Another Gabapentin Question

[greytluck]

Wally started gabapentin on Wednesday. Seemed to have no ill effects up until now. Tonight I've noticed he's become increasingly clumsy. He's stumbled over his feet a few times just walking and he's tripped on the stairs and also going on to his bed which is only around 4" off the ground. He's also pacing and whining and won't settle down for the night which he normally does by now.

 

Could this be a side effect of the drug or should I be concerned something else is going on?

 

Thanks I'm worried about my boy.

[Time4ANap]

Definitely a side effect.

 

When I was prescribed it for nerve pain, I rarely slept and had all kinds of crazy things going on. Needless to say, i doscontinued it pretty fast.

[greytluck]

Definitely a side effect.

 

When I was prescribed it for nerve pain, I rarely slept and had all kinds of crazy things going on. Needless to say, i doscontinued it pretty fast.

I left a message with my vet a couple days ago to lower his dose as I feel it's probably stronger then he needs. She isn't in the office until Tuesday though. He's has been sleeping fine up until this point. This seemed to come on very suddenly, he was fine this afternoon.

[Time4ANap]

Many human users of this drug complain about the cumulative side effects - they get worse as you use it. I have never had to use it for a pet so can only compare my own experience using it. It is a powerful drug, and in juman use often has to be given in steps from low dosage to a higher dose over time to allow the body to adjust to it.

 

Many people have the opposite effect that I had, and will fall asleep after taking it. The side effects are all over the place with that drug.

 

Hope Wally can settle down eventually and have a good night. .

[Hubcitypam]

Definitely a side effect.

 

When I was prescribed it for nerve pain, I rarely slept and had all kinds of crazy things going on. Needless to say, i doscontinued it pretty fast.

Everyone/everydog is different I guess. I'll never forget when I was in a psych doctors office and they said, "have you been taking any drugs not prescribed to you?" When I said yes their ears perked up until I said "the dogs gabapentin". They laughed and said I could have my very own script as it it helps both bi polar and neuropathy. I've never had a hiccup with it.

[Remolacha]

Sallie had no problems with it, and neither does Conner, and they both had problems with Tramadol. However, everyone (dog or human) reacts a little differently, and it does sound like side effects.

[greysmom]

300 mgs is a big dose to start out with. Do you have the 300mg pills or the 100mg pills?

 

Each patient is different and you should be able to adjust it downward so that Wally can be comfortable. Toni takes her 300s three times a day and doesn't has any issues at all.

[3greytjoys]

Many Greyhounds are more sensitive to medications anyway, but for whatever reason, our eldest Greyhounds are much more sensitive to medications than in their younger life (possibly underlying conditions).

Perhaps your vet clinic's answering machine provides an e-vet contact that you could call to ask about reducing Wally's dose(?).

(Personally, I would not want to keep dosing Wally that heavily while waiting and waiting for your own vet to return next week.)

We've had to open and split 300 mg. dose capsules before (it was okay to do that since our hounds' gabapentin is not time-released). We opened the capsule(s) and poured 1/2 of the powder into a food treat for the hounds. (The other half dose remained in the capsule that was recapped, and set aside separately from the bottle, to await their next dose time.)

In case you missed it, below was my post to your previous thread:

Posted 28 January 2016

Our Greyhounds' vet prefers to start our 70 pound (+/-) hounds on a lower dose of 100 mg., and observe their reactions.

If pain is not controlled with lower dose, with vet's approval, it can be increased by 100 mg.

Their high end dose of 300 mg. every 8 hours is only used for extremely serious disease pain.

 

Our eldest hounds have become more sensitive to medications as they've aged.

(Not sure if that's unique to our 13 and 14 year old hounds.)

 

Considering Wally's leg issues, it may help to be aware that ataxia is a side effect of gabapentin, and should be mentioned to your vet if noticed.

 

Link below provides overdose symptoms:

http://www.wedgewood...rinary-use.html

 

 

[Walliered]

I have used it on both of my Greyhounds for years (at least 5) They are on 300mg every 8 hours around the clock. I have never noticed any problems.

[greytluck]

Wally slept soundly all night once I went to bed.

 

I will see how he is after his dose this morning. He's always seemed to be more sensitive to medication then my other other two greyhounds were.

 

I have the 300 mg capsules so if it happens again I may use half until I hear from my vet.

[greytluck]

Double post

Edited January 31, 2016 by greytluck

[NeylasMom]

I saw your other post, but didn't get a chance to respond. I think that's too large a dose to start with. I always recommended 100 mg capsules 2-3x/day and work up from there as needed. With this drug in particular increasing it gradually seems to lessen the likelihood of side effects.

