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Gabapentin for Chronic Plucking

enigma731

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I wanted to share some really positive news about my chronic plucker/mutilator, in the hopes that it might help others.

My cockatiel Odette was abused as a baby, to the point where the rescue, the vet, and I were originally unsure about whether we might need to consider euthanasia because she was just so constantly terrified that it seemed like she had no quality of life. After about 3 months with me, she settled down and began to trust me to the point that she began enjoying and asking for scritches and cuddles.

Unfortunately, at the same time, she slowly began plucking. My vet initially believed that she had giardia (and she may have, the tests were always equivocal). We treated her and the rest of the flock extensively, but she continued to pluck. It started out slowly and over time got much worse, so that by about 2 years in, she was all but bald except for her head, tail, and long flight feathers. I tried multiple different environmental and behavior modification techniques, to no avail. I tried different (made-for-birds) topicals, including Feather In and Avi-Vera, to no avail. We did very extensive medical workup (including xrays, bloodwork, skin scrapings/biopsies, and even a full barium scan series), with no meaningful findings, leaving us with no choice but to conclude that it was psychological. We discussed possibly using fluoxetine or haloperidol, but my vet and I felt this would only sedate her and would not actually get at the root of the problem. We opted to stop trying to treat the plucking, and just love her as a naked birdie.

Fast-forward another year -- After I moved to Seattle with the flock, Odette started mutilating in addition to plucking, including causing herself a very severe ulcer under her wing. After additional medical workup (again finding no physiological cause), my new vet suggested we try gabapentin. Gabapentin is not, strictly speaking, a psych med. It's used to treat neuropathy and nerve-related pain, and is now being increasingly used in birds that pluck. The theory is that the plucking may be related to especially uncomfortable sensations in the skin, especially when new feathers are growing in.

I decided to try it with Odette. It was like flipping a switch. I gave her first two doses, and the next day she just stopped plucking. After 3 years of nothing helping, I almost couldn't believe it. I kept expecting it to wear off. It's now been 6 weeks and Odette has not plucked a single feather, despite the fact that she now has a TON of pinnies growing in. She's not a zombie bird, her activity level and behavior are unchanged, except that she doesn't pluck anymore. I'm not sure whether she'll ever be able to get off the gabapentin, but it's been a total game-changer for her. I'm sure that it's not a cure-all for every bird that plucks or mutilates, but I wanted to share this experience in case other birds can benefit from it. I certainly had resigned myself to nothing working, until this vet's suggestion.
 

jmfleish

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Actually, gabapentin is an epilepsy drug. They have found that it helps some people with depression but they find that a lot about epileptic drugs. They also find it helpful in treating nerve disorders. I was/am on it to treat the nerve pain from a herniated disc in my neck. It's very interesting to find that they are giving it to plucking birds with success. I'd be really interested to hear how much you are giving Odette. I'm also really amazed that it hasn't turned her into a zombie as this drug does tend to have that affect on humans. I'm currently only taking it at night because it makes me tired. When I was taking it three times a day I would go in streaks where I would literally feel drunk! It's a very weird drug and takes time to get up to therapeutic levels in the system although everyone is different in what level they need for pain maintenance. Some people swear by it and I can tell you that I knew when I needed to take it because the pain would come back but others really hate it because it leaves them in a puddle on the floor not being able to function. So, you don't see any difference in the way Odette functions daily? I'm really glad that you have found something that works for her!
 

enigma731

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Good catch, you're totally right -- because I work in rehab, I tend to see it used more for off-label than its original intent (for epilepsy). Odette started out at .02ml twice a day, and we titrated up to .1ml twice daily over a period of 3 weeks. I see only positive differences in the way she functions. She doesn't pluck, and she no longer seems anxious or agitated. She doesn't startle nearly as easily as before. She plays more with toys than I have ever seen, and has been having more positive interactions with her flock mates. I do think it's one of those drugs that either works great or makes the patient miserable, I've certainly seen that in my human patients.
 

enigma731

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Here are some pictures of her wings and back healing (please ignore the discoloration on her feathers, prior to this improvement she had some wounds that we were treating with Silvadene and she hasn't molted out the stains yet):



You can see the very last of what used to be a huge wound in the crook of her wing joint here.



Pinnies growing in on her shoulder



Pinnies growing in on her back, which had been totally bald



And one of Odette being adorable, now that I've shared all these really undignified pics of her ;)
 

Hankmacaw

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Jasper has been on Gabapentin for many years for her extreme arthritis pain.

My niece, who has MS also takes Gabapentin daily.

Dr. Echols, DVM is doing extensive research on displaced pain causing plucking and mutilation. I haven't checked on his progress recently, but Gabapentin was one of the the meds that he felt would be helpful.

A friend of mine's bird has plucked and mutilated for several years. The poor thing has been on almost every medication known to man and nothing has helped. He was thoroughly tested for many diseases and the only thing that showed up was low-high Asper titer. He was treated for Asper, but that did not help. I Think this bird is suffering from displaced pain, but birds can't tell us where they hurt or feel funny.

