I have some new information about PROIN (phenylpropanolamine(PPA) or Dexatrim(in humans))

As some people may know, Dexatrim, a diet drug containing PPA was taken off the market because it caused CVA (stroke) in humans. When the veterinary community started using this drug, now called Proin, to help with urinary incontinence there was "no known correlation with CVA in dogs." (I wonder who did a study on a compounded drug that no drug company makes any money from)

So, I was debating whether to put my little dog on Proin, my great dane has been on it for ~2years. My doctor said "here's something I found about Proin you should read before you put wala on it. I had beth [her dog] on it for years and never had any... oh sh*t I bet she stroked out on me." You see beth had been on PROIN for urinary incontinence and had died ~1year ago from a stroke. Within seconds of the onset of symptoms, beth was dead. They were home and going to the car but before they could make it there she was gone. They are both vets and his clinic is literally across the street.

I am so shocked by this. It seems like every older canine female patient seen at clinics these days is on Proin. There are other alternatives like artificial hormones (DES) and the natural hormones in in soy, but I don't think most people are given these options. It's not to say that DES is without side effects, but compare those to CVA and it seems like a better choice. Plus, we have the natural soy isoflavones to try as well (side note, I have read many great things about them and will be trying them with my dogs). Many patients on Proin aren't even having their blood pressure monitored.

The info I saw was on VIN (so I can't link it) and it constituted of anecdotal evidence from board certified neurologists who stated that they have seen many dogs with MRI evidence of CVA with no other cause of CVA other than Proin. This, in combination with the existing info in humans, is enough to convince me. Will there ever be studies? I doubt it, because as I said earlier, this drug is compounded for very little money from several veterinary pharmacies. There is no large drug company standing behind the product in either veterinary or human medicine. I wonder why?

My dogs will not be on this drug ever again. It is the choice a urine in the house or death. I'd rather they sleep in a cage with bedding that I can change daily (or several times a day) or put underpants on them or take them out hourly during the day and deal with it at night than to loose them. The natural estrogens in soy will be my choice.

ps I am an RVT with 8 years of experience in both day practice and the past two years in emergency medicine.

I wish I would have known about this forum yesterday. Our 13 year old dog was having an incontinence problem and the vet put her on Proin 50. Within 1 hour after taking her first (and only) pill she collapsed and started having a seizure. Within another hour she was dead. I was given no warning about the dangers of this drug and would much rather have put up with the urine as you said than to not have my beloved dog any longer. I should have searched online about this medication before giving it to her rather than after losing her.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! That's awful!

I wanted to also let you know, in the future if you have other female dogs who are incontinent, I've found the natural bladder support products I've found online can be very helpful. There are several different brands, etc but I've found this one to be great! Of course, you should always consult with a veterinarian when first trying these things to rule out UTI and possible interactions with any other medication your dog might be taking.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss. This is so hard and I hope you'll be able to find peace that you were only trying to help your dog get better with the advice of a veterinarian that you trusted.

Thank you for your reply and your concern. My Vet assured me that he has used this drug for 27 years and has never seen a dog die from it. He said they can be restless and pace around, or go to the other extreme and be lethargic, but he has never heard of a dog collapsing and dying so quickly. My dog was 13 years old and had been having a problem with a low red blood cell count, but the count had gone way up with the Pet Tinic I was giving her. I am convinced Proin 50 did contribute to her death and just want to warn other people to research this drug if they do decide to use it. I of course would never use it again, but my Vet's office said numerous people have used it with excellent results. It has been really hard these past few days not only from losing my BEST friend but because I feel I had played a part in her untimely death. Thanks again!

That's horrible! I just put my 15 year old dog on Proin and think I am going to look for other options. After her first dose she ran around with her hackels up, very unlike her. I am so sorry for you loss. I've looked all over the internet and found nothing but good things about this med only side effects being anxiety and high blood pressure ect... My Nikita is my life and i'll deal with the leaking if it keeps her with me. Thanks for sharing your story you may have saved another dog.

