Can dog have a painkiller while on Metacam?

zaksmum

My dog Lucy jumped down from the car today and is now limping heavily on her front leg.

She is already on Metacam for her arthritis (she's nearly 12) and I've made a vet appointment for tomorrow. I'm hoping it'll just be a sprain but is there any way of keeping her comfortable till she sees the vet tomorrow?

sheramber

Phone the vet and ask.

Do not give her anything without vet approval.

elsien

I thought metacam was a painkiller? if you phone the vets they may allow the dose to be upped slightly in the meantime, if there's scope to do so?

elliesmemory1

Metacam IS a painkiller

zaksmum

Yes I know Metacam is a painkiller.

I give it to Lucy once a day with her morning feed so she had it at 8 am.

She hurt her leg about 4pm and while I know I can't supplement the Metacam with aspirin, I was wondering if I could give her anything else to keep her comfortable overnight.

I did ask when I rang to make the vet appointment but still waiting for the vet to call me back.

rising_from_the_ashes

I wouldn't be impressed if no-one had phoned me back in this length of time if I'd said I had a dog in pain

Is she on the full dose of metacam for her weight?

If not, then you will be fine to give her to the amount for her weight

If she is, then I'd ask the vet before giving any more

krlyr

As said, Metacam is a painkiller. It's sort of like a canine Ibuprofen, it's a NSAID
http://www.metacam.com/index.php/FAQs-Veterinary-Professionals

Personally I would speak to a vet if my dog were in that much pain I felt they needed medication. If not your own vet, then try to find another vet who is available.

Otherwise, if it's just a mild limp and she's OK when resting, I would most likely leave until the morning. It can actually hamper a dog to medicate to the point of them resuming normal mobility - if she has sprained or injured something, then she needs to rest it, not keep walking around on it. I would support her weight for pee breaks (e.g. towel used as a sling underneath her), but otherwise encourage her to stay in her bed.

zaksmum

The vet did call back and said not to give Lucy anything else as the Metacam will do the job and hopefully there would be improvement next day.

Thankfully there was a small improvement but the vet said to keep her resting for three more days, just allow very short toilet walks.

She is better again this morning so fingers crossed all will be well with her.

rising_from_the_ashes

Glad she's a bit better & fingers crossed she continues to improve.

Can you lift her in / out the car or get stairs to hopefully stop her hurting herself again

(I've just got stairs - Maisie is fine jumping in but worried about the jumping out again when it's on hard surfaces. I currently put an old pillow down to soften it but have stairs ..... def a WIP though!

zaksmum

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Glad she's a bit better & fingers crossed she continues to improve.

Can you lift her in / out the car or get stairs to hopefully stop her hurting herself again

(I've just got stairs - Maisie is fine jumping in but worried about the jumping out again when it's on hard surfaces. I currently put an old pillow down to soften it but have stairs ..... def a WIP though!

Unfortunately I can't lift her as she weighs 40kg. She won't tolerate a ramp either.

SKIPPY

Vet also prescribed tramadol for my dog who is also on Metacam.