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My cats were all treated at the same time with Drontal for roundworm and tapeworm because I rescued a kitten who was full of the parasites.
Tolly, who takes phenobarbital for seizures, had never had to be de wormed before.
The Drontal caused a phenobarbital overdose because both drugs are processed through the blood and liver the same way, and the Drontal (specifically the Pyrantel) prevented the phenobarbital from being processed, so it stayed in his blood and caused an over dose.
At about 4 pm yesterday Tolly actually came to me and told me something was wrong, when his symptoms first hit. He was disoriented, walking strangely (crouched, almost on his hocks), his eyes were sunken, pink rimmed with the third eyelid evident.
I wasted no time calling to find out who was on call and getting him there. After seeing the on-call vet she recommended that I call the ASPCA poison control number when I got home, to see if they could add anything to the treatment she had researched and prescribed. Which I did.
The poison control vet confirmed what the on-call vet though, and expanded on her recommendation, slightly.
The treatment was to keep him quiet, feed him as much as he would eat (he was ravenous, also a symptom of phenobarbital overdose) and give him 150 ml sub q to help flush his system.
Tolly is to all appearances completely recovered this morning, though I am not in such great shape. I wasn't able to break down yesterday I had to cope with the emergency. This morning I am a basket case with post traumatic reaction. Sobbing and shivering. Ugh.
I cannot think why I didn't check on drug interactions before giving him the Drontal, I ALWAYS check drug interactions with Tolly, and have since he first started the phenobarbital. So I really don't understand why this time I didn't. It's very strange.
Maybe it had to happen so we could warn other people.
Tolly, who takes phenobarbital for seizures, had never had to be de wormed before.
The Drontal caused a phenobarbital overdose because both drugs are processed through the blood and liver the same way, and the Drontal (specifically the Pyrantel) prevented the phenobarbital from being processed, so it stayed in his blood and caused an over dose.
At about 4 pm yesterday Tolly actually came to me and told me something was wrong, when his symptoms first hit. He was disoriented, walking strangely (crouched, almost on his hocks), his eyes were sunken, pink rimmed with the third eyelid evident.
I wasted no time calling to find out who was on call and getting him there. After seeing the on-call vet she recommended that I call the ASPCA poison control number when I got home, to see if they could add anything to the treatment she had researched and prescribed. Which I did.
The poison control vet confirmed what the on-call vet though, and expanded on her recommendation, slightly.
The treatment was to keep him quiet, feed him as much as he would eat (he was ravenous, also a symptom of phenobarbital overdose) and give him 150 ml sub q to help flush his system.
Tolly is to all appearances completely recovered this morning, though I am not in such great shape. I wasn't able to break down yesterday I had to cope with the emergency. This morning I am a basket case with post traumatic reaction. Sobbing and shivering. Ugh.
I cannot think why I didn't check on drug interactions before giving him the Drontal, I ALWAYS check drug interactions with Tolly, and have since he first started the phenobarbital. So I really don't understand why this time I didn't. It's very strange.
Maybe it had to happen so we could warn other people.