Frequency of Surpass/voltaren (diclofenac Na) use

[IPEsq]

My own prescription for myself allows up to 4x a day. I get by with 1-2 times. I have hock (talus) OCD.

For the hose, it depends on what it’s for and whether it’s something you’d wrap or not, but I would lean towards 1-2x a day as well unless really acute. When my horse tore a muscle and had a huge hematoma, vet said ice, ice, ice, laser, PEMF, Voltaren. Because he’s a sensitive red head, I wound up not being able to use much of it topically after a few days because his skin got scurfy. Of course it did.

[Eclectic_Pair]

So there is a difference (you said the human version stings) between Surpass and the human version? It’s twice as expensive!!

[cnd8]

I will say, however, if you have a horse sensitive to NSAIDs, be careful applying too often. My sensitive gelding went off his feed after 2 days applying Surpass twice a day to a swollen knee. I sold the tube remnants to a boarder. Not worth it to me. This same horse gets yucky on bute also.

[Simkie]

@Eclectic_Pair

So there is a difference (you said the human version stings) between Surpass and the human version? It’s twice as expensive!!

Yeah, they’re different products…? They both have diclofenac but the base is different between the two.

[Feathered_Feet]

Here’s a pretty good thread which talks about some of the differences. They have the same active ingredient, but, as Simkie said, are different products.

r/chemistry - What is the difference? The carrier?

[Simkie]

@Feathered_Feet

Here’s a pretty good thread which talks about some of the differences. They have the same active ingredient, but, as Simkie said, are different products.

Awesome, I love it. This comment is especially useful:

Just my anecdotal feedback…I far prefer Surpass for human use. I think it works quite a bit better for my pain, the cream feels better going on the skin, it doesn’t stink, and it doesn’t sting.

That said, Voltaren is cheap, and is available, and does work. So I just use that nearly all the time.

I do use Voltaren gel on horses for “won’t hurt, might help” scenarios, but never on any amount of broken skin and if there’s something serious where it really NEEDS to work, we use Surpass instead.

[Tucker5]

Or there is mixing Voltaren with DMSO. I haven’t tried it myself but have been poking around this very issue.

[equinelibrium]

That’s really interesting. I saw some Voltaren at Costco the other day (3 pack for 35.99!) and took a photo of the label to compare to Surpass - it said the same thing. I wonder if there are different types of Voltaren?

[Simkie]

@equinelibrium

I wonder if there are different types of Voltaren?

Not in the US. Canada has some different strengths. The stuff in the US is all 1% diclofenac. Same as Surpass. The carriers between the two are quite different.

[equinelibrium]

@Simkie

Not in the US. Canada has some different strengths. The stuff in the US is all 1% diclofenac. Same as Surpass. The carriers between the two are quite different.

I should have clarified - I’m wondering if there is Voltaren with different carriers on the market. The Voltaren I saw at Costco had “diclofenac sodium” on the label vs “diclofenac diethylamine” on the label in the Reddit post.

[Simkie]

@equinelibrium

I should have clarified - I’m wondering if there is Voltaren with different carriers on the market. The Voltaren I saw at Costco had “diclofenac sodium” on the label vs “diclofenac diethylamine” on the label in the Reddit post.

No. The Reddit picture is the Canadian product. Very slightly different active ingredients. (Although both diclofenac.) Probably the same carriers.

[equinelibrium]

@Simkie

No. The Reddit picture is the Canadian product. Very slightly different active ingredients. (Although both diclofenac.) Probably the same carriers.

Oh, gotcha. That makes much more sense. Thanks for the clarification!

[Simkie]

Voltaren has gone otc in the US recently…in the last year? Six months? Before that, you could get it from Canadian pharmacies by mail, where it was OTC with a few different strengths. So, much of the discussion you’ll find online might be about the Canadian prep. The US stuff is really similar, but not exactly the same, as you’ve seen from the labels

[Feathered_Feet]

@Simkie

Not in the US. Canada has some different strengths. The stuff in the US is all 1% diclofenac.

You can get 2% in the US by Rx (for humans). Otherwise you’re correct that it’s all 1% OTC.

[Simkie]

@Feathered_Feet

You can get 2% in the US by Rx (for humans). Otherwise you’re correct that it’s all 1% OTC.

Near as I can tell, all the rx options for osteoarthritis are 1% like the OTC but there is a 3% RX option labeled for actinic keratosis branded Solaraze (that I missed on a quick Google earlier.)

Can you point me to the 2% rx option in the US? I can’t turn that up.

[Feathered_Feet]

I thought my husband got it by Rx maybe a year ago… maybe two years ago? BUT - maybe I’m thinking of a 2% gel I got from Europe a few years ago (I know I have it somewhere - might be at the barn and I will try to find it and see if it’s in English or not ) . Mea Culpa!!

[Simkie]

I know I have some 2% (ish?) from Canada, just not sure if it’s here in the US! Spent a lot of years buying it semi legally from pharmacies willing to ship over the border (along with robaxin! )

[IPEsq]

My vet will custom make a concoction that does mix diclofenac and DMSO and some kind of white petrolatum carrier.

[appendix100]

Not a steroid. Surpass/Voltaran is an NSAID

[JB]

Yep, you’re right, my mistake!