06/18 Eddie AMPS 326 + 6 360 PMPS 329 +8 205

Hello,
You'll note we skipped a day 06/17 was not a good day. Started gagging again and tongue twirling. Also seems out of it: too much Gabapentin.

Today, though Eddie @ emergency all day. I brought him in on 06/17 PM + 6. He won't eat and seems drugged. Bring him in and he gets to see IM Vet, which is good. Mouth/Teeth/throat all in order. Blood work unremarkable. Discuss next steps. Gabapentin dose has been too high 1.0ml 3x daily and Prednisolone 0.25 BiD. We decide to give 0.5ml Gabapentin BiD (or if necessary TiD) and to return Prednisolone to 0.25 QD.

All day in clinic but he has some food. Bring him home and he just sleeps until PMPS. He's not sure if he wants to eat so I give a little by syringe and then he has some on his own; a little more by syringe and again he eats on his own. Finish up. Main point: no gagging, no tongue twirling.

Besides seeing the IM vet, I've arranged for two things.
Thiing 1:
Re: Feline Orofacial Pain Syndrome, which as we know is associated with dental issues and stress. The refereed articles (and videos available) all mention the fact that the syndrome is somewhat mysterious (one article even uses the term "mystery"). and that the usual treatment is Gabapentin (even phenobarbitol) and Prednisolone. The research shows that cats can, with medication, go into remission but in the meantime, they have a hard time eating, even refusing food.
On way home from work today, I had one of those ideas appear while in driving reverie: FOPS is a neurological condition. I thought that since nerves and conduction of sensation are about energy, synapse and all, that perhaps acupuncture (meridians, etc.) might give Eddie some relief. Nowhere is it mentioned in any of the literature but why not? I have an appointment on Thursday @ 3:00 pm to see about this modality.

Thing 2:
I have a referral to Canada West in Vancouver for an MRI should we need. The appointment is for June 24th and I'd be doing the big drive to the coast again. But at least, this is one of our options.

I am not giving up on Eddie. Was happy tonight that he ate without gagging or tongue twirling.

Tomorrow is another day.

 

Take those small wins when he has a good day and it happy and eating.

I'm curious what the acupuncture doc says. Neko's acupuncture doc really helped her arthritis pain.

 

I meant to ask, how many mg per ml of gabapentin? I'd always heard start low and work your way up.

 

I will definitely get back here with the acupuncture news. Even the IM vet said it was a good plan!

 

It's 100mg/ml. So, he was getting a pretty hefty daily dose. Now, we're cutting it more than half. He was just zoned out.

We had started with 1ml BiD but then went to TiD. You might recall he was on Buprenorphine BiD (0.1ml) but it's apparently not effective for FOPS.

 

Sending prayers.