Not scientific, but my dog was on gabapentin for over a year for pain. We just had her put down for severe dementia. Maybe it was related, I don’t know. But when I first saw that article in a medical newsletter a couple of weeks ago, I became suspicious. Her behavior started seriously changing about 4 or 5 months ago. And now she’s gone. :(
My dog is on the Gabapentin now. I think it has been a month. We, the dog and I, cut down on doses accidentally, so he is only getting it with Previcox before bedtime. He acted very oddly a few days ago which involved sleeping half the day away.
What did your dog do?
That was the same thing I thought of - our dog. He too had been on gabapentin for quite awhile for pain (3 to 4 years??? My wife knows all that stuff!). The last 6 months of his life he would do lots of pacing and walking in circles. The vet wasn’t sure if it was due to pain/discomfort or dementia. I don’t know about dementia, he still obeyed all of his commands, stayed out of rooms he wasn’t allowed in, remembered the various ways we would walk around the neighborhood, etc.
At his peak he was 90lbs (Great Dane/Black Lab). We finally put him to sleep this spring at the age of 15 1/2. It was only about those last 6 months that he acted “old”.
I never understood how folks got so heartbroken when a dog died. After our first dog died years ago - I got it.
hugs