Congratulations to Sydney! Many of our furry friends struggle with arthritis pain as they age, and unfortunately, Sydney knows that all too well. As a large, 14-year-old dog, she has the perfect genetic and anatomical combination to lead to debilitating arthritis pain. Over the years, she slowly started to have a harder time running, walking, playing, and just being her normal self. Recently, she became unable to use the stairs, making it hard for her and her owner’s daily activities. Initially, Sydney was placed on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), called Carprofen, which is effective in minimizing pain and inflammation. This category of drug is similar to people taking Ibuprofen or Tylenol for mild-to-moderate pain. However, long-term use of NSAID’s can lead to several side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea, liver and/or kidney failure and even death. In Sydney’s case, her kidneys and liver were beginning to be negatively affected by the long-term use. This left her with the option of Gabapentin, another common pain medication with less severe side effects. Unfortunately, when used alone, Gabapentin does not provide a substantial amount of pain relief in severe cases.
Fortunately, a new treatment for arthritis pain, Librela, has been approved by the FDA for veterinary use in the United States. Over the past two years, Zoetis conducted clinical studies in Europe on hundreds of dogs with arthritis pain. Dogs given the Librela injection had an overall improvement in quality of life with decreased pain as early as 7 days post-injection. Although, it’s important to note that maximum pain relief was seen after the second or third injection when the drug is able to reach its efficacy threshold.
For the last three months, Sydney has been getting the monthly Librela injection in our clinic, and her owners have seen some impressive results. Not only can she use the stairs in her home again, but she has increased her daily activity enough to lose some extra weight. Weight loss also takes stress off her joints, making the treatment more helpful over time. We are so happy to see Sydney’s improvement and cannot wait to see many other patients benefit from this new medical breakthrough in the future.