painkillers

[Sabine]

two of my rabbits were spayed/neutered today. They only got one injection of painkillers on leaving and no further prescription. I was advised that it may be preferable for the healing process to be given painkillers for a few days after the op. What type of painkillers would be safe?

 

[paul2641]

God I know I don't No alot but I just read that injections to knock out the animal while insurguryisn't the best idea. They should use isofluorane gas.

Here is a link to alot of pre op and after info.



http://www.qrabbit.com/whyspay.html

 

[irishbunny]

She ment an injection for pain

 

[Sabine]

Yes I did mean injection for pain but thanks for the link anyhow. Had a quick read through it and it said that the use of painkillers is controversial. So I definately could do with some opinions from the forum

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

This is a topic I have mentioned often....pain meds should be discussed and agreed upon prior to surgery. I would be on the phone to the vet tonight....and they can be reached....insisting on pain meds. If a vet is unwilling to provide meds to go home, I suggest finding a real vet that will.

Here are some excellent pain meds that I suggest.

Metacam-Not the best choice but better than nothing. There are also other NSAIDs that are OK....and there are some that should not be used post op.

Buprenex-Excellent narcotic. Best pain med period for rabbits. Can be administered PO, SQ or IM. It is a controlled drug. I just had an English Lop spayed yesterday and she is getting Buprenex twice a day.

Tramadol-Adequate non-controlled narcotic....still needs a RX. Needs to be compounded.

There is no "one injection" that lasts for days. Ask your doctor if I neuter him or spay her.....what would they want as far as pain meds? It always wakes them up to the gravity of the situation. But seriously, if a vet refuses to send home pain meds, talk with your dollars and find another vet. All of the vets I work with are very quick to pull the trigger on aggressive pain meds for rabbits.

And since this was brought up, actually injectable anesthesia is the safest of all anesthesias. Oddly enough, just a few years ago they were considered deadly. We use them for extensive dental surgeries. They are also reversible with an injection of a reversing agent. In reality, isoflourane is the oldest, most risky and has the most lingering side effects of the "safe" anesthesias. Not to say it isn't safe, and it is when used by a skilled doctor. But again, in the real world, sevoflourane is much better....quicker in and quicker out. Animals rebound quickly from sevo. There is still so much inaccurate information out there....and it's even on the VIN that vets have access to. Things are changing for the better as far as treatments.

Randy

 

[dquesnel]

Hi there, I agree with Randy on the importance of pain meds. I personally take a 'wait and see' approach after neuters and spays.

The thing with pain meds is they CAN cause GI slowdown. If I have a rabbit that is clearly in discomfort and not wanting to eat much anyway, then I will give pain meds. However, if the rabbit recovers from neuter/spay and proceeds to eat/drink and otherwise behave fairly normal I don't risk casuing GI slowdown with pain meds.

This is just a personal preference too, others may give pain meds no matter what and that is their choice. I do think that the vet should send you home with them so that if you notice the rabbit is in discomfort you can use them as needed.

 

[Sabine]

Excuse my ignorance but what is GI slowdown?
My male is already behaving as if nothing had happened: eating and rearranging his cage. Yhe female after initial curiosity about the cage settled down into her litter tray and has been lying there quite still for at least an hour. She hasn;t touched any food or water. At what stage should i worry?

 

[dquesnel]

Here is a link to GI stasis/slowdown : http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28622&forum_id=10

I personally call it GI slowdown when the rabbit is eating less, pooping less and potentially the gut could be shutting down completely. I call it GI stasis when the gut is shutdown- the rabbit is not eating/pooping at all. Some people consider it the same.

It sounds like your boy should be fine which is not surprising since neuters are less complicated and hurt much less than spays. A spay hurts, alot and is very invasive. Just keep an eye to see that things don't change with him.

How long ago (as in hours) were they at the vets? Did the vet by chance tell you to to withhold food prior to surgery?

How many hours do you think your girl has gone without food? Does she normally lie in her box?

