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Metacam alternatives?

Lel

Lel

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all, I have a very poorly pig, the vet has ruled out a UTI so he will be getting xrays soon to see if it's stones.
The metacam that he has been taking (along with Baytril) is not relieving his pain at all. Can anyone suggest any alternatives or what to do? Going to see vet again in a couple of hours. Tia x
 
A lot of vets use Tramadol which can also be used alongside Metacam as far as I am aware. I am sorry your boy is in so much pain, I hope you get some answers and the vet agrees to stronger pain relief for a while. Is he having his pain relief twice a day? is it dog or cat Metacam and what dose has been prescribed?
 
helen105281 said:
A lot of vets use Tramadol which can also be used alongside Metacam as far as I am aware. I am sorry your boy is in so much pain, I hope you get some answers and the vet agrees to stronger pain relief for a while. Is he having his pain relief twice a day? is it dog or cat Metacam and what dose has been prescribed?
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How much and which strength of metacam have you been prescribed? Dog metacam is 3 times stronger than cat metacam. Guinea pigs of 1 kg can have up to 0.25 ml of dog metacam (0.75 ml of cat metacam) every 12 hours. They need more and need it more frequently because of their fast metabolism compared to dogs or cats; they also do not get the kind of kidney problems like other species from high dosages or long term use.

The alternative is generally tramadol.
 
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Thank you so much.
He has been taking 0.44ml once daily and it is dog metacam.
Yesterday I split the dosage but he is still in an awful lot of pain.
Seeing the vet at 4 today so hopefully we can get something to help him and try to sort out scan / xrays. I will certainly mention tramadol when I'm there.
Again thank you all so much xxcx
 
Some vets will go higher on the dose of metacam also dependent on weight. Sending your piggy lots of healing vibes, i would certainly push for xray to rule out stones
 
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Thank you so much. It really isn't doing anything for him at 0.44ml.
Luckily he is still eating and drinking x
 
Lel said:
Thank you so much.
He has been taking 0.44ml once daily and it is dog metacam.
Yesterday I split the dosage but he is still in an awful lot of pain.
Seeing the vet at 4 today so hopefully we can get something to help him and try to sort out scan / xrays. I will certainly mention tramadol when I'm there.
Again thank you all so much xxcx
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Talk to your vet about combining metacam with tramadol. The metacam can go even higher for the short term or in terminal illness.
 
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I certainly will, thank you so much x
 
Sending lots of healing vibes, I agree that dosing metacam twice daily instead of once is much more preferred for pigs due to their metabolism.
 
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Thank you.
The vet has refused any more pain meds as it may cause complications if he needs an op tomorrow x
 
He is in surgery now.
Any advice on helping him recover would be greatly appreciated.
I probably should create a new post (I'm new to this x)
 
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