actually improving the condition of the joint. It's worth noting again here that steroids and some NSAIDs, such as aspirin speed the progression of arthritis. It is injected periodically over a treatment course. The response to Cartrophen Vet® is quite variable; in some dogs, no other treatment is required for many months or years; in others, there is no effect at all.