Any experiences of using Gabapentin for spinal issues?

[PermanentlyDizzy]

Following increasing episodes of rear end weakness and instability, plus knuckling over and things like not automatically repositioning his back legs if they slide out or leaving one behind when he gets off his bed, my vet has found an issue with my elderly dog’s spine. (Very painful at a particular spot and tender in two others.) He was already on NSAIDs and paracetamol and we are starting a trial of Gabapentin, as a multimodal approach.

He also has arthritis and something neurological going on, but given his age (about to turn 16 and he’s a large breed) and the fact that disruption to his routine and stress seem to make him a lot worse, we have decided not to put him through any scans/invasive tests, so the actual diagnosis re the neuro issues is really just a best guess, based on his symptoms.

He’s still a happy boy, sleeps a lot, loves his cuddles and fusses, absolutely adores his food, seem to have conveniently forgotten he was trained not to beg at mealtimes still enjoys snuffle mats, puzzle toys and electrolyte popsicles, likes to cuddle his favourite tennis ball has daily sniff ambles to the local park and still wants to play his crazy, chase-me zoomie game in and out the back door after his dinner every night. So, for now, his quality of life is ok, but we monitor him carefully and are keeping a traffic-light, good-day/bad-day diary to help us with this.

Has anyone had experience of using Gabapentin for their dog? I am expecting him to be a sleepier (although to be fair he sleeps a lot anyway) but I am worried about side effects like rear end ataxia, as essentially that’s what he’s being given it for in the first place and him being too groggy to enjoy life.

He had his first dose last night, second this morning and has been asleep all day so far, which is normal for him (gets up at 6.30 with dh for breakfast and toiletting, then goes back to bed till 12.00). He did wake once, stand and sway, then have one of his wobbly episodes, before going back to bed, but that’s not necessarily new.

We have a 10 day trial and are back at the vets for a review in a week’s time.

Our Lab-Rottweiler mix had gabapentin for the last 18 months of her life and it definitely helped her. She also tolerated it much better (GI) than conventional pain killers and NSAIDs. In fact she didn’t show any signs of side effects.

Gabapentin is widely prescribed for pain related conditions in both humans and animals. It started life as an anti-epileptic but found its niche in pain management. It has been used for 20+ years and there’s lots of data on it and many articles online.

Obviously efficacy is variable and some people/animals respond better than others.

At the age of 16 and being a large dog, you may however have to come to terms with the fact that he is nearing the end of his life. I volunteer with dogs and cats and find that it always better to let them go a little too soon than too late.

@FlowerArranger, thank you. That is reassuring. I have been doing a bit of reading and there seems to be a real split among vets about whether or not it’s a good idea to prescribe it. It seems there are lots of case studies, but few large scale, specific studies, which is what puts some vets off. I was reassured to see the three meds he’s on discussed in a CAM article as a suitable multimodal protocol though.

He generally tolerates meds well - although until he developed arthritis, he has rarely been ill in his life, so hasn’t needed many - so I’m hoping this will be no different. My main concern is it unbalancing him and making him unsteady, as he already has issues with that and I don’t want to make it worse, conversely, I do want his pain to be as controlled as we can possibly get it.

We completely understand he’s nearing the end of his life, in fact we didn’t expect to still have him this time last year, but he dramatically improved through various strategies, supplements and tweaking his meds and has only just started to decline again.

We’ve basically been discussing palliative care, to keep him happy and comfortable. We monitor his quality of life constantly and he is reviewed by the vet very regularly. I totally agree, better a little too soon than too late, so we’re committed to making the decision, for his benefit, at the first sign he is no longer happy or enjoying life or is struggling with pain/health. For now, he is happy, still has fun and the vet is happy that he has a good quality of life, but this is constantly reviewed by both us and his vet. We just want to make sure his pain is as controlled as we can possibly manage to get it.