I would try to tempt her to eat by dangling some of her absolute favorite food in her face. If she ignores it and that is not normal for her, I would get pain meds for her ASAP. She may just be in too much pain to want to eat and move- if that is the case she is already at risk of going into GI stasis. They have been through abig ordeal so if I were you I'd get some pain meds, give her that time to settle in and perhaps she will have eaten by then.

If you give her pain meds and she still does not want to eat, that is a problem and she may have to go right back to the vet for treatment.

 

[Sabine]

I was told to bring food in with me and i also brought a water bottle. We dropped them at 9.30 in the morning. I'm not sure, when they were operated on but we picked them up at 5 pm. It is around midnight now so possibly 12 hours post op

 

[dquesnel]

OK that is good on the vets part. She probably has had something in her tummy during and right after the surgery. Most vets won't send home the animals until they poop/eat something on their own so perhaps she has done that while the pain meds were active in her. Now that they are wearing off she may not be feeling as well.

Since it is very late your time, you will probably have to wait until the morning to get any pain meds for them but until then you can try and entice her to eat, and see if she poops/pees in the meanwhile. If she doesn't appear to have eaten anything when you are going for pain meds in the morning (assuming you are able to / they are open) I would call the vet and tell them she hasn't eaten etc the entire time she has been home, they may want to see her again.

You don't need to panic yet- she may be stressed/ in pain but this is normal with rabbits that are not on pain meds after a spay. Some will eat no problem without meds but for others it is hard. Keep us posted on whether she eats/poops and how things are going with her!

 

[Sabine]

I remember when Coco was spayed she was very quiet for a whilw but I don't remember for how long.
I'll check if she has eaten in the morning.It's good she has Benny in the cage next to her i think to remind her of rabbit activity. By the way I can smell his spray. I'd say it'll be a while before the hormones settle

 

[Sabine]

Oh and I don't know if she normally lies in her litter box, she never had one till she came to us. She only started using it the last few days. She seems to have picked it as the safest spot in the cage. i filled it with a paper pellet litter (carefresh type) rather than my usual straw pellets and straw. Is that ok? I thought it would be less irritating on her scar

 

[Sabine]

Just need to post one more thing before I go to bed, As I was sitting here glued to the computer, Raylann had come out and must have been quietly munching on a salad leave (half of it is gone! This got to be a good sign! And she moved onto the blanket.

 

[ra7751]

Males tend to rebound much quicker than girls. My thing with pain meds is that your girl just basically had her insides rearranged and body parts removed....I know I would want pain meds. Most people want strong pain meds for a minor headache....just making comparison. And it's true that pain meds, particulary narcotics, do slow the gut. But you have much more "wiggle room" with a slow gut than you do with acute pain. I have said often that any medical treatment should be weighed as to potential benefit vs. potential risk....when pain is involved, there should not be any debate whatsoever. My big old English Lop, that was so stressed we had to sedate her with valium just to get her calmed down, is eating and moving around quite well.....she is due her next Buprenex injection in a few hours. We do insist on laser surgery which lends itself to much quicker healing.....no extenal sutures either.

Carefresh + rabbits= potential problems. I have seen far too many rabbits ingest that stuff and cause significant digestive system problems. We don't use it.

Penelope isn't really interested in pellets right now....but she is eating some alfalfa hay, a few baby carrots and greens...Spring Mix and Dandelions. If her gut was healthy going into surgery....don't sweat it too much. Following major dental surgeries (like dental extractions) we don't expect them to eat for at least 72 hours. But we do maintain hydration. Something soft and warm might help her....maybe a heating pad on low (make sure she can't get to the cord...and monitor the temp as they can get very hot even on low) and let her lie on top of a fleece baby receiving blanket. But I would really like to see her on pain meds.

Randy

 

[Amy27]

I agree with ra7751

Both of my buns came home from being spayed with metacam I believe. My one bun ate right away but I still gave her the meds because I didn't want her to stop eating. They other bun I had to really push and offer her fav greens and she ate a litte here and there.