Horse in ICU after Vetera 3 Way Serial Number 3530057B

Thanks for the link! I will go do that and call in to update my case. Thanks!!!

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So glad to hear sheā€™s doing better!

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Iā€™m sorry you are dealing with this. Am I understanding correctly that the horse had Equioxx and 2 doses of banamine within 24ish hours? Did the person who came to your farm in the evening also give banamine?

TBH, all cases of kidney failure Iā€™ve seen (which is probably only a handful) have been associated with NSAID and/or Bisphosphonate administration.

My own horse has a history of pretty bad vaccine reactions, which donā€™t always respond well to banamine and at this point, I only give a tetanus vaccine if there is an injury. The other vaccines cause much, much less of a reaction for her.

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Last year my friend asked me to order vaccines for her when I ordered mine. We both vaccinated our herds and everyone was fine except one horse.

Her mare developed neurological symptoms as a side effect of the vaccine. She called the vet who did extensive testing and other than being neurological, nothing they tested for came back positive. The mare did recover over the following week but my friend said she will never vaccinate that mare again.

I theorized that the vaccine was contaminated or that bacteria was introduced at the time of vaccination.

Another thing that comes to mind is sepsis as the bacteria can travel through the bloodstream to the kidneys.

If your mare makes a full recovery I would not vaccinate her again. It could also be an autoimmune reaction.

My first covid vaccine made me incredibly sick. The second one (different manufacture) was fine. Boostrix (tdap) was fine but I developed an autoimmune disease afterwards and I canā€™t help but wonder if it was related?

I had one mare react to her 3 way vaccine by a certain manufacturer. My second mare reacted to the vaccine that was ā€œsafeā€ for the first mare. Each horse had to get their 3 way vaccines from different manufacturers or else they would have swelling and neck pain.

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No. The horse had the Vetera EWT 3-Way vaccine with a single dose of veterinarian administered banamine on Friday. Then at the 24 hour mark she had a second dose of banamine for her 102 fever and initial vaccine reaction. She moved into colic. No other NSAIDs have been administered and she has been in the ICU since 3:00 am on Saturday.

All drugs were administered under the purview of UC Davis vets. I never ever, ever, go off book with administering drugs on my own without vet input and a scrip. I have done banamine with vaccines for 8 years now, maybe. Never had an issue.

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Gosh, @Sfbayequine, Iā€™m sorry for what you and your mare have gone through, and Iā€™m also jingling and hoping for a full recovery for her. It sounds like she might be on the mend, which is great!

My gelding used to never have any issues with vaccinations. Iā€™ve had him since he was a yearling and heā€™s now sixteen. Some time in the middle of his life, I honestly canā€™t remember when, he got a little ā€œpunkā€ feeling after his shots, so from then on I had the vet give him some banamine prior to the vaccinations. All good. Then, a few years ago, he started getting big lumps where at the injection site on his neck. Likeā€¦at least golf ball size and even up to like half a tennis ball size. These never had heat nor caused any pain. The first time, we just figured it was a weird anomaly and would be fine. It took months for it to resolve and then when he got his fall boostersā€¦bam. It was back. Tried one more timeā€¦same thing. Hard, cold, non-painful lump that took months to resolve. Vet tried doing the shots in his chest so at least he wouldnā€™t have an ugly knot on his neck. Chest got swollen to the point he looked like he had a huge ā€œboobā€ and there was also swelling down the inside of his front leg. He was actually a little lame too. Keep in mind, he always got Banamine with his vaccinations. Heā€™s also on a low dose of Equioxx (1/2 pill a dayā€¦I donā€™t care what anyone says, it keeps him from being creaky and saves money and his tummy). I had to use a drawing salve on his chest and also took him off Equioxx completely and gave him Bute. It started to get much better, but he still had a lump in his chest. So, the decision was made to change brands next time.

He got his fall boosters plus rabies last week. He had a little swelling in one pectoral muscle that lasted maybe a day and went away and that was it. I donā€™t know where else he was stuck, but it didnā€™t swell, thatā€™s for sure. He still got his Banamine, and heā€™s shown no other signs that anything happened.

The vet did say some horses just canā€™t handle the other brand (no idea, I didnā€™t think to ask) and that they keep this other brand (againā€¦donā€™t know) around for the ones who canā€™t handle the brand they normally use.

