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Specialist Cartrofen Dosage - Need Advice Preferably Before Saturday. Thank You!

RosieMaia

RosieMaia

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi there!

Does anyone have experience with cartrofen?

It's not a drug that's imported in Bulgaria (either for human or veterinary use), but after doing online research, vet and I agreed it would be a good fit for my arthritic piggy. With an international prescription, I was able to order a bottle from Hyperdrug and it's finally here.

The issue is that my vet (and all other vets in the region) have 0 experience with cartrofen, and intends to use only 0.03 ml for a 1200-gram piggy. Online, I'm reading that vets in the UK prescribe 0.06 ml cartrofen (same concentration) per kilo, so 0.03 seems like a very low dose.

Could I have some advice please? The vet is very willing to take input from me or from other owners.

The company producing cartrofen are unresponsive - both she and I emailed them a few times, but they're unwilling to suggest a dose for a guinea pig.

Our appointment is on Saturday, 11 am GMT, so any input would be very, very highly appreciated!
 
I already PMed her, though I imagine most people just pop their piggy at the vets and don't know the exact dosage their vet is using.

We've been emailing Biopharm Australia, Ceva Australia (Naturavet) and Parnell, which all manufacture it, and ForteHealthcare, which is the company that imports it in the EU. I'm yet to receive a reply :( I imagine they're very reluctant to make that kind of recommendation, despite the fact that it's lawful to prescribe medications off-label in the EU.

I'm concerned that our vet, because that's a new drug to her and she has no experience with it, she'd be too conservative and will use an ineffective dose. And he really needs it - he's still young, but his arthritis has been worsening steadily over the past year and I'd really like to improve his quality of life.
 
@RosieMaia What is it going to be used for?

It's one of those drugs which I can never remember which is which, Cartrophen and Carprofen/Carprophen, so similar spelling but different drugs. I can't tell from your spelling which it is.
 
Sorry, I'm confused by the spelling, too, and I now see I misspelled it in my initial post. I'm referring to cartrophen.

Just to make sure we're all on the same page, cartrophen (I imagine the etymology is related cartriledge) is a synthetic polymer that's used to repair the connective tissue in the joints for patients with osteoarthritis and to repair the lining of the bladder wall for patients with interstitial cystitis and other bladder issues. As such, it's a nutraceutical similar (but more effective) to glucosamine, and is not an NSAID like carprofen.
 
Ok I found Petal's notes & it appears my vet used Cat Cartrophen at the dosage I have messaged you on, although Petal was a chunky 1400g at one point I cannot confirm she was at that weight when that dose was issued, she could have been more or less. If that is Cat Cartrophen you have, then your vet is probably at or around the right dosage if your piggy weighs less than Petal did x
 
Ah, just realized you had answered my question about Petal's weight here - thank you!

I will have my vet contact Simon, I gather it's not uncommon for vets in different countries to consult each other, so we have a good place to start. Thank you again!
 
My rabbit had a good result from Cartrophen injections for his arthritis. It modified the disease and prevents it progressing. He had metacam for pain relief as well
 
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