Post-op Spay, pain medication question

[bengal77]

Lily was spayed on Monday at noon. When we picked her up from the vet we were given a bottle of Metacam and told to administer a 0.4 CC dose every morning for 3-4 days. The first night Lily seemed to be in a lot of pain (wouldn't drink any water, wouldn't eat pellets, I got her to eat a little greens and fruit) and was a constant bunny loaf in the back corner of her cage. I called the rescue I got her from and Lily's foster mother was kind enough to bring me one dose of a stronger pain med (we cleared it with the vet first) to get her through the night. Since then she's been doing very well. She is 100% back to her normal eating and pooping habits and everything looks good. Today was the fourth day and we decided to delay the medication to see if she looked like she needed it. She really hates taking her medicine. And since she won't take it voluntarily I have to pick her up (which she doesn't enjoy in the first place) and syringe it to her.

So basically, how long do you normally continue medication after a spay? The vet said 3-4 days of medication in the morning, but Lily doesn't like to take it and it makes her quite groggy and doped up. We held off on giving her the pain meds today (the fourth day after the surgery) to see any obvious pain signs. So far she seems pretty relaxed and normal. She's hopping around a bit, eating wonderfully, her poops are perfectly size and shaped, and she isn't hunched in the corner like she was on the first night. When she does lay down she sprawls out and relaxes. I've been checking her tummy and everything looks really good.

Do you think that it would be ok to stop the pain medication treatment? I know that rabbits hide their pain and the vet said 3-4 days, which it has been. But what do you guys do in this situation?

Lily is a one year old mixed breed. She weighs 4 and a half pounds and is eating her normal 3/8ths cup of pellets and 1 and 1/2 cups of fresh veggies and greens. And she has started to drink water on her own. Her poops/pees are normal and she is eating her cecetropes.

 

[Maureen Las]

I would just stop the pain meds...

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

angieluv wrote:

I would just stop the pain meds...

3-4 days is generally enough,,sounds like she got the poops going again--very good/-and very important,after the anethesia.-watch the stitches for infection-//...are you using a one cc syringe/ and daily dose of 4ml-or-.(0.4cc)??--.yes(metacam),- will affect alertness,etc.,,there was no mention of hay,,so i will-ask,,-is the diet 70% timothy-or-orchard grass,,.and just watch the healing--use betadine until the incision is healed...good job,..sincerely james waller:wave::rose:i meant to ask if there were any radiographs..ie.uteran cancer,etc.??

 

[bengal77]

Oh yes, Lily is a very good hay eater. I don't know numbers but I would say that 60-70% of her diet is timothy hay with a little bit of oat hay for variety.

It is good to hear that 3-4 days of medication is normal. I'll stop medicating her unless I feel that she is in pain. Her dose is 0.4 CC of Metacam per day, given in the morning.

Her suture looks wonderful. The vet used internal dissolvable stitches with external surgical glue and I can see that her skin has started to grow back together. The skin is nice and warm (not feverish) and looks like it has begun to heal nicely.

 

[Sweetie]

My female rabbit was spayed on Wednesday 2 weeks ago, January 20, 2010. Her name is Sweetie and she fought pain meds on Saturday morning, but took them at 10:30am. She hasn't needed pain meds since then. Her incision looks very well.

Watch for suture reactions. Although I heard that it is rare in female rabbits, it can happen.

Yeah definitely keep the pain meds just in case she is in extreme pain. I am keeping the pain meds that the vet gave me for Sweetie, just in case she is in pain.

Sweetie didn't eat until I got her home, but she was drinking on the way home.

 

[tonyshuman]

It sounds like you've got this under control. It's good that you got stronger meds for the day after the spay, but she may be over the painful part and well on her way to recovery, not needing the metacam. Keep it around though--it's still good for 6 mo and can be handy in any situation where pain comes up, like gas, GI stasis, injury, etc.