I had to register to say that we did stop giving our dog Proin and replaced them with the natural bladder control pills which is more cheaper & she seems to love them! And yes it's been about a week and seems to be doing its job.

I'm very sorry for those that lost their beloved pet due to this medication

Thanks for these truly helpful postings. My dog - a young 3 year pit mix - has incontinence which according to her vet is a typical problem among females that have been spayed. When the vet Rx'd Proin about a year ago, I resisted thinking I'd rather just deal with the problem than put her on medication for the rest of her life and what's a little bit of urine around the house anyway? But the problem had taken its toll on the both of us, preventing us from cuddling on the bed or couch (which sucks) and generally making my small apartment smell like urine much of the time (also not good). Therefore, I recently reconsider my decision and after finding many positive reviews about Proin on one of the websites I researched, my dog went on it just this Sunday. Of course, now that I've found these postings, I think I need to take her off it right away. Tomorrow I will call her vet and let him know. If there are any other (healthy) meds anyone thinks I should try instead to help us with her incontinence, please do let me know. Thanks again.

[wishbone]

Kaandu so sorry for your loss. I'll keep watching closely to my buddy.

Gave my dog Scooter Proin on Dec. 29th at 7pm with her dinner and at 10:30 we were rushing her to the emergency vet with a seizure.

This was not a coincidence! She has never had seizures before and since then has not had a single one. Also found out that the dose that she was on was far more than she should have been.

Don't you know that I will changing my regualr vet if they don't bother to let me know the side effects or check on the weight of my dog to give the right dosage!

Sorry to all that have lost their pets.

We ran out and with life getting in the way I didn't have time to get my dog's Proin refilled until today. My dog (age 7) has been on Proin for one year and had no problems until tonight. The most we ever gave her was 1/2 to 1 (75mg) pill once a day (and not every day). She isn't incompetence all the time. I told the Vet that it's seems once when he is around wood and dust. We have a pellet stove. I refilled the stove tonight about an hour after I gave her Proin pill. She was right next to me. So I don't know if it was the Proin or the dust from the wood. She got sick 3 times and then her skin turned bright red. I gave her 2 capsules (25mg) of antihistamine and she is doing better. Her skin color is back to normal.

Does anyone know of a natural bladder control pills for dogs?

Thank you.

First of all, I'm sorry about the loss of your pet. Unfortunately, you don't really know what happened to your dog.

The human form of Proin, phenylpropanolamine, was taken off the market while I was in med school which was a bummer because it was a lot cheaper for me to buy it for my dog from the pharmacy. She has been on it for 11 years and is perfectly healthy.

The study which caused the FDA to place a black box warning on the human drug was published in the NEJM in the late 90s. It basically showed a very weak association (6/100,000) events of stroke and the study did not deal with some of the confounding variables. There was some political pressure (as there usually is....i.e., the morning after pill, bad data from the pharma companies about Vioxx, the lack of concern about BPA despite the fact that all the data that shows no harm is from the plastics industry and the independent studies show something different, but I digress) and a black box warning was issued. As the drug was generic, there was no incentive to continue making it. There are many of these examples.

I respect your decision, and I applaud the use of alternatives (although the side effects of some DES can be worse), but please understand the data before condemning the product. Anectodotal evidence is just that....ancedotal.

Best regards.

