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Discussion on Banamine (flunixin) for diarrhea?
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Member:
tdiana
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 4, 2010 - 1:56 pm:
I have a question about an older horse (approx. 22 years of age) who we have rescued about a year ago. He is a picky eater and suffers from chronic diarrhea. Making changes to his feed seems to have no effect on the diarrhea. He is on a regular deworming schedule like all our horses but has no other known illnesses. The manure usually has the consistency of cow manure. Our local vet has recommended large doses of probiotics which have caused the problem to worsen by causing excessive amounts of gas and diarrhea that had the consistency of water plus mild colic. I stopped the probiotics as a result to this reaction. A few days ago I noticed he (the horse) had discomfort like a mild colic again. I gave him some Benamine for about 500 lbs. His actual body weight is approx. 1100 lbs. The pain subsided quickly. I then decided to keep giving him this dosage for three days. After the second day and for the first time ever his manure was actually individual pebbles like normal horses would have. My question now is, is this horse a candidate for a long term administration of a low benamine dose? Our goal is to make him have life quality. He is retired at our sanctuary. So, performance issues of any kind are not a consideration. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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New Member:
tigerred
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 4, 2010 - 2:24 pm:
Diana
I have an elderly thoroughbred (28) who has 3 strkes against him when it comes to gastro problems.
1. He has had colic surgery (age 22)at a bad place in the gastro canal and hence probably has scar tissue which is problematic with his bowel.
2. He is elderly, also problematic with his bowel.
3. We live in an area which is quite sandy, another problem for his bowel.
BUT, I have found a FANTASTIC product which makes him well. His back end used to be COVERED with wet manure, I think he was truly EMBARASSED. THEN I bought a product called ASSURE. it changed his life ....and mine. COst about $90 for a 3 month supply....honestly I totally swear by it. PLEASE GIVE IT A TRY !! you can google to find out how to buy it or let me know if you have any problems. Trust me, I tried everything else!!!!!!!!!! Tiger
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Member:
tdiana
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 4, 2010 - 3:35 pm:
Tiger,
what is in Assure? I googled it and couldn't find anything. I tried other products other horse owners swore by to no avail (various herbal products and clay for example). Can you send me a link to read up on it?
Thank you
Diana
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 - 7:43 am:
Hello Diana,
Wow that is quite a story. 3 days of a half dose of flunixin (Banamine) and the stools returned to normal. The problem of course is that long term use of NSAID's is associated with colitis and ulceration so I don't think this a viable long term plan. Maybe if the dose were low enough but I do not know what might be safe used daily. We only have studies on full doses.
DrO
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New Member:
tigerred
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Posted on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 - 8:47 am:
go to
https://www.arenus.com/c-4-assure.aspx#
you want the regular Assure, I feel SO strongly about this product that I would be happy to send you some !!! but since your horse sounds as bad as mine was, you will need at least one to two months supply..change does not happen overnight, you will have to be patient. If you cannot pick up the ingredients from the website, let me know your email and I will scan the label and email the ingredients to you. Tiger
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Member:
canderso
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Posted on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 - 8:59 am:
Diana, this must be so hard for him.
I know you say he is on a regular worming program but is it possible the worms are resistant to your wormer and/or that he has tapeworms? Just a thought...
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Member:
tdiana
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Posted on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 - 10:34 am:
Thank you everybody for your input. I will discontinue the Benamine now and just give it to him when he doesn't feel well again. For the most part he is actually very energetic. As far as for the product Assure, its ingredients are all things we have used and tried to no avail. It is basically a microbial / psyllium product. Psyllium actually aggravates his diarrhea. I will have his manure checked soon to see if there might be an issue with the wormer(s). Thanks again to everyone 
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 - 2:24 pm:
I spent years going through this with one of mine and tried everything!
That the Banamine helped makes me wonder whether the horse has a degree of pain somewhere (even something like unbalanced feet?), which when relieved somewhat, reduced the stress on the horse, resulting in a cessation of the diarrhea.
Otherwise, I too would treat for resistant parasites.
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Member:
juliem
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Posted on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 - 11:51 pm:
Have you checked him for sand? Sand can irritate the colon and cause loose stools. Even though your profile says you use sand clear, it's not always effective and a large build up of sand still possible.
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Member:
tdiana
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 8, 2010 - 10:14 pm:
Update on this case. After the three consecutive days of Benamine as I mentioned in my post from March, I decided to try a dose of Benamine for 250 lbs only twice a week. One such dose on Monday and another on Thursday. At first the diarrhea returned a little but then stabilized again. It has been over a month now and this horse has completely stabilized without any sign of diarrhea, gas or other problems. His appetite has also improved. Everyone including myself is astounded. A few days ago I did inform my local vet about my experiment. He is unsure why the Benamine is helping to make such a dramatic difference but has no concern as to negative long term effects of such a low Benamine dose only twice a week.
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2010 - 10:29 am:
Very interesting! Thanks for keeping us informed.
Hope that this good fortune continues.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2010 - 12:39 pm:
Though other possibilities might exist, like coincidence or other pharmacological effects, a possible explanation is that your diarrhea was caused by a low grade inflammatory response that was responsive to the flunixin.
DrO
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New Member:
fredster
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 6, 2010 - 10:08 am:
I just joined Horse Advice because of this thread, which really helped me.
I have a 27 year old rescued QH that was having similar problems to Diana's horse (though his appetite remained good). Spraying brown water, watery poo, a lot of gas, more than usual gut sounds, a lot of undigested fiber in his manure. He also had the problem last year, starting in July same as this year, and it cleared up in about six weeks. But this year it wasn't clearing up.
Fred was also diagnosed with Cushings in August and is on Pergolide. We caught it very early (he had tested negative in the spring) and his numbers were great four weeks after starting his meds. But the wet stool/gas/bum problems continued.
We tried everything: Assure (made him much much worse so quickly discontinued it), Succeed (didn't help), BioSponge paste (helped a little but never cured him), and most recently, hyDrOxyzine (spelling?), an antihistamine, twice a day. He had better days and worse days, but always a dirty bum to some degree, which was cleaned daily.
He was a little stocked up about ten days ago as a result of being in a small dry paddock while the large geldings paddock was being redone for winter, so Banamine was called for. Within a few days after administration of 1/4 to 1/2 dose, once daily for three days, his diarrhea and related problems started clearing up! His bum is now clean, as is his tail, and his manure is normal and not wet. There is also less undigested fiber in it. I went to google to see if Banamine was ever used for diarrhea and/or "wet farts" and found this thread.
I'm pretty excited that Fred is finally over this. If it comes back, low-dose Banamine will absolutely be my first choice of treatment. I also passed along this thread to my veterinarian as she told me there should be a support group for older horses with this chronic problem. Maybe Banamine might help one of the others where nothing else is working.
Who knew?
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Member:
tdiana
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 6, 2010 - 11:16 am:
Mary,
this is wonderful news! As of today, our Charlie never had a problem again with this. My vet could not believe it when I first told him that Benamin (Flunixin) has finally helped Charlie to gain the upper hand on this problem. Please keep us updated on your horse's condition. This way we may all learn from each other.
Diana
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New Member:
fredster
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 6, 2010 - 11:43 am:
I absolutely will. I did give Freddie a 250 lb dose of Banamine last night as he was a little stocked up (huge geldings paddock should be finished Monday or Tuesday and then that problem will be solved).
But I am convinced this is what has finally helped him. What a blessing for him and me and the barn personnel.
Mary E.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 6, 2010 - 12:17 pm:
This is indeed very interesting, thanks for sharing this you guys. It definitely is something to try if faced with this problem.
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