what if treatment fails?

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TOD SAYS...

A good treatment plan for arthritis will be reassessed and adapted regularly.

Arthritis is a fluctuating and progressive disease. Often it is not a case that treatment has failed, but that treatment has not kept up with the change in disease. A good treatment plan for arthritis will be reassessed and adapted regularly. By monitoring your dog’s pain status with chronic pain indicators, you can act quickly to counteract deterioration.

However, sometimes treatments fail because it isn’t arthritis, or the dog has arthritis with another condition. It is very important to get an accurate diagnosis, as well as have routine consultations with your vet to ensure that other geriatric diseases aren’t affecting your dog.

Co-Morbidities and arthritis

Diagnosing one long term condition is a real blow. Managing more than one can be really tough. Sadly a diagnosis of arthritis does not mean they will not succumb to anything else. It is very common for a dog, especially aged, to have more than one condition with differing and conflicting requirements.

A classic example is a dog with kidney disease that also requires pain relief for their musculoskeletal pain. Or a dog with liver compromise that can’t tolerate the normally prescribed medications.

As said before “where there is a will, there will be a way!” and many of these complications can be well managed, however the dog will require a thorough diagnosis, likely regular reassessment and potentially a multidisciplinary team approach where your vet works with colleagues to formulate the best plan.

Remember you can access all our CAM Facebook Lives on our YouTube channel, or check out our CAM Adviser articles in the Member Zone for more information.

CAM HAS A BOOKLET DESIGNED TO HELP!

You can purchase CAM’s ‘Has My Dog Definitely Got Arthritis?‘ booklet from the CAM online shop in print format.

Or why not join our CAM MEMBER ZONE where you will gain access to all our CAM booklets in digital format as well as a wealth of information, videos, downloads, forum and much more...

knowing when it’s time

No-one wants to say goodbye to their loved pet. Research shows us that losing your pet can hurt as much as losing a relative or close friend which emphasises how emotionally difficult it can be for that owner.

CAM HAS A BOOKLET DESIGNED TO HELP!

For help and support purchase CAM’s ‘End of Life Care‘ booklet from the CAM online shop in print format.

Or why not join our CAM MEMBER ZONE where you will gain access to all our CAM booklets in digital format as well as a wealth of information, videos, downloads, forum and much more...