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Buprecare vs tramadol

Emx93

Emx93

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Background info- princess has arthritis and a tumour, she is currently on maximum metacam and buprecare, oxbow joint support and laser therapy for her arthritis. She's still having pain, buprecare was a magic cure for the first couple of weeks, she seemed comfortable and her massively excessive drinking calmed down, this has now returned along with periods of her sitting hunched/grinding teeth randomly, the vets said we can try tramadol if we want but cautioned its expensive, I am happy to try this but at £85 a bottle wanted some experience of its affectiveness compared to buprecare first before we go ahead! They've also suggested upping the frequency of her laser therapy which I think I'm going to do, we just increased the frequency of buprecare for the weekend but if by Monday there's no improvement I think I'm going to go with the tramadol... Anythings worth a shot right! Also how long does a bottle of tramadol last I think we will have to get a full bottle 🤷‍♀️
Thankyou so much!
 
sport_billy said:
@Abi_nurse
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Thankyou, I'm going to book her an appointment at the vets to discuss it in detail I think, I can't make much sense of what they are saying over the phone and I'm less concerned about cost more so if it will be effective, oh is going to book the appointment when he picks more buprecare up tomorrow, I just want her pain managed, buprecare was great for the first week but its effectiveness seems to be depleting, we've not had side effects though x
 
They are both similar in the fact they are both strong opiates. Well worth discussing with the vet, sending love to your little one x
 
sport_billy said:
They are both similar in the fact they are both strong opiates. Well worth discussing with the vet, sending love to your little one x
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Thankyou, I know we discussed the options 3ish weeks ago and went for buprecare, I was under the impression it would be the best option but if not I want to change to tramadol/whatever works! These piggies do know how to worry us! Will try to sort more regular lasering too!
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
@pig in the city would Gabapentin be useful for this?
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This was also discussed with the vet but we wasn't keen, neither was the vet, I had a family member with a very bad reaction to gabapentin, she basically wasn't herself for months she would 'wake up' outside with no recolation of how she got there, I know it's different for animals but I'm still a little leery xx however hence the booking another appointment to rediscuss these options and go from there
 
Emx93 said:
This was also discussed with the vet but we wasn't keen, neither was the vet, I had a family member with a very bad reaction to gabapentin, she basically wasn't herself for months she would 'wake up' outside with no recolation of how she got there, I know it's different for animals but I'm still a little leery xx however hence the booking another appointment to rediscuss these options and go from there
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I know @pig in the city has used it with great success. It’ll be interesting to get her thoughts xx
 
@furryfriends (TEAS) my cat had tramadol in his palliative care, it was very effective for him, he did die just over a week after starting it but it wasn't a pain issue he had lymphoma and bleeding ulcers in his gi tract, interestingly we requested buprenorphine for him after being advised on a lymphoma group I was on, we were given tramadol instead as buprenorphine isn't licensed for cats, is it different for pigs? I thought we'd hit the jackpot with buprecare but maybe I've got the two confused and tramadol would be better 🤔 I had an entire unopened bottle for onslow which I sent back to the vets to dispose of when he died.... Wish idve hung onto it now 😂
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
I’ve always found buprenorphine makes the guinea pigs very flat, although it’s very good pain relief. I’m not sure I’d want to use it long term though. I think tramadol would be the better option.
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Thankyou, thankfully despite a high dose it hasn't made her any sleepier than she normally is, we've not had any side effects at all as I was worried about this I think the vet said she'd not given it orally before and said it was very strong and may make her high and if it did we'd switch to tramadol, maybe tramadol really is the way to go then, I would consider trying gabapentin if the vet thought it was necessary but I am a bit nervous around it for personal reasons as mentioned before, fingers crossed we don't have to wait too long for an appointment, I'm requesting the exotics vet who knows her case 🤞thankfully she's actually been a bit better today, painful episodes seem to come in waves, we have also doubled the number of times we give the buprecare but she wheeked for her veggies today she's sometimes a bit hit and miss with them 😍
 
I thin a lot depends on the individual pig, and possibly the method of administration based on what Furryfreinds is saying (and she has WAY more experience then me).
Lucy is my only pig to have had both Tramadol and Buprecare and I have given Buprecare both via injection and orally.
Tramadol (orally) made her a bit flat and slow and I worried about her eating, so we switched to Buprecare - orally this stuff was the perfect match for Lucy. It got her pain immediately under control and she did really well on it (she was only on it for 6 days). Initially she did have it via injection for 24 hours and also seemed a bit flat, but then she was also very ill, so I wonder if it was related to pain and exhaustion from stress and illness?

Basically if you find something that works for your pig then stick with it.
If you feel Buprecare is no longer helping, then I would definitely give Tramadol a go.
 
I am sorry to hear that it's a roller coaster with Princess, Emma
I do like gabapentin as the dose can be gradually increased as the needs of the piggy change.
I have used it in bladder and dental piggies and l have a dental rabbit on it long term. I haven't used it in cancer pigs yet , but dont see why it wouldn't help.
I have never seen excessive sedation or other side effects except when it was given to my post operative rabbit, he was very sleepy.
The down side is the cost ( a 150ml bottle is £200 + ) and that it goes off after about 28 days, l do use it for longer but find little crystals form in it, at which point l throw it out.
 
Emx93 said:
It's the same stuff just given orally under lips, she hates the stuff 🙄 it literally comes from the same bottle that you wouldn't draw up for injection xx
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Yes Buprenorphine is absorbed through the buccal mucosa. I prefer to give it by injection myself as then l am sure it is where it should be.
It might be worth giving it by injection before you switch to tramadol it just might be more effective?
 
Swissgreys said:
I thin a lot depends on the individual pig, and possibly the method of administration based on what Furryfreinds is saying (and she has WAY more experience then me).
Lucy is my only pig to have had both Tramadol and Buprecare and I have given Buprecare both via injection and orally.
Tramadol (orally) made her a bit flat and slow and I worried about her eating, so we switched to Buprecare - orally this stuff was the perfect match for Lucy. It got her pain immediately under control and she did really well on it (she was only on it for 6 days). Initially she did have it via injection for 24 hours and also seemed a bit flat, but then she was also very ill, so I wonder if it was related to pain and exhaustion from stress and illness?

Basically if you find something that works for your pig then stick with it.
If you feel Buprecare is no longer helping, then I would definitely give Tramadol a go.
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It did seem to work really well initially, in fact I thought we had a miracle cure! Over the phone the vet said i could give it more times in a day but she wouldn't increase the dose more than 0.2ml in a dose, now since it worked I wonder whether to push the trying an increased dose/ by injection or whether to get more info about tramadol/ gabapentin (I would use this if the vet thought it was necessary but I'm very nervous after finding out it was that that that sent Sam's stepmum loopy) 🤔 I will be guided by the vet but I really appreciate all the personal experiences that I can discuss at the appointment, sams on overtime (he works 6 days a week now to cover all these bills 😂) but is calling in after work to book appointments and pick up more medicine! 🤞🤞 We get one this week, nugget needs one too as she's got a dodgy foot again 😱
 
Got them both an appointment next Monday at 6pm 😱 could've got in with a locum before then but wanted piggy vet for this one!
 
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