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Not controlling pain

Sky-O

Wise Old Thumper
If you're not controlling a bunnies pain as much as you would hope (with a high dose of Metacam), but the bunny is still well in him/herself, still enjoying life, still eating, running, getting pleasure from life, being a pain in the butt, etc, and the only way you know is because of excess caecotrophs, and there is nothing else currently that can be done, what is the best course of action? (bearing in mind I want to try and avoid narcotics if possible for a couple of reasons).
 
*and in no way doubting what you say*

But is it 100% pain thats causing the excess caecs?
 
I have no idea what else might cause them in this situation (although hadn't ruled it out) and they are also typical presentation of pain, in this bunny.
 
I have no idea what else might cause them in this situation (although hadn't ruled it out) and they are also typical presentation of pain, in this bunny.

Ah okay, makes sense (hence i was being quite vague, sorry).

Any chance of getting hold of any Willow at all, to give additional 'natural' pain relief? As opiates aren't necessarily an option, thats my already limited knowledge out of the window, so i'll hope someone else can help whomever it is :wave:

Vibes for bun!
 
Some natural ideas
Sunflower seeds are among the best sources of Phenylaline, a chemical involved in pain control
Willow
birch
chamomile
glucosamine
dandelion and echincea are anti inflammatory

The only other thing I could suggest is offering other natural remedies relating to what is causing the pain so see if that helps as well

accupuncture or that sort of thing


My vet always gives suggests giving probiotics with metacam to help with some of the side effects

Apart from the above I can't think of anything else off the top of my head
 
tramadol is an option - it isn't a true narcotic so doesn't have marked side effects but can have good pain control results used alongside metacam. Depending on the source of discomfort there are more specific targeted medications
Marie
 
Thank you everyone and thank you Marie.

The pain is tooth root problems (with the teeth having recently been burred back and no spurs at present). She is 2kg. We looked at Tramadol when I had a 2.3kg bunny with a spinal issue and the vet wasn't sure about using it because of the small size of the bunny. What is the best way to administer this?
 
I use tramadol a lot for incurable tooth root situations as sometimes metacam isn't enough.
There are capsules of tramadol that can be split open and compounded with syrup/water to a liquid to allow dilution and accurate dosing. I use it in this way for even tiny rodents as the dilution and liquid form make it really easy to give the correct amount.
Marie
 
Thank you so much Marie. I shall take this too my vets and see what they think. Thankfully, for now, I have upped her Metacam to the highest dose possible and she is more comfortable, but this definitely needs discussion. Thank you so much. :)
 
I would say that excess caecs don't necessarily cause pain or discomfort but if you have noticed improvement with a higher NSAID dose then you are probably right all along :wave:
 
I would say that excess caecs don't necessarily cause pain or discomfort but if you have noticed improvement with a higher NSAID dose then you are probably right all along :wave:

I know they don't cause pain or discomfort :) However, I have seen before that when she is in pain she just doesn't eat them and we have been neck deep recently, although the past couple of days have been improved.

I'm so totally making an assumption of who it is because there is every possibility it is a bonded friend who also does the same thing.

To be fair, with these, it could be absolutely anything causing them :lol: My head hurts. :lol:
 
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