Gabapentin

Hi everyone sorry it's taken me so long to get back, I've got such a lot on at the moment with my son waiting for surgery to remove a thyroid tumour, I don't know if I am coming or going. The neurologist at chestergates has booked Rossi in on Thursday for a mini MRI this time to check on the development of the syrinx. If it has got a lot bigger since April he wants to discuss surgery [ putting in a shunt] If it hasn't he wants to discuss different medications. When I mentioned CSF inhibitors and that I had been on this forum he gave me a look of disapproval and said that I was getting lots of people's '' opinions''. I told him that I valued your opinions as you have experienced syringomyelia and were seeing the effect of certain medications on your own dogs. He said that omeprozole can cause stomach tumours and didn't like to use it for more than 6 weeks, but was willing to give it ago if Rossi's syrinx hadn't got much bigger. He also said that he didn't think Rossi's limping was nuerological and he asked Francois who deals with orthopedics to examine him and he now wants Rossi to have a CT scan on Thursday too. So we could be dealing with two conditions now, rather than one. So now we just have to wait and see what's happens on Thursday. There seems to be nothing but worry at the moment, it's exhausting, as long as my son and my dog are okay that's all that matters. Thanks again and I'll let you know how we get on on Thursday:xfngr:

Sorry you're having such a hard time, and hope your son's operation will be completely successful.

Oliver developed spondylosis (osteoarthritis of the spine) at the same time he had his first recognisable SM symptoms - his three affected vertebrae are more or less above his small syrinx! The spondylosis gave him quite a lot of pain in his lower spine and very wobbly back legs, but several weeks of crate rest helped enormously.

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Just to say that my Harley was diagnosed with CM/SM (he got a 3mm syrinx and a secondary ventriculomegaly) And all he done was limp on his front leg for a month. As he was an agility dog we thought it was an injury. They done X-Rays, blood tests and took fluid out of his shoulder bone. The MRI Scan showed SM but the vet who is also an orthopaedic surgeon was not convinced that the limping was coursed by SM. The limping disappeared all by itself without medication. All he is on at the moment is Zitac to hopefully slow the progression of SM.
One other thing don’t let him push you into surgery. Take time to think about it and weigh up the pros & cons and talk to people about it. Clare Rusbridge actually suggested to my vet that I go on this Forum and talk to people about their experiences.

This is what I am worried about. The neurologist seems all for surgery as he says why keep giving Rossi different medications when the surgery '' could '' make him a lot better. But I'm unsure. he himself says that they don't get much feedback from patients owners after about one and a half years after surgery but that most seem to do well up till then. I just don't know, what do you all think?:confused:

Gosh that's a dilemma, one that I think we will face. If meds are working well then I myself am loathe to go down the surgical route. But I suppose until your scan comes through and you see if the csf inhibitor makes a difference, then you have a bit of breathing space to think about it. I know my dog vastly improved on omeprazole.

The neurologist says that if the syrinx has increased in size quite a lot he thinks we should think about surgery. Rossi has never had a CSF inhibitor since he was diagnosed in April but his scratching and face rubbing has got a lot worse just recently. I just want to do the best thing for Rossi but what ''is'' the right thing. I can tell that the neurologist prefers people to listen to his advice alone and not to other people's experience and is definately uncomfortable if I mention Claire Rusbridge who I think he disagrees with on certain points. But I disagree and want to be armed with as much information as I can and that is where you all are of great help. Let's see what tomorrow brings:(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sarahsum

This forum is so helpful! I hope your little guy got some good news at the neurologist.

---

I have been looking for an update too. Fingers crossed :thmbsup:

Hi everyone, been run off my feet since we got back from Chestergates yesterday. We dropped Rossi off at 10.30 then took our 2 year old grandson, who I look after full time while his Mum is at work, into Chester for the day. we were called back at 5.20 pm and were told good news and bad news. The good news was that Rossi's syrinx hadn't got any bigger so the increase in his clinical signs was due to him not responding to gabapentin so the neurologist wants him to try Tramadol now but he still doesn't want him to have a CSF inhibitor which surprised me. The bad news was that the CTscan showed that Rossi has a haitline crack in his tibia which is usually found in cocker and springer spaniels. I can't remember the name of this condition as it was rather a mouthful but we were told that, if left, the leg would eventually break so Rossi now has to have an operationto pin the leg to strengthen it. Unfortunately the surgeon is at a conference for 10 days so we have to watch Rossi hobble around till he comes back. It's heartbreaking. We also now have to put in a seperate claim to the pet insurance for a different condition now and were told that the the cost for the op would be from £1,500 to £1,800 so lt's hope the insurance cover most of it. It cost over £1,500 for yesterday's tests. Coupled together with the worry of waiting for my son to get a date for surgery to remove a thyroid tumour, we are exhausted mentally and physically. I will never complain again when life gets a little boring. hurray for boring!!! Anyway, do any of your dogs take tramadol, on it,s own or alongside any other medication and, if so, does it do any good? I am anxious to know. Thanks again for all your support and advice. I don,t know what I'd do without you. :luv::lotsaluv::lotsaluv::lotsaluv::lotsaluv::lots aluv:

Couple of questions to clarify:

1. What is his current dose of gabapentin and how often does he take it? If he is on a low dose and/or only twice a day dosage, did you discuss increasing the dose and/or moving to three times a day?

2. Is the Tramadol in addition to the gabapentin or instead of the gabapentin? I've used Tramadol long term for geriatric dogs for pain from arthritis and disk disease and I know many that use it for their dogs with SM, but as part of a multi-drug regime rather than as a single agent for SM. It seems to work well for most dogs, and it appears to be a pretty safe drug from what I've researched. What is the amount of Tramadol prescribed and how often?

3. When discussing surgery, did you really mean to say that it would be shunt surgery rather than decompression surgery? That is surprising to me as I did not know that anyone was still doing shunt surgery.

Pat

Hiya,

Sorry for your mixed bunch of results.

Tramadol as Pat said is normally given as a 'top up' drug alongside another ie Gabapentin.

I have a prescription for Tramadol although havent had to use it but its there if needed.
Dr Rusbridge said to me that once you have started on Tramadol its hard to wean them off it again ( at least that is what my memory serves me but that was a year ago nearly?

And Ruby is still doing well on Pregabalin and Metacam so for mow Im keeping my options open- the less we use now the more we have to look to in the future.



If your Neurologist doesnt like the CSF idea then why not take Dr Rusbridge treatment althorism to your normal vet?

I find it strange that some arent being prescribed a CSF inhibitor as it was the first thing I was given for both my dogs before they were put on any pain releif.

But then you dont want to go behind your neuro- but at the same time the whole pont in a CSF inhibitor is to reduce the progression of the disease.

I hope little Rossi has his leg seen to soon and that you get some more options as to his treatment!