Tuesday night was not a happy place in our house. After watching a small storm skirt last us on lightning-maps we went to bed only to be woken up by Homer pacing, panting and scratching. Shortly followed by rumbles of thunder as a larger storm came right over us. We were up with him form 1am to 4:30am when he eventually settled down in his cage. Last night it began to rain, no thunder but Homer stated unit his pacing and scratching all over again and no sleep. He's been out of sorts today as it's still raining on and off. Hubby's taken him off for a drive in he car. I've increased his dose of Setraline this week and I'm picking up a new drug from the vet on Monday. He's in no state to continue with desensitisation when he's like this as he won't take treats or play.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear this, Jes. It definitely sounds like his medication isn't cutting it. What is the new drug you're starting next week?
The new drug is Sileo, https://www.zoetis.co.uk/sileo/about-sileo.aspx To he honest I was asking Hubby if we could take him to the emergency vet surgery for them to give him a sedative to 'knock him out' but we managed to ride the storm thanks to hubby not wanting to be hit with a hefty vet bill (he never said, but I know what he was thinking££$$). My Aunt with the Huskies suggested Clomicalm (Clomipramine hydrochloride) I just don't know how I can go about systematic desensitization with him when he is still so anxious. Although I am giving him treats every time there is a builders noise, if he doesn't take them I'll put them in his bowl so he gets rewarded for being calm. I'd love to move far, far away to a little island with no noise or storms.
I don't think you can, it seemed impossible with Willow. You have to find the meds that work first and go from there. I know that feeling too well Hugs.
Thanks, Fiona. I'm just over tired. Homer's finally settled down watching Tour de France with Hubby. Think I should try giving him his medication earlier even if it means getting up then going back to bed. Or maybe a top up in the evening.
I don't know anything about Setraline, but when Willow was on clonazepam, she had massive variations of mood throughout the day, as the effects of the drugs kicked in and then waned. I really, really disliked it; having to plan her meds around when I was planning on walking her, for it to be at maximum effect. Then, of course, if anything else happened at another time, she wouldn't be as covered as at that peak. It was really stressful. The brilliant thing with the fluoxetine is that it has a far longer half-life, so there is no fluctuation throughout the day. She wakes up as she goes to sleep. She's consistently covered, no matter what time of day or night an event might happen. Even if I'm an hour or so late giving her her tablet, it makes no odds at all. It's so much less worrisome for all of us, and she doesn't have to deal with mood swings herself. I know you're having regular medication reviews, but maybe at your next one, you could talk to your vet about finding something with a longer half-life?
That's what I'm thinking. I'll try earlier as the builders are usually active between 8am and 4pm and it's more likely that I'll leave him to go out for a bit to get groceries etc. Noises in the evening and at night are generally less common. I've increased his dose from two tablets to three which still falls into the dose range for his weight. So will see for the next few weeks.
Generally speaking, if antidepressants don't achieve a significant effect in 2 weeks, increasing the dose doesn't have much, if any effect on improving symptoms. Now I am referencing humans, not dogs, however I can't see there would be much difference. I do like the look of Sileo, as long as you can administer a dose in good time, but I am not an expert here! I think though that being a strong alpha 2 agonist, it would have some interesting effects on the endocrine system, in suppressing the release of cortisol (now please bear with me while as I hypothesise ) This could be beneficial in facilitating desensitisation training by reduction of trigger stacking. I would be tempted to underline the Sileo therapy however, with a different antidepressant, obviously something to discuss with your vet. Good luck, it must be absolutely soul destroying to watch Homer in so much distress, my heart goes out to you.
Thanks, I hate having to medicate him but hate more seeing him in distress. I need to double check with the vet that Sileo is on top of his anti anxiety Sertraline. I know and understand so little about all the chemistry of these medications. We all had a good night's sleep, so feeling better. He's been the perfect dog today we had such a lovely walk up the Chiltern Hills, even though there were some raindrops.
Well, we've just had a MASSIVE thunderstorm directly overhead. It brought strong winds and very heavy rain with it. Willow was subdued, and wouldn't take bits of kibble I was using for playing games with the other two, but as soon as it was passed, she went outside, happy as Larry. Prior to her meds, she would have suffered from the symptoms until at least tomorrow morning, probably longer. This is the power of medication, when it's right. They didn't have a significant effect until about six weeks, and then it was cumulative week on week, but I think that's expected with Prozac? I guess it varies from drug to drug.
Great to know there is hope, and we just need to get the medication right. If this one does begin to show an effect then I'll ask about Fluoxetine. All the experience on thus forum is invaluable and greatly appreciated.
@Jes72, I think @snowbunny replied to me once that the effect of antidepressants in dogs is the same as in humans, so here is my two pennorth as someone who has worked in mental health for more years than I care to remember. Antidepressants can take up to 4 weeks to work, we usually tell people they could notice a change in 10-14 days but you'll really know if something is going to work in 4 weeks, and the effect is cumulative in that if you start to notice changes within a few weeks (or less) improvement will continue. If no improvement occurs within 14 days we encourage people to stick with it and give it more time. If there has been a slight improvement, but not enough, after 4 weeks we would initially increase the dose before trying something else. Clomipramine is a different type of antidepressant to sertraline (sertraline and fluoxetine are from a group called SSRIs and clomipramine is from a group called tricyclics) and they work in different ways. Tricyclics are very rarely used now in humans as SSRIs have taken over, I've no idea about their usage in dogs. Clomipramine used to be widely used in humans with OCD, sertraline has taken its place on the whole. @snowbunny mentioned clonazepam which is a tranquilizer and would have more of an immediate effect but not for long-term use (in humans). For example, you might take one to deal with an anxiety attack or, in a dog's case, to help it manage through a thunderstorm. I've never heard of sileo. I know I've come to this post late-I hope you've found something that helps poor Homer, it must be very distressing for you all. Apologies if I've told you stuff you already know or stuff you don't particularly want/need to know !
Just had a look at Sileo - I can't really see what is similar in human meds, but it is a sedative by the looks of it - more like Valium/diazepam, though I didn't see anything on a quick look about addiction and tolerance. I would tend to agree.
Apologies for the short reply. We're on holiday in the Lake District and hubby and I have limited our social media internet time. All very remote, peaceful and quiet until ... Fighter jet airplanes come down the valley! We gave him a dose of Sileo, it took nearly an hour to have an effect then he slept for half an hour.
