# Lyka says thanks to the forum!



## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

So my girl had been slowing down a lot. Had her surgery, and that went well, but she was still having hip problems and would only walk at a slow pace, and would lay down verrrrry slowly. Reading through other people’s threads, I saw a lot of members recommending the adequin(sp) injections. They are doing wonders for my girl! She hasn’t run around like this in a long long time. So from the bottom of both our hearts, thank you! 

https://youtu.be/_RNO42LES1Q

https://youtu.be/Wk2ht2cpCBw

And that annoying bark is Floki's “play” bark. It’s slightly embarrassing, he sounds like a chihuahua ?


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## Shane'sDad (Jul 22, 2010)

Glad to here the adequin's working for her...that's a happy lookin' "pool crew" you've got there......


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## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

Glad she's feeling better! Nice-looking pack!


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

Shane'sDad said:


> Glad to here the adequin's working for her...that's a happy lookin' "pool crew" you've got there......


Thanks! Too bad Lyka is terrified of water though, she’s the one I want in most. Great no impact exercise to help strengthen her hips, but what’s in the video is as close as she will get to the pool. And if we are in the pool, she hides inside. Silly girl!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

That's awesome!!! Adequan is a game-changer for some dogs -- it's been nearly miraculous for some of mine too. 



For anyone not familiar with it, the manufacture's website is here (it's RX only):
https://www.adequancanine.com/


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

My vet asked me how I had heard of it. I told her this forum, and she said she’s going to actually start recommending it once she does full research on it, because she hasn’t seen such a turn around so efficiently that is effective long term like this. Now we’re going to have to worry about bitch on bitch aggression, because she’s given Lyka much longer than the original term of 1 yr before we would seriously think of euthanasia. Hopefully being raised with Seiran will help stop any fighting, although I know that’s asking for a miracle! Lol


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

This is really great to know, and I am keeping it in mind for my dog too!


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## astrovan2487 (May 29, 2014)

Trying this for my dog as well, works really well for some dogs and there aren't any negative side effects. It can be pricey, first round at the vet was something like $250, next time I ordered from chewy, used a coupon, and got it for $97. Anyone looking to save money might want to try that route.


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

astrovan2487 said:


> Trying this for my dog as well, works really well for some dogs and there aren't any negative side effects. It can be pricey, first round at the vet was something like $250, next time I ordered from chewy, used a coupon, and got it for $97. Anyone looking to save money might want to try that route.


Let us known how it works out for you! My main vet is the one working with me on Lyka. There are a few different vets at the same practice, and we rotate for general wellness checks and vaccinations so the dogs get used to being handled by different vets. But our main vet is who always work with on issues. She’s not charging us for office visits, only for the RX. Which is a life saver, because I wouldn’t be able to do the injections myself. So she has us setup as a “trial” which just means all X-rays and anything else used is free of charge, we just pay for the RX at cost. When the trial is done, we’ll have to pay for everything, so it’s good to hear I can get it cheaper on Chewy! I’ll have to ask for electronic copies of her hips so I can post.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Valleyvet.com also has it (along with the syringes needed). I've ordered it from Valley Vet for my dogs for years -- really excellent pharmacy IMHO. A few times a year there's a sale there on the Adequan that knocks about $25 or so off of a two-pack. However, some people understandably aren't comfortable with I-M injections (I know some do it sub-Q, but all the research on it is I-M only, and that's how it's labeled)...it's worth having your vet show you how to do them if you don't have any training in it. (For calculating cost, it comes in 5 ml vials, and my 75-pound dog gets about 3 injections per vial. It's dosed by weight, so YMMV.)

FWIW, Adequan isn't new. I honestly think it's bizarre that so few vets know about it, but I applaud the ones willing to get out of their comfort zone and learn. Mine put one of my dogs on it in 2013, and he already had many dogs using it by that year. I think there's a generational change happening in how vets think about arthritis management (much as is happening with humans) -- I mostly see younger vets using it aggressively as a primary intervention for arthritis and older vets just prescribing carprofen.

For anyone who cannot afford Adequan, there is a generic that's not labeled for this kind of use but has the same active ingredient. It's called Ichon, and Valley Vet has it too. A vet has to know enough about this stuff to be able to make a sound judgment about going off-label for prescribing. Our rescue has used a lot of Ichon without any problems, and we see similar benefits -- our vet turned us onto it as an option. I would choose Adequan for all the research supporting it if you can afford it, but if cost is keeping anybody from helping their dog, ask your vet to look into Ichon for you.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I have seen dogs unable to walk actually be able to walk with Adequin - great stuff.


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## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

Sorry if this is too much off topic. After a brief (very brief) google search, I can't find very much info on Adequan use in humans. Does anyone know if there have been any human trials? Has it been shown to ineffective in people or to have side-effects?


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I’m not sure I know there is something to build your bone up but not sure what they are using.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

Sorry, but I must have missed what Lyka's problem is. Would you please enlighten me?

Very glad to know that she is so much better. I know that's a relief to everyone.


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

Pawsed said:


> Sorry, but I must have missed what Lyka's problem is. Would you please enlighten me?
> 
> Very glad to know that she is so much better. I know that's a relief to everyone.


Lyka was a very poorly bred GSD, who was then churning out puppies herself for a shoddy BYB. She didn’t receive enough nutrition as a pup and has issues with her hips. She had surgery for a vaginal prolapse that was causing some urine inconsonance issues. She also has a large mammary tumor. During surgery for the prolapse, they were able to remove the tumor and spay her. 

The adequan injections are for the arthritis in her hips. She had gotten to the point where I had to support her with a sling for bathroom breaks. She is now a new dog, with a new pain free lease on life.


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

sebrench said:


> Sorry if this is too much off topic. After a brief (very brief) google search, I can't find very much info on Adequan use in humans. Does anyone know if there have been any human trials? Has it been shown to ineffective in people or to have side-effects?


That would be a good thing to know! I go to the surgeons office on Friday for a follow-up, I’ll definitely ask him and relay what I learn here!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

It was developed for race horses, then became used for horses generally, and then dogs. It was first approved in animals in the 1980s but has never been approved for use in people -- maybe there's a different biologic effect or they just couldn't get the data necessary for human drug approval, or maybe they were persuaded not to for business reasons. Who knows!



If you talk to human doctors about it, you'll probably get further using the term "PSGAG" or "polysulfated glycosaminoglycan" rather than the canine brand name.



Research tip: Try searching PubMed. Use the generic term for the drug ("polysulfated glycosaminoglycan")--with quotes. You'll get a list of the relevant research papers that are in the repository of the U.S. National Library of Medicine at NIH:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term="Polysulfated+Glycosaminoglycan"


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

My vet is in her late 50’s, early 60’s if I had to wager. I love her though, she’s never turned down any suggestions I’ve had, as long as her research checks out. I love having a vet go outside the norm for their patients. She also isn’t super pushy with meds, and will work on a holistic approach if that’s what I’m leaning towards, and she has research saying it’s safe. She will tell me outright if I’m crazy, which is good.


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