[sophiewest]

Hello everyone! I am new to this forum and found it to see if anyone else has had any experience with the drug Meropenem or Merrem. My dog is a 2 year old miniature schnauzer and has been diagnosed with a pretty bad UTI. She has had bad reactions to a lot of other meds and so our vet referred us to a specialist. I'm just afraid to give her this new drug since it is an injectable and the dr. is not someone I know well. Also , there was some confusion with the pharmacy, not to mention that each vial costs $80 and lasts 2 days! She is worth it, but I'm just afraid this will be too much for her system. Has anyone had any experience, thoughts, opinions about this drug. TIA!!

 

[Pai]

I haven't heard of this drug before. Have you tried Google?

 

[sophiewest]

Unfortunately, I've done a bunch of google searches but what comes up are a lot of pretty technical papers and such. Most pertaining to humans and way above my head.
Thank you for your response and suggestion though. I have been agonizing over this all night and it's nice to hear from someone.

 

[Pai]

From what I can tell, it seems to be similar to penicillin, and is supposed to be safe for short term use. If your dog is not allergic to penicillin she should not have a reaction to this (going from what I've read). Do you know what ingredients your dog had reactions to with her previous meds?

 

[sophiewest]

I'm not sure what ingredients caused her allergy but the drug was S-adenosyl to treat the liver problem caused by the original antibiotic, nitrofurantoin. She had severe GI distress with that one. The Dr.'s said that since she could not tolerate the first antibiotic, that this injectable one was the only choice.
Thank you for the information and responses. I know that it is necessary to cure this infection but for some reason have a bad feeling about this drug. Maybe I'm just being too overprotective.

 

[Pai]

I think it's wise to want to know everything about medications. =)

 

[sophiewest]

Thank you, Pai. After multiple calls to Dr's and pharmacist, we started her treatment today. Just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Thanks again for your help! It is very much appreciated.

 

[jhengana]

Thank you, Pai. After multiple calls to Dr's and pharmacist, we started her treatment today. Just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Thanks again for your help! It is very much appreciated.

sophiewest. I have only just joined the forum, I googled 'Meropenem for dogs, and came on your story. My husband has had a very serious urinaryinfection and had to be on Meropenem for almost six months, a risky time with this drug, however it was used as all other drugs failed, and he was in danger of dying. Thankfully it cured him, and as I had a large amount of the drug left, I was thinking of donating it to an animal charity, and see that it can be used on dogs, I was interested in your story, and am interested how things worked out for you. I hope all went well, please let me know.
Best wishes jhengana.