Banamine vs Bute vs naproxen

[pacificprima]

Quick explanation of the situation. My mare recently decided a corneal ulcer sounded super fun. So we’ve been to the vet and the specialist is our new best friend. We are currently on banamine twice a day and tried the Bute route… Mare was not a fan. Claimed to be dying and I got an emergency call. I don’t want to be on the banamine forever for a couple reasons. Obviously the internal destruction is one but the $15/day is another.

• disclaimer* I’ve got a message in to my vet about this, so I’m not just asking the internet before someone blasts me about it.

Would naproxen be as effective? Anyone have thoughts that I can bring up with the vet regarding pain management?

[Simkie]

$15/day for banamine?

[mroades]

that seems high, a whole bottle isnt much more than that. But I will say having done a few eyes, banamine is the drug of choice and they have to be on a high dose for quite some time. I personally never had internal destruction from it like bute. No idea if naproxen would be nearly as effective

[pacificprima]

Yup it’s that expensive up here. Tubes of 32ml are almost $40 after taxes and the bottle of 100ml is $70

[saitou_amaya]

I just went through a nearly month-long corneal ulcer mess in December. The vet said banamine is better than bute for soft tissue type things, such as eyes and my guy did seem happier with the banamine. We only treated with banamine for 3-4 days at a time, when the injury first happened and again when he rubbed it and it got worse. Sometimes a small amount of pain is a good thing to promote healing. I would see what your vet thinks, but having the horse on banamine for more than a few days may not be beneficial for healing of the eye.

[Red_Barn]

Yes! I was just looking over a biggish vet bill, and was astonished to see that I’d paid 50 bucks for a tube of Banamine.

I know it’s always more when you buy it off the vet’s truck, but WOW - that’s nuts.

[Simkie]

I don’t know if it helps, but the injectible banamine can go orally. Preferably under the tongue for sublingual absorption, but even if it’s swallowed, it gets through the stomach and is absorbed in the gut. Does that make the pricing any better?

[sascha]

Ask for injectable Banamine/Flunazine/Cronyxin. It will be cheaper. Injectable is safe to give orally. Draw some apple sauce into your syringe to mask the taste if that is an issue for your horse. Or if you’re good with IV injection there is that option .

Whatever you do, do NOT give it IM.

Good luck. Corneal ulcers are no fun.

[AKB]

Get a prescription for the IV Banamine and give it orally, if you need it to be Banamine. Some of the generics are cheap. My guy says it tastes nasty. He also won’t take Bute. Naproxen/Aleve or Equioxx are his NSAIDs of choice.

[Highflyer]

Banamine is generally considered to be the best treatment for eye injuries so I would keep on with it.

[JBD]

I’ve used Naproxen for my own pain and it really affects my stomach. Nothing else does (ibuprope, aspirin, prescription pain killers, etc.). I wouldn’t use it for a horse.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

I follow my vet’s advice and use whatever he tells me to use for the specific injury. For eye injuries too.

Pay the vet for the bute and/or banamine and use whichever he recommends.
You should also use whatever topical ointment the vet tells you to use, as often as he says to use it. I’ve had friends who ignored the usual “apply ever 4 hours” and their horses suffered for that.

[pacificprima]

@JBD

I’ve used Naproxen for my own pain and it really affects my stomach. Nothing else does (ibuprope, aspirin, prescription pain killers, etc.). I wouldn’t use it for a horse.

JBD I use naproxen for my own severe eye injury (long story but my mare and I really like to match…) and have no stomach troubles with it. It seems to be the only thing other than the tramadol (which cures EVERYTHING) that helps with the pain for me, so I thought I would ask

I’m sticking with the banamine and yes I’ve got the liquid IV/oral bottle, it’s still $70 for all those who hadn’t read that earlier. We are also doing more than the necessary twice a day on the topicals since I myself know that eye pain isn’t a good time and want to make sure she isn’t suffering.