Tapering off Phenobarbital
My dog is tapering off Phenobarbital after over 2.5 years on it. He currently takes 5 medications, the most recent addition being KBR. It seemed since adding KBR it increased the side effects of the phenobarbital including his food seeking behaviors, ataxia, and also introduced heat sensitivity. We initially reduced KBR and that helped somewhat but he still is sensitive to heat and more food motivated than he had been previously.
It's also just getting a bit overwhelming giving 5 medications and phenobarbital seemed to be one of the least effective meds. He has had amazing progress since adding KBR. So I'm really hoping the taper goes well and it alleviates some of the symptoms.
I'm just most nervous of him having a break through seizure. We're tapering off very slowly. We've started at about 15% to start and will check back in with the neurologist in about a month assuming there's no seizure activity. So it will take at least a few months to fully come off.
I'm just worried I'm making a wrong decision. He's been seizure free for 7 months, the longest he's ever gone. But I just want him to have a better quality of life and I worry about the long term toll of taking so many medications.
It just is exhausting that every move with epilepsy feels like a shot in the dark and you just have to wait and see if it sticks. I am trying to remain cautiously optimistic, but I don't know what we'll do if the taper doesn't work. I don't feel comfortable with his QOL right now. He's not quite the same dog he was before all of this and I just want to try and get him a bit closer to that.
If anyone has any advice with this or reassurance, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise just reading this and giving me a place to put it out there is enough.