Gabapentin users?

[shelee]

Is there anyone that is using Gabapentin regularly? My almost 12 Sheltie has had a long history of elbow arthritis. She is failing, many meds and combos tried. What is working as well as anything is Gabapentin. The vet is increasing her 100 mg every 8 hrs to 150 mg every 8 hrs, however Gabapentin does not come in 50mg tablets or capsules. I have to try and split the capsules and am having a heck of a time. Any ideas? I was wondering also if anyone using Gabapentin could tell me how much they have given, for how long and if it helped. My Sheltie is 23 lbs.

 

[Piper's mom]

I gave Gabapentin for my last boy for pain. He passed a year ago but I think he was getting it twice a day at 50 mg each.
What about an oral suspension? I googled it and it looks like it is available...try calling some pharmacies in your area and see if they have it. I'd also talk to a pharmacist.

 

[shelee]

I gave Gabapentin for my last boy for pain. He passed a year ago but I think he was getting it twice a day at 50 mg each.
What about an oral suspension? I googled it and it looks like it is available...try calling some pharmacies in your area and see if they have it. I'd also talk to a pharmacist.

Thanks. I did not see that it was available in oral suspension. I did find it available in tablets but the high dose in tablets wouldn't help even split. Missy is getting a much higher amount than you were giving. I was concerned about that, but when I researched it Gabapentin has a very high dose range so that made me feel better. However, at this point the only thing really important is pain relief rather than worrying about the long range effect it may have. Thank you again for the suggestion.

 

[trini]

We have had several dogs on Gabapentin. One of our little rescues, Mickey, was on it for focal seizures for the entire 7 years we had him. He got a huge 300mg capsule every 8 hours, but the seizure dosage is much higher than when it is used just for pain. Mickey took the big capsules without issue, but one other little one we had simply wouldn't take the smaller 100mg capsules for pain even when I tried opening a capsule and sprinkling the powder on food, so our vet put us in touch with a compounding pharmacy that made it up in a topical cream that was to be rubbed on the inside of the ears. It was more expensive that way but it worked. Gabapentin is generally considered the safest pain med currently being used for dogs and can be used long term. If you suddenly up the dosage you may initially see lethargy and even a bit of instability in movement, if you do it will go away within a week or two as your Sheltie's body gets used to the higher dose.
Trini

 

[shelee]

We have had several dogs on Gabapentin. One of our little rescues, Mickey, was on it for focal seizures for the entire 7 years we had him. He got a huge 300mg capsule every 8 hours, but the seizure dosage is much higher than when it is used just for pain. Mickey took the big capsules without issue, but one other little one we had simply wouldn't take the smaller 100mg capsules for pain even when I tried opening a capsule and sprinkling the powder on food, so our vet put us in touch with a compounding pharmacy that made it up in a topical cream that was to be rubbed on the inside of the ears. It was more expensive that way but it worked. Gabapentin is generally considered the safest pain med currently being used for dogs and can be used long term. If you suddenly up the dosage you may initially see lethargy and even a bit of instability in movement, if you do it will go away within a week or two as your Sheltie's body gets used to the higher dose.
Trini

t

Thanks! That is what I was hoping for...someone that has used a fairly large dose. I was worried about it, even though my vet has assured me there is a wide range of higher dosages acceptable for animals. Like I said, I guess considering there really is nothing left to try what we haven't already given I shouldn't worry about long range effects. I have had many dogs and cats and the end is always so painful, but this journey with Missy has been almost unbearable and I think she may be my last pet in this lifetime.

 

[Cindy]

Gavin is on Gabapentin, as well. there is a huge therapeutic window and has been around for a long time. basically, you know you give her too much if she starts sleeping a lot more.
Its also super cheap from online pharmacies. I use 100mg pills, and if i ever increase I have no concerns about going to 200mg at a time.

 

[shelee]

Gavin is on Gabapentin, as well. there is a huge therapeutic window and has been around for a long time. basically, you know you give her too much if she starts sleeping a lot more.
Its also super cheap from online pharmacies. I use 100mg pills, and if i ever increase I have no concerns about going to 200mg at a time.

Thank you I find that reassuring.

 

[Sandy in CT]

Have you tried Meloxicam? We gave that in a liquid dose to our doxie for a back injury - was a number of years ago though so many things have changed.

 

[Ann]

I've used Gabapentin for several of my dogs, my seniors and for others after surgeries. It's my preferred pain med for them now. Checkers took 100 mg three times a day for six weeks after her skin graft, and Barkley, who was sensitive to most meds, took it the last few months of his life for pain as well. As Trini said, once you get through the first few days of adjustment when they may seem drowsy and unbalanced, it's a wonderful alternative to other NASIDS, and quite effective.

I also used the 100 mg capsules prescribed for humans. Very reasonably priced and easy to open if you need to start at less than 100 mg. That was such a pain though that I quickly moved to giving the full 100 mg and they did fine. I hope it helps your girl too!

 

[shelee]

Have you tried Meloxicam? We gave that in a liquid dose to our doxie for a back injury - was a number of years ago though so many things have changed.

We haven't tried Meloxicam. We did try several different NSAID's and it seems Carorofen works as well as any of the others we have tried and it is more cost effective. She is currently taking the Carprofen with the Gabapentin and Amantadine for pain. Tramadol was stopped for the time being because it didn't really seem to do much. She has tried most every "natural" things with no results ie, CBD, Lipaplex, and White Crane Chinese herbals. Acupuncture and laser therapy also didn't help. She has been on several joint supplements for many years, such as Dasuquin Advanced. She did receive twice weekly Adequan injections for 2 years, but that did not appear to be helping any longer. Missy also has been very noise phobic her whole life, not just to thunder or fireworks, but also many normal sounds like even a bird chirping too close to the window in summer. Lately she has started to experience panic attacks over things we do not hear, but she does. She is taking Xanax PRN for that.