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Daisy's SM

Hi

I have noticed Daisy is drinking a lot more what med could be causing that ?.I also noticed after forgetting to give her 6 pm Gabapentin that
missing it did not seem affect her and this was about ten hours after her 6am one ,so it crossed my mind are the Gabapentin actually doing anything
for her and also as it was only when she went on Omeprazole that I noted a huge reduction in her scratching .I shall of course ask her Neuro when we
go back for her three month assessment in a couple of weeks .Any thoughts please .


A few times I have forgotten to give Ebony her Gabapentin and nothing happened, but then on other days she needs it every 5 hours otherwise she starts scratching. Ebony has been on Gabapentin for 15 month now and I have not seen any increased drinking.

Best to ask the Neuro.
 
Hi Brian

The average time it takes for Gabapentin to pass through the body (metabolise) is 8.5 hours. This means that some dogs, like Sabby's Ebony, may take only 5 hours, others will take 12 hours, so it may just be that Daisy is at the top end of the scale. But how much Gabapentin helps a particular dog can vary - for some it is a miracle drug, for my Oliver (who seemed to be able to go about 10-11 hours between tablets) it helped, but wasn't entirely effective at controlling his headaches. One of the characteristics of SM seems to be that medication can be very individual - it can be a case of trial and error for a few months until you find the mix of drugs that helps your particular dog, and even then the mix may need to be tweaked from time to time as the disease progresses or (as in Oliver's case) a new drug is tried that works better for him.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Hello Kate

Many thanks for replying on this as of course I am on a huge learning curve so its thanks to you and others that by replying to
my questions help me provide a better level of care for Daisy and also of course the superb staff at Chestergates where Daisy
attends every three months .I do appreciate every dog is different but its good to read other peoples experiances so thanks again
for your reply.

Rgds

Brian
 
Hi

I think Daisy seems to be scratching a tiny bit more so I phoned Chestergates and spoke to Ulreke and we agreed to up her Gabapentin 100 mg from
twice a day to three times which is in line with most on here ,we also go back for her three monthly visit on Nov 5 th and then we Simon in Feb which
is the big one I fear.
 
Hi Zoe

And good luck to all you down there .I normally stay with them till midnight but generally they are not too bothered unless its a huge bang which some lately seem to be but they all
seem to doze off as normal and leaving sitting there on my own .If I think back to some of the stupid stunts I got up to with my mates when was 14ish its a wonder I am still alive.
 
Hi
Just at work ,doing a bit for a change ,but again Cavaliers pop into my mind as always.!!! Question please -with Daisy now on three types of medication and with the two of us going to see Ulreke on 5 th November should I be asking to have her bloods checked ?

Thanks

Bri
 
Hi
Just at work ,doing a bit for a change ,but again Cavaliers pop into my mind as always.!!! Question please -with Daisy now on three types of medication and with the two of us going to see Ulreke on 5 th November should I be asking to have her bloods checked ?

Thanks

Bri

Personally I think that is a good idea. I know with humans its always a good idea to have labs ran at least yearly when they are one ANY meds. My son takes ADHD meds and we have a complete physical with labs and EKG's every year. To me its a simple thing to ensure the meds are doing more good than harm.
 
If Daisy is on a diuretic such as frusemide or Zitac, Clare Rusbridge recommends regular blood checks, at least yearly. This is because a diuretic lowers the fluid level in the body as a whole, not just in the brain, and this can sometimes - usually after prolonged use - affect the kidneys. Your local vet can do this for you, and if there is any abnormality will consult with your neurologist (or perhaps I just have my vets well trained!).

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Agree, should be having at least yearly blood checks; I think Clare suggests every 6 months. Your vet can do this -- not generally done by the neurologist. I'd def do this now if you are seeing extra water drinking and let vet know she is drinking more than usual. If she is on a diuretic for her heart she will be drinking more but I haven't seen this with cimetidine.
 
