-
Sep 20, 2006 11:33 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
FDA: Some Medicines For Your Dog Could Be Deadly
More Than 22,000 Dogs Have Gotten Sick From Taking Certain Drugs
BOSTON (CBS4) ―
According to the Food and Drug Administration, more than 22,000 dogs have gotten sick and some have died after taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including Metacam, Deramaxx, Previcox and Rimadyl.
So far, according to the FDA, almost 3,000 dogs have died after taking a variety of these medications.
"He started to vomit, then he started having diarrhea, I looked at him and there was blood dripping out of his mouth," said Chris Sweeney, after noticing something was wrong with her 9-year-old cocker spaniel, Ari.
Ari had been taking Metacam, a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, for a sore knee.
Sweeney says it was catastrophic.
"I went from having a healthy dog to having a dog that had to be rushed to the hospital and they said he might die on the way," she said.
Sweeney said that if she'd been told about the drug's side effects, she never would have given her dog the medication, which she believes ultimately killed him.
"This was a very painful lesson," says Sweeney.
Demitry Herman who gave his dog Deramaxx, another popular drug used to treat arthritis, experienced something similar.
"[My dog] wasn't really eating a lot or drinking a lot, she was lethargic," said Herman.
And on the way to the vet, Herman says, she had a heart attack and died.
Some experts believe that these are not isolated cases and that the problem may be much more profound.
"I think it's the tip of the iceberg, I really do," says Dr. Margo Roman, a veterinarian from Hopkinton.
That's one reason why Dr. Roman said she won't give the pain killers to her own dog, or any of her patients without trying other options first.
"There's liver issues, there can be kidney issues, there can be gastro intestinal irritation issues," Roman said.
Instead she gives animals fresh organic food to build up their immune system and tries alternative treatments with less serious side effects such as acupuncture, chiropractic, herbs, homeopathy and nutraceuticals.
The company that makes Deramaxx released this statement: "Deramaxx has been safely and effectively used to treat more than one million dogs for canine osteo-arthritis."
The company that makes Metacam said it's "confident that there are millions of animals whose lives have been improved by the pain relieving benefits of the drug."
Both companies said they provide vets with an information sheet about possible side effects.
But Chris Sweeney says she wishes she had been provided that information, "If I had known, I would never have used it," she said.
The FDA says these drugs are safe and effective if they're used according to the label and if owners are informed about side effects.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)