Duralactin concerns

Bluedog

New member
UPDATE Duralactin concerns

Emmy has been on Duralactin for 5 days now and I'm NOT liking the changes I'm seeing since she started on it. She's having difficulty getting up on our wood floor, and she has never had this issue before. It's like she doesn't know where to put her feet. She's also acting unsure of her footing when standing, and nervous. Could just be coincidence with the progression of her disease, or could be adverse interaction of the Duralactin with medication that she takes on a regular basis for her Myositis. Whatever it is, I'm stopping with the Duralactin and will see if things go back to normal.

Angus has also been on it for 5 days, and I'm not seeing adverse reactions with him, but I am not seeing any improvements either. Will keep him on it a bit longer, but if I don't see improvements after a couple weeks I will stop giving it to him also.
 
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mulenag

New member
Oh no. I'm sorry it isn't helping Emmy and Angus, Nancy. Thank you for passing this on. Sometimes we all get excited for a "miracle" product and forget that not all dogs respond the same to every product. I hope this is just coincidence with Emmy and that Angus will see improvement with a bit more time.
 

Rhonda

New member
Thanks for posting this, I was going to pick some up but I think I will wait to see more people weighing in, I hope Emmy goes back to normal after taking her off, please keep us posted on her.
 

Joan Fisher

New member
Emmy has been on Duralactin for 5 days now and I'm NOT liking the changes I'm seeing since she started on it. She's having difficulty getting up on our wood floor, and she has never had this issue before. It's like she doesn;t know where to put her feet. She's also acting unsure of her footing when standing, and nervous. Could just be coincidence with the progession of her disease, or could be adverse interaction of the Duralactin with medication that she takes on a regular basis for her Myositis. Whatever it is, I'm stopping with the Duralactin and will see if things go back to normal.

Angus has also been on it for 5 days, and I'm not seeing adverse reactions with him, but I am not seeing any improvements either. Will keep him on it a bit longer, but if I don't see improvements after a couple weeks I will stop giving it to him also.
Hi Nancy,
I ordered it for Tiika and was hoping it would arrive today. I've been trying to figure out if there would be any interaction between Tiika's cyclosporin and the microlactin but can't find anything. The cyclosporin causes a reduced function of the t-lymphocytes and "[SIZE=-1]MicroLactin works by making the "tight junctions" of the blood vessels even tighter. This in turn significantly reduces the emigration of neutrophils to the site of inflammation (i.e. sore joints). As a result, the cycle of inflammation and pain is broken resulting in better feeling joints, increased flexibility and quicker joint recovery." It seems like both should be okay. Is Emmy just on prednisone for her myositis?[/SIZE]
 

ardeagold

New member
Yikes Nancy...that's definitely not sounding good. Ours have been on it for 3 days now and I'm seeing some improvement in Ray who has ED but is only on an Ascriptin a day, not seeing anything with Chance or Addie yet...but no negatives, either.
 

Bluedog

New member
Emmy is on a maintenance dose of pred...no cyclosporin. She's also on metoclopromide and cisapride for her esophagus motility issues (complication from the myositis). I'm wondering, since myositis is immune mediated, if the duralactin (microlactin) could be affecting her immune response. It is an inflammatory muscle disease, so you would think that it would help, but maybe not, at least in Emmy's case. I'm aslo wondering if the "tighter junction" effect of blood vessels, may also be an issue, since Emmy has mild SAS (the sub aortic ridge reduces blood velocity). Not sure how it would affect that. I hadn't seen that before when reading about it. I think it is best that I take her off of it then.
 

Angela

Super Moderator
Gracie has been on it for 2 1/2 weeks now and I do see an improvement.

Evan has been on it, 1000 mgm twice a day and he still limps on and off so have increased his dose to 3000 mgm daily. He has arthritis from FCP surgery and questionable FCP in the other elbow, so I'm not sure that he will get that much relief.

Gracie, otoh, is just a little elderly lady with no joint problems to my knowledge.
 

jane

New member
The only negative thing I have seen with Roger is his stool is a little softer every now and then. I dropped him from the starting dose of 3000mg a day for 10 days down to the maitenance dose of 1000mg 2x a day. He still seems to be doing good.
 

