Extra Pain Relief To Use With Metacam - Suggestions Please

[TAN]

Can anyone suggest extra pain relief that I can suggest to my vet when I take Bumble to see her tomorrow - he was pain squeeking a lot last night and I gave him some buprecare (vetegesic) along with his metacam but it didn't seem to do anything - i know some people use tramadol,but it can in some cases slow down the guts - does anyone elses pigs have any other method of pain relief with success? (Bumble has adhesions after 6 operations on his bladder and side )

 

[Tbag]

We used tramadol when Mr T was in his last phase of kidney failure, it really helped him and there were no adverse affects, some vets are hesitant about using it since its opiate based but it worked fine for us and I think a lot of others on here have had success with it.

 

[flintstones]

Tramadol is amazing but cannot be used with Metacam both P and Penfold were fine and little Penfold was on it three times a day - no gut problems in our household.

 

[Wiebke]

@Abi_nurse

 

[Abi_nurse]

Tramadol, or buprenorphine both can safely be used with metacam, currently have a sow on both for the last three weeks due to her leg having cancer.

x

 

[MerryPip]

We are using tramadol twice daily with metacam for H who is having palliative care for tumour. It's working well to keep his pain relatively under control and definitely improving his quality of life at the moment.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Yup I've given Metacam & Tramodol post op too with no problems.

 

[TAN]

Thanks guys - my vet has given me some Tramadol tablets tonight - they are 10mg each - she says there is such a wide range of the amount of the medication that can be given she has asked me to find out on here what doses your piggies are currently on and we will take it from there - so can you guys tell me the rough weight of your pig and how much tramadol and how many times a day please - and do you grind down the tablets - thank you - good news about fizzy water working on urethral stones - post to follow.

 

[MerryPip]

Thanks guys - my vet has given me some Tramadol tablets tonight - they are 10mg each - she says there is such a wide range of the amount of the medication that can be given she has asked me to find out on here what doses your piggies are currently on and we will take it from there - so can you guys tell me the rough weight of your pig and how much tramadol and how many times a day please - and do you grind down the tablets - thank you - good news about fizzy water working on urethral stones - post to follow.

Ok....

H is on two tablets (20mg) twice a day in addition to 0.3ml metacam twice daily. He weights around a kilo at the moment. We were originally advised one tablet twice daily but have increased with vets permission as we are managing pain as end of life care for him. Our vet looked at both rat and rabbit advised doses and went for something closer to the rat dose. H is allowed a maximum of 23mg twice daily. In saying that he's perked up enormously since the addition of the tramadol to his meds and has had them for 4 weeks now, way longer than I thought we would still have him with this much medication. Off to pick up the next 2 week supply tomorrow.

It's worth remembering that Tramadol is a controlled drug in humans so you are unlikely to get lots of it at any one time. My OH is a human hospital doctor and apparently the dose H is on is (40mg per day) is around a 10th of the average adult human dose (400mg per day) when he's at least a 50th of the weight (more like a 70th really) of the average human!

 

[MerryPip]

Forgot to say:
We grind the tablets in a pill crusher (from Boots or chemists) and then use water or juice to mix it. It tastes pretty vile so juice seems to make it more palatable. We only use just enough juice to mix it so we are not having to syringe loads of vile tasting stuff in. Then he gets the metacam which he loves after it.

Even when crushed it is still very thick and blocks up the syringe easily so we have chopped the end off of a 1ml syringe and are using that. It seems to work well and doesn't get blocked up.

 

[TAN]

Thanks Merrypip - I have been given 30 x 10mg tablets and Bumble is 1.3 kilos - how do you give it - just crush it up or try and pop it down the back of the throat like you would do when you give a cat a worming tablet (not that I have a cat or have ever done it)

 

[MerryPip]

Thanks Merrypip - I have been given 30 x 10mg tablets and Bumble is 1.3 kilos - how do you give it - just crush it up or try and pop it down the back of the throat like you would do when you give a cat a worming tablet (not that I have a cat or have ever done it)

I'd crush it and mix it with water or juice and syringe it. I think I posted further up what we do