Cartrophen Injections
 

Poppy was recently diagnosed with a luxating patella, slight hip dysplasia and slight arthritis (she is now 7).:( Our vet believes that surgery is not a good option as curing one problem may make her arthritis worse which would put us back at square one.

He has started her on a course of Cartrophen Injections which she must have once a week for the next month. She had her second injection yesterday and there seems to be a very slight improvement in her limp. The vet has told us that most results are not seen until after the third injection..
I was wondering if anyone out there has used and had any success with this form of treatment.

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hi, poor weee pop; sorry i don't know of those injections, but i thought this may be worth a try...
my 8yr old was diagnosed a fair few years back with lp in both back legs, (but surgery wasnt an option for him either) and it had started to affect him really badly, and he was hardly even walking about and arthritis had started to set in ... about 8-9months ago my vet had just been visited by a rep of some sort who left sample bags of a joint supplement called Magnacare (Magnacare | Forum Animal Health | Small Animals | Animal Health Products) and it worked magic! he is running around playing with my puppy now- something he has Never done before, and when he was last in the vets, he said that the arthritis wouldn't be a problem for him for a few more years because of the difference in his knees.
so now all my kids get it on their food to help maintain good healthy joints; it might be worth asking your vet about it as well?
i don't buy it from my vets though, it was £46 for 500g (100 days worth) but only £27 on vetuk, but if you buy off vetuk via Shop Online and Help TOLFA — Tree Of Life For Animals then vetuk will dontate on your behalf to the charity- 'Help us raise money for our animal shelter in India by clicking on a link below and for every purchase you make we will receive a donation - at no extra cost to you!'
i only found out about that link the other day, but thought i'd share in case you decide to give the magnacare a go!?!

i hope she is feeling better soon!

Thanks for replying bellemarie.. It's great to have advice from someone that has been through the same problems..
I have looked Magnacare up online and it does sound good.

She has been taking a supplement prescribed by the vet called Cosequin and has been on them for around a month now.I think that it has some of the same ingredients as Magnacare but I havn't as yet seen a great result from taking it. Perhaps I am being too impatient and expecting miracle results, but I just wan't her well again.
I will certainly speak to my vet about Magnacare when she goes for her 3rd cartrophen injection on Thursday..:)

hi,
hows she doing? did your vet see any improvement?

I used to give my old sheepdog glucosomine. Just the regular one from Holland & Barrett. It made a world of difference to him but it did take a while before the full benefit became noticeable. After that he was much more mobile.

Well shes had 3 injections so far, the last is due tomorrow morning (thursday)
Our vet agrees with us that there has been some improvement in her general mobility and in the mornings she seems so much better. She uses her leg almost normally apart from the fact that she is still reluctant to jump up on the sofa. By the evening though her leg becomes stiffer and the limp and hobbling comes back again. By morning it seems much better again so i'm not sure if shes just being a little cunning as only Yorkies can and playing on it a little at night as it gains her attention.
I have read about a couple whos dog had the same injections. They didn't see an improvement until a week after the last one was given so i'm still optimistic that her leg may get better and better in the coming weeks.
I will definately update you as she progresses. In my experience its always good to have knowledge of new treatments from somone whos actually tried them as it seems so many of our babies suffer from the same knee problems and this treatment is somtimes a better option than surgery.

what fantastic news! i was just wondering a few days ago how she had been getting on with treatment. so glad that she is feeling And acting better! give her a hug from me!

That's wonderful news.
It sounds like it's really helping.