Joan Fisher

New member
Emmy is on a maintenance dose of pred...no cyclosporin. She's also on metoclopromide and cisapride for her esophagus motility issues (complication from the myositis). I'm wondering, since myositis is immune mediated, if the duralactin (microlactin) could be affecting her immune response. It is an inflammatory muscle disease, so you would think that it would help, but maybe not, at least in Emmy's case. I'm aslo wondering if the "tighter junction" effect of blood vessels, may also be an issue, since Emmy has mild SAS (the sub aortic ridge reduces blood velocity). Not sure how it would affect that. I hadn't seen that before when reading about it. I think it is best that I take her off of it then.
Hi Nancy,
How long has Emmy been on the metoclopramide? I don't know about it in dogs, but in people it can cause depression and Extrapyramidal symptoms which include extreme restlessness, involuntary movements, and uncontrollable speech. Also the FDA has recently warned of tardive dyskinesia after 3 months exposure to metoclopramide. Tardive dyskinesias (TDs) are involuntary movements of the tongue, lips, face, trunk, and extremities that occur in patients treated with long-term dopaminergic antagonist medications - ie. metoclopramide.
 

Bluedog

New member
She's been on it since her diagnosis over three years ago. No issues at all with it. We've watched her very closely for any of those signs. These symptoms are completely new in the last two days. The only thing that has changed is the Duralactin.
 

Joan Fisher

New member
Okay, I'll be waiting to hear if the new symptoms subside as quickly as they started now that you've stopped the Duralactin. Tiika's didn't arrive today so I still haven't started her on it.
Joan
 

Ivoryudx

New member
Wow Nancy I hope it is the Duralactin effecting Emmy! Thats an easy fix, and an effect to monitor very closely. Please keep us updated, and hugs to Emmy.
 

Bluedog

New member
Update on Emmy. She has been off Duralactin for two full days. She has improved over those two days, and this morning, is back to normal. Getting up just fine on wood floors, and confident. Checked with my vet, and with a pharmacist to see if this type of product could have adverse effects with meds or with Emmy's issues. Their thoughts were that it shouldn't have been an issue, based on the infomation given by the company and the "known" drug interactions with certain products, but obviously was for Emmy. Since most of the natural/supplements/vitamins are not regulated and tested by the FDA or similar regulatory agencies in other countries, we have to be cautious when adding them. What is good for some may not be for all. goes without saying for any product, food, medicine, flee and tick, vaccines, etc. What bothers me too is that Microlactin/Duralactin is advertized as being good for "chronic inflammatory conditions". The form of myositis that Emmy has is "chronic inflammatory myositis". I would think a bit more focused study into specific inflammatory conditions and this product might be warranted.

However, I don't want people that are using it and seeing results to be concerned, based on Emmy's reaction. Every dog is different. Could just be that it's not a good thing for Emmy given her other health issues and medication. I still have Angus on it, and he seems fine, but his chronic condition is inflammation and arthritis due to severe elbow dysplasia. He is NOT on any NSAIDS or any other pain meds, only Dasuquin (gluco/chond. supplement). I still am not seeing any noticeable improvement with the Duralactin. Will keep him on it for one more week, and if I do not see improvement. by then, I will most likely stop.
 

Angela

Super Moderator
Nancy, I'm glad that Emmy is back to normal.

I think we all have to evaluate the benefits or not of Duralactin/Microlactin, it's obviously not helpful for all joint problems. For Gracie and Evan I see it is helping.

This reminds me a bit of when Orijen first came on the market and we all rushed to buy it, then some of us found problems with our dogs not coping with it.
 

Joan Fisher

New member
Thanks for the update, Nancy. I will watch Tiika very carefully when I start it. Even though her myositis is only in the masticatory muscles and is episodic rather than all the time, she may have a similar reaction as Emmy. We'll have to wait and see. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences so we can all be more aware.
 

2Paws

New member
Nancy, I'm glad that Emmy is back to normal.

I think we all have to evaluate the benefits or not of Duralactin/Microlactin, it's obviously not helpful for all joint problems. For Gracie and Evan I see it is helping.

This reminds me a bit of when Orijen first came on the market and we all rushed to buy it, then some of us found problems with our dogs not coping with it.
Very good thread. Nancy, please keep us updated on Angus's progress. I was thinking of getting this for Glory as my vet had recommended it.
 

Lori

New member
Glad to hear Emmy is better. I just got my order of Microlactin in the mail and I'm going to start Sydney on it tomorrow. I'll let everyone know how she does on it.
 

mulenag

New member
Glad Emmy is doing better. So sorry that the supplement gave you such a scare. Thank you for sharing all of this.
 
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