Nsaids/sulfa drugs/deramaxx and dobermans

NSAIDS/Sulfa Drugs/Deramaxx and Dobermans
Some Doberman Pinschers apparently are very sensitive to Sulfa (not Sulfur)
drugs. Many have had horrible reactions to Duramaxx in particular. One was a
female named Silk who had such a reaction to the drug that she sloughed off her
entire stomach lining. Fortunately for Silk, after many weeks of treatment, she
recovered. Her story is as follows:
Cheryl Hartman first reported: “Silk, my 9 year old Dobie, injured her left rear leg and was
prescribed Deramaxx® which she took for just two days. Needless to say, three days and $1,500.00
dollars later, the specialists are still giving her IV fluids. A scope was performed today by an
internal medicine specialist who found that the entire stomach lining had been sloughed off. Her
symptoms were violent vomiting which included blood, bloody stool and bleeding from the rectum.
IV fluids will be maintained for at least two more days, which will make that a total of 5 days on IV
fluids.”
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 15:09:43 -0600
From: Cheryl Hartman <jvcdobe@SWBELL.NET>
Subject: Medical: Deramaxx ---- CAUTION
I am sending this post in hopes of saving someone else, and their beloved pet the agony in which
Silk & I have recently gone through with Deramaxx. After only two doses of Deramxx (chewable
pills), Silk became violently ill, vomiting constantly. On two occasions, she vomited blood.lots of
blood. I brought her home yesterday, after being on IV fluids for 10 hours. She had two BM's
yesterday and both contained a good portion of blood as well. This morning, I made the decision to
transfer her to another vet specialist to have her scoped. The Internal medicine specialist called me
at 2:00 pm today, to inform me that Silk's entire stomach lining had been sloughed off due to the
Deramaxx. Silk will be on IV fluids for at least three more days, and then soft food for weeks.
Luckily, Merrimac's Sweet Inspiration, CD is vWD Clear. If she had been a bleeder, I probably would
have lost her for sure. According to the Internal medicine Vet.ONE more dose of this medication
would have killed her as well. It heart breaking to see the animal you love so dearly, suffer so
much. I laid on the bed with her last night and watched blood drain from her rectum. Silk is 9 1/2
years old, and did not deserve this. I have learned another very valuable lesson at the expense of
my beloved baby girl. So please, spare your animals the agony and pain that Silk & I have had to
endure the last few days. Don't give DERAMAXX to your Dobers.PLEASE! See the FDA website
on Deramaxx.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/ade/adetoc.htm DERAMAXX = deracoxib
BTW, I will be reporting this drug reactions to not only the manufacturer, but the FDA as well.
Thanks for your time, and if this post saves one Dobes life.it's worth it Cheryl, Silk & Reina~.
As of March 14th 2003, Cheryl's bill for treating Silk is now $3,470.53.
Another report regarding Deramaxx is as follows:
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2004 14:49:47 -0500
From: Kathy Davieds <momdog@swva.net>
Subject: Doberman and NSAIDS/Deramaxx: report
NSAIDS, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are useful medications for numerous anti-inflammatory
and pain relief purposes. They are also a category of drugs that have the potential for serious to sometimes
fatal side effects. In human medicine, some of the most commonly recognized NSAIDS include Vioxx and
Celebrex. In veterinary medicine, three commonly used NSAIDS are Rimadyl (carprofen), Etogesic (etodolac)
and more recently, Deramaxx (deracoxib).
Canyon was a strong, vigorous, 8 and a quarter year old black male Doberman that I nurtured from birth until
his placement with a wonderful family at the age of 8 weeks. His sire lived several thousand miles away, so
his mom and I travelled at length to get his litter safely inside her. His carefully screened new home was half
that distance away, so his new people and I travelled one day each to meet in the middle, then spent hours
on introductions and review of a thousand specifics.
I cherished the updates Canyon's mom and dad sent regularly since 1996. He was still swimming in the bay
and taking daily walks with them two weeks ago. He was full of life. They were about to send me a major
updated photo album. They reported again how *our days revolve around Canyon*, what a wonderful, happy,
active boy he was and how gentle he was with their two year old grandchild.
