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Thursday, March 29, 2007
Our beautiful, healthy, two year old Labrador Retriever named Rowdy
is dead.
He did not die from the impact of the car that struck him
and sped away without stopping.*
Nor did he die from the lacerations,
contusions and hairline fractured pelvis suffered as a result. Rowdy died
because I violated my number one rule when it comes to prescribed
medications for my animals, “Always ask about possible side effects
before administering.” This is what I have preached for
years to anyone with a listening ear and yet, in my agitated state and
wanting to give our dog the needed relief, I neglected to follow my
own advice.
This is our experience...
Thursday, March
22, 2007. We were on vacation out of state with our dogs Rowdy and
Duke when the accident occurred. The vet gave us a bottle containing
five tablets of Previcox and the label stated '1 times daily for 5
days'. Previcox,
is a NSAID
(Non-Steroidal
Anti-Inflammatory Drug)
produced by Merial Ltd., an animal health subsidiary of Merck and
Co. Inc. and Aventis, S.A.
No information regarding side effects was given, nor did I have the
presence of mind to ask. Little did we realize that with each pill,
we were doling out death to our beloved dog.
Friday morning, we dutifully
began his doses. Rather than give him a whole tablet (57mg), we chose to
administer half in the morning and
half that evening so he could
rest comfortably at night. Prior to administering the Previcox
,
he had a normal appetite and drank water as usual.
Saturday morning
he refused to
eat or drink anything so no pill was given him. Later that evening
he seemed to be perking up so again, I offered him food which he ate
and water which he drank and drank. I thought nothing of it nor did
I give him any of the medication.
Sunday he seemed even better
and was so alert, wagging his tail and he actually rolled over for a
belly scratch. He tried his best to get up but the fractured pelvis
prevented him from doing so, so we slipped a long towel around his
abdomen and gently lifted him to his feet.
This tried and true
method was used long ago on two dogs we found at different times,
Gimpy and Jack, who had
suffered the same fate. Gimpy's broken pelvis was such that the vet
said he would have immediately put her down had she been to the
clinic that evening. Fortunately for her, it was almost midnight
and back then there were no emergency vet clinics anyway.
Gimpy and Jack received
low dose aspirin for inflammation and pain and both made a full
recovery and lived many happy
years thereafter. Since Rowdy was recovering so nicely, we opted not to give
him any Previcox
on Sunday.
Monday we began our
nine hour car ride home so we decided a whole tablet would be
necessary for his comfort. Less than an hour later, his breathing
became labored and he would stretch out his neck and legs in a rigid
manner. Thinking he may have been too warm, we turned down the air
conditioning. It seemed to work and again, he drank more than the
usual amount of water.
Tuesday came and he seemed very
tired. Although he ate and drank, he did not have the stamina to
hold himself up while we helped him walk outside. We had to pick him
up and carry him back in the house since he would stand in one spot
as if he were in a daze. We chalked it up to the grueling car ride
the day before.
That evening we gave him
one 57mg tablet
of Previcox
By midnight, he was
projectile vomiting
(Suspect that projectile
vomiting is a symptom of poisoning - the body may be aggressively
trying to rid itself of a toxin. Drug-overdose patients often
experience projectile vomiting.
From the article
‘How to Understand Projectile Vomiting’).
Several times during the night and early into the next morning,
he
vomited until he was physically worn out. He shivered
uncontrollably followed by heavy panting and then throwing his head
far back, he held his mouth open wide as if trying to draw in more
oxygen. Then all four legs would stiffen out straight. He pawed my arm
several times in a frantic manner as
I lay beside him. By this time his gums were going a greyish colour.
Wednesday morning he was
immediately taken
to our vet and put on an IV. We were told to check on
him at four-thirty that afternoon. Meanwhile, I called Merial, the
company that makes Previcox
and told them of the situation. I asked how long until the drug
would be completely out of his system and was told
eight hours and that there would be no
‘reach back’ residual effects once
it was eliminated.
Important:
Anyone whose
dog has succumbed to Previcox (firocoxib) poisoning, please
contact Merial for a case number as soon as
possible for future reference.
Here is the Merial
website which
has phone numbers for all geographic locations.
http://www.merial.com/contact_us/index.asp
Also, contact your
local poison control center and report the drug.
I then went online and started reading about
Previcox
as well as
Deramaxx, Metacam, Rimadyl, and other potentially harmful
NSAID’s, some of which have been pulled from the market after dogs
died from them. We felt certain that the IV would flush his system
and that evening Rowdy would be back to his normal self.
We showed up at the vet and were told we could go back and visit him
but then they asked us to wait. I thought they were
situating another animal from the surgery room into one of the cages
in the back, so never thought anything about it.
