Tell Me About Gabapentin

[Guest SusanP]

Our vet is willing to try Gabapentin for Wizard--both for possible neurological pain and possibly anxiety...but she seemed to think it may be hard to get in a form dogs can take. She said it's mainly a human drug and generally has acetaminophin added to it, which a dog cannot have. So she is checking on it and taking awhile.

 

Those of you who've used it on your hounds:

 

Where did you get it?

Was it pills or liquid?

What was dose?

Were they expensive?

 

Wizard has become very bad about taking pills, so I'm especially worried about size of pills and number of times a day you give them?

 

Anything else you can tell me about your experience with this med would be helpful. Susan

[romansperson]

We got gabapentin for Idol a few years ago. The original prescription was from the vet school here, and when that ran out we got refills from WalMart. It was not a problem to get at all. It was actually cheaper from the vet school, but as they are across town from where we live, it was easier to get a refill from WalMart.

 

I cannot remember the dose now (he had osteo and it was part of a mix of painkillers he took), but I seem to recall it could be given up to 3x a day and the pills were capsules of a pretty standard size - not large.

[Trihounds]

Same experience here. Bumper took them 3x a day for a while and was tapered after a few weeks. He has an autoimmune condition which caused neurological issues/pain in his spine. Gaba did a good job helping him through it.

 

The prescription was from the vet but we filled it at CVS, standard capsule size. As Bump had a cocktail of meds, we used pill pockets for awhile and also hid the meds in various food items. He has the capability to sense and spit out anything unusual in his mouth so we varied the methods a bit.

 

From what I know, Gaba is the drug of choice for neuro pain. It caused no problems for Bumper. Good luck.

[Guest mhall]

Tarmac was on gabapentin as one of his pain meds for osteo. He took it 3 times a day. He got really bad about taking most pills towards the end, but would eat the capsules wrapped in slice of lunch meat or tucked into a ball of ground beef. I don't think they have much of a taste.

 

We got it at our local pharmacy and it wasn't super expensive - I believe it cost 10ish dollars for a 2 week supply. We didn't bother to shop around for lower prices as he wasn't on it for very long.

[Guest SusanP]

Thanks, guys. The info you gave me is helpful. I'm waiting for the vet to call so I can discuss this with her. I really don't know at this point if it's worth trying pain meds when it will obviously not cure the problem. In reading about brain tumors, I now suspect strongly that may be what's wrong, and honestly, the last couple of days, though he does not seem distressed for sure, he also is not getting any kind of enjoyment out of life. He's even stopped going for walks with the other dogs, something that still made him happy a few days ago, and food has long since stopped being enjoyable for him.

I'd be willing to try this med for a day or so maybe, but otherwise, I think we're nearing the end of the road with our Wizard.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

Morgan couldn't take any opiate pain killers so we used Gabapentin when he needed a pain killer. We used it daily when he developed LS. It's suppose to be particularly good for nerve pain. We got 100mg capsules from CVS. We put his pills in Laughing Cow cheese wedges and he loved his "special treat". Near the end, his dose was 300 mg at a time. I don't remember if it was once or twice a day.

[Trudy]

Walmart, capsule form, used for pain relief, but with the added bonus that it was also a seizure drug which at the time helped to keep the seizures to 1-2 a month since his body wasn't processing the Pb and KBr very well at the time. I don't recall it being cheap, but it wasn't prohibitively expensive either

[Guest benson]

Just found out yesterday my Billy has osteo. The doctor prescribed Gabapentin (100mg) to use in conjunction with the pain meds. I got a 30 day supply at CVS for $16.

[sweetdogs]

Just found out yesterday my Billy has osteo.

I'm so sorry. I used gabapentin for my girl's osteo with no issues.

[LBass]

Piper had it for a while as a tertiary drug for his seizures. The best price I found was at Costco's pharmacy. I used their web pharmacy service since at that time we did not have a local Costco. The web pharmacy does NOT require a Costco membership and has free shipping.

 

No noticeable side effects.

[Guest SusanP]

Just found out yesterday my Billy has osteo.

 

I'm so sorry. I guess a lot of us are going through the saddest time right now. We'll hug our pups and do the best we can by them...

 

Thanks for the info, Everyone.

[Guest SusanP]

I got the gabapentin. They warned me that the powder inside the capsule is bitter, so i don't know if we'll even be able to get Wizard to take it. Honestly, I'm really wondering why were even doing this--it isn't a cure. I think I'd rather take him in tomorrow to be put down. Need to talk more with family tonite. sigh.

[Guest SusanP]

He took the gabapentin just fine mooshed into baby food. So that worry is over. I guess we'll take it one day at a time.

[NevadasMom]

Gabapentin also comes in tablet form if he can't tolerate the powder inside the capsule. Yes, it is bitter....I've tasted it.

[galgrey]

I got the gabapentin. They warned me that the powder inside the capsule is bitter, so i don't know if we'll even be able to get Wizard to take it. Honestly, I'm really wondering why were even doing this--it isn't a cure. I think I'd rather take him in tomorrow to be put down. Need to talk more with family tonite. sigh.

 

to you & Wizard.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I take gabapentin for neurological pain; started out with 300 mg capsules and am now up to 800 mg tablts twice a day if needed. So a pretty high dose. It comes in caplets and capsules, as well as an injectable form if I am not mistaken. I really like it as a pain med, as much for what it does as for what it doesn't (no drowsiness, non-addictive, none of that "hung-over" feeling.) I would feel perfectly fine giving it to one of my pets if needed. Also, it's inexpensive (generic form is gabapentin, generic for Neurontin.) I hope that it works for Wizard.

Edited June 4, 2010 by FullMetalFrank

[Guest SusanP]

Would I expect results after the first dose? Wizard seems to be having an even harder time walking tonite, and he's still pacing and pacing now that he's awake. I think we may let him go tomorrow or Saturday.

[Sambuca]

I'm so sorry your going through this. My father and I are both on the gel caps. It does not come in IV form, so I doubt a liquid is available either (although I don't know that for sure) My Dad was recently in the hospital and could not take anything orally and had to go without the gabapentin because it didn't come in IV form.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Would I expect results after the first dose? Wizard seems to be having an even harder time walking tonite, and he's still pacing and pacing now that he's awake. I think we may let him go tomorrow or Saturday.

 

For me, it took a few days before I could feel relief and IIRC the first couple of doses made me feel a little woogity... but that went away. And for a dog, that might translate as restlessness because he doesn't understand that he's on a new med. If you can, and if you think he can take it, I would honestly give it a few days to work. You guys are in my prayers.

 

Oh, and re: injectable gabapentin, there is some info on the web where they give it by injection into cerebral or spinal fluid. I think this is a human thing and I don't know anything more about it, or whether there are any new protocols for IV use...