I would be willing to bet that your bird's plucking is caused by displaced pain.
 

enigma731

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I know that Odette was beaten as a baby, so it's possible she has some chronic pain from that. But she's had literal thousands of dollars worth of tests and specialist consultations, so I think we're at the point of just treating the symptoms as best we can. One other interesting thing about Odette specifically is that she only ever plucked pin feathers, not mature feathers, hence my vet theorizing that it might be a hypersensitivity issue with her skin and nerves.
 

jmfleish

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I know that Odette was beaten as a baby, so it's possible she has some chronic pain from that. But she's had literal thousands of dollars worth of tests and specialist consultations, so I think we're at the point of just treating the symptoms as best we can. One other interesting thing about Odette specifically is that she only ever plucked pin feathers, not mature feathers, hence my vet theorizing that it might be a hypersensitivity issue with her skin and nerves.
Reggie was one to do that too but I think his plucking issues were due to his zinc poisoning. I hope that Odette continues to do well. Continue to let us know about her progress.
 

janicedyh

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I would be interesting in knowing more about Gabapentin. Anyone else had success using it for feather plucking? I have done everything and anything for Dobey,,he gets new growth and poof they are gone if I leave for a few hours or sometimes when I get him up in the morning.
 

iamwhoiam

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It's good that the Gaba is working for Odette.
 

fluffypoptarts

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I would be interesting in knowing more about Gabapentin. Anyone else had success using it for feather plucking? I have done everything and anything for Dobey,,he gets new growth and poof they are gone if I leave for a few hours or sometimes when I get him up in the morning.
I've been giving it to Boo and it does not stop her self-mutilation, even at a higher dose. I'm glad it works for some!
 

jmfleish

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I've been giving it to Boo and it does not stop her self-mutilation, even at a higher dose. I'm glad it works for some!
I don't know doses for birds but in humans the doses vary greatly for therapeutic levels. I'm on a FB group for spinal issues and it's amazing how some people find that it helps at lower levels like 300mg a day and others are at almost 4000mg a day. I would talk to your vet and see if maybe playing with the dose would be something you want to try. Good luck, mutilating is a really hard thing to deal with.
 

fluffypoptarts

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@jmfleish It's terrible. :( I wish I could find something that actually stops that urge to gnaw into her own body. It may be hard to give her a higher dose than this as it's already a lot for a little bird to drink, so I don't know. I do have to get a refill, so I'll see if the vet has come up with anything we've not tried in the meantime.
 

Wasabisaurus

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Snuggles is on Gabapentin. He picks and will not stop! Vet thinks it's due to Snuggles' boy parts. We've done one round of -- I forget its name -- but it had limited success. Lupron! That's what it is.

Short of putting that poncho back on him, we don't know what to do. He hates that thing. He would not eat and would not drink when he had that thing on.
 

sunnysmom

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I'm so glad Odette has stopped plucking!
 

Robishappy

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Can you please let me know the concentration of the Gabapentin? Is it a mixture or straight medication?
If so what is the labeled concentration of the medication?

Thanks
iR

Fast-forward another year -- After I moved to Seattle with the flock, Odette started mutilating in addition to plucking, including causing herself a very severe ulcer under her wing. After additional medical workup (again finding no physiological cause), my new vet suggested we try gabapentin. Gabapentin is not, strictly speaking, a psych med. It's used to treat neuropathy and nerve-related pain, and is now being increasingly used in birds that pluck. The theory is that the plucking may be related to especially uncomfortable sensations in the skin, especially when new feathers are growing in.

I decided to try it with Odette. It was like flipping a switch. I gave her first two doses, and the next day she just stopped plucking. After 3 years of nothing helping, I almost couldn't believe it. I kept expecting it to wear off. It's now been 6 weeks and Odette has not plucked a single feather, despite the fact that she now has a TON of pinnies growing in. She's not a zombie bird, her activity level and behavior are unchanged, except that she doesn't pluck anymore. I'm not sure whether she'll ever be able to get off the gabapentin, but it's been a total game-changer for her. I'm sure that it's not a cure-all for every bird that plucks or mutilates, but I wanted to share this experience in case other birds can benefit from it. I certainly had resigned myself to nothing working, until this vet's suggestion.
 

enigma731

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It's a suspension, 20mg/ml, dosed .05-.15cc for a roughly 90g bird. But I understand that it can be dosed and compounded a bunch of different ways so that's just what my vet is using for me.
 

Hankmacaw

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Jasper (1,100gm) is taking gabapentin and celebrex and SAMe for arthritis pain. Her gabapentin is 100mg/ml and she gets 0.1ml/24 hours. So that means 10mg/day. She has been on the gabapentin for at least five years. No side effects have ever been noticed.
 

webchirp

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I mix one capsule 300mg with 2ml of water and give Giggie who is only 66 grams .02mls. She is on a very high dose as she seems to metabolize drugs very quickly. Gabapentin is likely the only reason she is alive today. She would mutilate constantly if not. We also added sildenafil and isoxsuprine to her mix because Dr. Orosz believed she was having blood flow problems to her legs from ovary enlargement blocking her vessels. After about 2 months, she has fuzzies and the coloring on her chest and legs looks much better. I also have more time between doses. If she misses a dose of gabapentin, she will pluck and chew her feet or legs.

Tuck was also on gabapentin. He chewed a hole in his leg one time and constantly picked just under his legs. I lost him to gout recently. Dr. Orosz is now wondering if gout is more prevalent in our plucking birds. Def get his bloodwork checked for high uric acid levels.
 

JoJoFLA

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Hello, we adopted a severe macaw from an elderly friend in poor health. During his dad’s illness, JoJo began plucking. The vet has him on gabapentin and eloxioral. As a new Bird mom, I am having trouble getting the meds in him since I am also still in process of building trust with him ( and yes, fearful of holding him too hard) Any tips or suggestions?
 
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