Librela - a new option for pain relief for dogs with osteo arthritis

[Candy]

Hello @Luvdawgs and welcome from me and Joy (small black Labrador) in West Yorkshire. Joy is nearly seven, has recently been diagnosed with arthritis, and had her first Librela injection two weeks ago. I noticed an improvement after two days, but am having to make sure she doesn't overdo things as this results in her limping again. I have a friend whose retired Guide Dog, now thirteen, is doing very well on Librela and he noticed a bigger improvement in her after the second injection , so I'm hoping that this will also be the case with Joy and Ginger. It's lovely to have you and Ginger with us, looking forward to seeing some pictures!

 

[Jacqui-S]

How did the appointment go? Did you manage to sort out a way forward to help Lilly to be more comfortable?

Thanks for asking.
We are trying gabapentin and she had been prescribed 300mg twice daily ( for the record, this cost me about £40, not including the consultantation fee, which is a bit excessive IMHO as I know the non-branded NHS tariff price is <£5 for a 100 caps. Hey ho.
She has been on it for 5 days and I think she is a little easier myself though OH not convinced yet.
We have swimming on Sunday and Auntie Pauline has a good eye for pain so will ask her advice.
Not discounted Librela yet.......

 

[Boogie]

Tatze doesn’t limp, but she slows right down (much like her Mum!)
She‘s on Metacam every other day and we’ve seen a huge improvement.

She‘s 11 next month.

 

[Selina27]

300mg twice daily ( for the record, this cost me about £40, not including the consultantation fee,

Thing is, I find this scary. I'd dearly love another dog but the cost of vet fees does put me off. And it seems all wrong when I could give a good home to dog in need of one. With Cass approaching 8 this sort of thing could be just around the corner, so I have to bear it in mind even though she is insured.

It's a conundrum for sure.

 

[Cath]

Thing is, I find this scary

I thnk we all do now Helen, with all the prices going up all the time

 

[kateincornwall]

I know what you mean , Reuben is insured but Nelly isnt because there are so many health problems that one quote was 175 per month so we just keep money aside for her but it is hard sometimes . We wont have any more dogs due to age but even if we werent the age we are , I would think twice xxx

 

[Luvdawgs]

Thanks for all of your warm welcomes!!

I found the video posted here "Live Interview with Mike Farrell" very informative and helpful for me i dealing with Ginger. Ginger refuses to ride in the car so not sure I could find a physio to come to the house in my area. I love that you are much more knowdedgeable and accepting of alternate therapies and homeopathy in other countries.

The video made me feel confident in my decision to give Ginger the Librela. Ginger had her second Librela injection two days ago and is walking much better and seems to be in a lot less pain. The only thing is I still sometimes have to give her a little boost to help her stand up sometimes, but I'll take that over how she was.

GInger was on a three part pain reliever/relaxant that her vet makes me give her before she comes to my house for a dog visit because Ginger is high strung, but I don't use it any other time. It is from a compounding pharmacy and has Gabapentin/Melatonin/Trazodone. I don't like it because while it does relax her and put her to sleep, she has very little muscle coordination while under its influrence.

 

[Jelinga]

Thanks for asking.
We are trying gabapentin and she had been prescribed 300mg twice daily ( for the record, this cost me about £40, not including the consultantation fee, which is a bit excessive IMHO as I know the non-branded NHS tariff price is <£5 for a 100 caps. Hey ho.
She has been on it for 5 days and I think she is a little easier myself though OH not convinced yet.
We have swimming on Sunday and Auntie Pauline has a good eye for pain so will ask her advice.
Not discounted Librela yet.......

I pay £30 for a box, slightly better price than you, however, knowing NHS only pay £5!

 

[Granca]

We have swimming on Sunday and Auntie Pauline has a good eye for pain so will ask her advice.

Does she have regular hydrotherapy? I hope the combination of gabapentin and swimming helps. The spiralling costs are a worry - even with insurance, which is an expensive option anyway.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Does she have regular hydrotherapy?

