Episode 88 – Serotonin Syndrome - What you need to know!

Serotonin Syndrome, also known as Serotonin Toxicity, is the most severe side effect of serotonergic medication and can potentially be fatal if not treated and managed.

Therefore, understandably, many vets are very cautious when it comes to prescribing serotonergic agents and especially when combining serotonergic agents such as an SSRI and, for example, trazodone.

· But, how frequent is this side effect in practice?

· What are the signs you should be looking out for?

· What can you teach your caregivers to do in terms of monitoring to screen for mild signs of Serotonin Syndrome?

· What medications, aside from psychopharmaceutical medications, can cause Serotonin Syndrome?

· What are the Differential Diagnoses for Serotonin Syndrome?

· And how do you treat a pet with Serotonin Toxicity?

I talk about all this and more in this episode!

Here are the studies I mention in the episode:

1. Indrawirawan, Y., & McAlees, T. (2014). Tramadol toxicity in a cat: Case report and literature review of serotonin syndrome. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 16(7), 572–578. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X14539088

2. Pugh, C. M., Sweeney, J. T., Bloch, C. P., Lee, J. A., Johnson, J. A., & Hovda, L. R. (2013). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) toxicosis in cats: 33 cases (2004-2010). Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 23(5), 565–570. https://doi.org/10.1111/vec.12091

3. Thomas, D. E., Lee, J. A., & Hovda, L. R. (2012). Retrospective evaluation of toxicosis from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants: 313 dogs (2005-2010). Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 22(6), 674–681. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-4431.2012.00805.x

If you’d like to learn more about Veterinary Psychopharmacology, then my PSYCHOACTIVE course is for you!

Follow the link below to get access to PSYCHOACTIVE – PRACTICAL VETERINARY PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY

Use SUMMER50 for a 50% Discount this summer 2025!

https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/psychoactive

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Episode 87 – The importance of sleep in our pets – a conversation with Dr Carrie Tooley

Sleep!!!!

Honestly, this is a topic I have been thinking about so much lately and this amazing conversation with Dr Carrie Tooley just reinforces how important sleep is to the mental and emotional health of our pets and patients!

What you’ll learn in this episode:

1. How sleep plays a role in emotional arousal and emotional regulation in our pets and patients.

2. How long our pets should actually be sleeping every day (this will surprise you, especially in puppies and kittens !!!).

3. What we can do in our homes to help our pets get consistently good quality sleep.

4. What we can do in our hospitals and clinics to help our patients get consistently good quality sleep.

5. What the amazing research and case report by Carrie tell us about the importance of sleep in our pets and patients.

Here are the studies by Carrie and colleagues which we talk about in the episode:

1. Tooley, C., & Heath, S. E. (2022). Sleep Characteristics in Dogs; Effect on Caregiver-Reported Problem Behaviours. Animals, 12(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141753

2. Tooley, C., & Heath, S. E. (2023). Emotional Arousal Impacts Physical Health in Dogs: A Review of Factors Influencing Arousal, with Exemplary Case and Framework. Animals, 13(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030465

If you’d like to get in touch with Dr Carrie Tooley: carrie@brvp.co.uk

AND… if you’d like to know more about how to integrate sleep into your pet’s and patients’ lives, then have a look at my Learn To Speak Dog course, where I dive into this important topic in module 6!!

Use Discount Code – SUMMER50 for 50% off Learn To Speak Dog this summer!

https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/learn-to-speak-dog

I really hope you enjoy this episode; it is packed with so much information!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

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Episode 86 – Behaviour Signs and Neurotransmitters

When I first started out in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine, knowing which Behaviour Medication to choose for any given patients was a real struggle. I didn’t really know what to base my choices on, often reached for the same medication over and over again without really knowing why and just hoping that I’d made the right decision.

Sound familiar?

As I progressed through my residency, I started to understand how behavioural signs are correlated with neurotransmitters in the brain and how to make really smear medication choices to affect these neurotransmitter levels.

In this episode I chat through exactly this and give some examples of how to start thinking about which medications to choose according to the signs the patient is showing.

Here’s the FREE PDF download I mention in the episode:

https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/behaviour-signs-nts

And here is the link to PSYCHOACTIVE – PRACTICAL VETERINARY PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY

https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/psychoactive

This course is epic.

This course is my soul's work and contains the wisdom I want to share with you after safely and effectively using Veterinary Psychopharmacology in hundreds of my patients.

Use SUMMER50 for a 50% Discount this summer 2025!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Veterinary Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!