Besides the price, is there any other big difference between these products? Is one more or less effective than the other? Thank you for your input.
They are the same drug. One as boxed as a preventative and one is boxed as a cure. SAME EXACT thing!
ULCERGARD is the first and only product proven to prevent Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) also known as stomach ulcers in horses.
No other product is FDA-approved to prevent stomach ulcers in horses.
The main ingredient in ULCERGARD - omeprazole - suppresses acid production in a horse’s stomach.
1 mg/kg of omeprazole per day for 28 days effectively prevents the onset of ulcers in horses exposed to stressful conditions.1
Cinnamon-flavored oral paste is well accepted by horses.
Patented paste formulation guarantees stability of the omeprazole.
Once-a-day dosing is convenient to administer.
Available to horse owners through a veterinarian.
Each tube of ULCERGARD contains four daily preventive doses for horses weighing between 600 and 1,200 pounds.
Two doses are recommended for horses weighing more than 1,200 pounds.
$32.99
OR
GastroGard
What it treats:
GastroGard is made by Merial and is the first and only FDA-approved equine medication proven to heal and prevent the recurrence of gastric ulcers, even while horses continue to train.
Symptoms of the disease:
There are many clinical signs and symptoms that are associated with EGUS (Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome); however, it is important to note that many horses with stomach ulcers do not exhibit any obvious signs. Because the prevalence of stomach ulcers in horses has only been recently understood, ulcer symptoms can go unrecognized by trainers, owners and veterinarians. Common causes have been identified as:
infrequent grazing or hay intake intense training physical stress changes in growing foals factors such as extended time spent stallbound and certain medications given in high dosages. $32.99
They are exactly the same thing with different labeling. Where I buy, the price is the same.
Ok, that’s what I thought 
What is curious to me is that the Ulcergard is 4 treatments/tube and the Gastrogard is 1 treatment/tube, yet they are roughly the same price per tube. Am I missing something? 
[QUOTE=BreezyB;3877703]
Ok, that’s what I thought
What is curious to me is that the Ulcergard is 4 treatments/tube and the Gastrogard is 1 treatment/tube, yet they are roughly the same price per tube. Am I missing something? [/QUOTE]
Yes.
1 treatment of Gastrogard is one tube.
1 treatment of Ulcergard is 1/4 of a tube.
So, 1 tube of Ulcergard = a full dose of Gastrogard and 1/4 tube of Gastrogard = a full dose of Ulcergard.
[QUOTE=BreezyB;3877703]
Ok, that’s what I thought
What is curious to me is that the Ulcergard is 4 treatments/tube and the Gastrogard is 1 treatment/tube, yet they are roughly the same price per tube. Am I missing something? [/QUOTE]
Gastrogard is the TREATMENT dose.
Ulcergard is the PREVENTION dose.
We’ve had multiple threads about this. There was one within the last several days. Have you tried the search function?
[QUOTE=Simkie;3877712]
Gastrogard is the TREATMENT dose.
Ulcergard is the PREVENTION dose.[/QUOTE]
Aha! I knew I was missing something! Thanks :winkgrin:
ETA: I did do a search for GG & UG at your suggestion, Simkie. Lots of good info already on here. I bet newbies like me drive everyone nuts with repeat questions. :lol:
But, you can use them interchangeably, even though the dosing markings are different. You have to guess a bit at dividing the Gastrogard into 1/4s, but it is doable. I usually see Ulcergard a couple of dollars cheaper, but not enough to make a difference.
You can get Ulerguard over the counter…Gasto you need to get from a vet…
I feel like we need an emoticom with crossed eyes!
For those of you who still might not quite be getting it, I’ll share my story:
I suspected new beastie has ulcers. My vet can’t scope, and rather than take the long multi-hour drive to the vet who can, I buy a few tubes of Ulcer Guard for $29.99 here: http://www.discountpetdrugs.com/ulo2orsy.html to see what happens. I administer one whole tube per day (as I would have if it was Gastro Guard that a vet had prescribed) and by the third day, I can tell the beastie feels much better! We’re about two weeks into treatment now and he has visibly gained weight and just seems happier.
There is really nothing to get. IT IS THE SAME MEDICATION (Omeprazole which is gastro guard, ulcer guard or for people prilosec, so you buy the cheapest one although many places they are the same price. If one can not figure out how to quarter or half something that would be the biggest problem.
