Oh I so hope you and your vet can work this out. My small breed was started on a low dose of phenobarbital just based on his symptoms, I don’t remember if lab work was done…but that would be reasonable especially every few months to make sure the medication isn’t bothering his liver.
The side effects (if any) are minimal, I have heard of possible drowsiness but I never saw that with my dog. This was over 20 years ago, there are several medications they can use now.
Tell the vet your main goal is to keep the dog comfortable! Good luck, and if you don’t get a positive response from her, I would make an appointment with a new vet asap.
PS: I have noticed that a lot of vets practice defensive medicine nowadays, excessive testing and such as they are concerned about liability if anything goes wrong with the prescribed treatment.
Btw: I remember the phenobarb to be inexpensive….. I don’t know about the newer meds cost wise.
