Starting Ruby on Gaberpentin

Hi,
As you know Ruby was diagnosed with SM 28/4/09 & since then she has been on metacam & fusimide, i would say with little if any improvement so i spoke to the vet (having not had a good consultation when we went to neuro,i asked our vet to manage her meds for now)& he is happy for her to start on gaberpentin & stay on fusimide.
He said this would be approx £30 per month, of course thats fine but is that about an average price? Also he said it came with no instructions being a human drug so those that use it is it best to give with/without food? She's to be given 1 tablet 3x a day. We're to collect it tomorrow then i'll know what strength?
How soon might i be looking for any improvement? What signs will it be or is it simply less scratching behaviour? Plse advise if you can or give me tips if you have anyh*lp

With Friday I just can't remember since she's been on it for several years. It does go through her system rather quickly (8 hours) and by the time she's ready for the next dose I can tell she's starting to get uncomfortable, so I would think you would see it within a week or two. She's on 200mg 3x per day. My husband is also on it and he said it took 2 weeks to build up to see a difference. She might act very tired or sleepy at first until her body gets used to it. Hope she finds relief with it!

I thought I paid a lot when it was £64 for 3 months worth of Gabapentin. That's 3X100mg tablets a day (about 270 pills, though we personally make the dose smaller)

Best person to ask is Margaret C, she buys online so should have the best competitive rate. You have to be careful you make your order in plenty of time as both Margaret and I have run short before now, me with my vets taking ages to get them in and Margaret's online supplier. We have had to post each other pills. You will need to pay your vet to write the prescription if you buy online. My new vet surprised me by not charging to write a repeat prescription.

Chemist Direct sells 100mg tablets at 21p each, but I found they seemed incapable of getting their head round dispensing a human drug for a veterinary prescription.

Their communication was terrible, they did not answer emails, and three times they left me without the drug my dog needs to control his pain, despite me sending letters with the prescription detailing the problems that had occurred before.

I felt frustrated because they were the only source of gabapentin online I could find, and they were a third cheaper than my Vet.

I decided I could not chance Tommy being without his pills again, it was just not worth the stress, so I asked my vet to supply them again. To my surprise they are only charging me £22 for 100

I am not sure whether this is because the drug's status has changed. It seems to be produced by more firms and I get a variety of different makers & packagings now.

Most people seem to find that gabapentin is very effective & you can see a difference within a day or two.
My friend's dog had suddenly stopped playing, avoided her other dogs, was hiding under chairs and had stopped eating. Within a couple of days of him being given gabapentin she felt he was 'back to his old self'