THOUGH I recommend a scope so you know weather you need the whole box to get them healed, because just giving a quarter or half tube is not GOING to heal significant ulcers.
omeprazole
We used gastrogard for years it really works (ulcer guard is the same product packaged with different instructions) but now we buy the generic omeprazole from our vets at the track, 3 doses per tube for 15$. We usually give a full tube a day for the first week then go to 1/3 a tube as prescribed. It’s a huge savings…
[QUOTE=beeblebrox;3878076]
THOUGH I recommend a scope so you know weather you need the whole box to get them healed, because just giving a quarter or half tube is not GOING to heal significant ulcers.[/QUOTE]
I don’t scope if I suspect ulcers; I treat with gastroguard. If they respond positively to the gastroguard, you can be pretty sure you guessed right and just continue with the full treatment course. As expensive as gastroguard is, it is far less than taking the horse to be scoped only to find it needs gastroguard (and treating with gastroguard is less invasive than scoping). In addition, I prefer to avoid taking my horses to the medical clinic where they can be exposed to who knows what kind of infectious illness.
Can a compounding pharmacy make a tube of omniprazolene for less than the name brands of ulcergard or gastrogard? In other words, same stuff, just generic.
Anyone know?Thanks
[QUOTE=fivehorses;3879240]
Can a compounding pharmacy make a tube of omniprazolene for less than the name brands of ulcergard or gastrogard? In other words, same stuff, just generic.
Anyone know?Thanks[/QUOTE]
Yes, a compunding pharmacy can. My vet has said she’s tried that with other clients and did not see the same results as she did with the Gastogard/Ulcergard. Her explanation is that there’s more than just omniprazolene in Gastogard/Ulcergard, there are other compounds that make up the paste and help deliver the omniprazolene.
She also was of the opinion (at least in my horse’s case) that I didn’t need to do the full 28 days of 1 tube/day to get good results. She thought 21 days would probably be sufficient.
[QUOTE=fivehorses;3879240]
Can a compounding pharmacy make a tube of omniprazolene for less than the name brands of ulcergard or gastrogard? In other words, same stuff, just generic.
Anyone know?Thanks[/QUOTE]
The problem with this is that you need a way to get the omeprazole through the stomach environment. Merial includes a carrier to protect the drug. Compounded omeprazole does not usually come with any buffer (IIRC, there is one pharmacy that combines bismuth and omeprazole.)
I tried compounded omeprazole for my mare and it did not work AT ALL. In fact, it made her WORSE.
Ulcergard NOT ulcerguard; GastroGard not Gastroguard
what would help when doing searches would be if people type the right NAME for the product. Since they do NOT, do a search for both Ulcergard and Ulcerguard.
And then search for Gastrogard and then Gastroguard.
The product names DO NOT use the “U” in gard.
And of course, then there are those that abbreviate UlcerGard with this: U-Gard or U-Guard which is something else entirely and spelled U-gard (again, no U) and comes as a liquid, powder, or pellet but does NOT have omeprazole in it.
:winkgrin:
Ok, I must be dense, but I need some clarification.
Right now my guy, who is about 1200 pounds is on one tube a day of gastrogard, which I purchased from the vet.
I would like to do the remaining month with ulcergard, since I can get for much less.
Now, that compounding and ingredients to deliver it are questionable, I will stick with either gastrogrard or the ulcergard.
However, is ulcergard just as effective at a full syringe or dosing for a 1200 pound horse as the gastrogard, or is ulcergard only used as a preventative?
Gastrogard, he gets a full syringe for treatment. Not seeing a ulcergard tube, I am not sure if he will be getting a full syringe or less for treatment since previous folks imply it has more dosing in it…
can anyone put this in the most simplistic terms for me to understand,
are the dosings the same for both products?
and can both be used for treatment?
thank you
Ulcergard and Gastrogard are the same product…identical…same amount of medication in each tube. The difference is that ulcergard is marked in 1/4 tube increments. one dose of ulcergard is 1/4 tube, but one dose of gastrogard is the whole tube. So, ignore the product name. For a preventative, you can use 1/4 tube (of either one!). For “curing” ulcers, use a whole tube a day (of either product, they are the same!!) The only difference is the directions. GG says use a whole tube, UG says use 1/4 tube. Make sense? Buy whichever you find cheaper, then use 1/4 or the whole tube depending on what your needs are.
5Horses - giving 1 tube of UG will be the same as giving 1 tube of GG. Buy whichever you find cheaper.
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