Nicki said:He's now down to 2mg of Prednisolone per day, and I've obtained homoepathic remedies made from this, the Neurontin {he's also taking 100mg of the conventional drug twice daily} and also Frusemide {he only has the remedy for this, not the conventional drug}.
Nicki - I tried an herbal version of furosemide before the surgery wwith Rory and saw zero results. Now he is on regular furosemide and if I miss the dose for a few days, i definitely see a difference.
Karlin {sorry I missed your post earlier}, it's hard to know what to suggest, I'd always thought the Neurontin was more for the pain and steroids for the scratching, and had thought that this combination would stop it altogether. I'm kind of reluctant to stop either drug, to see which is working but I guess this is the only way to tell. I can only say maybe try the Neurontin and see if you notice an improvement - TedBear was very quiet and obviously not feeling too great on the drugs until I introduced the remedies...so maybe something to think about. It was hard as he doesn't cry at all, so being quiet is also an indication of pain with him - I was very relieved when he started to feel better.
Neurontin works on neuropathic pain -- this is what is causing the scratching. So the neurontin really really helps reduce scratching, at least for Rory and most other SM dogs. Prednisone or prednisolone or any steroid reduces pain by reducing inflammation. So it helps relieve some of the pressure, I guess... I'm not entirely sure what inflammation is involved with SM and so don't know exactly how it helps. It is not a direct analgesic, like neurontin or other pain killers. The pain is reduced by relieving some of the cause of the pain. I'm thinking it relieves some of the swelling in the syrinxes, but that's just a guess... I don't know the exact mechanism or target. [/quote]
TedBear had developed rather an appetite from the steroids, but that has gone now so I know the remedies are counteracting the side effects. I'm actually giving him a dose of the remedies mid afternoon, as I find this helps him.
That's very interesting that you were able to counteract some of the side effects with homeopathics...!
Are you planning on keeping him on the steroids long term? It's not ideal to keep animals on steroids long term unless it is absolutely necessary and the problems cannot be managed any other way. Or in life-threatening situations -- like a disease where the animal would have such poor quality of life without the steroids that it is preferable to keep them on steroids despite the side effects. Steroids have a ton of detrimental side effects if usesd long term. They affect almost all the organ systems.
Rory has managed quite well on 100mg Neurontin every 8 hours and Furosemide 10mg twice a day. I was giving MSM but saw no difference so not giving it anymore. But I do know that if I stop with either of the drugs he is on, the scratching increases noticeably. So the combination seems key. he has been pretty stable since the surgery. It will be 6 months on Wednesday. A couple of the neurologists (including the one who did the surgery) said they often see the dogs relapse at about 6 - 8 months post-op, so I'm a little nervous about the next few months.. Especially since I will be out of the country and Rory will be staying with my parents. :?
Have you considered surgery for TedBear, nicki? it's such a tough call...