My cat is currently on Gabapentin and Prednisolone and I'd really like to start her on CBD. I've read on the internet that Gabapentin and CBD might have bad interactions with each other and I was wondering if anyone has used them together. Ideally I would like the CBD to replace one or both of the medications but I don't want to stop them until I know the CBD works. Any advice would be appreciated.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Has anyone ever used Gabapentin and CBD together?
- Thread starter walter258
- Start Date
~ An interesting article on this topic :
https://bloomingculture.com/blogs/news/pet-cbd-interactions-with-medications
https://bloomingculture.com/blogs/news/pet-cbd-interactions-with-medications
The article points out that CBD can be a pathway interrupter which changes how other medications are metabolized. Some will be stronger and some weaker if combined with CBD.
Let your vet know that you would like to use it.
Cannabis and Pets.
This may not be much help, but just so you know that in some states or counties vets are not able to prescribe it. One who goes by the letter of the law may not even have much of a discussion of it with you.
I am not a vet and my dog did use some organic CBD products in his old age. However, I never got anywhere close to using them with any anticonvulsant, which is the class of drugs that includes gabapentin.
I don't know if CBD could replace pred or not.
Let your vet know that you would like to use it.
Cannabis and Pets.
This may not be much help, but just so you know that in some states or counties vets are not able to prescribe it. One who goes by the letter of the law may not even have much of a discussion of it with you.
I am not a vet and my dog did use some organic CBD products in his old age. However, I never got anywhere close to using them with any anticonvulsant, which is the class of drugs that includes gabapentin.
I don't know if CBD could replace pred or not.
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2023
- Messages
- 99
- Purraise
- 91
Hey, i am in the same situation. My cat is currently taking Gabapentin, i am thinking of either adding cbd to the mix to help relieve the inflammation or put him on just cbd. Did you end up using cbd oil? If so, did you see any result with it? Where you able to mix it with Gabapentin?
- Joined
- May 31, 2022
- Messages
- 376
- Purraise
- 495
Personally, there is not much scientific information on CBD that I was able to find that made me feel confident in using it. I was using it with my arthritic girl for awhile (prior to when Solensia became available) but then she was diagnosed with hyperthyroid and I stopped once I read it can potentially cause issues with thyroid and thyroid meds. I couldn't find enough information on it to make me want to take the risk. For the record, our vet suggested it to us prior to her hyperthyroid diagnosis. I did try asking them about it after she was diagnosed but they basically shrugged and I said ok, sorry, not worth it to me. Now I would be hesitant to try it even if she wasn't hyperthyroid. Just not enough information out there to make me feel confident.
CBD can interact with any other medication which has a sedative effect, and I would not mix them. It is also a pathway disrupter and can make other medication’s either more or less effective.
In addition to the other responses, I’ll add that if it were my cat, I wouldn’t stop the gabapentin. It’s a known pain reliever and if the vet has prescribed it for pain, I’d definitely check in with them before doing anything.
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2023
- Messages
- 99
- Purraise
- 91
Thank you for the reply!
i wanted to stir away from pills and give my cat something more natural since the treatment is somehow long. But i will stick to gabapentin since it’s working for him.
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2018
- Messages
- 12,704
- Purraise
- 25,247
I am splitting the difference. There is a full spectrum hemp oil product from Vitality Science that I add three to four drops (not droppers) to each of my Betty's meals. At that dose, it's more likely microdosing/complimentary than an effective replacement dose. She also gets gabapentin for arthritis and suspected dental pain. Vets says she has tooth resorption that is not yet something she can extract. We struggled for a long time after her latest extractions to get her eating back up. In the last month, with the vet's blessing, I increased her gabapentin dose (50 mg/twice a day up from a previously effective 35 mg) and that seems to be working for her. I also started warming her food (just sticking the cans in a hot water bath for a few minutes.) And I started adding the hemp oil drops to her food. In the last few weeks, I've seen a noticeable uptick in her food intake. I am not certain if this is related to the increased gabapentin, the warmer food, the hemp oil, or some combination of all of them. And since she seems to be doing well now, I don't feel like removing any of them to see which is working.
I suspect the hemp oil is working to some degree--possibly deepening and lengthening the effect of the gabapentin. But at the same time, she doesn't seem any more sedated than before. She likes her naps. But she also has more spirited zoom sessions than before. Perhaps for those spirited nightly zooms, I'm inclined to keep the hemp drops in her food. Those were less spirited before the changes. But again. Who's to say whether it's the increased gabapentin dose or the addition of the hemp drops?
All that said, I believe gabapentin and prednisilone are both stronger medicines than CBD. I don't know if CBD would replace either of them effectively. I'd feel horrible if I took away medicine that was helpful for a big ol' question mark. I would also be much more hesitant to combine CBD and pred as pred can have more serious side effects if CBD is interrupting its metabolic pathways. I personally waited until Betty was weaned off her pred and remained off it long enough that it doesn't seem like she needs to go back on it before I started her with the hemp. If she does eventually have to go back on it, I would want her on a low dose, preferably every other day, before I even consider mixing that with hemp/CBD. If it's going to lengthen the time it takes her body to detoxify the pred, then I wouldn't want to combine the two if she was on a high dose or a daily dose.
Vitality Science has other products too. They may have something that would be safer to mix with her treatment--like Herbal Anti if you are looking for an anti-inflammatory or Feline Comfort if you're treating IBD.
Finally, there's plenty of Medication Tips and compounding options if you're simply getting frustrated with pilling your cat.
I suspect the hemp oil is working to some degree--possibly deepening and lengthening the effect of the gabapentin. But at the same time, she doesn't seem any more sedated than before. She likes her naps. But she also has more spirited zoom sessions than before. Perhaps for those spirited nightly zooms, I'm inclined to keep the hemp drops in her food. Those were less spirited before the changes. But again. Who's to say whether it's the increased gabapentin dose or the addition of the hemp drops?
All that said, I believe gabapentin and prednisilone are both stronger medicines than CBD. I don't know if CBD would replace either of them effectively. I'd feel horrible if I took away medicine that was helpful for a big ol' question mark. I would also be much more hesitant to combine CBD and pred as pred can have more serious side effects if CBD is interrupting its metabolic pathways. I personally waited until Betty was weaned off her pred and remained off it long enough that it doesn't seem like she needs to go back on it before I started her with the hemp. If she does eventually have to go back on it, I would want her on a low dose, preferably every other day, before I even consider mixing that with hemp/CBD. If it's going to lengthen the time it takes her body to detoxify the pred, then I wouldn't want to combine the two if she was on a high dose or a daily dose.
Vitality Science has other products too. They may have something that would be safer to mix with her treatment--like Herbal Anti if you are looking for an anti-inflammatory or Feline Comfort if you're treating IBD.
Finally, there's plenty of Medication Tips and compounding options if you're simply getting frustrated with pilling your cat.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2014
- Messages
- 3,570
- Purraise
- 6,706
Please do t think that natural is better. It is not. Essential oils are toxic to cats, yet are natural.
I wouldn’t use CBD or anything else with what you are giving now without consulting your vet.
Prednisolone is a steroid, so there isn’t anything natural that will take its place.
I wouldn’t use CBD or anything else with what you are giving now without consulting your vet.
Prednisolone is a steroid, so there isn’t anything natural that will take its place.
