After your appointment, would you want to talk things over with your old vet?
We're sending you all of our good healing thoughts and prayers!
We're sending you all of our good healing thoughts and prayers!
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Yes, I tried calling my old vet last week but she was out of town until tomorrow, so I'm hoping she calls me back. I can't help but feel guilty though as we moved away so she has no obligation to help anymore.After your appointment, would you want to talk things over with your old vet?
We're sending you all of our good healing thoughts and prayers!
Sorry one more question white shadow! When you started the Gabapentin, did Stryker also have wobbliness, lethargy, or other sort of drunken side effects? I had been told that these can go away over time, but Nub has taken it a few times in the past and several times over the last few days and I haven't noticed any decline in side effects..
Reducing the dosage of the Gabapentin would certainly reduce the sedative effect. I wonder if you could find that point where the pain is controlled without too much sedation....? It seems like a worthy discussion to have.
Like you, I'd rather have a woozy, comfortable cat than seeing him in pain.
I used Gabapentin as one of three pain control drugs when Stryker was in hospice care. The other two were buprenorphine and Metacam. He was perfectly at peace and pain-free for several months. This protocol is known as "multimodal" pain management. It uses different acting drugs to target different pain receptors. And, one of its features or results is that the amount of each drug is reduced. Stryker was completely "himself" throughout that period.
I don't know if this will provide an understanding, but here is a chart showing 3 different classes of drugs - one is chosen from each class to provide wide spectrum pain management:
I think I suggested earlier that the 'euphoria' effect from the bupe may be related to the dosage that was used.
Speaking of Metacam, just by coincidence I was listening to a presentation earlier today by a Board Certified Anesthesiologist in which she indicated that the use of Metacam has been under re-review over the past few years and is now considered an integral part of modern pain management protocol. I took from that that it is very likely we will see a feline Metacam come onstream in the US and the whole black box listing business relegated to history. Metacam has long been licensed for cats in other major jurisdictions.
So again, the Metacam, carefully dosed according to those protocols, is both safe and effective, even in cats with kidney disease.
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No - no 'drunken sailor' symptoms such as unsteadiness, falling, the 'wobblies'. And, he remained alert throughout that entire period. It's more difficult to evaluate lethargy, though, because of the buprenorphine and the effects of the condition itself. He certainly became less active toward the end. The more I think back, I seem to have a memory of needing to increase 'pain control', and a discussion with the Vet when she suggested increasing the Gabapentin because increasing the bupe would likely only make him sleepy.When you started the Gabapentin, did Stryker also have wobbliness, lethargy, or other sort of drunken side effects?
Thank you for this. I think Nub is just very sensitive to these medications. I've been cutting Gabapentin capsules so it has been hard to be perfectly accurate with dosing, but today I asked the vet to order me compounded liquid so that I can be more accurate. Last night I gave even less than 25mg which is supposed to be the lowest effective dose, I'm not sure exactly how much it was but I'm guessing something like 15mg, and while the side effects were less, they definitely were still there—wobbliness, sleepiness, confusion, drooling, etc. I think it does help him with pain but I wouldn't want him to live like that long term. I'll try the liquid form at very small doses to see how he reacts to those, and consider trying a Gabapentin/Buprenex combo to see if maybe that takes the Buprenex off of Gabapentin for him, or will talk to the vet about Metacam at very low doses if it comes to that. He's around 13 lbs, for reference.No - no 'drunken sailor' symptoms such as unsteadiness, falling, the 'wobblies'. And, he remained alert throughout that entire period. It's more difficult to evaluate lethargy, though, because of the buprenorphine and the effects of the condition itself. He certainly became less active toward the end. The more I think back, I seem to have a memory of needing to increase 'pain control', and a discussion with the Vet when she suggested increasing the Gabapentin because increasing the bupe would likely only make him sleepy.
I'll dig out the dosing information from then. That will be easy, though I'll have to see if I can pull out the records for his weight.
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Hi Furballsmom, thank you for checking in.Hi! How are things going today?
Thank you thank you Furballsmom He is SUCH a little trooper, it's unbelievable.Oh my goodness, mayadot , I have been thinking about you and your baby all day. Thank you so much for the update, I'm tickled beyond words (although I seem to be typing plenty of them LOL ) to hear that he got some sun, groomed, and has been feeling better.
As you said, day by day, but wow, what a wonderful little fighter you have!!
Ooooooops! I need a to-do list!I'll dig out the dosing information from (back) then....I'll have to see if I can pull out the records for his weight.
Thanks white shadow . I was giving him the capsules but actually just ended up ordering compounded liquid because trying to cut the capsules precisely was proving to be a real pain, and it's easier to dose small, more precise doses with a syringe. Good tip on the water, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again.Ooooooops! I need a to-do list!
OK - Stryker was getting about 35 mg twice a day.....and, as I said, Metacam and buprenorphine as well. I don't have a record of his weight at the time, though, but I'd guess at about 10 pounds. I was using a compounded liquid at the time as the only available product here. The taste was quite unpleasant apparently (caused salivation), so I had to immediately follow it up with some honey water to clear his 'palate'. I seeing now that capsules are available and apparently palatable, so I would opt for using those.
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