Yesterday The gaba seems to be out of Jax's system now and he also is feeling spry as he jumped to our kitchen counters this morning (haven't seen him do that since pre-dx!). He was also VERY ready for breakfast and told the whole house with abundant meows. Holding the dose for now...we have to be out of the house for a day early next week so I think I'll revaluate then...unless I change my mind before then Hugs to all the kitties and caregivers
Oh thank you so much for commenting! And sorry I didn't have all the details about the rescue and your own cats right I remembered you having a big heart and I thought I had seen you comment before with gaba and fractious cats. I've read a little more on gaba for behavior and think we may try the increased dose. When you gave/give gaba for behavior, did you do a pre-dose? Or just a single dose? The dental doc just said to do the single 200mg dose 2 hours before surgery. Thanks again for your insight
So for Emily, she'd get her usual gabapentin dose in the morning and then the extra a couple hours before the appointment for example: 125mg in the morning, then 175 before the appointment. Oh, she also used to get an extra 75-100mg Gabapentin the night before appointments. It can sometimes be helpful to divide the dose so waves of relaxation hit instead of a wallop of sleepy, in my experience.
I believe the other reason for the split dosing, specifically before dental work or surgeries, is to provide what is called preemptive analgesia. This means blocking the pain pathways before pain actually occurs. This serves to interfere with pain signaling resulting in decreasing pain. By using this approach & then dosing before the procedure not only is less anesthesia required, but less pain med is required post procedure.
Glad to hear Jax is feelingl spry and vocal this morning! Always good to hear when they're being spunky Have a great day Susanne!
Morning Susanne glad to hear Jax is back to his normal self. What does he need to have done with the dental. Have a good day Susanne ♥
I’m glad he’s feeling good and telling you all about it! When he gets those teeth removed I’m sure he will have a lot more to say!
thanks for sharing Maybe I'll ask my vet about 100mg at night and then do 200mg 12 hours later (and two hours before his appointment). Very much helps to hear other kitties experiences
That makes sense to me! It definitely wasn't at the top of the dental doc's mind though - she was definitely advising for behavior (in our parking lot discussion ).
He was most definitely sleepppyyyy last night but up at 'em this morning. He was acting like I had starved him lol. Will be interesting to see what he's like post-surgery and when he's recovered! I also need to dig into what drugs he needs post-op so I can attempt intelligent discussions next time I'm there...I was not prepared for that part yesterday!
Thank you At least one tooth extraction - it's the one I identified so glad it's being taken care of (for a small fortune ...but I consciously made the choice to take him to a board certified dentist so it is what it is). On the surface, she said the rest of his teeth looked pretty good and of course qualified that with "but we'll see what we see on surgery day" (xrays, etc.).
Max did have a few teeth pulled. The vet gave him a shot of Convenia which didn’t bother him at all and buprenorphine for a few days. I was afraid of convenia but Max did fine and I didn’t want to have to pill him with a sore mouth.
Depending on what actually is done, I know many use the Bupe/NSAID combo . This is some good info Re: pre, inra & post procedure pain management for dental cases: https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/articles/pain-management-for-dental-patients/
So I only read about convenia after Jax had the shot of it yesterday Guess I'll have to see how he does on this shot and then weigh him having another shot of it versus pilling. got it on pain meds. Thank you
This is a good read for sure - thanks for sending! Dental surgery is all new for me (which is kind of crazy since my kitties are 15.5...and actually I need to get my civvie in for a cleaning...one thing at a time though ).
You are making it easier by going the Board Certified Dentist route ! Hopefully, his “spirit” will result in an easier recovery. A friend of mine has a cat who recently required extractions and he also had some serious issues that are painful. She was concerned about pain management & him eating, but he didn’t miss a beat & rolled out of the dental & immediately was like “where is my food?!”
Just an FYI....the thinking and the science behind NSAIDs, even with cats with CKD has changed. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13012
My vet internist does not agree. Every cat I’ve ever had has ended up with CKD at some point so I would be extra cautious.
lol, this sounds like Jax. He forever thinks each meal is his last Thanks for all the info today, Amy
Thanks, Elise! Sounds like I have reading to do and will add this to my list of questions for the doc.