Yes she goes fortnightly. Has done since she wasn't much more than a year old, though missed about a year when OH was made unemployed. You could tell the difference when she didn't go.

 

[MellowYellow]

How much is Librela in the UK? We were quoted EURO 100 per injection here.

 

[Jelinga]

Thanks for all of your warm welcomes!!

The video made me feel confident in my decision to give Ginger the Librela. Ginger had her second Librela injection two days ago and is walking much better and seems to be in a lot less pain. The only thing is I still sometimes have to give her a little boost to help her stand up sometimes, but I'll take that over how she was.

GInger was on a three part pain reliever/relaxant that her vet makes me give her before she comes to my house for a dog visit because Ginger is high strung, but I don't use it any other time. It is from a compounding pharmacy and has Gabapentin/Melatonin/Trazodone. I don't like it because while it does relax her and put her to sleep, she has very little muscle coordination while under its influrence.

I would think that combination of drugs would make Ginger very weak and wobbly on her hind legs. Rourke is on Gabapentin, could she not just have the one drug?

 

[Luvdawgs]

I would think that combination of drugs would make Ginger very weak and wobbly on her hind legs. Rourke is on Gabapentin, could she not just have the one drug?

You are right that the combination makes Ginger very weak and wobbly o her hind legs. It also makes her sleep. Ginger had been on Gabapentin before being on the combination, but it did not reliever her anxiety at all when we used to take her to a vet in the car. We have a visiting vet since Ginger will not ride in the car now, so I will ask the vet when she is here if Ginger can just take the Gabapentin.

 

[Anne123]

How much is Librela in the UK? We were quoted EURO 100 per injection here.

I pay 106,- euro for Finn once in the 4 weeks.....

 

[JES72]

Homer had his second Librelia injection two weeks ago and so far all is well and it does appear to be helping him.

 

[Luvdawgs]

Homer had his second Librelia injection two weeks ago and so far all is well and it does appear to be helping him.

I'm glad to hear that Homer is doing well and that the Librela seems to be helping him. How old is he?

 

[Jacqui-S]

How much is Librela in the UK? We were quoted EURO 100 per injection here.

I was told it was £104. I would assume there would be an appointment/administration fee on top of this. Vet first time then nurse.

 

[Naya]

How much is Librela in the UK? We were quoted EURO 100 per injection here.

Ours cost £107. Luckily I don’t pay consult fees due to a plan we put Harley on when we first registered at the vets. They keep trying to get me to change the plan, but I won’t.
Unfortunately, the 3rd injection Harley has had (just under 2 weeks ago) has not helped at all this time. Her limping is the same if not worse than before her first injection. The first 2 made a vast difference. We are going to try 1 more and if it doesn’t help we won’t do it again.

 

[Jelinga]

Ours cost £107. Luckily I don’t pay consult fees due to a plan we put Harley on when we first registered at the vets. They keep trying to get me to change the plan, but I won’t.
Unfortunately, the 3rd injection Harley has had (just under 2 weeks ago) has not helped at all this time. Her limping is the same if not worse than before her first injection. The first 2 made a vast difference. We are going to try 1 more and if it doesn’t help we won’t do it again.

Librela doesn't cure the arthritis but it does help with the pain. Rourke limps terribly, we had to go to vet yesterday as his two joints swelled up dramatically but vet said Rourke wasn't feeling pain when he manipulated the joint, nevertheless less it is very distressing for me to see him like that but the Librela helps and I wouldn't give it up.

 

[Naya]

Librela doesn't cure the arthritis but it does help with the pain. Rourke limps terribly, we had to go to vet yesterday as his two joints swelled up dramatically but vet said Rourke wasn't feeling pain when he manipulated the joint, nevertheless less it is very distressing for me to see him like that but the Librela helps and I wouldn't give it up.

I know it’s not a cure, just to ease the pain. It’s the pain that she is in. Previous injections she would let us touch and massage her wrist, this time she won’t let us near it. She’s also been licking the area which is unusual. She also doesn’t want to go far on walks which again is unusual. It’s horrible to see as she has always been so active.