• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Gabapentin use, advice sought please

Wizardpiggylips

Wizardpiggylips

New Born Pup
Joined
May 31, 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
7
Points
140
Location
Norfolk
Hello all,
I have a 2.5 year old neutered boar with degeneration of the spine, and associated nerve pain, and also a hip issue. He has 4 joints twice daily, plus rheumocam (Metacam alternative) twice daily, which is gradually being increased. My vet has considered Gabapentin but hasn’t been unable to find enough information on its use in guinea pigs, or the correct dosage. The other concern is the effect in use, does it cause lethargy/confusion, as it can in humans. I would be grateful to hear your experiences. Many thanks
 
Earl has been taking it for around 3 months. No signs of drowsiness and the improvement in his neurological issues has been phenomenal. We started him on 0.1 ml twice a day, but then reduced to once a day. He started to stumble and get back leg weakness again, so we retuned to twice daily dosing. Earl weighs around 850g.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Earl has been taking it for around 3 months. No signs of drowsiness and the improvement in his neurological issues has been phenomenal. We started him on 0.1 ml twice a day, but then reduced to once a day. He started to stumble and get back leg weakness again, so we retuned to twice daily dosing. Earl weighs around 850g.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, I’m so glad that Earl is doing well on it, does he have any other pain meds alongside it? My boar is a large Peruvian, his weight has increased since not being as mobile, despite living with his 3 ladies. Is the dosage weight dependant, do you know?
 
Wizardpiggylips said:
Thank you so much, I’m so glad that Earl is doing well on it, does he have any other pain meds alongside it? My boar is a large Peruvian, his weight has increased since not being as mobile, despite living with his 3 ladies. Is the dosage weight dependant, do you know?
Click to expand...
He also takes Metacam when needed, alongside the Gabapentin. I think there is some scope to increase the dose, until you get to where it makes a difference. @pig in the city would be able to tell you more.
 
One of our sweet boars who has chronic pain is on Metacam and Gabapentin. He gets .25mL of Gaba twice a day and .1mL of Meta twice a day.

I think Gabapentin usage is guinea pigs is quite new, at least in the US, but it tends to affect their kidneys less than other pain medications do, which is why we added the Gaba to our Metacam usage in hopes that we can eventually stop using Metacam. He has only been on it for about two weeks, but he does appear much livelier and like his old self. He is very small (currently around 850g) for weight/dose comparison.

If you’d like, once I’m up for the day, I can also find the mg/ml breakdown of the med, as obviously the dose is useless without that!
 
Hello. I am sorry to hear about your boy. I have had good results with Gabapentin both in spinal issues and bladder problems in piggies and dental pain in rabbits.
I use the Gabapentin liquid 50mg /ml . We usually start at 0.l ml twice a day and increase until we see a response. The most l have used in a piggy is 0.25ml three times a day.
It is well tolerated and l have seen no side effects in piggies. It made one of my rabbits take longer to recover from an anaesthetic (he was a bit groggier than usual) but that's all.
Your vet can email my vet if he wishes. It's Ellie Whitehead, the guinea pig vet, she is happy to give advice
[email protected]
 
fournakedpigs said:
One of our sweet boars who has chronic pain is on Metacam and Gabapentin. He gets .25mL of Gaba twice a day and .1mL of Meta twice a day.

I think Gabapentin usage is guinea pigs is quite new, at least in the US, but it tends to affect their kidneys less than other pain medications do, which is why we added the Gaba to our Metacam usage in hopes that we can eventually stop using Metacam. He has only been on it for about two weeks, but he does appear much livelier and like his old self. He is very small (currently around 850g) for weight/dose comparison.

If you’d like, once I’m up for the day, I can also find the mg/ml breakdown of the med, as obviously the dose is useless without that!
Click to expand...
That’s kind of you, thank you for sharing
 
pig in the city said:
Hello. I am sorry to hear about your boy. I have had good results with Gabapentin both in spinal issues and bladder problems in piggies and dental pain in rabbits.
I use the Gabapentin liquid 50mg /ml . We usually start at 0.l ml twice a day and increase until we see a response. The most l have used in a piggy is 0.25ml three times a day.
It is well tolerated and l have seen no side effects in piggies. It made one of my rabbits take longer to recover from an anaesthetic (he was a bit groggier than usual) but that's all.
Your vet can email my vet if he wishes. It's Ellie Whitehead, the guinea pig vet, she is happy to give advice
[email protected]
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply, that’s very useful and I’ll email the information to my vet. Do you use Metacam alongside it too?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top