 

As far as dosage safety goes, the dose you're using is fine, but you may not need it. For reference, Zuri at 70 lbs takes 100 mg 3x/day for his LS. Neyla at about 60 started at about the same and was eventually on 300 mg 2 or 3x/day, I can't remember which, buy I think 3 for her osteo. We tried 400 and she got stumbly just as you're describing, which is NOT what you want with a dog with bone cancer. It's also much preferable to give a lower dose more so frequently because of the shorter half life so I would definitely want to give 1-2 100 mg capsules 3x/day over 300 mg 2x/day. Obviously I'm not a vet though and I don't know why he's taking this med.

Edited January 31, 2016 by NeylasMom

[Batmom]

It made our dog a bit wobbly.

[DesiRayMom]

Another happy Gabapentin user here. Desi takes 300 mg twice a day & has for the past 2 years. Makes a world of difference in his comfort level,

and have had no side effects. He also takes Tramadol occasionally & has no problem.

[greytluck]

It made our dog a bit wobbly.

Did the wobbling go away with time on it?

[mom2four]

I was prescribed Gabapentin in December for some neuropathy. Started off at 100 mg, slowly increased it to 300 mg, twice a day. That lasted only 2 days, I felt like I was drugged and started having tinnitus. I came off it slowly and about 2 weeks after stopping I still have some tinnitus. So I can totally see Wally's stumbling around! Having said that, our tripod Jamey was on Gabapentin for his osteo and I did not notice side effects.

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey had a bit of the shakes from it but not wobble. I agree with your concern of being too high. As I mentioned in your other post, I played around with it quite a bit until I felt it was just right. It has that flexibility so don't worry about giving less than the vet suggested. You know your dog better than anyone, and not all vets, despite their best intentions know everything about greyhounds or each dog breed for that matter.

[Walliered]

My vet told me not to stop giving Gab to them suddenly because it could lead to seizures. Just saying.

[greytluck]

My vet told me not to stop giving Gab to them suddenly because it could lead to seizures. Just saying.

I read that as well. Thanks for the reminder though, definitely not something I want happening.

[greyhead]

Wally's behavior sounds more like pain-related than drug-related, to me, especially because the gabapentin didn't make him stumble when he first got it. There's a correlation between LSS (which this sounds like) and urinary incontinence, which I see Wally has had trouble with. Pain in that lower back area is a common denominator for both problems. Our 13-year-old has both, though his urinary problems are due to kidney disease. We use a combo of gabapentin (100mg, 2-4 times a day) and tramadol as needed (1/2 tablet to start). We thought at one point early in the game (two years ago) that his pacing and whining might be due to tramadol, but it turned out to be due to pain.

 

Another thing that's hugely useful in our case is amoxicillin (with clavamox and potassium). Besides going after bacteria, it reduces inflammation. Inflammation is another thing LSS and kidney trouble have in common. This may become a relevant item for Wally somewhere down the road.

[Batmom]

greytluck -- We didn't have enough time to see if it went away.

 

 

Other meds we have given that cause some wobbliness / drowsiness / loopiness -- It has helped to give a smaller dose more often, as someone else suggested, or to give half the dose, wait 1-2 hours, and give the second half.

 

Hugs and best luck to you and your sweetie.

[greytluck]

The vet has now put Wally on 200 mg 3 times a day and it has seem to help with the general wobbliness, but it is becoming more apparent there is something going on with his right hind leg in particular. He isn't been limping but has been dragging it more and more and when he turns he often crosses it under himself and stumbles. He's yelped a few times now when getting up and sometimes seems unsure when going to lay down. He will circle around and around then just stand there or move to another bed. Its not everytime he lays down and once he is down seems fine. I'm bringing him in tomorrow morning for repeat X-rays since the last ones were done in the fall and i really need some peace of mind its not something more sinister going on.

[greysmom]

He probably still has feeling in that leg, even though he obviously can't move/lift it, and it hurts when it gets caught. It might also scare him a little, too.

 

{{{HUGS}}}

[JJNg]

My vet told me not to stop giving Gab to them suddenly because it could lead to seizures. Just saying.

 

Gabapentin is also used to treat seizures, and this usually only applies to dogs that are already prone to seizures. If you're using gabapentin to treat pain, there is no need to wean down if it needs to be stopped for some reason.

[msjpk]

100mg is good for Lou. He has been on it for months.