Meds -- April 22, 2011

In February, I asked myself repeatedly whether all of the medications that Bing is on is helping him, and I honestly couldn't say either way with any conviction. So I contacted Dr Overall and we agreed to start weaning him off the Elavil. After about 3 weeks it was clear that this was a mistake! He became much more frantic at less-stimulating events. We returned him to his regular dose and started him on Gabapentin.

This medication is a seizure medication, but is also used for neurologic pain. She explained to me that while she hasn't had a ton of experience with it, some of the expected effects are a reduction in the intensity of a reaction, a quicker rebound time, and a higher level of sociability.

Within a week, I noticed a difference! It took him less time to calm down in the van (ALWAYS an issue, and worse with more humans in there). When I took him to agility trials, he was able to go inside, look at me, sit and eat treats. OMG! This was something I rarely had prior to this. I probably spent much of the 3 or 4 agility trials crying because he was so frantic that he couldn't pee, even after a 1 ½ hr car ride. I questioned whether I should even be trialling him, but he loves agility so much. Now, I didn't have to cry about it. One day in March, he slept in the van on the way down (!!!), peed when he got there, went inside and was hyper but could eat treats, look at me and sit calmly. AND he qualified in his runs!

Last week we were walking along a canal. There were some fishermen, and Bing will often sniff around near them. I am always careful to either call him back if he gets too close to a human, and/or warn the human not to pet him. This time, a man held out his hand for Bing to sniff. He initially flinched and backed away, but then did sniff it, and turned and walked away. It seemed so natural, but quietly inside, I was jumping for joy!! Today, one of my trainers, Kim, was petting him down his back, THEN clicking and treating. Fortunately for me, she does this while I'm busy teaching so I am not watching, or I would be panicking! This is completely new for him….YAY for Bing! Last Monday, I decided to start weaning him off his Prozac. I am determined to minimize his medications! So far, so good, and I hope I haven't just jinxed him!

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