So, thatā€™s my story. Also, I donā€™t ever vaccinate for flu or rhino. This horse has never been vaccinated for either in his life, I donā€™t think, and heā€™s never knock wood been sick. He doesnā€™t travel and isnā€™t around horses that travel, so itā€™s not much of a risk. His reactions have strictly been from the EWT 3-way vax.

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Keeping fingers crossed your mare continues to improve!! :crossed_fingers::crossed_fingers: Damn crazy.

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Iā€™m jingling like crazy for you and worrying for my 2 horses. One which got really weird after vaccines last year. With banamine on board. He got foot sore a colicky after the 3 way plus rabies. Heā€™s 26. Now I want to forego

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Let me start by saying I sure hope she continues to move in the right direction.

For the year where my boy was actively trying to die with gut dysfunction, every single vaccine caused a severe colic that ended him in the hospital. I will never let him get vaxxed again for PHF because that was a disaster.

My vet did recommend that even for the easier to tolerate vaccines I dose with Benadryl hours earlier and the next day. She said there was some chatter that it tamps down bad reactions.

Sending all the best light and positive thoughts for your girl.

ETA: my internist was actually fine with me eliminating all vaccines except those for diseases that would kill with no ability to treat - like rabies. We followed the Benadryl protocol and he tolerated that vaccine well.

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Iā€™m SO glad to hear sheā€™s feeling better!! :tada::tada::tada:

While weā€™re on the topic, has anyone had West Nile vaccine reactions? My mare reacts badly (102-103 fever without banamine) to rhino/flu. She used to get West Nile twice yearly then once yearly (with no known reactions) when we lived in Florida but she hasnā€™t gotten it for 12ish years. With the uptick in cases this year I want to vaccinate her again but have no idea how sheā€™ll respond. My vet said to give banamine anyway but with a PPID horse, I really donā€™t want to give it unless others have seen reactions as well.

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I heard that Zyrtec can also help some horses too. Charlie is on Zyrtec spring-fall but doesnā€™t seem to help much for us.

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My guy will historically pop a fever and be kinda punky after WNV. He does it after all vax, though. Itā€™s much worse when done as part of a combo so now I only do individual vax two weeks apart. Itā€™s fortunately been well-controlled with a low dose of banamine and monitoring, but Iā€™m perpetually scared it will get worse!

ETA: Also of note that his worst reactions have been with Boehringer Ingelheim vax. He still reacts but to a much lesser degree with Merck and Merial vax, so I no longer use BI.

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Thanks for sharing!

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Yes. In the last ~4 years or so, my gelding has started to need all his vaccines separated. We used to do the whole herd in one go. Even with banamine, heā€™s still awfully sore from both WNV and Rabies. Heā€™s 16 now. Iā€™m not sure if age has anything to do with vaccine reactivity but I had a solid 7 years of no problem with him.

Back to the OP, continued jingles and hoping for a bright and chipper Skye this AM :chains: :star:

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My guy has to have them done separately, we usually do 2 weeks between, do 2 injections each time. I so love having to pay for all the extra barn visits.

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Iā€™m so happy your horse is doing better!

For the vaccine companies - I do not know, my vet handled it directly. I had a couple of farm visits, banamine, so not a high bill but my vet indicated any reaction is covered without much difficulty.

Regarding Zyrtec - I did this this year (boosted her normal dose) and while I did separate her shots she had the least reaction that sheā€™s ever had. Looking to try that again next year :crossed_fingers: we also did banamine, but last year I did that with little effect.

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Interesting. This was a BI vaccine. Iā€™m waiting to hear back from them on the report I filed.

UPDATE - nothing great to report. Mild colic at 7 am. Resolved with walking. Creatinine up to 5.5 now. Waiting on the afternoon numbers.

We are getting close to making a decision because the longer this goes on the less the chance she will have a good life. Also, my bank account is not doing very well.

Iā€™ve been pleading with the resident on the case to call the drug company. I essentially demanded that they do a consult with the drug company this morning. She finally said she would have her faculty call. Well - itā€™s been two f-ing days - they could have been working on it and getting a consult!!! F*ck.

Yes, Iā€™ve reached the anger stage. Gonna grab lunch and head to the clinic where I will mostly be nice.

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Iā€™m so sorry they are being less than helpful, and Iā€™m so very sorry your girl isnā€™t trending in the right direction. Sending love and peace.

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Oh no :frowning: I know how utterly gut-wrenching it is to work so hard to save an animal, and it doesnā€™t work :frowning: :frowning:

I donā€™t understand the reluctance of the vet/staff to call the company :angry:

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