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Goat ate metformin

Antje77

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,049
Location
Friesland (the Netherlands)
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Very long shot, but you never know if anyone has experience with this.
No, not my goat, not my metformin either! (I do have two goats but I'm not on metformin.)

Just an issue on a goat group on Facebook:
Goat ate about 5 metformin tablets an hour and a half ago. The poster is in the US, in the middle of a hurricane with no vet on hand.
A lot of people reacting are sure the goat will get a deadly hypo, unless they stuff it with sugar, so I've explained this is not likely to be an issue, due to the way metformin works.
I also made it clear I don't know how harmful metformin is to goats, still, people are getting quite angry with me for explaining why the goat won't go hypo.

Anyone had pets eat metformin? What happened? Did they need treatment?
 
It will probably be fine. Metformin not connected with hypos. They eat anything.
 
Could speculate about gastric consequences, of course.
Tell them about those side effects and it should take their minds off the storm.
 
xfieldok said:
It will probably be fine. Metformin not connected with hypos. They eat anything.
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What about other side effects with an overdose? Goats are ruminants, so their plumbing is completely different from ours, which likely makes any stomach or intestinal side effects completely different.
I'd be more worried about liver or kidneys as a first thought.
 
Antje77 said:
And so many tummies too!
Imagine feeling sick in 4 tummies at the same time!
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I’m am hopefully just getting over the sickness with metformin so……pls NO!!!!! Lol. X
 
Antje77 said:
Goat ate about 5 metformin tablets an hour and a half ago. The poster is in the US, in the middle of a hurricane with no vet on hand.
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Surely this would have to be a troll post on facebook, going by previous hurricanes in Louisiana the power is one of the first to fail which means no internet or phone coverage.

Goats can eat anything if it takes their fancy, I once saw a goat eat a full packet of tobacco with ill effect.
 
Not a troll post. I suppose it means everyone is bracing for the hurricane, including local vets, who therefore aren't on call at the moment.
I agree with the expectation the goat will be fine.
 
Antje77 said:
I agree with the expectation the goat will be fine.
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That's what I think as well if it' true, but reading about some of the wonder drugs for fixing covid touted in certain areas of the US including Louisiana makes me think that it's a wind up.
 
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Riva_Roxaban said:
Surely this would have to be a troll post on facebook, going by previous hurricanes in Louisiana the power is one of the first to fail which means no internet or phone coverage.
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Phones no computers have batteries so power would not be a problem.
Mobile networks are kept up for emergency.
Technology is a wonderful thing in the 21 century
 
Horses and ponies are given metformin for equine metabolic syndrome, so I'd be hopeful the goat will be ok.
 
Goats and ponies are not ruminants. Humans are not ruminants. Goats eat the contents of the washing line with little problem, but lovage crops can be deadly to them it seems Anaerobic digestion in a nitrate heavy gutful seems to be a problem.
 
Riva_Roxaban said:
That's what I think as well if it' true, but reading about some of the wonder drugs for fixing covid touted in certain areas of the US including Louisiana makes me think that it's a wind up.
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No, it clearly was a genuine concerned post by a goat owner whose goat got into the house and raided her mother's pill stash. That's just what goats do. Nothing to do with covid or wonder drugs.
 
Antje77 said:
Too bad NICE seems to want to keep their knowledge a secret to anyone outside the kingdom...
Would you mind telling me what the article says in short?
View attachment 50974
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Sorry Antje,The link I was intending has diasppeared and the one I linked was incorrect. It should have referenced WebMD but they have changed their website and it no longer says what I read earlier tonight (I checked the link again, and it went to a different page from the one I originally viewed. Not sure how BNF go in to the picture since I have not read any BNF articles tonight) I have edited the post with a better link that does seem to support my stance. My pooter is playing silly beggars. It is upset because we got new kitten yesterday and it fears redundancy. Or the kitten did the typing (err? ERROR 404)
 
Oldvatr said:
I have edited the post with a better link that does seem to support my stance. My pooter is playing silly beggars. It is upset because we got new kitten yesterday and it fears redundancy. Or the kitten did the typing
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I love your kitten!
I'm not sure what he or she is up to, but now you've edited your post it wants me to do a very fun sounding volunteer day with coffee, tea and biscuits included! I would say I'm in, too bad it happened over two years ago.
https://volunteersweek.org/get-involved/events/nature-conservation-invasive-species-management/
 
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