? Dental extraction and gabapentin

Hi everyone, I haven’t been around for a while as Myrtle’s diabetes had been well controlled (sorry spreadsheet not up to date as I’ve been using my own). Last few weeks her bg had been on the rise and she had been needing more insulin - turns out she had a tooth falling out and ended up having two teeth extracted yesterday. She was sent home with pain meds on board but I was given gabapentin to give her today. This morning her bg was a bit high at 17 but this evening it was 22! The gabapentin has made her very lethargic today - I’m wondering if this could have raised her bg? or is she in pain and that’s causing the high bg? Do cats generally really need pain management after a dental and for how long after? I’m not really sure whether to continue with the gabapentin.... she has been prescribed it twice a day, next dose due in about an hour. Really appreciate any experience/knowledge you can share.

 

Oh my gosh is this the same Myrtle that lived in Christchurch???

 

What dose gabapentin? I have used it on my cats after dentals (50mg BID) with no noticeable BG change.I have used 100mg as sedative before vet visits and for Nala it was a very good sedative and I could even trim her nails. However, with Mia it it acted as only mild sedative.

 

No it’s not - there must be another Myrtle out there!

 

Myrtle is getting 50mg BID as well. I ended up giving a little less last night and her bg was better this morning - 18 - which is still high for her but it may take a few days to settle back down. The vet had said to give her the gabapentin for a few days but I wonder if she really needs it? I know if I have a dental extraction the pain settles after about 24 hours and I wouldn’t need pain meds - would a cat be different?

 

dentals on cats can be brutal I would say pain meds are warranted. Do you have a spreadsheet? It would REALLY help our insulin veterans give their best advice. you can find how to do that here:
FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

 

Thanks for the response- it really is much appreciated I’m not however asking for dosing advice, as I stated Myrtle is usually well controlled and I’ve been doing this for a while with her and know how to adjust her insulin for even small variations in her bg and I’ll get her back on track. I’m sure her higher numbers have been to do with infection, inflammation and pain. I was just asking about gabapentin and pain. Thanks again - it’s great how everyone here is so willing to help.

 

No problem at least you know where to come if or when you need anything.

 

Gabapentin is typically best for managing neuropathic pain. For pain after a dental procedure, a narcotic, like buprenorphine may be better.

Also, did your vet take post-procedure x-rays? It's important that they did to make sure there are no roots or shards left behind which could cause an infection.

It can take a couple of days for numbers to come down especially if there was inflammation present initially. Pain can also cause a rise in BG.