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Question About Neutering And Pain Meds


Tracey

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I dunno; I keep thinking about how a mere paper cut hurts. :o

 

And yet, I never take anything for them.

 

I'm not saying that males don't feel pain - what I'm saying that 5 days of rimadyl is largely overkill in many cases of neutering. And considering it's not without serious side effects, you have to weigh the pros and cons in each case. To just say that you must give 5 days worth of rimadyl regardless of the individual case seems silly to me.

 

We have a broken leg dog as a foster that I had to pull off everything except tramadol because he was having massive GI issues with NSAIDs. In his case, I know he needs the anti-inflammatory, but he doesn't need him so much as to risk a GI bleed - and the vet agrees. It sucks in his case.

 

For a neuter, based on my own experiences, 5 days of NSAIDs brings with it more risk than it's helping. I'm interested to see the evidence on healing faster in cases of neutering. In all 50+ males that have come through our group this year, we had no issues with healing at all. I'd like to see the studies you mentioned earlier if you can pass them on.

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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I dunno; I keep thinking about how a mere paper cut hurts. :o

 

I'd like to see the studies you mentioned earlier if you can pass them on.

 

That wasn't me; I'd like to see them too. I googled U of PA and pain management b/c I was curuous too. I came up with a bunch of things but not what we're wondering about. I didn't have time to wade through it all so it might have been in there.

 

FWIW, I'm not a big fan of Rimadyl either except for the very short term. I'd be more comfortable with a bit of tramadol or even metacam/meloxicam but that's just me.

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There've been a number of studies about pain control and improved healing rates. Not sure if that's pain only, or pain and inflammation both. I'll see if I can dig up some online refs this week. I think Morris did one @ 20 years ago, and a couple of universities have studied as well.

 

Big fat drat when you have a dog who can't have NSAIDs. Tramadol doesn't control inflammation and can have some nasty side effects as well. Worth a try, though, since it works for some dogs.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest Greensleeves

Our vets are pretty specific about when they do and do NOT prescribe pain meds. Sometimes there's a risk of the animals overdoing because they feel better than they actually are (dental surgery, for instance--they don't want them chewing too hard on the sutures, etc). Regardless, I do think that five days of Rim TWICE a day seems excessive, particularly since the anti-inflammatory properties last much longer than that. We've never had an NSAID prescribed for more often than once a day... and when Nelly took it for her severe arthritis (crushed femur/hip), she only needed two pills A WEEK to manage her pain and inflammation. The most we've ever gotten was for Jade's neck injury last week, and that was five days, once a day.

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Guest speedoketo

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GPxL9qKwAUEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=canine+benefits+of+pain+management&ots=O6NdA_Q5mM&sig=Qd2J1OgnDtkSAuvR96BJV9_kNnQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Scroll down to page 8 "When pain becomes pathologic in nature, a variety of consequences may ensue including: increased risk of infection, delayed wound healing, reduced food and water intake, immobilization, altered sleep patterns, and change from normal behavior patterns. Many of these changes prolong convalescence and predispose the patient to an adverse outcome"

 

I'd say that pretty much settles the debate. www.scholar.google.com is a great place to find more studies if you're still not convinced by a whole book on pain management in small animals written by three veterinary specialists and used by practicing veterinarians. Your vet has training in pharmacology, I wouldn't go disregarding their orders based on the advice of people who have never taken a pharm class - just voice your concerns to them in person and see what they say. My boy reacts to NSAIDS so he was switched to tramadol, just be aware of the potential dangers and know what to watch for and let your vet know if your dog needs to be switched. Pain management is a blossoming field in veterinary medicine and there's so much more known now than even just five years ago about how important it is. Also there's a picture of a greyhound on page 13 :)

 

Your fingers are exquisitely sensitive which is why papercuts hurt so much. Compare how well your fingers can tell the difference between fabric types to your elbow or your arm. Big difference because there's way more nerve endings in your fingertips. I'm not saying a neuter incision doesn't hurt - it just hurts differently than a papercut. Papercuts suck :(

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