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Osteoarthritis
Is anyone still reading this?
I have a 12YO BCx (maybe xLab --- 51 lbs). My vet thinks it is virtually certain she has arthritis. The symptoms are there (stiffness etc.) and "virtually all dogs her age have it". He recommends starting her on Glucosamine (GA). So I do some reading and checking things out, and find that my eyes glaze over from the many possibilities. First, there is GA-Sulfate and GA-HydroChloride. He said that GA-HCl gets absorbed much better in dogs. OK. For humans I find on the net that GA-HCl should always be combined with Chondroitin Sulfate. (Does that hold for dogs, too?) However, in the stores I have so far been able to find only GA-HCl by itself, or GA-S + Chondroitin + something called MSM --- this is Human grade --- not even sure this is doggy-compatible. And then there is green-lipped mussel extract. Where does that fit in? Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks gus |
#2
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Osteoarthritis
Gus, one of my dogs was bilaterally dysplastic. It wasn't diagnosed
until there was terrific damage to his hip joints at 8 1/2 yo.. My vet put him on GlycoFlex, which is mainly green-lipped mussel, and now glucosamine has been added.... I added it seperately in the dog's last couple of years.... he died at 14 1/2 and was still active. Cosamine is a vey reliable pet version (several mixtures) of glucosamine (plus MSM, etc.), when it comes to quality. GlycoFlex usually needs to be ordered from a supply house. I have no stake in KVVetSupply.com , but that's a good source for good price and good service. I have not heard of there being a measurable difference between the HCl and SO4 versions of glucosamine... Not saying there isn't, it's just news to me and I will file in the old memory banks. Don't bother with a liquid version.... expensive and quality is questionable for some brands, I've heard. Hopefully you figured out that it takes weeks (4-6) of double the maintenance dose to build up the effect..... more and thicker intracapsular fluid and decrease in irritation/inflammation. You can give the dose at any time of day or even skip a day if necessary without decreasing effectiveness. However, if you skip a week or more, you need to return to the double dose for a few weeks. According to the horse vet used to using SynoFlex, a sister product to GlycoFlex. Jo Wolf Martinez, Georgia, USA |
#3
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Osteoarthritis
On 11/7/2012 4:24 PM, gus gassmann wrote:
He said that GA-HCl gets absorbed much better in dogs. ..................Don't know about that, never heard it. OK. For humans I find on the net that GA-HCl should always be combined with Chondroitin Sulfate. (Does that hold for dogs, too?) ...........Apparently. However, in the stores I have so far been able to find only GA-HCl by itself, or GA-S + Chondroitin + something called MSM --- this is Human grade --- not even sure this is doggy-compatible. ...........Yes, dogs can take MSM. ...........A rundown of supplements and dosage suggestions: www.dogaware.com/health/arthritissupps.html And then there is green-lipped mussel extract. Where does that fit in? .......there's a wealth of products for arthritis. Depends on your dog as to what works and what doesn't. Green lipped mussel extract is another GAG. Here's a site with some information: http://www.dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html ........I'd agree with the author of above link that EFAs are also important. buglady take out the dog before replying |
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