Danilon question

[now_loves_mares]

Yesterday my mare fractured her pedal bone She is in a lot of pain so vet has recommended 2 Danilon sachets twice a day for 3 days, then 3 a day for next 2 days. However I wondered if it would make a difference to her to give them more spaced out? I don't know how it works but could easily do 6.30, 11.30, 4.30 and 9.30 say? Would it help with the pain relief, and her stomach coping; or make no difference at all?

 

[Sam22]

Once eaten it takes approx 1 hr to be absorbed and reach a therapuetic level in the blood stream. Danilon contains suxibuzone which is converted into phenylbutazone in the body, the latter being the active ingredient. Its pain relieving effect last 12hrs hence the dosing interval of twice a day - you should try and get as close to the twelve hours as possible. When giving three sachets a day you will therfore be best to give 1.5 sachets twice a day. I have never tried a dosing protocol like you have suggested and I can't think of a good reason why you should or shouldn't do it to be honest. As far as the side effects go the drug has not been tested by use in this way and it is therefore possible that you could make the side effects worse. If you don't think your horses pain is being controlled well enough with the twice daily plan i would suggest you talk to your vet about using a diffferent anti-inflammatory.

 

[now_loves_mares]

Thanks, that's very useful. The pain relieving effect was what I didn't know, but if it's 12 hours that's fine. I can manage that fairly well.

The only reason I thought about it was if the effect only lasted say 6 hours.

Thanks again.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I suppose its like us taking 1 ibuprofen instead of 2 at one time, taking 2 has got to be better and give quicker pain relief, but I see what you mean, like the other thread on danilon, I'm not really sure

 

[Kenzo]

24 hours, that is why it's adminstered daily (for it to be used to its full effect), obviously the amount (amounts of sachets) will vary depending on how much inflamtion/pain relief is needed for the horse.

 

[now_loves_mares]

Vet was back to check on my horse today. I've dropped her dosage down to 2 a day as she was looking a bit TOO comfortable and moving around a lot. However I asked anyway, and she said effectively yes it was 12 hours, but that it peaks in the first few hours and tails off. So you do still have pain relieving effect but actually yes it would have been best to stagger it out more. She agreed that the once/twice a day regime is recommended because most owners work/have lives and aren't necessarily on hand to feed the horses every 6 hours. She did say if you have a horse on one sachet a day, then the ideal would be to give half a sachet morning and night.

Kenzo, you should undoubtedly talk to your own vet rather than going by something random I've posted here, but perhaps worth asking if they suggest splitting the one sachet into twice a day?

 

[Kenzo]

I was not commenting on the dosage you should be giving your horse, I was just saying that the effects of bute is 24 hours, that is what I've been told by a vet, dosage however will vary depending on a horses size and how much pain/imflamation there is.

 

[now_loves_mares]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't very clear . The only reason I came back on this thread was to say that actually my vet had agreed with what I'd proposed in my OP re spreading the dose out, and thought it might be useful for others in similar situations.

The only reason I specifically mentioned your name was because you'd said it was a 24 hour effect, and actually my vet said no it was 12 hours, or really even less for the maximum effect. However my horse is currently in serious pain (hence the high dosage) whereas I presume yours isn't!

I had read another related thread where this one had prompted a forum-ite to ask whether her horse was still getting the pain relieving effect if she fed her one sachet at a pm feed, but didn't ride for nearly 24 hours afterwards. I really just wanted to highlight that, per my vet, there would be far less effect say 22 hours later than if she had fed it 3 hours before she rode.

In other words, it appears to work in peaks and troughs rather than a flat-line impact, which may or may not be relevant for certain care situations.