:twisted: I've had my l0 l/2 year old White German Shephard on Proin for years. She's progressively become anxious, more incontinent (needing more medication), and now has a Staph infection. (Very long story). She's had two titanium hip replacements (Best Surgeon in the World!!). She had no testing when diagnosed w/incontinence "having been spayed often causes incontinence" I was told by her Primary. She's also been on Rimadyl (prior to her surgeries). Her Primary Care Vet prescribed the drugs and I had her x-rayed for Hip Dysplasia; something I DO have experience with. The Surgeon has agreed the Proin may have side effects and her quality of life at this age is a concern (i.e., estrogen therapy can cause cancer). Her Primary disagrees completely. I've just changed her from Rimadyl that is no longer helping with an unrelated knee injury to Deramax. It works VERY well. The Primay does not carry Deramax. Tonight I found under "special precautions" using Proin include: " Use caution when...given with...RIMADYL"!!! The Primary agrees to use another medication for the "incontinence": tricyclic antidepressants. (Also included in the Proin warning). This all started with the medication for the Staph ($4.65 each pill for 10 days) prescribed by her Primary. Having Googled Proin, I came to you. God Bless You!! I'm not crazy, and my beloved Snowbaby isn't either--just overmedicated and misdiagnosed!!! THANK YOU. I've been at this computer four hours now and it's very late. BUT, I know "the stars" sent me to you and my beloved Snowbaby will be her old self soon. I cannot thank you enough for your plea on Google. Very truly yours, Kat (Dilagent Mom)

[lil mutt]

Ask your vet if he knows other alternative for the PROIN drug before you let them administer it to your pet or if possible ask another opinion from another vet.

Hi,
Our vet just gave us PROIN for our 7 mo. old westie, who shows signs of incontinence. I decided to look it up online and came across the post on this site and now am scared to try it!
Our westie can manage all night without having to pee. During the day she constantly has to go outside. A couple of times, she'll actually leak while she's walking to the door. She can go 2-4x in one hour, and other times can last an hour in between. We're not sure if she is truly incontinent or if it's behavoir.
It's frustrating, she has christened all of our rugs, and we just don't know what to do anymore. Does anyone have a suggestion besides using PROIN?
We had thought about trying it for a week or two, just to see if she truly has a muscle weakness or if it is behavior...
Thanks so much! Vic

Hi All, my 8 year old Rhodesian has been using Proin for about 1 year since developing incontinence. The Vet prescribed (1) 75mg tablet twice daily. The first time we gave it to her she started panting very heavily and looked really uncomfortable. I decided to give it another try, but this time I only gave her 1/2 tablet once per day. Giving her only 1/2 tablet once per day for about a week completely resolved her problem and she no longer seems to have any side effects. Once her incontinence problem cleared up, I cut back to only giving her a half tablet every 2 to 3 days and still no problems! At one point I stopped giving it to her altogether and sure enough, her incontinence returned after a few weeks. I'm now back to giving her 1/2 tablet every 2 to 3 days and all seems well....

Originally Posted by decoartist

Hi,
We're not sure if she is truly incontinent or if it's behavoir.

yes I would make sure that is exactly what you are dealing with there are many things internally that it could be. The original poster gave a link in her response to a natural remedy. I am dealing with a hooded Vulva- does your dog possibly have that?

[ntrep]

hi all. I wish that I had read these sooner. I didn't realize that Proin was such a problem. I have a 15 year old English Setter who has an incontinence problem. He also has the onset of renal failure. The vet put him on the proin (25mg 2x/day). It didn't do much good so he upped it to 3x/day. that helped with the incontinence, but less than 3-4 days on the increased dose, my dog had a stroke and seizure. This was the most terrifying thing that I have ever seen. Fortunately, he survived and is learning to walk and get around the house again. You can be sure that he will never take the proin again. I take him out constantly and we keep puppy training pads everywhere. This has been a grueling experience for our entire family.

I just told a friend of mine who's dog has been on it and she took it off immediately!

I have a Australian Shepherd mix that is about 2 1/2 years old and the vet started her on Proin today, 50mg twice a day. She has had both doses today and she is acting strange tonight, she seems very tired and just acts like she doesn't feel good. After reading this thread I will not be giving her anymore until I can due some further research. I would be crushed if anything happened to her, so thank you so much for all of this info.

My vet suggested Proin for my GS. Having recently had a bad experience with another suggested prescription I decided to do a little research first.

I found a homeopathic alternative that seems to be working for my Lily without all of the potential problems mentioned in the forum. Please note that we have been using this for less than a week, but so far - so good.

The product is Homeopet "Leak No More". It is a liquid that you put on their food and the dosing is based on weight. Maybe it will work for others.

All the best,
kate