Question:
I am a new member of this site and am looking for any feedback re: side effects of Propalin. Our pure bred yellow lab (American Field Lab), Layla, is 5 years old. She weighs 80 lbs. She recently started getting head shakes like she has Parkinson's Disease (they usually hit when she's lying down and in a relaxed state). We have her on Propalin because she started experiencing incontinence and leakage a few months back. The vet just did a few simple neurological tests and a urine test (both of which were fine) and suspected that the shakes may be caused by giving her too much Propalin for her size (we had been giving her 1/2 a 25mg. pill once a day) and she could simply be "getting high" from so much estrogen. She recommended cutting back to 1/4 of a pill a day or every other day. If that didn't work, she said there was another drug we could try either by itself or in combination with the Propalin. Worse case scenario, if it doesn't stop we'll have more comprehensive neurological tests done.

Has anyone else experienced this with Propalin and, if so, did cutting back on dosage or switching meds help? Is there something else I should be asking my vet to look for that could be more serious medical condition than shakes from a hormonal high? Thanks!

Answer:
Meds is a possibility, keeping a diary of meds, the head bobbing and other ideas from the listed causes may help narrow down the the cause for example if 1 to 2 weeks after heartworm pills the bobbing is noted to be worse then possibly related to heartworm pills or if it occurs seasonally may be related to molding leaves in the fall, has she recently had a rabies vaccine

check this link for list of possible causes

you can also find more by doing a search for head bobbing, the good news is it is not considered serious

Answer:
Are you sure the drug is Propalin? Propalin, as far as I know it, is a hormone-free liquid that you pour onto the food. It can be used for both males and females who have weakened uretha muscles. http://propalin.ca/en/propalin.html

You say you're giving a pill. Is the pill hot pink color? If it is, those are DES (estrogen pills). Generally, when you start treatment for spay incontinence, you give a pill every day and then you gradually reduce the dosage as much as you can such that your dog is still ok and not leaking, but the pills are spaced out as much as possible. Normally, you'll see symptoms before the leaking (like moodiness or a lack of confidence) and you'll know when she needs a pill. Most people I know give one pill every week or two.

If it really is propalin in pill form, seizures would be strange because propalin was found to be very safe in trials.

Answer:
Oh, I saw you were in the States, so I looked it up and over there Propalin does come in tablets (in Canada, it's only liquid). Propalin's active ingredient is still phenylpropanolamine, not estrogen. Your vet should have a "product monograph" that states all the possible side effects of the drug. I located a monograph and the possible side effects on it were:
behavioral (aggression, restlessness)
gastro (diarrhea, vomiting)
neuro (epileptic episodes, seizures, tremors)
cardio (asymptomatic tachyarrythmia, cardiovascular collaspe)

I also found that it caused hemorrhagic stroke in humans and the FDA in the States and Health Canada here in Canada have advised people to stop taking it. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media...000_108_e.html

It's widely thought to be a safer alternative to the DES pills, but I'm not sure that's true. If your dog is experiencing the seizures, maybe you should switch completely to the DES hot pink estrogen pills.

Answer:
Rainbow and OntarioGreys,

Thank you both for your feedback and comments. I found the link to the previous forum very informative. This is the first time ever I've posted to a bulletin board and am still learning the system.

My vet did not actually tell me the Propalin was "hormones". I just assumed it was since the incontinence is caused by reduced estrogen in spayed females. I am going to keep a log of the episodes and when I give her the Frontline and Heartguard. Fortunately, I'm taking a sabbatical from work right now and get to be with her all day.

One thing I noticed about the vet here vs. our prior vet out in Boston, is they give me generic drugs (all except the Frontline, which she's been taking since she was a puppy). I didn't think anything of it, but maybe I need to go back to the name brands?

Thanks again.

Answer:
It shouldn't matter because the medicinal ingredients should be the same, generic or name brand.

My Jemma is on the hot pink pills, and so far, IMO the benefits outweigh the risks (the main risk is bone marrow suppression, and that's rare). It wouldn't hurt to try those alone for a while, IMO.

Answer:
Thanks for posting, Prin. I was going to say the same thing re the name brand versus generic drug.

Answer:
Funny because I was gonna say all the rest before you jumped in.

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