The vet came by and
asked “Are you here to see the dog that passed?" We
looked at each other dumbfounded as I said "No!" "Not MY dog!" He told us Rowdy had
died shortly after noon.
Anyone who has experienced a situation
similar to this knows the gut punched feeling that accompanies unexpected bad news. We were in total disbelief as we
gathered up his lifeless body and brought him home for burial.
The next day I spoke with the same person at Merial who had
given me a case number the day before. When I questioned why vets
were not given the CIS
(Client Information
Sheet) regarding NSAIDS, I was told that they could “Send
off for the information if they choose to.”
Drugs which can and do adversely affect our animals are routinely
dispensed without
any information. Why is that?
Would it not be good
practice for vets to provide their clients with a CIS before
prescribing
any medication, thus allowing the owner to make an informed
decision regarding their dog’s health and well being?
My vet had
never heard of any dog having a bad reaction to this medication and
said he routinely prescribed it since it was one of the “safer”
ones.
"There’s clearly a breach between what veterinarians are reporting
and what groups on the Internet contend."
Quote from Dr. Larry Glickman (professor of
epidemiology and environmental medicine at Purdue University School
of Veterinary Medicine) on
ProHeart 6,
another drug pulled from the market in 2004 after numerous canine
deaths.
Previcox's own website under the tab
Previcox FAQ states
Which dogs should not take PREVICOX?
Your dog should not be
given PREVICOX if he/she:
-
Has had (Merial added the word
had to their literature in 2009)an allergic reaction to firocoxib, the active ingredient in
PREVICOX.
Please note that almost
all pet medications warn against use if the animal is allergic to
<insert active ingredient name>. The problem lies with the fact that
until the drug is administered, how would you know if your pet is allergic to
the main ingredient? Such was the case with Rowdy, a healthy
dog who had never been on
any medication. How could we have known?
An article published
in 2006, entitled 'Why
is Fido dead? Prescription drugs are killing dogs, too.',
named Previcox ,
along with other NSAID drugs as being responsible for 22,000 cases of
illness in dogs, almost 3,000 of which were fatal.
A
Previcox ad notes the following, "In
rare situations, death has been reported as an outcome of the adverse events listed
above." Really? Are over 3,000 NSAID deaths (and counting) considered
'rare'?
Reports of adverse and fatal reactions to
Previcox abound
on websites and blogs. Tragic experiences, one after another are
cited while the veterinary world by and large has been lulled into
thinking that Previcox
is the panacea for all breeds.
An email
received (Mar 20, 2009) from
one owner stated that her
6.5 lb dog was prescribed half a 57mg tablet
of Previcox daily. At the suggested dose (from Merial) of 2.27mg
per pound of body weight, this dog should have only been given
14.75mg total, not half of a 57 mg tablet. The ramifications could
have been devastating.
But here is the interesting note: Merial's own website states
"this drug should not be given to dogs
weighing less than 12.5 lbs." Are
vets not being educated about the drugs they are dispensing?
How many deaths are mistakenly attributed to old age, heart
failure or an 'existing condition' while the real culprit is the
prescribed drug?
We never thought of other
possibilities that might have proved effective for Rowdy.
Christie Keith, in her article
"What
the FDA wants your vet to tell you", shares
information as to what vets
should be telling their clients, which drugs can safely be used
with NSAID's for gastrointestinal protection and
available options instead of
NSAIDs.
Wrong Incentives
According to Wharton management professor
Lawrence Hrebiniak,
author of a new book entitled "Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective
Execution and Change",
flaws in the culture and business model of the pharmaceutical
industry are illustrated by Vioxx and the
other Cox-2 inhibitors. Drug
companies, he argues, have become overly reliant on the
blockbuster model in which huge investments in research
are targeted to a drug that could reach massive sales volume and
drive profits for the entire organization.
The model breaks down when a problem arises,
he says. If safety concerns crop up,
there is little incentive for executives to pursue [these
concerns] since the company has invested so much in developing
the drug. "The incentive is to
ignore them," says Hrebiniak. "The culture develops
around the blockbuster, and if you are the one who says, 'We
spent millions of dollars on research and development and this
isn't working,' then you are persona non grata."
Alternatives to
NSAID's
Why not look into
natural options
or other alternatives such as
Cosequin (animals
with
diabetes
should not take glucosamine, which is in Cosequin).
All drugs
have side effects so before choosing the lesser of two evils,
investigate anything your plan to give your dog.
Do not rely solely on information provided
by the manufacturer. Remember, they
are trying to sell you a product. Google <insert drug name> and
read about the results of others who have actually used the drug
for their dog.
