Hi Ryan,
gee Zonisamide can cause bad side effects, I hope your vet knows what she is doing?
I’d rather try a ant acid medication like Pepcid or Zantac first as it will have less side effects & rememeber he’s a small dog, so 1/2 what ever dose the vet prescribes “if” she does prescribe Zonisamide….Vets normally prescribe Gabapentin, it’s also a cheap drug, 100 x 100mg capsules for $12-$15 with a script from chemist… Gabapentin is from the same family as Zonisamide, my vet tried Patch on the Gabapentain for his IBD stomach pain & said it will also help his lower back pain, he has a square left hip socket, it isn’t round like it should be, my vet said a few of her IBD cat & dog patients are taking Gabapentin for stomach, pancreas & nerve pain, stress & anxieties, & nervous dogs. Gabapentin seems to treat a heap of different health problems…..
I took Gabapentin for nerve pain beginning of the year & it made me feel very light headed, I had to stop taken it & I think the same thing must of happened with Patch when he took 100mg x Gabapentin, he didn’t feel too well & just stayed in his bed 1/2 the next day, he normally comes up to me & whinges lets go for a walk but not when he was on Gabapentin, at first the vet prescibe him 100mg for Patch to be taken twice a day but I just gave it to him once a day before bed when he had his IBD pain in stomach, he didn’t move all night, he stayed in the same position, he normally sits up & stretches & turns around thru the night, so the vet said 1/2 the 100mg capsule & only give it to him when he has his stomach pain or his lower back, again he slept like a log & the next day he wasnt himself, so I dont give it to him no more especially after I’ve taken it in January & I felt like crap…
I hope it was just from the higher fat 18%+ dry Nulo food & the wet sachet food & he just needs a diet change & maybe something like the sucarafate to line his stomach, also don’t feed any of the real sloppy wet stew sachet/tin wet foods, when they burp it comes back up repeating on them causing acid reflux, maybe between the two foods he was eating they have caused his problems… but if it does happen again, if you do have any heartburn lollies give him one or 4-5ml Liquid Mylanta is best, the white chalky stuff to calm everything down & line his esophagus & see is he heaps better after taken heartburn stuff…Mylanta is like the Sucarafate tablet when its made into a slurry but Mylanta is cheaper & I think better. I keep a small bottle in the fridge just incase Patch wakes up swollowing & gulping at 3am they act frantic & don’t know what to do, its like a panic attack, I give Mylanta then I rub Patches throat downwards towards his chest & stomach so the acid goes back down & try to get him back to sleep. I have his head higher then his back/bottom, he sleeps with one of my L- Shaped pillows so his head is always higher then his bum so if any acid does come up while sleeping it stays down….
