Anyone familiar with Proin for Uriniary Incontinence?

[Star and Goldie]

Today my 10 year old Golden (her bday was yesterday and I just realized she turned 10 and NOT 11 so who is the old one now when I can't even remember my dogs age?!?!) was diagnosed with Urinary Incontinence. The vet prescribed her to Proin 50 and seemed very confident that I could start her at 1 tablet 2 times a day and then work her down to the slowest dose possible as long as she was seeing results.

I just got done doing my homework on this medication and I've gotta tell ya- I am very hesitant to give it to her. I found several reports of dogs having seizures and/or dying after a few doses and in some cases just hours after the first dose.

Does anyone have experience with this drug? Is it worth the risk? Riley only leaks when she is sleeping. When she is awake she can hold her bladder perfectly fine for several hours at a time. It appears to only impact her at night and it's not a ton but if this medication can fix that and not put her at risk for anything else then I would love to stop the leaking and go for it.

Here are just a couple links that I found that started to scare me:

http://www.i-love-dogs.com/forums/dog-health-nutrition/21481-your-d...

http://www.squidoo.com/urinary-incontinence-in-dogs

Can anyone weigh in on this? I trust what I read on DK far more than what I read out on the internet from strangers... so funny since DK IS on the internet and y'all are strangers too but I'm sure you know what I mean ;)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Star, Sandy's Hattie is on Proin. Hopefully she will weigh in. 

You can find horror stories about any drug on the internet. All drugs have side-effects, and it is always a question of beneift versus risk. Neither of the links you posted is a veterinary site or fact-based website. They are anecdotal.  Ignore them

[F, Calla & Luca]

Or you could contact Sandy by PM since she could miss this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is better, more factual information: http://www.vetinfo.com/proin-for-dogs.html#b

[Star and Goldie]

Thanks Sandy! The stuff I read really had me scared. I'm still a little hesitant but I will probably give her her first dose today. If a friend or family member (or even someone on DK) would have told me one of the stories I read about their dog having a seizure and dying from it I wouldn't even think about giving it to Riley. I know there are negative reviews on every product out there- it just seemed the more I would dig the more I would read a heartbreaking story of a terrible reaction to Proin. I can't help but to think that if something happens to Riley after I give her this I wouldn't be able to live with myself since I was hesitant at first.

I've never been this on the fence with a medication before. It's good to hear the success stories so thanks for sharing!

[Star and Goldie]

Oh wow I did not realize that came from early spaying. I'm glad I didn't opt for that with Goldie. My breeder offered it but on her website she said she preferred they wait until 6 months of age for the minis.

I hope all goes well with Riley on it. I'm going to try just giving it to her with her food. She takes pills like a champ so it should be pretty easy... unless it tastes terribly rancid!

I'm going to just give her 1 today and 1 tomorrow to test for side effects and if nothing seems out of the normal I'll go to the recommended dose of 2 per day- that should be fine, right?

[Diane, Baker & Oskar]

Our male lab took Proin for the last several years of his life.  It worked great & he had no side effects at all.

[Star and Goldie]

Well I'm happy to report that Riley has not had any extreme side effects like the seizures I was worried about. Lethargy, however, is a side effect so here is pretty much what Riley has looked like the last 3 days :(

Absolutely breaks my heart. She doesn't even feel up to playing ball or anything.

Will this fade or is that what I can expect as long as she is on this medication?

[Star and Goldie]

She leaks on her bedding at night. It's not a lot but the bed is wet in the morning.  It's just damp, no puddles but it is enough that she has to sleep in a crate whereas she used to sleep free in the house. Her full dose will be twice a day. I've only given her one a day for the first 3 days to test her reaction. Her vet said that within a few days I would be able to tell if she was going to have any reaction to it. The first day I didn't really notice anything but the 2nd day is when she started being a little bit more lazy than usual. I called the vet and he said it's not an uncommon side effect. He also said that some dogs react the complete opposite and it makes them incredibly hyper. So if I had to choose, I would chose lethargy as long as she is still ok. (She is super cuddly when she's sleepy which I love)

I'm hoping that as her body gets used to it she won't be so lethargic.

[Jen and Annie]

Oh this discussion is breaking my heart.  Our (almost) 11 year old boxer just 'wet the bed' the other night - it was the first time it has ever happened. It was not a full bladder, but enough to make the bed and the fur on her hind quarters damp.  We are going to try and limit water later at night, and make sure she gets to go out right before bed. If it happens again, we'll probably visit the vet to rule out bladder or urinary tract infection.  I don't know whether we would put her on any medication for incontinence, unless it became super frequent AND she began getting irritated skin from it.  I was going to start adding organic ACV to her water...to see if that helps.  I have used ACV with good effect for a bladder infection years ago, so I thought I would try it with the dogs. But I guess if it's incontinence it might not help.  Pray for me!  LOL

[Mary Beahm]

Hi.

My Trudie was prescribed Proin as well and after a couple of doses I noticed her skin was very red and her gums looked like they were bleeding.  Called our vet and she put her on 3 doses of Benedryl and off of the Proin.  Our vet is researching the Merck brand Incurin which someone on this website recommended.  I don't know anything about the herb remedies that some people have tried.  My Trudie is not quite 5 yrs old so it was a total surprise to have her sleeping on a soaking floor.

She is a rescue so I don't know whey she was spayed.