Ear infection and gabapentin

[whispercalm]

Charlie my four year old lop girl is being treated for an external ear infection with baytril optic. 2-4 drops once a day.

She was showing signs of GI stasis Monday before we knew she had ear problem. I had metoclopramide so started her on that. She was much improved quickly and did great Tuesday. Wednesday she wasn’t herself and ate but reluctantly.
Her old vet moved, so I found a new exotic vet whom she saw yesterday. Charlie had some debris in both ears and it showed bacteria.

My main question is concerning gabapentin which the vet said is her preferred choice for rabbits who have shown GI distress incase there is an ulcer developing from irritation. Charlie’s previous vet had prescribed metacam along with the mobility meds.

Right now she is eating and pottying just fine. She’s on  the mobility drug more of a precaution since she had some stasis Monday and will be taking the metroclopromide for a week.
I’m not so sure I’m comfortable with the gabapentin for pain. I was told it would cause sedation and I think she needs to be active. I’m afraid to give it to her.

I still have some Metacam so I chose to give that to her yesterday instead. Today is day 2 of the ear drops and I was hoping to not give her anymore pain med. she’s digging a lot at her ears since this last dose of drops. So I think I may give her another dose of metacam tonight while I think more on the gabapentin.
Anyone have experience with gabapentin for short term pain with there bunny? And how sedated does it make them?

Her dose would be .14 every 12 hours.

I don’t think she’s in a lot of pain, just more irritation from the drops in her ears.

[mia]

Everybun is different.

Gabapentin is for nerve pain and it can make buns drowsy; my vets warn every time and label it as such. I’ve given it to a couple of my buns and it’s never made them drowsy. One is on it (and metacam) for long term for other reasons. I’ve never given it for stasis specifically but it is a very safe drug with a very large dosage range; metacam on the other hand is not, especially for frequent or long term usage (blood tests are usually conducted to ensure no damage is caused from it). Note that the stasis I’ve dealt with are very fast courses which yours is not.

[Bam]

Ear infections often first present as GI stasis, my vet said in a rabbit ear webbinar last year. It’s because ear infections are very painful. Rabbits are sensitive to pain and tend to stop eating when in pain.

Metacam is not a strong painkiller, it’s similar to ibuprofen for humans. Just like in humans, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs like meloxicam, ibuprofen and acetyl salicylic acid and others) can irritate the stomach lining and even cause gastric ulceration. To prevent this, Pepcid (famotidine) is often given together with metacam, especially for longer courses of treatment.

Gabapentin is a more powerful painkiller, esp for nerve pain, and as Mia says, it’s considered safe. Sedation is a possible side effect -my dog became like a zombie on it so I had to give her a much lower dose than initially prescribed. A close friend (human) is currently on gabapentin for back pain, he hasn’t experienced sedation. It’s unfortunately not possible to say which individuals will get which side effects.

You could try the gabapentin and see how she does on it. Side effects are more common at the start of treatment though, so you need to take that too into consideration.

[LBJ10]

What are the ear drops? I’m surprised the vet didn’t prescribe an oral antibiotic.

[whispercalm]

Sorry, I didn’t see your question until now. Her ear drops are Baytril Otic.

 

[Author]

Messages