Is it safe to stop dog gabapentin cold turkey for back pain?

Gabapentin carries a recommendation to slowly wean off the medication because seizures have been associated with humans stopping the medication suddenly. I have attached a handout on Gabapentin below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2764 Part of the decision to suddenly stop the Gabapentin or wean if down slowly depends on the dose and how long a dog as been on the medication. It looks like Angus is on a low dose and has only been on it for a short period of time, so you certainly can discuss stopping it with your veterinarian. However, what you are describing may be a sign of pain not a side effect of the Gabapentin, so you may need to actually increase his dose of Gabapentin or change to another pain medication if Angus is still painful. So, I would discuss it with your veterinarian and see what they recommend. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

There is really no maximum time that a dog can be on this medication. Some older dogs are on it daily for many years at a time for arthritis or other chronic conditions - it's generally quite well-tolerated and does not tend to cause any health problems, even with long-term use.

Yes, it is safe to give gabapentin with Metacam and the joint supplement. Gabapentin is a drug that affects the nerves in the brain that are involved with the pain response. It can take up to three weeks before the body is used to the gabapentin and is not affected by drowsiness. The drowsiness is not something you have to worry about, it will go away. Be patient, it will take at least a week , up to three weeks.

Good question. If Xylitol is listed as an ingredient on the bottle, then it has xylitol in it. Typically the xylitol containing Gabapentin is the liquid version. If there is still any doubt, you should consider having your vet call in a new prescription to a pharamacy near you so that he/she doesn't go without his/her medication for long or potentially ingests a toxic form of Gabapentin. Also you should know for future that if Gabapentin is abruptly stopped in pets, it can lead to severe rebound pain in pets, so its best to keep your pet on it consistently or taper the dose. I hope that this helps! And best of luck moving forward with your pet. I hope that he/she gets his medication soon! Take care.

That is a very high dose if given all at once, it is 1.5 times the maximum recommended dose. 800mg spread out through 3 or 4 doses would be good. If your pet is in pain, gabapentin may not be enough. You should discuss a multi-modal pain protocol with your vet, often adding in steroids, NSAIDs, opioids, acupuncture, laser therapy, etc will be better than a single medication.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Mia. Gabapentin has a very wide dosing range. The amount given will likely make her sedate, but should not cause her any long lasting harm. Give her next dose back on schedule if she is not too groggy. If so, you can wait an extra hour or two to give it more time to wear off. I hope this information helps!

Gabapentin has quite a large safety margin, the maximum dosage is about 15mg per pound but even a higher dosage for a one time ingestion is not likely to cause any severe side effects. how much does you puppy weights?