The next email subject was entitled *tragic news about Canyon*. Ever the devoted owners, they'd noticed last
month the very occasional, ever so slightly slower to rise in the morning stiffness. Not wanting him to suffer
the slightest discomfort from arthritis, they took him to their regular veterinarian. Perhaps he would do some
Xrays, bloodwork or other diagnostics.No diagnostics were performed; instead, he was given 2 weeks worth
of Deramaxx, 100 mg daily. Canyon had been going to this veterinarian for years and the owners had no
reason to question anything.
When Canyon lost his appetite and began vomiting, they called the vet to report these symptoms. The same
for the diarrhea, and the dry heaves. And the lethargy and the weakness. Then the drastically increased water
consumption. And then the collapse and seizures. They had no idea there was any relationship to the
medication. Because their trusted vet had given no indication there might be side effects, they thought
something else was wrong with their beloved boy.
Each time they called, about al of the above symptoms, they were told not to worry, and to keep giving him
his Deramaxx.
By the time their *son* died in their arms on the 11th day, he had exhibited nearly every one of the well
documented side effects of Deramaxx.Can anyone reading this even conceive of the horror these people are
living at this time, having discovered the list of side effects of Deramaxx on their own, because I hadn't the
heart to tel them? They see themselves putting the pills down his throat, the vet's office telling them
everything was ok, keep giving the medicine, and see their boy dying in their arms in a manner I don't even
wish to repeat here.
What I will repeat is this: anti-inflammatory drugs are useful. They definitely have their place. However, there
is NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER for dispensing them without 1) bloodwork first- at least in middle aged to older
dogs- to insure normal kidney and liver function, as product literature clearly indicates, and 2) 30 to 60
seconds worth of *client education* informing of potential side effects to watch for and that the drug should
be stopped if any of the side effects occur. That's all it takes to save lives: 30 to 60 seconds.
Canyon did not have to die this way. He was happy and healthy: his cardiac evaluations every 6 to 12 months
showed excellent cardiac health, his 10 littermates minus one tragic escape/hit-by-car are alive and doing
well as are his mother and her 5 littermates at nearly 11 years of age. His owners say, if only we'd known. We
didn't know we had to check up on our own about the safety of a drug dispensed by our vet. We would have
done ANYTHING for our boy.
Please, forward this report to everyone you know who loves dogs. And please, please: speak with your
veterinarian- not in an accusatory manner, but respectfully requesting their assistance. Do they advise every
client to whom they dispense Rimadyl, Etogesic, Deramaxx, of potential side effects? And to stop giving the
drug and call the hospital immediately if any of the side effects occur? If yes, indicate your deepest
appreciation for their caring attention to these details. If not, ask *Will you please institute this as a hospital
policy immediately? Will you please make it a rule that NSAIDS will only be dispensed with client education
regarding potential side effects?*
Hug your babies today on Christmas, as Canyon's owners cannot, and please vow to do this to make a
difference for al Dobermans and dogs in the future. Let's keep them comfortable, but let's keep them alive.
Thank you,
Kathy Davieds, DVM
You can read more about on the web at:
Deramaxx information
http://www.cyberdobes.com/PDF/Deramaxx.pdf
Edward Murray's website
http://home.insightbb.com/~e.murray/index.html
More tales of Deramaxx and side effects.
http://www.cafepharma.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=549612&Main=547734
Sulfa Drugs:
1) Tribrissen (Trimethoprim/Sulfadiazine)
2) Ditrim (Trimethoprim/Sulfadiazine)
3) Bactrim (Trimethoprim/Sulfadiazine)
4) Septra (same as Bactrim)
5) Cotrim (same as Bactrim)
6) Comoxol (same as Bactrim)
7) Albon (Sulfadimethoxine/Ormetoprim)
8) Bactrovet (same as Albon)
9) Primor (Sulfadimethoxine/Ormetoprim)
10) Azulfidine (Sulfasalazine)
11) Apo-Sulfatrim
12) Novo-Trimel
13) Deramaxx

Source: http://dpca.org/BreedEd/PDF/018%20NSAIDS.pdf