Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Andrew Mellor — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:24:28 GMT

i saw one dog with profuse vomit and then melaena for first 2 days after taking tablet gave antepsin and omeprazole and recovered fine ( surprisingly dog was really happy in itself , not at all poorly) owner was so impressed with trocoxil that she just give the dog the antepsin and omeprazole for 5 days after each new dose and he is doing really well.

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Julian Earl — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:16:55 GMT

It is categorically my first-line medication for dogs that need long-term NSAID. Owners report that dogs that have been on other NSAIDs are better on Trocoxil and, touch wood, we have seen no apparent side-effcets. One Rottie had diarrhoea, but has a previous history of that anyway so it may not be related.

Also Rob is correct re. the reason for the increased interval after six months: some dogs take longer than one month to metabolise the drug and so to prevent further accumulation the interval s increased.

As for the concern about dogs that might need steroids, in those cases with a previous history of atopy I would probably use something else but otherwise why worry about something that might never happen? There are a lot of medications that we could avoid if we are cocnerned that one day the patient might need something that conflicts. There are alternative medications for atopy or AIHA but as far as I am concerned, treating a painful condition probably should take priority in most situations.

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Rob Loxley — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:12:18 GMT

[quote user="Mark Holmes"]When I questioned a drug company about this they said the same thing but its not based upon anything other then side stepping the licensing process and avoiding having to relicence the drug for long term use. (or whilst long term use studies are being done) It certainly does not follow that this is any more or less safe than just continuing its use.[/quote]

Um, I'd question that advice. Pfizer's submitted data showed that a subset of dogs were quite slow at metabolising the drug and therefore plasma levels could accumulate over time, and so the month off is to allow for these animals. It is for all dogs, not just say ones with impaired liver function, as this subset didn't appear to be predictable.

[quote user="Andrew Mellor"]The month without treatment is a real test for some dogs and often have to be on quite a lot of tramadol I am sure it is one of those drugs that in a few years will be licenced for continuous use. [/quote]

My advice from the Pfizer rep was to put them on Rimadyl!

Do people using it find that it is more effective in older, heavier dogs than younger, lighter dogs, as this was another thing that I remember from reading the data?

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Andrew Mellor — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:08:08 GMT

I have to say I have loads of dogs on trocoxil and probably a higher proportion of clients are happier with it than any other nsaid, I think the difference is two fold, it is cheaper than rimadyl and because you give it a full dose each time the owner is not tempted to see if the dog can get away with less which simply dose not work. Loads of labs in the practice are on 50mg of rimadyl and come in saying they are still stiff ( when they could be on 100-150mg) when I change them over they do really well, in fact I have had one boxer that the owner asked if she could go back to rimadyl as she could no longer keep up with him!!

depending on the break through pain I will use tramadol, paracetamol or one of gabapentin /amitryptilline if there is sciatic type discomfort.

The month without treatment is a real test for some dogs and often have to be on quite a lot of tramadol I am sure it is one of those drugs that in a few years will be licenced for continuous use.

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Bob Russell — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:01:34 GMT

Not sure what the trade name is but I am pretty sure the active ingredient is called tocilizumab. I will check with him later. I do not remember him looking so good. I wonder if there is a placebo effect!!!

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Alan Tevendale — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:31:05 GMT

Bob if anything I've had completely the opposite experience from Pfizer. They keep trying to arrange meetings with us. I don't think a day goes by without at least 2 companies phoning to arrange a meeting. Most of them are told to phone back another day when they have something interesting to go through.

We ordered some Trocoxil in and have used it in a very limited number of cases - seems good so far. I do have the same reservations as some others here regarding it's use if something goes wrong but other than that it does seem to be a fairly good drug.

Do you know what your brother has been started on?

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Bob Russell — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:22:00 GMT

I am afraid I have not tried it on patients. Mainly because the only information we have had here is the data sheet. Pfizer are not interested enough to arrange a rep visit.

I would be interested in other vets experiences with it and how patients are getting on !

My younger brother (has v v severe arthritis problems) has been started on new medication by injection and managed to beat me on the XBox Kinect yesterday. These new generation arthritis drugs seem amazing!

Why are some drugs companies not interested in selling their wares?

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:52:39 GMT

You are correct Joyce, you can use it for a total of 7 consecutive doses, which after the 14 day s"loading" dose will leave you with a further 5 consecutive months of treatment.

The dog should then miss the next monthly dose and re-start the 7 dose cycle again.

I have my dog on it also, and am very happy with the result.

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Mark Holmes — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:52:18 GMT

[quote user="Joyce Whitehead"]

My understanding is that after the 6 months they have to have a month off before restarting, although we haven't got any to that stage yet. Hope that helps. We never see a Pfizer rep so can't get anything useful from them.

[/quote]

When I questioned a drug company about this they said the same thing but its not based upon anything other then side stepping the licensing process and avoiding having to relicence the drug for long term use. (or whilst long term use studies are being done) It certainly does not follow that this is any more or less safe than just continuing its use.

My concern with Trococil is what happens if the dog develops a steroid deficient disease during the month. Or a condition where NSAIDS are c/i?

Re: Have you got any dogs on Trocoxil?

Joyce Whitehead — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:34:14 GMT

We have a few dogs on it, mostly those who didn't respond well to other NSAIDs. We have also found that they can be getting stiff on the day or two before the next dose, so sometimes we top them up with tramadol for those times. Some have been remarkably happier on Trocoxil compared to long term rimadyl or metacam though.