Hello everyone My female Saint, Molly will be 5 in January. I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. She has the most sweet-natured and adorable personality - something that is commented on by every vet that has seen her and everyone she has ever met. She has been on medication for arthritis for 3 years. Her current regime is one and a half onsior and one symmetrel daily. Nonetheless she can often only walk for a couple of minutes before sitting down. Any walks longer than this result in her back legs starting to drag and eventually she kind of crumples down and can't move for a good while. As a result we now only walk her up and down the green in the neighbourhood. The vet said a while ago there was one more medication we could add to her regime. She did go up to two symmetrel 3 months ago but it didn't make any difference and in that time her mobility and pain/stiffness seems to have disimproved. Now an eye specialist has strongly recommended surgery for entropian eyes and she is booked in in late January. I asked him whether he thought it was worthwhile given her advancing arthritis and he said that was up to me. I'd be so glad of people's opinions. Do you think we should start her on the third medication and see if there's any improvement before undergoing the eye surgery? Or if you have any other perspectives or have been here, I would love to hear from you. We love her and wish so much she didn't have these issues but now just want to do what is right for her. Thank you for any help.
I am sorry to read about Molly's problems and I honestly do not know what to suggest regarding the new medication for her arthritis and am sorry I cannot help you. Regarding her eyes, if the eye specialist has strongly recommended surgery, possibly a second vet opinion could help you make up your mind regarding trying the new arthritis medication first.
No, but we are at the vet tomorrow with a recurrent ear infection (no end to her problems, poor thing) and I will ask. Thank you x
We are so sorry for your Molly! This is what we are dealing with at a much later age though. I’m sorry your Molly has begun with these symptoms so soon. We have a beautiful St. Bernard named Picasso, about 9 years old. He has been inseparable with my husband. However, for the last several months he is having difficulty getting up and sometimes falls down. The Vet has him on Novox, and recently started him on gabapentin. He whines a lot, and if we try to help him up he has bitten us. We recently tied a thin strip of a sheet around him so we may use it as a lift sheet to distance us hopefully to not get bitten. My husband spends hours on end brushing and petting....and has shed so many tears. He has studied all kinds of recipes and creates good meals in hopes to help him. It is breaking our hearts. Any suggestions would be appreciated
Do not give any supplements without consulting a vet first to make sure they don't react to medications already being given, but my old boy Sam had very bad hip dysplasia and arthritis. My vet suggested Glucosomine and Chondriotin tablets which helped a little but not enough so Green Lipped Mussel was added and the combination gave him great relief for a couple of years until it worsened to a point we had to let him go. He was a Border Collie not a St Bernard, but it may be something that helps if your vet agrees that it won't badly affect other meds
Thank you for the input.....He gave him the glucosamine and chondroitin for a while and he didn’t think it helped him, but he may try it again. We’ve never heard of the green lipped mussel but will check it out. He can occasionally get up on his own but for god most part just cries and whines. My husband has rigged up various things to help lift him, but even then he can only walk a few steps til he goes down. He seems healthy otherwise. We’ve ways kept him in the house and he gets endless attention with brushing and petting.
