Trust my vet or go with my gut? Separation anxiety and medications

[missjovita]

My dog (10 year-old, 30 lb supermutt) started experiencing separation anxiety when we moved into a new apartment in October. Barking, howling, pacing, screaming, chewing at the gate/door frame. I’ve tried a bunch of different things and after a visit to the vet, we’re trying prescription medication (along with other things to help her relax and calm down).

She’s on gabapentin and fluoxetine (Reconcile, Prozac for dogs). I know the fluoxetine takes 6-8 weeks to build up in her system so we can decide if it’s doing anything for her. My question is more about the gabapentin. The vet prescribed her dose 2-3 times a day as needed. I started off with one a day to make sure she wasn’t going to have any weird side effects at the same time I started her on the fluoxetine. When I started giving her the gabapentin 2x a day, I feel like it made it worse. She was more restless, barking and screaming more often, taking less and shorter nap-breaks between episodes. When I went back to 1x a day she mellowed out a bit, maybe back to where we started or a bit better. I asked the vet and she said that my dog might be feeling strange because of the fluoxetine and that’s making her more anxious, but I should wait to the 6-8 week mark to decide if I want to wean her off of it. She recommended I go with the full 3x a day gabapentin dose in the meantime.

I stuck with the 1x gabapentin dose and things were ok but not great. Recently my neighbor complained so I decided to try the gabapentin again, up to the full 3x a day dose. Granted it’s only been a few days, I don’t think it’s working. I still think the gabapentin is making it worse.

I’m curious about what might happen if I kept up the fluoxetine and dropped the gabapentin altogether. I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has experience with these meds and a similar reaction from their dog?

 

[legend28]

@missjovita Talk to your vet about dropping the gaba and doing xanax instead. I have had good success with xanax+prozac, and then dropping the xanax once the prozac has kicked in. Gaba can have the opposite of a calming effect in some dogs, it's a known side effect. Don't stop the gaba without talking to your vet first though.

 

[ts82177]

@missjovita For what it's worth gabapentin is also prescribed to humans for nerve pain and also off label for anxiety/depression.

I was once prescribed 300mgx3 times a day - everyone commented that it made me "fucking weird" and frankly it did not help me feel any better.

This is a dog, not a person - but if your gut is saying the gabapentin didn't help, that is not unreasonable.

 

[americandeist]

@ts82177 What do you mean it made you weird? I am on it to help me sleep. Just curious and wondering if I am missing something.

 

[mdubreuil]

@missjovita I have no experience with fluoxetine but gabapentin is a heavy pain pill that my dachshund has been on several times in her life. It knocks her clean out, and she’s a very energetic dog. If your dog is panicking on that medicine it must be a very upsetting episode. Can’t say for sure how the fluoxetine is making her feel, but I suspect the doctor got her on gabapentin to get her immediately calm while the other medicine builds up in her system.

 

[missjovita]

@mdubreuil Yes, she referred to the gaba as a bridge to help while the fluoxetine was building up. So I expected it to be more helpful.

 

[liquidius]

@missjovita The gabapentin is what’s probably making her uncomfortable, it can have more noticeable side affects on your dog since it’s also used for pain and sometimes sedation as well. As a human who’s taken fluoxetine and worked on many dogs that take it, I’ve never seen or experienced any side affects like that. Regardless always talk to your vet, you may not even need an appointment you might be able to call and see if you can safely stop using it while waiting to see if the fluoxetine works or until you can get in to get an alternative prescription. Hope this helps

 

[parkerjwill]

@missjovita Couple of things to add to the conversation:
- dogs process meds differently than humans. How one drug affects a human does not mean a dog will experience that same effect.
- Gabapentin is used for pain AND anxiety in dogs.
- not all anxiety medications are the right ones for a specific dog.
- Gabapentin has an 8 hour “working time” hence the 3x a day. Doesn’t mean you can’t find a dose that works for your kiddo best (more of a medication does not allows equal more of the same effect)
Fluoxetine is a great medication but it does take time to build up in the system. During that time it might seem like it’s not working or getting worse. I would keep a log of your dog’s behavior for the day, what medications you gave and when, and what activities you both did that day (walks, outings, training sessions, play). Sometimes just writing everything down and reviewing it can get you a better look at your dog’s progression. You can also take this in to your vet and be able to have a more accurate conversation about the progression instead of going off by memory and emotions since everyone loses important details with time passing

 

[johnm8269]

@missjovita If you feel the meds are not working, time to talk to the vet to try another approach. The anxiety is from being in a new home and it takes time to get used to a new place at her age of 10. Good luck and hope things get worked out.

 

[sea]

@missjovita I am people doctor and also have a dog who started on fluoxetine two months ago and cat that needs gabapentin to go to the vet because he’s crazy. fluoxetine takes weeks to work (in people and dogs) but gabapentin works immediately so yes gaba would be a bridge while fluoxetine builds up in the system. but I was also told by my vet to test dose it (dog was getting trazodone to go to the vet previously and I had to test dose that too) because gaba (and trazodone for that matter) can have the opposite effect where it makes them worse. gabapentin works wonders on my cat. he’s still a monster at the vet but so much more chill and when he gets home he can barely walk he’s so drunk high. Anyway. my point is if you’re not seeing a change with the gabapentin after a few days on the lower or higher doses then no it’s not working and maybe you just need to wait for the fluoxetine to take effect or try something else (xanax is a totally different class and I don’t have experience with it in my animals but if other people say they have used it in their animals than it might be an alternative option you can talk to your vet about)

 

[sashieng]

@missjovita Is your vet a vet behaviorist? If not I would find one and get their opinion. A lot of vets don't have a good understanding of how behavior meds work and which one would be best for each situation and each dog. You also need a behavior modification plan to go along with the meds or its unlucky to solve the entire problem. A lot of times you really need both on board to go the full distance with making improvements.

 

[gerger]

@missjovita I would hire a trainer before giving a dog gaba.

I can tell you what worked for our dogs separation anxiety after the shutdown if you'd like

 

[khadijahcarr]

@missjovita Screw your neighbor