"... semi-incontinent"

It would help if you could confirm why she's barking. If it's because she needs to go out, the Amitriptyline won't help that. I'm sort of curious as to why your vet started her on it? It's an antidepressant. If she can't hold her urine through the night try hormones or Proin. But if she's basically a happy pup that barks at 4AM 'cause she needs to pee, I don't think Amitriptyline is the answer. Sounds like she stops barking after you take her out?

As to taking her off of Amitriptyline, if she only had a few doses, it hasn't built up so ok to just stop it. But if she were on it long term, you'd want to gradually lower the dose.

Sorry about your sleep interuption. This time last year, I was carrying my 60 pound dog outdoors in the middle of the night to pee. Because I had no trouble getting back to sleep I was able to enjoy those last months of carrying her outside in the dark. In a sentimental way, it was special time for us, and I knew every time I carried her downstairs in the dark that it might be the last 2AM outing for us. Hope you can figure out how to get some sleep or some special memories (or both) out of your pup's infirmities :)

Hi Cynthia - Most of the time I have no idea why Angel barks. I get up with her once because if she can go outside during the night there's less of a chance I'll find a puddle on the floor in the morning, and also because it often keeps her quiet for the rest of the night. But sometimes it's obvious that her barking has nothing to do with peeing.....such as when I take her out just before I go to bed, and then a half-hour later she starts to bark. Or when she barks immediately after I've taken her out in the middle of the night.

I tried leaving a light on downstairs, but that didn't help. I think the vet thought the amitriptyline would calm her and sedate her somewhat, but that hasn't happened.

Good for you for carrying your dog outside--and good for you for being able to do it. Angel weighs about 60 pounds, too, and I know I could not physically manage to do that.

By the way, the other thing that happened to Angel on Monday (besides starting the pills) is that she got two shots of cortisone in her hips. This was a new experience for her. I don't know if it's likely that some side effect from the cortisone has been making her more restless at night, but I know that I myself react horribly to it. I react badly to a lot of things, though, so it's probably just me.

Thanks for your input!

Cortisone increases water consumption and urination. It can also give some animals "steroid rage" which is not the same as the steroid rage in people who take anabolic steroids but the results can be similar in that the animals do things they would otherwise *never* do. Some examples are eating things they shouldn't- food from the table, garbage, toys, and getting GI upset or worse a foreign body obstruction; becoming snappy, drinking and urinating excessively, panting, restlessness, and other behavioral issues. It wouldn't at all surprise me if Angel had symptoms related to the steroid shots. While the volume of the injections can be controlled, the reaction of the individual animal to the dose of steroid cannot be controlled once the shot is given. It is one the most important reasons that I generally use steroid tablets and not shots- I can adjust the dose if needed due to adverse side effects. Dogs and people react to medications the same way for the most part- it is why dogs are used as drug models for human meds and why we vets steal those meds back for use in dogs. I have never needed corticosteroids but I know people who have and MANY of them get the glucocorticoid steroid rage, whether they realize it or not. Unfortunately because the steroids were given as an injection there is nothing you can do. If they were tablets, you could decrease the dose- most side effects are highly dose-dependent.

I would continue the amitryptyline because it takes so long to see an effect. Depending on the steroid used, the effects will wear off in a couple of days or a couple of months. In my first husky, it would take *months* for him to get over a very short course of low-dose short-acting steroid tablets for allergies, and even then we saw effects on his liver enzymes in routine bloodwork for up to a year. Some animals and some people are exquisitely sensitive to glucocorticoids. Your Angel may be one of those animals. At least, I hope her hips feel better. After a washout period, maybe NSAIDs would be a better choice for her- less adverse effects.

Thanks, Meghane; I'm glad to have your input. I did stop the amitryptyline, and Angel's night behavior immediately went back to normal (normal for her--barking to get me up once, later in the night). This, of course, could have been coincidence.

Very interesting about the cortisone. As I mentioned, I had a bad reaction to it myself. After my knees were injected with cortisone, they were on fire for many hours. Then the pain moved up to my hips. I'm glad it didn't travel any further. But no more cortisone for me.

I'll have to think about whether or not I want to attempt another trial of the amitryptyline. I probably will. But right now I really need to catch up on my sleep.

PS: Angel had heat stroke on Sunday. It was mid morning, and the outdoor temperature was only 75º. But she was lying in the sun.....and she's 16 years old. I didn't realize her age would be such a strong factor. Her temp was so high the thermometer maxed out. She was in bad shape, and I was very worried about her. But thanks to several conversations with the vet plus some online help, she recovered nicely.

Susan