# Adequan Injections for Hip Dysplasia - Need Feedback



## yodawnde (Jun 1, 2013)

Five-year-old Gracie was diagnosed with hip dysplasia today. The vet, has recommended to start down a treatment path of supplements Glucosimine/Chondroiten etc), pain meds, anti inflammatory, and a series of Adequan injections (one injection a day for two weeks). Has anyone had any experience with the injections? I'd like to hear some feedback to see if the shots are a waste of time/money/and trauma for Gracie.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I have not heard of Adequan injections... Hoping another member will see your question and offer some advice. 

So sorry about your Gracie's diagnosis!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

First of all, sorry to read this, hope the situation improves without surgical intervention. 

Nothing to offer on the injections, but I read that HID may be a form of scurvy in dogs... And that a dose of ester C may be helpful in preventing the onset of the disease, to some degree. 

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,8652.msg66808.html#msg66808


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

yodawnde - sorry to hear about Gracie's hip dysplasia.

My close friend has a young Maltese (tiny fur ball!) with the same diagnosis, it was pretty severe.
Her vet recommended laser therapy and after a few months she was able to take him for a walk.

As far as I know, injections were not offered.

Best wishes to you and Gracie!


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

I've never injected a dog with Adequan, but have had horses done.

In a horse the response is very good, based on the horse of course. It takes time for the supplement to build up, and you may ask the vet about a Legend injection for quicker relief. 
If you are going down the Adequan route, seriously consider Hyalun oral suspended drops. the absorbtion will not be as immediate, or as complete, as an Adequan injection, but you can facilitate the dosage over time.
If she's in serious discomfort ask the vet if you can start her off on MetaCam until all of the joint supplements build up in her system.
Probably the most reputable Glucosamine/ Chondroiton supplement is Cosequine, and I see that they now make it formulated for dogs and cats. Believe it or not, we have a 24 year old Conure, small parrot, on Cosequine. So it is safe.
She will be on these supplements for the rest of her life, so you will need to be disciplined about given them to her daily.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

As Gunnr says Adequan injections are used a lot in horses - but generally have to be repeated every 6 weeks.

Cosequine is good - but I have just had the most amazing result with my elderly Great Dane with Cortaflex for Greyhounds..which is an extra strength Glusosamine/Chondroiton supplement. He is still a little bit stiff in his movement but the improvement was visible within a week. He is happy to going whizzing (at his own pace) with a pack of Vizslas now and is enjoying life so much more. I would add he is not on any medication. 

Sorry to hear about your pup and hope you can find something to help her. It is very sad to hear of any dog with such a problem, but is hear breaking when they are so young.


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

Wait.

How bad is the dysplasia? Were there any symptoms, was she having a problem, why was the vet looking for it? We all fear dysplasia given the prevalence of it in the breed, but frankly, unless it's serious, it's nothing that requires extensive treatment. Unfortunately, there's nothing that can reverse it, and unless it's really severe, it shouldnt interfere with her life, it's a condition that needs to be managed. What you need to do is keep the weight off, make sure she's getting careful and adequate exercise, and oral supplements with Cosequine and Chondroiton are beneficial.

So, find out what the grade of the dysplasia is, maybe even get an orthopedic consult. Don't panic and don't rush into extensive, intrusive treatments just yet.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

yoda, my mom's basset receives adequan injections for his dysplasia. His injections initially started at a similar frequency as what you are being told (I believe it was 1x/day) and now he is now at once a month. He also started with the anti-inflam and glucosamine/chondroitan. Overall, the combination helped him and we were able to see a noticable improvement right off the bat where he was able to get around better and seemed to be in less pain. Most noticeably he was able to get up easier.

Currently he's getting injections about 1x/month and has continued on the glucosamine/chondroitan treatment. He is getting along OK but his biggest issue is that he needs to lose weight to get the pressure off of his hips. If that factor were taken out of the equation I think he would be in a lot better shape than he is currently. He clearly has pain as he lashes out when you try to move him so things aren't perfect by any means. He limps, his hips make a cracking type sound, he has trouble getting comfortable and he definitely has stiffness, especially when the weather changes. I would say that he has a more moderate to severe case of dysplasia as it wasn't addressed early on enough, but adequan has seemed to help him be more comfortable.

I personally believe that the injections did help and would help an otherwise healthy dog that weighs what they should when showing symptoms (stiffness, limping, etc). If your vet is recommending this as a treatment that I would assume that your pup doesn't have a severe case so you may be catching this relatively early where this type of treatment would be beneficial to lubricate the joints and help movement. It does take a while to see an improvement but we did see that his range of motion was better, he was less stiff and he seemed like he was able to get around easier. I think that if you are going to go with this treatment you should give it some time to see results as it isn't an instant fix- it takes time for results to show, if they are going to. I also recommend having your vet show you how to do the injections yourself to help reduce cost and trips to the vet.

I do recommend that you explore all options before making a decision. Nothing is guaranteed to work but you have to make a decision that you are comfortable with for you and your pup. I hope Gracie starts feeling better without having to do any surgery going forward.


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## yodawnde (Jun 1, 2013)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. We decided to go down a very conservative path of treatment until her symptoms worsen. She's lost some weight and is responding well to the supplements for now. Sooooo we've decided to hold off on the shots


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