Synflex vs Glyco-Flex

[dogged]

As per my vet's suggestion, I put Mally on Glyco-Flex III after her last surgery to repair her torn ACL. So far I have no big complaints and neither does Mally, but I do see some inflammation around her patella so I'm thinking about switching to SynFlex after the Glyco-Flex is gone. I called my vet and she said if Mal's not experiencing any noticeable pain then lets hold off on NSAIDs, but give the Glyco-Flex a little more of a go before ditching it. I still have about 3-4 weeks of GF left, but I'm still considering an alternative if I don't see any more changes within that time frame.

Anyone have any experience with both Glyco-Flex and SynFlex? Mally is about 30lbs--how long would it last her? Where would be the best place to get it?

[maberi]

I used/use liquid health and liquid health 5000 (comparable to synflex). The liquid health 5000 is a bit more but would last a 30lb dog quite a while 2.5-3 months.

Earl had some problems with inflamation in his patella and with some daily ice massages and added rest it quickly cleared up

[dogged]

The Liquid 5000 is what I used before my vet kept suggesting Glyco-Flex (even tho they don't sell it). I liked the Liquid 5000, I may just go back to that one--I've heard a lot of good things about SynFlex, too, though. Too many choices!!

Earl had some problems with inflamation in his patella and with some daily ice massages and added rest it quickly cleared up

Good idea! How long did you do that for?

[Marinepits]

I had absolutely NO luck with Glyco-flex III. NONE. It was like Katy wasn't even taking it. Once we switched her to SynFlex, she was like a new dog! Took about 2 weeks to see significant results. (Katy has severe arthritis in her her hips and spine.)

We get ours through Amazon, it's about $25 a bottle depending on the vendor, and it lasts Katy about 8 to 10 weeks depending on how she feels -- we give her more if she's acting stiffer than usual. We buy the SynFlex 1500 and not the "pet" version.

[dogged]

Thanks for the review! It seems that the GF isn't doing much--things aren't worse, but they aren't much better, either.

[maberi]

The Liquid 5000 is what I used before my vet kept suggesting Glyco-Flex (even tho they don't sell it). I liked the Liquid 5000, I may just go back to that one--I've heard a lot of good things about SynFlex, too, though. Too many choices!!

Earl had some problems with inflamation in his patella and with some daily ice massages and added rest it quickly cleared up

Good idea! How long did you do that for?

About 5-10 minutes 3 or 4 times a day until it clears up. It doesn't happen with every dog but the surgeon did indicate it wasn't that uncommon to have inflamation in this area after surgery. The best thing to do it get some dixie cups and fill them with water and freeze them. Then peel them back a little on the top and rub that over the patella (up and down motion) for a little while. It tends to get a bit cold so I usually did our session for about 5 minutes. That along with some extra crate time should clear things up after about a week or so.

[dogged]

We get ours through Amazon, it's about $25 a bottle depending on the vendor, and it lasts Katy about 8 to 10 weeks depending on how she feels

Do you get the 8oz or the 32oz?

Thanks for the info, Matt. When did Earl start experiencing the inflammation?

[maberi]

Earl started having that about 2.5-3 months after the surgery. He healed up really fast and then hit a wall where he wasn't improving and they diagnosed him with an inflammed patella. What I have found after speaking with a lot of people who have had this surgery (well their dogs) is that each dog progresses at their own pace and the ball park figures the surgeons/physical therapists give you do not always fall in line with how dogs recover. Earl was toe touching and putting the majority of his weight on his good leg for a good 6-8 months until he fully recovered.

[dogged]

Thanks again, Matt. It's so very comforting to know that Mal isn't the only one taking her time healing. She is also about 3 months in and the past 2 weeks is really the first time I've noticed this kind of inflammation. I thought it was her increase in exercise, but now I'm thinking it's not as simple as that. We're going to start some ice therapy as per your suggestion and my vet's OK. Plus a little extra crate rest (Mally hates you now).

How is Earl doing now?

[maberi]

I wouldn't worry about it. I was really worried about Earl especially after the surgeon said this may be as good as he gets (which certainly could have been the case) but he honestly just needed a little extra time to heal. I continued with controlled leash walks (increasing them every week) and tried to stay away from any real hard impact stuff and he slowly got better and better.

He is doing great now. You can't even tell he has had the surgery and he is 100% back to normal functioning. He really rips it up in the yard with the other dogs and is running flyball and agility without ever having lost a step. Hang in there, things will get better

[dogged]

Yay for Earl! Having gone through all the surgeries and anxiety with poor Mal, I almost choke up hearing about Earl's renewed life and similar stories. I pray I can say the same for my girl soon.

One more question and I think I'm done for now. How short did you keep his walks and outside time during the days of his inflamed patella?

[Marinepits]

We get ours through Amazon, it's about $25 a bottle depending on the vendor, and it lasts Katy about 8 to 10 weeks depending on how she feels

Do you get the 8oz or the 32oz?

8oz and I buy in multiples, usually 3 at a time.

[maberi]

Yay for Earl! Having gone through all the surgeries and anxiety with poor Mal, I almost choke up hearing about Earl's renewed life and similar stories. I pray I can say the same for my girl soon.

One more question and I think I'm done for now. How short did you keep his walks and outside time during the days of his inflamed patella?

His walks were kept to around a mile 2 to 3 times per day and outside of that he was kept him his crate unless he could be in a room with me completely supervised. The short walks 2 to 3 times a day plus the rest is what really seemed to help him most. I kept him away from any high impact hard running for a few months after that

[maberi]

PS - There is an awesome ortho board on Yahoo if you haven't already joined PM me and I will forward you the info. Great group with a ton of good info

[amazincc]

Swimming is GREAT therapy as well.

[maberi]

Swimming is GREAT therapy as well.

Indeed, if you have access to it, do it

Worked wonders for Earl

[dogged]

Is that the orthodogs group, Matt?

As for swimming, we did that this past summer (before her 2nd ACL surgery) with very good results. I hope to pick it back up again next summer.

[maberi]

Yep, that be the one

[dogged]

Little Mal update...

I took her into the vet today to get Cindy to once-over her legs. I had done the ice packs and even went back into the early stages of her phys therapy and neither had a profound effect. Long story short, we x-ray'd her and the bugles on the inside of her legs is a little bone overgrowth as a response to her surgery. The muscles on the outside can get a little inflamed on occasion because she has some arthritis there (not enough to warrant NSAIDs yet) and I should heat/ice her leg before any hard exercise.

So that's that! I'm glad it wasn't any serious arthritis. Back to the healing board. Thanks for all the help, guys. I still think we're going to switch from Glyco to either SynFlex or Level 5000--whichever I can find at a better price. I also put her on Omega-3 supplements...goes under the may-help-can't-hurt category.