My dog is twitching and lethargic on gabapentin. Can I stop it?

Question

My dog has been on gabapentin 100mg per day for 2 weeks (for pain). He has twitching now and is somewhat lethargic. Can we just stop the medicine? Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Male | neutered | 11 years and 7 months old | 65 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

Gabapentin carries a recommendation to slowly wean off the medication because seizures have been associated with humans stopping the medication suddenly. I have attached a handout on Gabapentin below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2764 Part of the decision to suddenly stop the Gabapentin or wean if down slowly depends on the dose and how long a dog as been on the medication. It looks like Angus is on a low dose and has only been on it for a short period of time, so you certainly can discuss stopping it with your veterinarian. However, what you are describing may be a sign of pain not a side effect of the Gabapentin, so you may need to actually increase his dose of Gabapentin or change to another pain medication if Angus is still painful. So, I would discuss it with your veterinarian and see what they recommend. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

My dog is twitching and lethargic on gabapentin. Can I stop it?

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