We lost our other, much younger, dog during the first lockdown and if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, we would have let him go two weeks earlier, but he was vet phobic, no-one would come out to us at home and they wouldn’t let us go in with him. We made the call, but couldn’t just hand him over to strangers in a place he was terrified of. As a result he died suddenly at home, two weeks after we made the call. He did rally slightly and his last two weeks were peaceful and comfortable and the end, thankfully, was sudden and painless for him, but still an awful experience and something I am still struggling to get over. We’ve had dogs for 30 years and have always gone with better too soon than too late, after all, it’s the final act of love and kindness we can give them.

Dreading losing him, but comforted by the knowledge that he’s had a long and happy life and we have tried our best to do everything we can for him.

Yes our old boy was on it for his last few months. It did help a fair bit we feel to make him more comfortable. 16 is a grand age, sending your lovely old boy a big hug 🤗

Thank you @breadfortea.

He will appreciate the hug, he’s a proper cuddle monster.

@PermanentlyDizzy - I'm sure you'll make the right decision. It is so hard, each and every time. One never gets used to letting them go.

We have had it prescribed for acute spinal pain. Mine does not tolerate a lot of drugs but this one was fine and I would have not problem continuing it long term which has been discussed but at the moment it isn't needed.

Our oldie did ok on Gabapentin and we were able to cut back on other meds so a success for us. He had "issues" with his spine and had similar symptoms to what you have described.

Hope your guy will do well on it PermanentlyDizzy

I however went completely loopy on it (not unpleasant) but the video is still shown by my OH to bribe me

jeez im a human and take gabapentin for a crushed nerve brilliant stuff on the whole but I think Tegritol sic. was better

It suits some animals better than others. Try it twice a day for a few days and if you find he continues to be dozy or wobbly by day, you could just use it in the evenings.

Thank you. @FlowerArranger.

@BiteyShark, thank you.

I was worried earlier when he did eventually wake up, because he was like bambi on ice and struggling to keep his back end up. I think he had just slept in one position too long though, as once he was properly awake and had been for a plod around the garden he was fine. He’s had his snuffle mat, begged for my lunch, perused under the kitchen table for any morsels the dcs may have dropped and has been no more wobbly than usual. I am going to make sure I encourage him to go for a snuffle around the garden more often, as I think, if left to his own devices, he is likely to sleep too much and stiffen up.

@PollyRoulson. Thank you. Good to hear it helped your old boy. I have a friend who didn’t get on with at all. It does seem like it’s very individual.

Mine's on 300mg twice a day - arthritis, his back legs would go from under him. He has long deep sleeps (but then he's now pretty deaf so the stuff that used to disturb him doesn't) but is not at all groggy. He's also blind, so it's hard to tell whether his disorientation is down to that alone or if there is something neurological going on. Anyway, he seems better on the gaba than he was before, and no issues.

@tootiredtobother, I’ve never had Gabapentin, but was given Amitriptyline for neuropathic pain and it was awful. Didn’t suit me at all.

@villainousbroodmare, he’s on 3 doses a day. Started them last night, so he’s had three now. I was a bit worried when he eventually got up, as he was all over the place, but he was fine once he got going, so I think the problem was him lying still for too long.

I’d say he’s a bit sleepier than he normally would be for this time of day, but nothing dramatic.

@YlangYlangYlangYlang, It’s so difficult to untangle what’s causing what when they have a few things going on isn’t it? I’m glad your boy is doing better on the Gabapentin.

I think we were confusing his lack of coordination with what he has going on central/neurologically until the latest appointment. It was only when his back end started going intermittently and we were noticing him knuckling his back paws under more often that we started to realise the likelihood is two problems with crossover symptoms. We initially thought the wobbling was related to the vacancy and suspected partial seizures.

He’s definitely not groggy. His biscuit and crisp radar is on full alert! Unfortunately for him, he’s not allowed either.

Gabapentin makes you very spaced out at first..so he may be a bit doped for a while. But it works.. I'm on it for nerve pain and it is great!

@StillMedusa, thank you. I think he is a little spacey, but he hasn’t been too bad. He’s improved as the day has gone on, after sleeping too long and seizing up this morning.

In fact this evening he’s been downright mischievous, cheeky and really perky, so he my already be feeling the benefit a bit. Currently lying on his bed in a strop because his beloved Dad is late home from work!