Sonie Semi-Update And Question For Proin Users

[Guest HersheysMom]

I have a small update on Sonie - we finally determined that she was suffering from incontinence and not another UTI. She was in the middle of her 4-week Baytril course and suddenly, over the course of a weekend, developed leaking overnight, and then about half the time she got up from napping. This was occurring with no awake accidents whatsoever.

 

The good news is we started her on Proin about three weeks ago - and the only side effect she's had is she's stopped leaking completely! I started her on the lowest dosage the vet recommended, which is 25 mg 2x/day. It's working so well I hate to mess with a good thing, but knowing this is a drug to be cautious with, I'm wondering about trying to reduce it further to 25mg a day. My question is what's the best way? I searched the forum and found some of you have given once a day or even once every few days. On the other hand, some say the drug only lasts for 12 hours in the system and that it should therefore be given twice a day. Most of her leaking was happening at night, so I wonder if I should try giving 25 mg at night only, or if instead I should try 12.5 mg twice a day. And is that really too low a dose to be effective? She weighs about 60 lbs. If some of the Proin users on the board that have adjusted dosages wouldn't mind revisiting the topic, I'd love your input.

 

Re Sonie and the protein in the urine issue, it's still a work in progress. She is just finishing her four week course of antibiotic. Then I plan to take her off all of her supplements but her thyroid meds for a few days before the next protein/creat ratio test. Reason being, I read in several places online that in humans the use of glucosamine can cause abnormally high amounts of protein to be excreted through the urine. I want her clear of any supplement that can effect this test next time around.

[DesiRayMom]

My vet recommends every 12 hours, keeping some of the drug in system all the time, instead of the high/low that once a day gives.

[tbhounds]

I would ask your vet if you can try 12.5mgs twice a day

[Guest GreyKatie]

We had a foster who was on Proin (Okie Galena, bless her little heart). She developed a series of antibiotic-resistant UTIs, and once they were cleared up (it took over a month), she was left incontinent. She too was a bed-wetter. The vet initially prescribed 25 mg twice a day. By the time she ended up at my place (I was her third foster), she was on 12.5 mg twice a day. Eventually we tried to do 12.5 mg once a day (at night), but she had two accidents. Her forever family kept her on 12.5 mg twice a day, with no incidents (she died in June, 3 months after she was adopted).

[Guest HersheysMom]

We had a foster who was on Proin (Okie Galena, bless her little heart). She developed a series of antibiotic-resistant UTIs, and once they were cleared up (it took over a month), she was left incontinent. She too was a bed-wetter. The vet initially prescribed 25 mg twice a day. By the time she ended up at my place (I was her third foster), she was on 12.5 mg twice a day. Eventually we tried to do 12.5 mg once a day (at night), but she had two accidents. Her forever family kept her on 12.5 mg twice a day, with no incidents (she died in June, 3 months after she was adopted).

 

Oh, she was adorable! So I guess 12.5 mg twice a day is possible. Maybe I'll just do it gradually, the reduced dosage only in the AM at first, then AM & PM. Worst that can happen is I guess it wouldn't work and I'd end up putting it back up to where it is.

[Guest argolola]

I just wanted to mention that when Lola was having problems, a kind GTer (sorry I can't remember who) gave me the wonderful advice to give her 1/4-1/2 cup of milk per day, as we didn't want to give Lola the Proin. It worked! No more incontinence!

 

God bless.

[ShantisMom]

Asti and Nala take it here. Both had 50mg 2x a day. I was able to wean Asti down then off. Hers was spay incontinence. Someone here mentioned they were able to do that after a little bit on it. Asti does not appear to have issues now. Nala I tried to wean down and we started having accidents. She is back to full dose. On Asti I took her from 50mg 2x a day down to 25mg 2x a day. After a week of no problems I took her down to 25mg a day. Then we went to every other day and then off.

 

I tried milk, apparently Asti is lactose intolerant.

[Guest HersheysMom]

Milk - no kidding? I'm sure Sonie can have milk as she eats ice cream and yogurt no problem.

 

I also found this supplement online which gets incredible reviews. I found it referenced on a blog discussing Proin alternatives:

 

Bladder Support

 

Not sure if I'll try it. See, if I'd had time when we put her on Proin I probably would have researched other alternatives first. But what happened was she suddenly became extremely incontinent four days before we were about to leave her for ten days at the dogsitter's house so I needed a solution FAST. We were putting a diaper on her at night for the first couple nights, but after starting the Proin we didn't need it anymore. Now I hate to mess with something that's working, but am thinking about options now that I'm back from my trip and have time. If I can have the same success with a slightly lower dose of Proin I may be happy just to keep her on that, or I may try the milk or the Bladder Support pills.

[duncan41]

I would go with the lowest dose possible and make sure that there is no UTI. I almost lost one of mine when the "recommended" dose was prescribed when she had an undetected UTI.

[Guest HersheysMom]

I would go with the lowest dose possible and make sure that there is no UTI. I almost lost one of mine when the "recommended" dose was prescribed when she had an undetected UTI.

 

Thanks Linda - we did have a urinalysis and a culture done which were both negative plus she was already on the antibiotic Baytril when this happened (long story) I'm sorry you almost lost one of your dogs on this. I posted a link above of a natural supplement I'm considering trying instead of Proin....

[Guest LindsaySF]

Sophie has incontinence from her anti-seizure meds. The vet suggested Proin but I didn't want to risk it, since blood clots, strokes, and seizures are possible side effects. I asked about incontinence on this forum and got some other advice for things I could try. (If you look through my old topics the thread should come up). Milk didn't work for us, but it was worth a try. The natural supplements mentioned looked promising, but most of them had ingredients that were either diuretics or possible seizure triggers, so not for us. They might be worth it for another dog though. What helped the most was frequent potty breaks, not letting Sophie fall asleep with a full bladder. She also wears a diaper at night just in case. Good luck.

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[greyhead]

Our vet sold us some Bladder Support for Shane, who didn't do well on Proin. The jury is still out on how well it works. The vet says it can take a month or two to produce results. Meanwhile, we're doing the 1/2 cup of milk twice a day, frequent outs, and belly band with pad at night.

[Guest HersheysMom]

Lindsay, I found your thread, thanks. You sure did look into a lot of options!

 

Mary, I may have to message you in a few weeks to see how that Bladder Support is working out - I'd be very interested in hearing firsthand how well it works. I hope it works out for Shane.

[SarahsBlackPack]

My girl Angel is on 50 mg of Proin 2x a day for her spay incontinece. She's been on it for about a year now with no problems,

[greyhead]

Lindsay, I found your thread, thanks. You sure did look into a lot of options!

 

Mary, I may have to message you in a few weeks to see how that Bladder Support is working out - I'd be very interested in hearing firsthand how well it works. I hope it works out for Shane.

Please do! We only gave it briefly before stopping to treat him for two TBD's. Not long enough to get a result. Now we're re-starting it. All we can do is hope.