Our mischievous, loveable Rowdy has now become another statistic,
case number 07-18129 in the ever mounting deaths in which Merial
claims no responsibility. They responded with, “We
are sorry for your loss.”
You can contact me at:
mel.k911.biz@gmail.com
Acknowledgement:
Our website is only
ONE of many sounding the warning about the effect this drug is
having on dogs worldwide. To ones who have been so forthright in sharing your personal
experiences, I thank you.
I cannot express the depth of sadness I feel for those who have lost
their dog to Previcox or any other prescribed drug. To those
whose dogs may never recover completely, my thoughts are with you also.
The
vets who urge a complete blood work and enzyme liver
testing prior to administering Previcox or any of the newer cox-inhibiting
drugs deserve kudos for taking responsibility for the animals in
their care. These are generally the same ones who take the time to
inform their clients of potential side effects and
encourage them to read the literature
accompanying any drug prescribed.
Merial, the makers
of Previcox (firocoxib), has been paying for emergency treatment and
hospital costs incurred when dogs have taken a turn for the worse or
died. Lab work, which many of the dogs on our
Previcox Email page have had, cannot be easily dismissed, no matter
how 'rare' Merial claims these cases are.
Before
reimbursement, you must sign an agreement
which states you will not hold Merial or any of its affiliates,
liable for the death of your dog. You also agree that
you will not state anything derogatory
about Merial or
specifically Previcox
either orally or in writing.
Update March 21, 2009:
We continue to receive
emails from individuals whose dogs have died or have
suffered adverse reactions
(heart murmur, stomach ulcerations, liver damage)
after being given Previcox.
Previcox is routinely being prescribed for problems unrelated
to arthritis, for which it was developed. Some examples
include: A cut paw, a scraped nose, after neutering, before
having teeth cleaned, after having a tooth pulled and prior to surgery.
We wondered why this is so. When
speaking to a Merial employee, we found that like human drug
salesmen, vets
are given "incentives" to push Previcox. These incentives
may include equipment for veterinary surgeries as well as
substantial discounts on future orders of Previcox.
An effective
drug could be offered such as a buffered baby aspirin but this has fallen
out of favor due to the low cost associated with it and the
availability of purchasing it over the counter. Since this
offers no financial return, some vets fail to mention this
option. Or, they may frighten individuals by telling them of the
"horrible consequences" of gastric ulceration from aspirin.
One
individual wrote us that when she asked her vet about using
aspirin, the whole office staff gasped at the very thought and told
her how dangerous it was! Aspirin is better
tolerated and more forgiving by most breeds than the main
ingredient in Previcox, which is firocoxib.
A few doses of Previcox can and do cause
death as our
Previcox emails confirm.
So, there you have it. We no
longer wonder why Previcox is being pushed in clinics all over
North America, Europe, South Africa and other locations we are
now hearing from. Dogs who should have easily healed from minor
surgeries are now dead. Previcox is big business.
The “Boys”
We had some land that we loved so
And to it often we all would go
As the doors slid open and we watched them run
Our beautiful boys crossed fields in the sun
Rowdy bumped Duke to follow his lead
Duke didn’t mind he followed, indeed
Flushing out a rabbit, it disappeared into thin air
They then tussled with each other, they hadn’t a care
But Rowdy is now gone and Duke wanders alone
A bit unsure of what to do on his own
And now as the doors slide open again
Duke steps out slowly, minus his friend
It is never the same, it never can be
No, life’s not the same without his Rowdy
Lab owners: GOOGLE- 'Lab
forums' and read about Labradors and NSAIDs. It is to your advantage
to join any of these forums as they provide a wealth of
information for this wonderful breed.
* For those under the
impression that Rowdy was running the neighborhood, rest assured, he
was not. We were sitting with our friends
and their dogs in their fenced in backyard. Our friend who is a
beekeeper, noticed one of his hives swarming and leaving the yard.
He began following it and since he was looking up, he never saw
Rowdy waiting at the gate to rush out across the street where
another dog had been barking most of the day. The gate, on the
opposite side of the house from where we sat, was out of our view.
The reason why many turn to prescription drugs like Previcox for
their animals is to control pain, generally caused by arthritis.
Read about other factors which affect our canine pals by clicking the
links below.
A Vet's Perspective on Drugs
Grains in Commercial Dog Foods Contribute to Arthritis
Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Hazards of OTC Medications
Pain Drugs for Dogs: Be an Informed Pet Owner
Closely Monitor Your Dog When Using NSAIDs
Previcox Dosage and Administration-2005
Previcox Dosage and Administration-2007
Updated July 2, 2009