Metacam

Has anyone else had any problems with this stuff ? Cairo was given it after his Luxating Patella op, poor wee guy started weeing blood ! done a bit of research online, and its bad stuff ! i stopped it straight away and the blood stopped, and all seems well again. Just a warning really, make sure your vet does all the relevant tests before giving it to your dog, as this stuff can kill ! not saying it will kill your dog, but please make sure your vet does the liver function tests before giving it to your dog

Yes, I've heard good and bad. Some dogs seem to be particularly sensitive to it, although for some it's almost a godsend because it calms them down so much.

From their own site..................
" Are there any side effects?
Metacam is a very safe drug as long it is used with care, but Metacam is a powerful drug and several side effects are known to occur on occasions. These are:
Damage to the gut lining, possibly leading to ulceration, even perforation.
Kidney damage
Reduced blood clotting
Very rarely serious liver damage
The first signs of side effects are usually loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhoea (possibly with blood). If these are seen it is important to stop the medication immediately and for a vet to check the animal. Usually everything will settle down quite quickly, with or without specific treatment, but occasionally these signs can progress to serious illness and even death, so they must not be ignored. Metacam can be regarded as a safe and effective treatment which brings enormous relief and dramatically improves quality of life in suitable patients, but it must be used carefully and under veterinary supervision. "

yes it should only be used for a short period

I know this is an old topic but I came here looking for information on this precise product. Our girl has been limping on and off for about a week and I thought it was improving after giving her glucosamine and limiting her to very light walks but this morning she was pretty bad, so I managed to squeeze in an appointment with the vet before midday.

After examination the vet prescribed Metacam, saying we should stop all exercise this weekend and then restrict her to her to short walks on the lead for the next ten days before going back to the vet for a follow up. The vet believes she has injured herself somehow while running and that this should hopefully do the trick but if not we'll need to do X-Rays.

I'll keep an eye on her now to see if there are any signs of problems. The vet was very clear that it should only be taken with food or on a full stomach. This stuff costs £4.50 online but the vet charged me £18.50...

ashleyk wrote:This stuff costs £4.50 online but the vet charged me £18.50...

It's annoying, isn't it? Trouble with buying online is that you need a prescription from the vet & the vet'll charge for it!

Yes it's such a rip off. They also do things like only selling small sizes on long term medicines that offer worse value for money.

I saw a mainly white bullie in the village earlier with just a little red but he wasn't as pretty as Dempsey. It's curious really that we see a dozen staffies every day but the bullies seem to be rarer all the time. Perhaps it's just around here.

ashleyk wrote:Yes it's such a rip off. They also do things like only selling small sizes on long term medicines that offer worse value for money.

I saw a mainly white bullie in the village earlier with just a little red but he wasn't as pretty as Dempsey. It's curious really that we see a dozen staffies every day but the bullies seem to be rarer all the time. Perhaps it's just around here.

No, it's everywhere. When I had Bandit there were loads of bullies, but very few staffs! Now it's the other way round.

Do you think there is any particular reason for that? I'm struggling to understand why bullies would be less popular recently, especially since it seems to be staffies that get the brunt of the bad publicity in the press. I actually see more bulldogs and mastiffs than bull terriers nowadays.

I had a dog on Metacam for 4 years without any problems, she was checked every 6 months by a vet and blood taken. She was pts after having the dog's version of a stroke aged 17.5 years young.

Tilly hurt her back a few weeks ago, she was x-rayed, nothing showed up so she had a MRI scan, thank goodness for insurance and put on Metacam, it upset her stomach and gave her the runs so I stopped it right away.

All drugs are dangerous, they are to us as well, I can't take Asprin or Ibuprofin, they upset my stomach. Morphine based painkillers give me hallucinations and have a lot of bad side effects.

As long as we take care when we give our dogs or take them ourselves and research them, the shouldn't do much harm.

It's been 3 days so far on the metacam and the first 2 days we didn't take her out for a walk as the vet ordered. Today she seems vastly better and all signs of a limp have gone, however we'll continue to give her the metacam until next Monday when we have a follow up appointment and stick with gentle walks on the lead so the shoulder has a proper chance to heal.

ashleyk wrote:Do you think there is any particular reason for that? I'm struggling to understand why bullies would be less popular recently, especially since it seems to be staffies that get the brunt of the bad publicity in the press. I actually see more bulldogs and mastiffs than bull terriers nowadays.

I think it's partly the sheer size of them, and also the cost! A registered, well bred pup will set you back around £1000! Plus of course, the stafford became more popular, so people who may have bought a bullie, bought a staff instead!

I'm surprised at the number of questionable cross breeds these days being offered in local newspapers at silly prices. They used to be called mongrels and were practically given away, so it's puzzling how they often find buyers willing to fork out the best part of £1K for these dogs.

I think bullies have always been slightly towards the higher end price wise and they've probably just kept price with other breeds in that sense. Most bullies I see are remarkably big and strong nowadays but they have all been pretty sound for temperament and they still have the craziest sense of humour. It just seems a shame not to see more of them around.

It looks like the metacam is helping with the pain in Bailey's shoulder but she is wanting to run now, so we are having to keep her relaxed with just one gentle walk a day while this heals. Above all I don't want to agitate an existing problem and make it worse.

with metacam you need to make sure the dog has eaten first it is like us taking nurofen it MUST NOT be taken on an empty stomach and if you have the liquid form you must measure out very very carefully if anything under amount is better than over amount

I've been mixing it with her food so it all goes down together. To make sure she eats it I've cut back a little on the biscuits and put in more meat than usual. This is with glucosomine as well that will help her joints. Then I give her a teaspoon of cod liver oil so she licks the bowl clean and I know she'd had the lot. You are the second staffie owner this week though to warn about not giving too much.

It's spooky how similar your staffie looks like mine. White with one black ear.

ashleyk wrote:I've been mixing it with her food so it all goes down together. To make sure she eats it I've cut back a little on the biscuits and put in more meat than usual. This is with glucosomine as well that will help her joints. Then I give her a teaspoon of cod liver oil so she licks the bowl clean and I know she'd had the lot. You are the second staffie owner this week though to warn about not giving too much.

It's spooky how similar your staffie looks like mine. White with one black ear.

I'd recommend salmon oil or fish body oil over CLO, CLO contains vit A and D which are fat soluble, so are stored in fat and not utilised properly so a dog can OD on CLO. It's also not as beneficial anyway

OK I'll take a look. We got this originally because we met somebody with a black Lab once that had a fantastically glossy coat and he said he gave it cod liver oil but I also knew it was supposed to help their joints.

It contains very little omega so does a limited amount for joints,

Salmon oil
http://www.fish4dogs.com/Products/salmon-oil-500ml.aspx

fish body oil
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110643766799?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_4088wt_906

Also giving any of these or CLO you should supplement with vit E as well as these all deplete the body of it, and vit E is the main factor in giving a shiny coat