anyone heard of colitis caused by bute?

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kombikids

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just doing some research on my horseys condition and there are some article published that say it can be related to bute,if anyone has any experience/knowledge please let me know as vet didnt mention this.

(horse currentlty in intensive care with colitis who is on 2 bute a day for arthritis)

thanks
 
Not me. My friends old mare has quite bad arthritis and has been on Bute for years. She doesn't seem to have any side effects from it.
 
Gastrointestinal problems are a rare complication however when they do surface my personal (unprofessional it should be said) is that these issues will often arise in a horse with restricted movement, on box rest, or already unwell and on pain relief for some unrelated matter.

An early colic that you might normally notice quickly could potentially develop into something more serious in a horse on bute because the bute may be masking some of the usual symptoms and therefore the problem could be two or more days on before treatment is sought for the colic problems - making them potentially far more serious.

I'm not convinced that colitis would cause the balling of food in the mouth and reluctance to swallow that you described
 
thanks - i think you are right about the masked symptoms my vet said exactly that.he has been able to eat today but now doesnt want to the swallowing and chewing issue has gone.
 
Yes, it can be caused by bute. My horse had endotoxemia caused by a course of antibiotics last year. She made a full recovery, even though she was given a 50/50 chance of survival. She was too weak to be transported to the hospital, so was treated at home. I did a lot of research at the time, and colitis caused by bute was one of the things that I read up on.
http://www.horsetackreview.com/article-display/990.html, found this quickly for you.
The inability to swallow sounds like acute grass sickness though.

Good luck with him.
 
Right dorsal colitis is the type known to be caused y bute. If you google that you should find plenty of information in journal articles etc.

Usually horses diagnosed with colitis are taken off all drugs (although i know of one successful recovery which involved the use of drugs). Food is also restricted. Small amts of hay are the usual feed given.
Did you ever find out whether he actually wasnt able to swallow or was just reluctant?

Personally I would be siding with colitis caused by longterm tx with bute. Couldnt be 100% without full case history and seeing the horse of course, but that would be my greatest concern. I've seen colitis present in many different ways - including impaction (as with your horse yesterday).
 
Thanks for this, very useful. I am just concerned if that is what caused it if he goes back on bute again whether it would cause all this once more.

The vet checked the swallowing, i think he was just reluctant, but he seemed to stop the drooling and mouthing yesterday morning.

It wierd as he has been on the 2 bute a day for 2months so i didnt expect these problems so quickly.

Does right dorsal colitis literally mean it affects the right side?! As when the thing started it was on one side.
thanks for the info
 
The not chewing & swallowing can be a colic symptom too so don't panic & think it's a sign of something even worse. As I think I said before Jim was doing this last Sunday - he badly wanted the grass so picked it but then just stood there with it in his mouth.

If he makes it through this then discuss ongoing treatment with the hospital vets. Two months on bute wouldn't seem long for this scale of problem but maybe it's worsened a pre-existing low grade problem or maybe he's just very sensitive to bute. They'll have a far better idea & may be able to suggest alternative treatments. Don't be afraid of asking the hospital vets questions, my current experience (of a different hospital) is that they couldn't be more helpful & are perfectly happy to put things in terms that even stressed-out, exhausted owners can understand.
 
kombikids, I know how you are feeling - my horse also in intensive care with suspected colitis. Initially they thought it was a left dorsal displacement causing colic but now he is in isolation as they believe it is colitis. From the reading I've done tonight it appears to be a really really serious thing, like salmonella poisoning in humans I guess.

Does anyone here know if colitis is more likely to be the primary cause of a colic, or the secondary cause of the treatment of colic? I understand risk factor is always going to be higher if antibiotics are used, horse is on strange yard, stress and so on. But if he had it from my yard do I need to go back and look at yard and consider possible causes of contamination? Can colitis be caused by feed that has gone off (thinking of the recent hot weather, my oats are stored in a plastic dustbin).

Do horses recover properly from colitis?
 
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