Adequan- protocol and costs

Can anyone tell me what the most aggressive/safest protocol would be for adequan. Also the average cost per shot? Do most people have it done at the vet or do it at home? Im very experienced with administering shots, but nervous about the way this is given. However, if it is between Latte not getting it because I cant afford it done at the clinic OR me giving it at home instead...I will learn to do it. Thats hoping the vet would let me give it at home.

Any other thoughts on how it has helped (or not helped) other's cats with severe arthritis would be much appreciated.

 

Aggressive? Not sure what you mean by that. Adequan requires a loading period where you give the shot every 4 days for a month. You should see results within that month - I did. Gandalf was able to hold his tail higher. That would be termed "more aggressive" because I was told we could do 1 shot each week for 8 weeks as a load period. After that load period it will be up to you and your vet to determine how often to give the shots. We do once a month, but Gandalf also receives acupuncture and B12 shots.

I gave the shots at home, but Gandalf would sometimes react and I did not want to make him leery of even his insulin shots, so now I have the acupuncturist give them. I printed out feline anatomy pictures and that helped me see where the best muscles were. However others have stated it's not necessary to give the Adequan in a muscle, that under the skin is fine. Please discuss that with your vet.

Cost - it was $90 for a 5ml vial. I'm still using it over 1 year later. Vet says it's fine as long as it's clear. Our dose is .26ml, Gandalf weighs over 14 lbs.

My vet was pleased on his last Xray she noted his spine was in better alignment and there is no further progression of his arthritis which is in his spine and hips. His front leg joints also pop less after an Adequan shot.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi Carolyn,

Nina/KB and I think WFC/Meowzi do adequan. You might ask them.

 

Angus had two shots per week for four weeks, then a shot every four weeks. I know some people give it weekly. The main side effect is blood thinning. It is dosed by weight, so cost per shot is going to vary. My vet charged $120 for a 5ml vial and, for Angus's weight (17.5 lbs), the vial held 12.5 doses. So, it worked out to ~$10/shot. 1800petmeds has it for $110 for two vials. Per my vet's recommendation, I injected Angus sub-q (same as insulin injections) at home. Angus's arthritis was mild and, though I didn't know it, he had cancer that I believe was contributing to his pain and stiffness. It did improve his ability to jump.

 

My senior civie, Emily, takes Adequan injections for very bad arthritis. I give it at home, sub Q. I paid $102 CDN for one 5 ml bottle. There was a minimum two bottle order, but I am splitting it with another of my vet's clients. The dosing schedule was twice per week for four weeks, then once per week for four weeks, then once every 3 - 4 weeks as needed. As it turned out, we decided to keep giving it once per week. I saw a dramatic improvement in the beginning, where she seemed to feel really well and kittenish. That settled down, but she still shows improvement in being able to jump up on furniture on occasion, and being more social. She also has frequent UTI's, and since Adequan is reported to help with bladder health, that was another factor in deciding to keep on using it. Emily is a very heavy cat, and her dose is .28 ml, so I get around 17 shots from one bottle, or $6 per shot.

 

Thank you so much for those who offered practical information and experience. I really appreciate it! My vet has not used adequan in this manner. After speaking with him about further options for pain management with Latte, he was going to look into it a bit more. He was grateful for the fact that I am 'challenging' him to come up with new options. He is always very open to the information I gather, along with his knowledge and the resources he uses to come up with good solutions for Latte.

Vicky, you caught on to what I meant by aggressive. I cant afford to invest money into a conservative approach and then later learn I could of, or should have done it differently. It's pretty critical we get this pain under control for quality of life purposes asap.

I spent a good amount of time looking online for how others dosed their cats and found it to be all over the board. i figured I would rather go to a reliable and trustworthy source, such as FDMB to gather what I need to know to make an informed decision.

So again, thank you to those who offered your personal insight. It will be extremely helpful in guiding both myself and my vet with the use of adequan. Im optimistic this could be helpful for Latte.

 

Good luck, Carolyn. Linda's beginning dosing regime was more aggressive than ours, so you may want to suggest that - twice per week for 4 weeks, then once per week for 4 weeks, then once every 3 or 4 weeks. Although the blood thinning aspect of it should be taken in to consideration, so your vet may want to read up on the side affects first. That may be something it was found to cause at high doses in lab tests.

Very informative thread. Thanks everyone.