# Pentosan Polysulfate = DEATH?!!



## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I'm a marine engineer. I have a really good deal with my vet. She promised me not to work on marine mechanical systems. I promised her not to do vet work. Works very well for us.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I don't know what would happen. Maybe nothing much, and the pentosan will be less effective because it's not supposed to be absorbed that way. Maybe disaster. Better not to take the risk.

You've been doing the right thing checking for blood on the drawback, and making sure it isn't there before you inject. Keep it up and your horse will be fine. Get lax and I don't know... probably best to discuss the issue with a vet.

ETA; Pentosan is considered a very safe product, my vet actually will suggest it as a diagnostic tool or even a preventative as if the horse has arthritis, it will make a difference in 80-90% of them (but very expensive as a preventative at $60/injection here). If not, it will do nothing. However, I don't know about if it's injected into a blood vessel. It's not a question I've thought to ask.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> I'm a marine engineer. I have a really good deal with my vet. She promised me not to work on marine mechanical systems. I promised her not to do vet work. Works very well for us.


 
I have to agree on this 100%.

My vet is trained to do injections.

I'm not :shock:

Just like I wouldn't ask her to do my job....Its illegal to administer injections out here.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

If some folks choose to not give basic vaccinations or on going doses of injectable antibiotics - that is fine. Your vet is happy to come out and bill you for it.

For the rest of us that want to be 100% involved in the care of our horses, we have our vets teach us what we can and can't do for our equine partners.


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

I agree with learning everything you can to do for your horses. Here's a good example: a year ago my horses had infected guttural pouch. The treatment was an injection a day for 10 days. The cost of me injecting it: $80, cost had the vet done it, $880....I did it. In my case I'm a trained vet tech, but truly anyone can learn to give injections. Diagnostics leave to the vet, but sometimes treatment is part of our job. 
You did right checking for flash back. If again you get flash, you need to withdraw, change your needle and then go again.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

cakemom said:


> I agree with learning everything you can to do for your horses. Here's a good example: a year ago my horses had infected guttural pouch. The treatment was an injection a day for 10 days. *The cost of me injecting it: $80, cost had the vet done it, $880....*I did it. In my case I'm a trained vet tech, but truly anyone can learn to give injections. Diagnostics leave to the vet, but sometimes treatment is part of our job.
> You did right checking for flash back. If again you get flash, you need to withdraw, change your needle and then go again.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
See, thats where our vet makes its money I suppose


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

Never fear, my vet makes plenty off of me still.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Even on a really good year, I still seem to run up at least a $10K vet bill by the end. Thank God I only do it a little at a time. Since I'm already paying that much, for sure I give my own injections, such a little thing and it saves me so much money! 

As for Pentosan, I don't use it so can't answer the OP's question, except to ditto the procedure info that's already been given.


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## avjudge (Feb 1, 2011)

If Joe4D is in fact in eastern Virginia I think it's likely he has a vet not too far from him (not that I know the particular area around Surrey). When we had horses in northern NH, the vet had to travel an hour to reach us - and we just had the 2 horses. So having him out (if you could get him) was a pricey proposition, and there was no way he could have devoted a quarter of his working day to serving one horse through a series of injections. Thank goodness our horses never got sick or injured (until the fatal colic). 

When I moved my horse to Dutchess County NY there was a vet something like 15 minutes away. That barn call price was the ONLY thing I ever found that was cheaper - WAY cheaper - in suburban NY than in the north woods of NH.

You can't assume that everyone is in your situation when judging people about something like providing vet services to a horse. Especially as fewer and fewer vets include large animals in their practice. 

Anne


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Here is the thing, depending on *how* you give the drug only a certain amount gets into the blood stream. Oral has the least amount of absorption, then intramuscular, then IV. I want to say the percentages are about 40% (Oral), 60% (IM), and *100% (IV)*, they are not exact because I don't feel like pulling down my pharmacology notes. 

Now lets say you need to give him 10mg of a medication IM, that means only 6mg is going to be used by his body. You give him the injection and get vein on accident and don't know. You have just given him almost twice the normal dose and depending on the medication that could very well be lethal!


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## nucks93 (Dec 7, 2011)

Thats interesting Sliding Stop. But for the record, my horse is good. So i guess that answered my question. I was dreading to look outside this morning, but even when i gave him the meds, nothing really happened, so i either got out of the vein, or my horse is just a beast


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Lol, well I'm glad!! I'm just letting you know the dynamics of giving a drug. Some people think "oh, what's a little more?" Or "what's the big deal". If you feel comfortable with it thats your choice. Heck, I would!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Super Nova (Apr 27, 2010)

Glad your horse is okay.....maybe you should ask your vet some more questions about the safety of injecting this drug and what the consequenses are if you do it wrong?

I know someone that did a selenium injection that was to be given IM and died because it went into a vein.

Super Nova


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

If you didn't get blood drawing back the second time, you're safe 
I'm not sure on whether pentosan would be lethal if injected into a vein or not, but it is always given intra-muscularly so it's probably not something you want directly into the bloodstream.
I do know that penicillin can drop a horse within seconds if you inject directly into the vein!


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## sabowin (May 8, 2010)

I wouldn't give the OP a hard time about doing her own injections, as long as the vet has shown what to do and is comfortable with the owner doing it. I don't own a horse yet, but my cat vet allows me to give my own subcutaneous injections (antibiotics, avoiding extra vet trips for the cat). They demonstrated it in the office, and followed up with me by phone after the first couple of times to make sure it had gone well. Many cat owners give subcutanous saline fluid to dehydrated cats. I'd feel comfortable giving IM injections to a horse with enough instruction and guided practice, but probably wouldn't want to do IM injections on my cats, since their muscles, and the target areas within them would be so much smaller.


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## HowClever (Feb 16, 2010)

Man, if I had the vet out every time I've had to give a horse an injection I would be literally bankrupt. Of course the vet comes out to prescribe the drug, but then they leave me with however much I'm going to need and I take it from there. 

Between my own horses and the ones whose owners have had me do the injections for them I have administered more than my fair share of shots!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

I don't really see many problems with an owner going shots to their horse as long ad they've been shown how to properly do it and are comfortable doing so. In my case, I will not administer my horse penicillin or penicillin-related medicines. This doesn't really have anything to do with the affect it'd have on the horse but rather the danger it would pose to me. If I come into contact with penicillin I could very well die if I could not get medical assistance fast enough. So in cases as such, I get the vet to do it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

There's nothing wrong with giving an injection yourself, IF YOU KNOW HOW. OP has clearly had it explained correctly, so it's not an issue in this case. If you _don't_ know what you're doing, properly, with injecting horses, then yes, you CAN kill the very animal you're trying to help - depending on the medication you're administering. You need to be VERY careful with penicillin, as mentioned, and a lot of other things as well.

If you're ever not sure, ask your vet. They will know. It's what they're trained for after all!


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