alex the wonder dog and a cluster

[joycenalex]

alex is caught in a cluster of seizures. we took him to the vet er last night at 12 when he'd had 2 fairly close together. he was admitted at 3 am, i picked him up, no seizures there, paid the bill( :eek: ) and took him to the regular vet at 7:30 am. he stayed there all day, getting cookies and pats. he had a seizure there at 3:45pm, 15 minutes after i talked to his vet. i brought him home at 5, he had dinner, a short 2 houses walk, then on to the couch for tv before bed, yep you guessed it, another grand mal seizure. since last friday pm, he's had at least 9. he's also got a boatload of phenobarb and valium in him. he's now sleeping, very soundly. i 'll call the regular vet in the am to update her. please spare a prayer for my sweet dog. and i need some sleep
edited....poor grammer

[dukedogsmom]

I'm sorry. I hope you both get some sleep tonight and that Alex is much better when you awaken. It's hard to have our furry ones sick. Give Alex some lovin' from me.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Awwwwww!!!! Poor Alex. I hope he feels better soon and both of you can get some much needed rest. Kisses to that sweetie from us in Florida :(

[catnapper]

I am so sorry to hear this. I can only imagine how scary it is to see him go through the seizures. I am right there with you with getting no sleep since I'm on edge about my poor Pouncer. Many prayers coming your way ((hugs)))

[Cinder & Smoke]

Hi God ~

Need sum Help down here onna ole Durt Ball, again.

Alex, the Wonder Dog, is havin thoze darn seizures again ... lotta them! :(

He got sum knock-out drops - but it'd be jest Great iffin You kuld help wiff
gettin him to really SLEEP tanite. (WiffOUT any bad dreamz!)

An maybe give Miz Joyce a big {{{God'sHug}}} an send her to sleepie-land, too.

THANKS, God!
<Niterz!>

/s/ the Prayer Pups

[joycenalex]

thanks all. the prayers worked, alex slept from 9pm, when he got the valium till 5:30am. snoring only, no seizures. and i got to sleep too. when he's stuck in a cluster, i keep starting awake at the slighest sound.

[Ginger's Mom]

Prayers going out for Alex the wonder dog. I hope the worst of it is over and he will have calmer days and nights ahead.

[anna_66]

Joyce I'm very sorry to hear he's been having all these seizures, but glad to hear that he's sleeping well now. Hope you can get yourself some good sleep too.
(((HUGS)))

[Logan]

Joyce, I will pray that you and Alex can get a break from these seizures. Bless your heart, I'd be woried silly, myself.

[pitc9]

Oh Joyce.... I'm so sorry you both have to go through this.

I'm glad he slept throught the night!
{{{HUGS}}} to you and Alex!

[4 Dog Mother]

Wow, I have never had Snoopy stuck in a cluster of seizures. Once we start the valium, they ususally stop. Although once or twice we had to up the amount of valium. How long are Alex's seizures? Snoopy has pretty short ones - I have never timed them but I would say less than 2 minutes.

I hope the cluster has broken and he will be fine now. Diana

[Lobodeb]

I'm so sorry to hear this!

Does he have a fever? I know fevers cause seizures and seizures cause fever. It's such a vicious cycle. Maybe that can help. Also, I don't know if this applies to dogs as well but what's he's phenobarb level? Is it too high, too low? Both of those things can cause seizures in humans. Maybe he's just immune to the phenobarb all together? How long has he been on it? Maybe it's time for a change or to add something as a suppliment?

Either way, I hope he's done with this horrible cluster. I hate it when my hubby gets them.

Hugs to you and Alex.

[cassiesmom]

Alex, Wonder Dog, I hope your brain responds to the anti-convulsant meds and your seizures stop. That way your huMom can get some rest. Take good care, Joyce and Alex. [[[[gives a hug]]]]

[lizbud]

I am sorry to hear about Alex. :( This seems to be an excessive amount
to be having & so close together. Does your Vet think a change of meds
would help him?

[joycenalex]

this cluster group was 12 over 4 days. alex has had seizures (SZ) for 10 years this month (woo-hoo, such an anniversary :( ). fevers can cause sz, but i strongly suspect thet he's been having sz so long , for unknown reasons, that the scarring in his neural pathways is so well set, that the szs' just are going to keep occuring. he went toxic on a second line sz med, potassium bromide in july. the next line meds, neurotonin, felbamate, topomax and the others aren't long enough lasting to get good sz control, in dogs metabolism, or they are very expensive, out of pocket. i am newly on neurontin, and i did consider giving alex my meds, but having my insurance company pay for them, seems like a form of insurance fraud, and not a good idea. if and when alex cannot tolerate phenobarb, any longer, i'll make necessary decisions with his vet them.
alexs' sz time is short, 2-4 minutes of seizure, 10-15 minutes immediate unconsciousness, then as short at 15 minutes, long as an hour post ictal pacing. he, and peanut get a scrambled egg and cottage cheese (alwys in my fridge) to bump up his blood glucose. i know some use all natural ice cream, but ice cream never lasts here. thanks for all the prayers, it does help

[Glacier]

Oh, I missed this thread. I hope Alex is continuing to do better! How scary for both of you!

[Lobodeb]

Has he been on dilantin? What about depakote? Again, I know these work well on humans, and am just throwing them out there. Pardon my ignorance.

Either way, 24 hours seizure free is great. Keep it up, Alex!

[shais_mom]

I'm so sorry Joyce -
Alex the WONDER DOG will be in my thoughts and prayers - AND his momma too of course!

[joycenalex]

48 hours!!! woo hoo! and now hoping for another day, so i can relax. he's never been on depakote or dilantin, they metabolize pretty fast in dogs and need 3-4 daily doses in dogs to get to a theraputic level. if i didn't have to work, that might be possible, but that dang J_O_B thing gets in the way sooo often ya know,,, :D . and no you're not ignorant lobodeb, i learned all this stuff the hard way. thanks for the support. :)

[shais_mom]

glad to hear it!
continued thoughts and prayers!

[anna_66]

48 hours!!! woo hoo!
AWESOME :D Hope you get lots more time to relax Joyce!

[Lobodeb]

48 hours!!! WOO HOO!!! :D


he's never been on depakote or dilantin, they metabolize pretty fast in dogs and need 3-4 daily doses in dogs to get to a theraputic level. if i didn't have to work, that might be possible, but that dang J_O_B thing gets in the way sooo often ya know,,, :D .
Don't I know?

Actually, dilantin is time release (in humans, that is), so it may be something is worth looking into.

[joycenalex]

woo hoo!!!! and i'll check the time release dilantin and dogs. thanks for the tip!

[dukedogsmom]

Glad to hear things are improving. I hope Alex is feeling much better now.

[Cincy'sMom]

Glad to hear The wonder dog seemsto be out of the cluster!! Hope things continue to improve for him!

[Kfamr]

So sorry to read this, Joyce. I hope Alex continues without and other difficulties. Give him a hug for me, okay?