Hello Karlin

I am worried now as she is drinking a lot more and stupid me did not put two and two together .If you can remember originally when she had her MRI with
Geoff S she was put on Frusemide but in the same week it was found Daisy had a Grade 1 murmur and her Cardio wasn't happy with her being on that diuretic so we took her off it and started her just on Zitac but we now know that in June her murmur had developed to a Grade 4 .I am wondering if I should try and see her Neuro earlier ie this Monday if I can and not Nov 5th or just go to my Vets tonight for bloods ,how long does it take for reasults to come through ? ,thoughts pls .

Rgds

Bri
 
Hi

I am too impatient and worried especially if it concerns any of my girls ,so I have phoned C/Gates and we see Ulreke at 5.00 pm tonight.
 
Wow you posted and 10 minutes later had an appt. :) I understand that. :lol: Probably not anything to worry about, I'd have just gone to the vet; generally only takes a day or so for results to come back. It may just be the omeporazole and cimetidine; don't know. Generally anytime there's a sudden increase in water drinking, it is good to visit the vet -- this can be the first sign of many conditions but also some dogs drink a lot more than others, and some meds will cause dogs to drink. The bloods are more just a monitoring regime when they are on meds (and reminds me that Leo needs them done). Let us know how the appt goes.
 
Hi Karlin

Its funny really as if it was anything wrong with me I would amble along to my Docs sometime in the next week or so but we all jump as high
as a kite when its our beloved Cavaliers ,these little dogs sure do get a tight grip of your heart .

Other better news this week is Monday we landed a job in Chester then Wed another one in Chorley and today one in Blackpool so from having one job
in Wolverhampton worth £300 ,000 we now have four with a total value of £1.5 mill with a good chance of another at Bangor Uni valued at another £Mill,so
all our lads we laid off earlier this year are coming back on Minday when two of the jobs start .And there was me dreaming of not working and having super
early morning walks on the seafront with the girls ,oh well back to chaos and mayhem again.
 
Hi

Home and they are all fed and now doing what Cavalier's excel at ie sleeping soundly. Upon examination Daisy exhibited more pain around her neck area coupled with a pronounced head tilt when she scratched but Ulreke was sure this pain was only temporary though it may last for a few weeks but she had observed it with one Cavalier for a period of six months .She advised me to stop the Omeprazole for a week and to observe her fluid intake and continue with the Zitac and Gabapentin and if no change to ring her and that then we will start giving Daisy an anti inflamatory Loxicom for a period of of two weeks only and then go back for a further review on the 9th Nov . I asked about the possibility of changeable air pressure with her SM and Ulreke commented maybe its a possibilty but there is no clinical evidence to support this .Daisy does not carry any excessive fluid and her MVD had not progreesed any since our last visit to Simon so that was a big relief for us .

Daisy's weight is better than I thought as I guessed at 8.75 - 9.00 and she is 8.25 Kilo so that is pleasing and apart from her known problems Daisy is still outwardly a happy girl with buckets of character and an outgoing personality with which while sitting in the waiting room she worked the audience as she can and played the poor drama queen for all she is worth , but that's my Daisy she adores an audience and uses all her vocal and physical charms to entertain them all .

We arrived home at 6.30 and the phone went shortly after, it was Ulreke advising that her bloods were fine, so I am happy as overall there was no bad news ,her weight is good her heart is as was ,the blood test was all done super quickly inhouse and that was fine and I knew within the hour ,but I am puzzled as to why Ulreke was so confident that the neck pain was only temporary so I shall ask a lot more in three weeks when we go back .
 
Hi

We stopped her Omeprazole on Friday as instructed so Daisy has had her Gabapentin 3x100mg and her Zitac 3x50mg and nothing else ,we have had six fairly good walks and some of yesterday and
most of today I have been clearing up in the garden before Winter sets in .All of them have been with me ,apart from bedtime ,every minute and Daisy has not scratched once !!!!! I am very
pleased but totally confused .?????
 
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