Buprenex before bandage changes.

michelyne dane

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I've been reading a lot about Buprenorphine dosing for cats but I'm SO confused.

My cat was prescribed 2mls every 12 hours for pain management. Before a bandage change though (at home), how safe is it to give her a double dose to let her fall asleep? According to what I've read online, the Buprenex comes in 0.3mg/ml and is given as .005 to .01 mg / lb

There's nothing more that I could find beyond that for cats only Simbadol which is recommended 1 hour before surgery/procedure/operation etc etc... and available as 1.8mg/ml. So is it safe to give my approx 7lb cat 1.8 mg?

The dosing info I was able to find recommends 0.11 mg per pound once daily for up to 3 days and then obviously an hour before a procedure..on the Simbadol..

I'm confused. This drug takes a lil longer than 20 mins to take full effect too. 
 

2Cats4everLoved

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Please don't mess with med dosages unless your vet says otherwise.

This is an opiate/narcotic and can be addicting.

My terminally ill boy Simon received 0.1 ml every 8 to 16 hours, he was about 11 pounds when he was diagnosed and when he got down to about 6/7 pounds, it doped him up pretty good.  Had he been working through an emergency situation I would not have used it as freely.

It took effect within 8 to 10 minutes for my boy.

Just curious, how much does your cat weigh.

Please call your vet for guidance.

@Red Top Rescue  @mrsgreenjeens    

@Marg

@Margret

Anyone out there who can lend a hand?
 
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michelyne dane

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Yeh we've been dealing with an Urgent Care Pet clinic in the Charlotte Metro area and there are so many different vets who change shifts from day to day... they all say something different. It's difficult to get any straight answer that's definite. I've read alot of differing opinions due to the fact that buprenorphine for animals has not been FDA approved. As far as I can gather this is a controversial issue. Just trying to see if anyone has any personal experience with changing your pets bandages at home. ( This was done by someone with military military combat medical experience )  The bandage done at home was done very well and looked more professional than all 3 bandage changes at the vet hospital.
 

Margret

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Please don't mess with med dosages unless your vet says otherwise.

This is an opiate/narcotic and can be addicting.

My terminally ill boy Simon received 0.1 ml every 8 to 16 hours, he was about 11 pounds when he was diagnosed and when he got down to about 6/7 pounds, it doped him up pretty good.  Had he been working through an emergency situation I would not have used it as freely.

It took effect within 8 to 10 minutes for my boy.

Just curious, how much does your cat weigh.

Please call your vet for guidance.

@Red Top Rescue  @mrsgreenjeens    

@Marg

@Margret

Anyone out there who can lend a hand?
Absolutely correct.  Ask your vet!   This is always a good rule of thumb.

When Pretzel was dying of cancer she had numerous surgeries, in the hope that they could get it all.  In the process she discovered that she really liked morphine.  Any time she saw the vet she would beg for it.  I've only had Demerol twice, but I feel the same way about that -- it gives me a high.  Fortunately, I know enough not to beg for it, because I can see exactly how easy it would be to become addicted.  Since then, I've used Oxycodone when I had a broken arm, being very careful to use the lowest effective dose, with the result that when I had major dental surgery done later I had enough left over to get me through that.  Oxy didn't make me high, the way Demerol did, but any truly effective pain killer can lead to addiction.  When someone is terminal anyway this isn't a concern -- as my dad said, "If I live long enough for that to become a problem, I'll worry about kicking the habit then," but if your pet isn't terminal you do not want to have to deal with helping your pet through withdrawal.  Also, remember that when we have to put a pet to sleep the vet does it by giving an overdose of a pain med.

I would suggest that you might want to ask your vet whether there is a mild sedative that wouldn't have a bad interaction with the pain medication.

Margret
 

LTS3

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Buprenex starts working pretty quickly. It shouldn't take 20 minutes. Are you dosing it correctly? The liquid is not meant to be swallowed. It's supposed to be squirted into the insside of the cheek where it will be absorbed by the mucous membrane. 2 mls is a lot so squirt little amounts slowly and stop for a second or two in between instead of squirting it all in at once and risk the medicine dribbling out of the mouth or the cat gagging.
 

red top rescue

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I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT 2 ML IS THE DOSE YOU WERE TOLD!!!   I believe it is likely 0.2 ml.   That is probably what you were thinking when you typed it. 

My vets usually dole out the dosages in individual 1 ml. syringes, putting 0.2 to 0.4 in each (depending on the size of the cat and the severity of the surgery).

Like people, cats are different.  0.1 ml. is a fine dose to hold off chronic pain, and the normal post-spay dose from my vet is in the 0.2 to 0.4 range.   Buprenex is fine for long term pain control but hen heeling happens if you are wihthdrawing them, it is best to do it slowly, just give a little less each time so there is no sudden unplesantness.  I had that happen once and it's no fun.  I was on it for back pain and got an adjustment that ended the back pain, so I stopped the beds.  The next day I was a nervous wreck and it took a friend to point it out to me that I was probably ging through withdrawal, so I went back on the med and tapered it more slowly.  Who knew?
 
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