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Anyone Heard Of This 'condition' Affecting (esp) Malinois?


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Maybe Dr. Bruce Syme has copied North Korean President Kim Jong-il and uses body doubles at public appearances whilst he is on holidays?. :(

gaaaaawd ..... I'd LOOOVE it if he had a 'double'. His 'original' is 'taken'. :)

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Erny,
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:(

Oops! I get the message. Keep sipping on your coffee, Jeff .... I'm emptying my 'inbox' now.

Grief, you are subtle (not) !! :)

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gaaaaawd ..... I'd LOOOVE it if he had a 'double'. His 'original' is 'taken

In triplicate please :cheer:

:( ..... if only. <sigh>

ETA: Wonder if he reads DOL :cheers:

:rofl: Hi Dr. Bruce :rofl:

:)

Edited by Erny
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Hey Staranais .... you might be able to help with this question?

I spoke to the Malinois owner tonight. She hasn't spoken with her Vet yet. I think she was as disappointed as I was that the thyroid results didn't provide the answer to her problem and she's 'sitting' on things, just digesting them and allowing them to process at the moment. Money is a bit thin (as it often is for many of us) and she's trying to chose carefully (as much as anyone could, given it's a bit of "crystal ball" status) as to her next step.

The question is :

How would you go about determining epilepsy?

Is it only by the visual, or are there other tests that can be done?

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Hey Staranais .... you might be able to help with this question?

I spoke to the Malinois owner tonight. She hasn't spoken with her Vet yet. I think she was as disappointed as I was that the thyroid results didn't provide the answer to her problem and she's 'sitting' on things, just digesting them and allowing them to process at the moment. Money is a bit thin (as it often is for many of us) and she's trying to chose carefully (as much as anyone could, given it's a bit of "crystal ball" status) as to her next step.

The question is :

How would you go about determining epilepsy?

Is it only by the visual, or are there other tests that can be done?

From what I know (remember I'm only a student!) it's mostly by excluding other possibilities. Do as many tests as the owner can or will pay for (bloods, fecal egg, thyroid, skull rads, MRI), and if you find nothing else that could cause the problem, call it idiopathic epilepsy.

Technically I guess an EEG could confirm it, but most vets don't have that equipment, and it's damn expensive, plus I would imagine very difficult to capture the moment when a dog like this seizes since it happens so infrequently. Probably not practical here.

Sometimes if they strongly suspect epilepsy they just medicate and see if the problem goes away - diagnosis by treatment! Most of these drugs have side effects though (sedation, sleepiness, eating more, drinking and urinating more), so they're not something you'd put a dog on if you didn't have to. Definitely better than PTS though, if that's the alternative. Our pham lecturer reckons the drugs are very effective in about 1/3 the cases of canine epilepsy, help somewhat in 1/3 of cases, and don't help it all in the others.

He also told us that there is some evidence that a high fat, low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet can help prevent seizures in human children, and it's worth thinking about for canine patients. So a visit to a canine nutritionist may also be in order, if the vet thinks it's epilepsy, and the owner is prepared to make a homemade diet.

Cavalier or Rappie, the resident real vets here, could probable help more. I just know the theory at the moment, not the practice! :laugh:

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