vet prescribed buprenorphine for arthritis pain. help!

so i took my diabetic in remission hypert cat to the emergency today because she was in a lot of pain and having trouble getting around at all. he xrayed and said it was indeed prob the arthritis in her back. i'm supposed to put her back on the cosequin and he also prescribed buprenorphine for the intense pain when she tries to move or walk. has anyone ever used this before? is it safe?
she's had a few of these flare ups. she's still eating and she got a bunch of subq today. the vet said it might work itself out on it's own but he gave me the drug as back up. i'm not sure what to do. when she finds a comfortable position to lie in, she seems fairly comfortable. but when she tries to walk or move she cries out. this has happened before. it might be alittle worse this time, i'm not sure. i am thinking of trying to wait until morning to see if she is any better before starting this pain med because i am wary of it. i don't know anything about it but i'm just wary of all drugs anyway.
he said to keep her on the metronidazole and tapazole which i am doing.
do any of you know any home treatments for bad arthritis like certain foods or maybe a hot pack or hot water bottle to lie by? would that be a good idea? she's just had this since last night and it usually takes a few days to get past the really bad part but i'm not sure what to do about drug he gave me. if i remember correctly, she has come out of this in the past with just the cosequin and a few days of rest. another time she got metacam which i didn't like once i read about it aferward.
thanks for any advice!

 

Many here have used it for their cats for various reasons, with mine, it is usually given for pain management post-dental procedures.

It is more commonly referred to here as buprenex. Try a google search for buprenorphine or buprenex + cats, and you will get a lot of reference to read.

I'm not sure with treating arthritis but it sure has helped mine when in pain.

Best,
Pam & Layla

 

thanks. do you know what the side effects are? has your cat had any trouble with it? does it raise blood sugar that you know of? thanks again!

 

i've used bupe a few times around here after spays and I believe Spazzie had some after her biopsies. doses are pretty small. never really heard too much bad about it. it does tend to stone them which in all honesty, if i were in pain i'd surrrrrrrrrrre probably enjoy stoned so if kitty gets a bit spacey after you give it, that's to be expected.

i think if too much is given kitty seems to have some hallucinations and can get pretty vocal but i might have that mixed up with something else.

my late Kitty and Spazzie both had arthritis. Spazzie probably worse then Kitty due to a broken leg when she was a youngster. I used Dasuquin for both which seemed to help. Spazzie got metacam a couple winters when hers would be bad during the colder weather. And both sought out heat sources which seemed to help. I would keep a heating pad on for them, under a blanket, on the couch and Kitty would get as close to the fireplace as possible when it was lit.

 

I use Torbutrol for Kaely's elbow arthritis, which helps. She won't take the Dasquin. My vet gave her a shot of a similar drug last week after I read about it here. Starts with an A. I also asked the vet about Neurontin, which I also read about here, but she has to research it first. Donna

 

ask about adequan--

 

Blackie gets Adequan injections, Dasuquin and Gabapentin. The Gabapentin is an anti-seizure drug that is used for chronic pain. It has helped the most with Blackie's pain with no side effects. The combination of these things has kept 17 yr old Blackie moving.

 

If you're wary of drugs for arthritic pain, see if there's an animal acupuncturist in your area. Gandalf receives Adequan for his arthritis, but we added the acupuncture for possible pain last year. I feel acu works very well in conjunction with the Adequan (a canine arthritic drub, off-label for cats, but it has been endorsed by some universities now for feline arthritis). On Xray my vet noted last winter that Gandalf's spine looked more aligned than it had the year before. I notice he can hold his tail higher and his condition has stabilized in my opinion.

Otherwise, buprenorphine is fine for pain in the short term - probably less side effects than Torb or other pain relievers for cats. I tried Torb with Gandalf and he spaced out severely, would not eat. Not good for a diabetic. I use bup for pancreatitis flares and he does not become spacey on it.