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Epilepsy


BC Crazy
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It's the phenobarbital that can have bad side affects on the liver. Monte was also lucky, he never suffered any real liver damage.

Have you ever experienced problems with bromide varicool? We had a lot of problems with bromide over the years with Monte. He was rushed to the emergency vet one weekend with bromism. The levels of bromide had built up to toxic levels in his system. There was no reason for the sudden build up. We reduced the dose by half, even though he'd been on the same level for 5 years or more. Towards the end of his life it began to build up again. For some reason his body was becoming less tolerant of the drug over the years. His neurologist decided to cease the bromide altogether and we went in to a program to reduce the doseage to nil over several weeks.

BC crazy, if you want a recommendation for a specialist I can highly recommend Georgina Child. Monte saw her for more than 7 years. She was informative, understanding, open to telephone discussions and email discussions and was always available to answer my questions throughout the years, right up until the very end. Georgina is one of the top canine neurologists in Australia.

Edited by ~Anne~
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Yes Anne, he has had two episodes with Bromide I forgot to mention that, he all of a sudden started walking into walls no coordination, had me convinced he had a tumour! I reduced the Bromide by half after calling the vet and he was instantly better, he is now on quarter of a tablet twice a day and touchwood he has been fine since. Harvey's seizures are now when he has them very mild he always only has one and is fine in a couple of minutes, he always has a bit of valium during a seizure via the rectum and a valium tablet once he is awake. Over the years he has been hospitalised twice once because he had a cluster 4 years ago now and while i was away of course, the last time was 2 years ago when he did not come out of one as I would of liked. Touchwood last 2 years have been trouble free.

Edited by varicool
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Hi BC, my boy had his first seizure at 4. He is now just over 5. I wasn't home at the time but my son was. He was in his room playing computer games when he thought the dogs were chasing each other (I have 3) and had bumped into his bedside table. He got up to check and found my boy in the corner of my room having a seizure. Frothing at the mouth, shaking, eyes rolling, he lost his bladder. When he had finished, he was quite disorientated. He tried to climb the walls which has resulted in claw marks up my wall, jumped on my bed and lost his bowels. The whole thing lasted less than 2 minutes. He has had several more but is now on medication. The things that I have observed is: he knows that something is not right as each time he comes looking for someone as if to let us know that something is wrong. We just try to make sure he can't hurt himself when he is having one and don't get too close to his face. I move the other dogs away as one in particular seems to get quite agitated as though they can see a weak link in the pack. When he is coming out of the seizure, he seems to have problems with his vision so we just talk calmly to him and try to reassure him. Barking is common when he is coming around. It takes a day or two for him to get back to his normal self.

I try not to over exert him now when it is hot and I do worry when I am not home as I cannot be sure how the other two will react if he has another one.

He is on a very low dose and has not had another seizure but curiously, he has also been diagnosed with an under-active thyroid and seizure can be a symptom although not common.

I do know how you feel, it is horrible to watch but they can lead normal lives. It is all about management.

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I've known of dogs to attack the dog experiencing the seizure and injure them. Thankfully we never had to worry with the pugs but many people choose to crate the epileptic when they're not around or have them separated from other dogs.

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Geez this is one thing that never entered my head. I was so worried about Stella I didn't even consider what Sonny was doing at the time. Luckily I have a delightful boy. He sat right next to Stella when I first found her seizuring until I got there, then he went & sat just a bit further away & watched with a somewhat concerned/confused look on his face. Sweetest boy he is. I will always monitor this now though just in case.

I suppose in nature or out in the wild it is the survival of the fittest isn't it.

Edited by BC Crazy
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I have an older dog who has petit mal 'turns'. A couple of years ago they increased from occasionally to two or three times a week. I got on to Robert Mcdowell, Herbalist in Bathurst...the dog has been on his Epilepsy drops since then, and has only maybe two or three turns a year! Highly recommend him, and he will talk you though diet too...

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I try to stay away from flea treatments etc, the chemicals do seem to trigger my boy, I use a natural spray and shampoo to treat him, also vaccinations did with him, he gets a 3 yearly one now. As far as diet goes I did try all sorts of diets but did not see a difference, he now gets Wellness weight control now and for pill taking he gets advance sensitive canned, never had him refuse, cheese worked for a while as did chicken, another thing the medication can cause weight gain.

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I wonder if it is safe to use a product such as these herbal drops if your dog is already on meds such as Xanax. Might email to inquire.

I would suggest waiting until you have all the test results and a diagnosis and then give them a call. That way you can give them as much information as possible, including what other medications she is on and why.

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Got our blood work results back for Stella today & she is Epileptic unfortunately :( The tests showed nothing sinister going on which is good to know though

I guess. Just got to keep a close eye on her & note any seizures/turns she has. If they become more frequent the Vet will organise medication for her. I am getting my head around this now & learning more about it is helping to do that.

Wouldn't know there was anything wrong with her if you saw her atm. After a 3 hour walk/swim/ball retrieve, just got home & she is flying around the backyard with

an empty milk bottle in her mouth, growling her head off :crazy: She's back.... :laugh:

Edited by BC Crazy
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BC whilst the definitive diagnosis is not what you were hoping for, at least you now know to monitor and record the frequency and if she needs meds you have options. I am glad she is back to being her usual cray cray self.

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Better epilepsy than disease. Although blood testing does not rule out many other causes of seizures.

At least with epilepsy you know you can gain some control and she can lead a full and happy life. Most dogs live very well with epilepsy, as do humans.

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