An unexpected side effect started this week. In the middle of the night, Sophie’s jaw started to tremble uncontrollably and make her teeth click violently together. This little tremor would continue for a minute, stop for a while and then start again. We were all scared and exhausted by sunrise.
The vet called this phenomenon “chattering”– it could indicate jaw pain (best case) or small seizures (worst case.) I read somewhere that it could be a side effect of the prednisone, but didn’t find anything authoritative to support that.
The chattering hasn’t stopped but it’s a lot less frequent. We’re hopeful that it’s a temporary side effect and will eventually pass.
Otherwise, Sophie is in good shape. Her eye is drippy but not disturbingly so; she has more saliva but I wouldn’t call it excessive. She’s been tired lately but I attribute that to all that late night chattering. For a dog who got a whole month of radiation, she’s holding up pretty well.
postscript: chattering lessened and then stopped shortly around the same time we stopped using prednisone.
Sophie-dog's blog 