Librela

[Mary Nicholls]

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My vet is recommending a monthly injection for arthritis called Librela. Has anyone had any experience of this?

 

[JudyN]

Not in my own dog, but I've met a few people who have found it's really helped their dog - with none of the side-effects of oral treatments.

 

[JoanneF]

Anecdotal only. It seems to make a great difference to some dogs, but not others. A friend who is a GP believes it's to do with the type of arthritis.

The following is shamelessly copied from someone else, someone whose opinion I respect but whose medical/veterinary qualifications aren't known.

Librela works by blocking a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF). Once this artificial antibody has bound to NGF, it prevents it from attaching to its receptors on nerve cells and interrupts the transmission of pain signals.

BUT – and it’s a very big but – NGF has many other functions in many other tissues throughout your dog’s body. It’s not only involved in pain signaling, but it’s very important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells in the central and peripheral nervous system.
It regulates the growth and differentiation of B-lymphocytes and in the maturation of T cells in the face of infection. It has an important role in the regulation of your dog’s immune system. It’s involved in the maintenance and survival of pancreatic beta cells (insulin production). '

So it's going to be a balance. If your dog is older, the benefit of the pain relief might be better than the risk of reduced immunity or low insulin. Or if your dog is younger, maybe these would be easier for you to manage.

Bottom line, I think it's something you need to discuss with your vet.

 

[janette]

Anecdotal only. It seems to make a great difference to some dogs, but not others. A friend who is a GP believes it's to do with the type of arthritis.

The following is shamelessly copied from someone else, someone whose opinion I respect but whose medical/veterinary qualifications aren't known.

Librela works by blocking a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF). Once this artificial antibody has bound to NGF, it prevents it from attaching to its receptors on nerve cells and interrupts the transmission of pain signals.

BUT – and it’s a very big but – NGF has many other functions in many other tissues throughout your dog’s body. It’s not only involved in pain signaling, but it’s very important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells in the central and peripheral nervous system.
It regulates the growth and differentiation of B-lymphocytes and in the maturation of T cells in the face of infection. It has an important role in the regulation of your dog’s immune system. It’s involved in the maintenance and survival of pancreatic beta cells (insulin production). '

So it's going to be a balance. If your dog is older, the benefit of the pain relief might be better than the risk of reduced immunity or low insulin. Or if your dog is younger, maybe these would be easier for you to manage.

Bottom line, I think it's something you need to discuss with your vet.

Anecdotal only. It seems to make a great difference to some dogs, but not others. A friend who is a GP believes it's to do with the type of arthritis.

The following is shamelessly copied from someone else, someone whose opinion I respect but whose medical/veterinary qualifications aren't known.

Librela works by blocking a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF). Once this artificial antibody has bound to NGF, it prevents it from attaching to its receptors on nerve cells and interrupts the transmission of pain signals.

BUT – and it’s a very big but – NGF has many other functions in many other tissues throughout your dog’s body. It’s not only involved in pain signaling, but it’s very important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells in the central and peripheral nervous system.
It regulates the growth and differentiation of B-lymphocytes and in the maturation of T cells in the face of infection. It has an important role in the regulation of your dog’s immune system. It’s involved in the maintenance and survival of pancreatic beta cells (insulin production). '

So it's going to be a balance. If your dog is older, the benefit of the pain relief might be better than the risk of reduced immunity or low insulin. Or if your dog is younger, maybe these would be easier for you to manage.

Bottom line, I think it's something you need to discuss with your vet.

My golden retriever Oscar, male, 13y 5m, 35kg, has been receiving monthly Librella since it became available here. For him it has been a game changer. The previous meds made him sleepy, not himself, but the Librella gave him back his mobility without compromising his energy levels. These days we’ve had to add Amantidine to the mix but after 3 years that’s to be expected. I’ll keep him on it as long as he’s with us. It’s not effective for all, like all meds, you have to find the right one or combination for your dog, but for my eldest, it really was a miracle.

 

[Mary Nicholls]

My golden retriever Oscar, male, 13y 5m, 35kg, has been receiving monthly Librella since it became available here. For him it has been a game changer. The previous meds made him sleepy, not himself, but the Librella gave him back his mobility without compromising his energy levels. These days we’ve had to add Amantidine to the mix but after 3 years that’s to be expected. I’ll keep him on it as long as he’s with us. It’s not effective for all, like all meds, you have to find the right one or combination for your dog, but for my eldest, it really was a miracle.

Thank you for your reply. My dog is also a Golden Retriever, he’ll be 12 in March. I’ve had him on salmon oil, turmeric and jointsure for years but he suffers from an occasional limp on his left front leg which the vet says is arthritis. He’s still very active and young for his age so I’m not sure about filling him with chemicals every month unless he really needs it. A friend also told me that her dog died 3 weeks after having Librela because he had undiagnosed cancer and the injection exacerbated it.

 

[janette]

Thank you for your reply. My dog is also a Golden Retriever, he’ll be 12 in March. I’ve had him on salmon oil, turmeric and jointsure for years but he suffers from an occasional limp on his left front leg which the vet says is arthritis. He’s still very active and young for his age so I’m not sure about filling him with chemicals every month unless he really needs it. A friend also told me that her dog died 3 weeks after having Librela because he had undiagnosed cancer and the injection exacerbated it.

Oscar had no health issues until he was 11 but we’ve been hitting regular bumps in the road since then. Only last week he was chasing squirrels in the forest and now his cruciate has gone and he’s a different dog. Librella has mixed reviews, it’s been good for us but hadn’t heard about it exacerbating cancer, I’ll do some research so thanks for letting me know. I have Oscar on Winston & Porter Hip & Joint Plus which I think has the highest % of green lipped mussel etc on the market. It’s far superior to Youmove but I don’t know how it compares to Jointsure. I’ll take a look.

 

[JoanneF]

We used Jointsure then moved on to Ageility, that might be another one you want to look at. We also have a Bioflo magnet on Timber's collar, I have no idea whether it helps or not. But the people who use magnetic bracelets say they are either transformational or rubbish - I reckon it can't do any harm. So it had to be worth a shot.

 

[Hemlock]

I have a Bioflow that has lasted through generations of dogs. Some it helped, some it didn't. It's pretty quick at showing results. I also used one myself until I had some fractures that resulted in a lot of metal inserted into my bones and therefore it wasn't advisable to use it. So for a smallish outlay compared to vet bills, it would be worth a try, or maybe you could borrow one.

 

[Mary Nicholls]

We used Jointsure then moved on to Ageility, that might be another one you want to look at. We also have a Bioflo magnet on Timber's collar, I have no idea whether it helps or not. But the people who use magnetic bracelets say they are either transformational or rubbish - I reckon it can't do any harm. So it had to be worth a shot.

I’ve just ordered a Bioflow collar from Amazon. Fingers crossed that it helps.

 

[Mary Nicholls]

I have a Bioflow that has lasted through generations of dogs. Some it helped, some it didn't. It's pretty quick at showing results. I also used one myself until I had some fractures that resulted in a lot of metal inserted into my bones and therefore it wasn't advisable to use it. So for a smallish outlay compared to vet bills, it would be worth a try, or maybe you could borrow one.

Thanks for the advice. I’ve ordered one.

 

[Hemlock]

Let us know how you get on - it might help others too.

 

[janette]

We used Jointsure then moved on to Ageility, that might be another one you want to look at. We also have a Bioflo magnet on Timber's collar, I have no idea whether it helps or not. But the people who use magnetic bracelets say they are either transformational or rubbish - I reckon it can't do any harm. So it had to be worth a shot.

Ah, we moved from Ageility to Winston & Porter.