Can I buy Metacam or similar without prescription and from where?

An incident this morning with one of my elderly dogs has made me think I should have some pain relief in my animal first aid box...just in case. The dog in question is okay and after speaking to the emergency vets we have both agreed its best to wait to see my normal vet tomorrow with her...but I really wish I had some pain relief for her in the meantime

I have a bunny, Poppy, cat and 5 dogs so really think I should have something in for each of them should I need it in the future. Obviously I wouldn't have a prescription because non of them (except poor Saff) have hurt themselves. What do you advise?

:wave: Alas it's not possible to get metacam or similar without prescription - and with jolly good reason...if an animal needs pain relief, then it needs to see a vet for a thorough examination, and if an owner self-prescribes, there's a risk that the pain relief will simply mask another problem which could cause longer term suffering, and also if the animal subsequently needs to go to a vet, it's possible that the vet won't be able to do what is needed at that point because of drug interactions. Hence these are prescription only drugs so that everyone can be confident that the drug prescribed is appropriate for that animal at that point in time. The same applies for antibiotics and a whole host of other drugs - there are jolly good reasons that the law is as it is, frustrating as it may be for us owners sometimes.

I don't know the nature of your incident, but seems a bit worrying to me that an emergency vet would recommend leaving a dog in pain, if you think your dog is in pain then I would go to the emergency vet anyway rather than leave an animal in pain for another day

Hope your doggy is ok xx

Thank you, yes that all makes sense She is very old and very neurotic (my long term foster dog)...she has numerous health problems which are all aggravated by stress. She fell off the settee this morning and has been limping on and off since. She can weight bear, she has let me feel her back legs, back and hips without wincing or crying (she is quite dramatic so even screams when were cutting her nails:shock. Both myself and the vet are satisfied its only muscle damage, but she is still in pain.

The vets out-of hours centre are run in the same place as the PDSA so there will be all kinds of emergencies/people/noises and not only doesnt she travel well (it flares up her ulcer and her colitis) she wouldnt cope with the noises etc. The shock of it could easily finish her off so it would have to be a real emergency (i.e I thought she had fractured it) for me to take her. I am going to take her to my normal vets tomorrow (on emergency vets advice) as they usually see me either very early or late in the day when nobody else is around to keep her stresses to a minimum. Its just horrible knowing that it hurts her, but she is asleep now so is okay.

If she has ulcerative colitis I dont think she can have Metacam anyway :?

Jack's-Jane said:

If she has ulcerative colitis I dont think she can have Metacam anyway :?

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Thats what they said, basically if she gets any worse I need to take her in but at the moment she needs to rest it (shes snoring! lol) she can have an injection of pain relief. She just wont cope with the stress of going to the vets Old age is horrible sometimes

Santa's post was spot on - I used to have metacam in the house for my heart bunny and previously for a girl with EC. My vet trusted me to dispense it as and when, but the difference is that those were two chronic conditions where the continuous cause of pain was established, wheras in an acute case you have no idea what's gone wrong.

Best wishes to your wee doggy.

Thanks, she's slept all day and rested it When the kids came home from their Nanns's she gave my youngest quite a welcome and was able to weight bare on both her hind legs so it is looking good for her. Will get her checked over by my own vet tomorrow and will ask them about something suitable for my first aid box With any other dog I would have had them checked out straight away and I felt awful for not taking her but the journey and shock of being somewhere different would have been much worse for her than being sore. She is just old and frail and its all a bit sad for her really

helen01 said:

Thats what they said, basically if she gets any worse I need to take her in but at the moment she needs to rest it (shes snoring! lol) she can have an injection of pain relief. She just wont cope with the stress of going to the vets Old age is horrible sometimes

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Oh...that is so sad
my parents also have a pretty old dog, Susie, and often ask me to go to a vet with her, while they live at the countryside and the vet clinic is not far from my work. But I agree with you on this point, I've noticed that that trips bring to the poor Susie more stress, than it could possibly bring any benefit. I guess, it's just the age.. and unfortunately there can't be done about that much