Can a dog overdose on meloxicam? Essential Tips

Diagnosis of Meloxicam Poisoning in Dogs

The veterinarian will diagnose meloxicam poisoning in your dog based on signs, a history of meloxicam use, and blood tests or urinalysis. Diarrhea, vomiting, and bloody stools while your dog is on a meloxicam prescription may suggest the dose is too high, or your dog is not tolerating the medication well. Depending on the severity, lab work will show increase BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and other changes indicative of kidney failure.

Bring the prescription along so the veterinarian can see the exact dosage and let the veterinarian know if there is any chance your dog accidently overdosed or was given extra. Any other medications your dog is taking are also relevant since meloxicam poisoning can be complicated by adverse reactions to other drugs. The veterinarian will also need to know if your dog had any access to human medication. It’s a good idea to bring a list of the drugs you or other members of the household are taking, especially if you didn’t see the incident and are unsure what is causing your dog’s signs.

Causes of Meloxicam Poisoning in Dogs

These are the most common causes and risk factors for meloxicam toxicity in dogs.

  • Giving your dog meloxicam doses more frequently than was prescribed
  • Accidental overdose (container was left open, dog chewed through the bottle)
  • Giving a dog medication intended for humans
  • What Is Meloxicam For Dogs

    Meloxicam is an FDA-approved non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine (NSAID). A licensed veterinarian might prescribe your dog Meloxicam to reduce discomfort and swelling following a medical procedure. Meloxicam is also used to help treat symptoms of arthritis and muscle problems such as joint stiffness or joint dysplasia.

    Meloxicam will typically come in pill form for ease of application. Besides oral ingestion, other administration techniques for Meloxicam include intravenous injection or usage of an oral suspension similar to cough syrup.

    It is common for medications to come under various names due to branding and other specifics regarding their production. That can sometimes make it unclear to some if these drugs are the same thing or intended for different usages. In this case, Meloxicam specifically refers to one of the generic versions of the branded version called Metacam.

    Basically, Metacam is just the branded name of the drug Meloxicam!

    Meloxicam Poisoning in Dogs | Wag!

    Objective: To describe the treatment of a meloxicam overdose in a dog with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE).

    Case summary: A 6-month-old female Bulldog, presented for routine laparoscopic ovariectomy. Postoperatively the dog received an accidental overdose of meloxicam (1 mg/kg IV [intravenously]). The patient was treated with supportive medical therapy and TPE over 210 minutes achieving 1.2 plasma volume exchanges. During therapy, heparinized blood and effluent samples were collected. Meloxicam concentrations were determined in the samples by high pressure liquid chromatography. Post TPE, the dog continued to receive supportive medical therapy and was discharged 48 hours after the overdose. The dog remained asymptomatic for meloxicam intoxication. Follow-up rechecks at 1 and 6 weeks were unremarkable with no further treatment required.

    New or unique information: This report describes the successful use of TPE adjunctively following an acute meloxicam overdose. An 82% reduction of plasma meloxicam concentration was achieved over 210 minutes. Twenty-four hours after therapy, a 47% sustained reduction of plasma meloxicam was measured after redistribution of drug between body compartments.