Medication Triggered Seizures

From: Chicago
December 25, 2001 04:34 PM
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I'm new to the forum and mistakenly posted the following message in the Pet Owner Forum instead of here...so I've copied it to this board and hope to hear from you...

My one year old Sheltie recently started having very strange epileptic seizures that don't follow the descriptions of typical seizures. She bobs her head and her legs buckle, but she doesn't lose consciousness and these episodes go on for almost an hour. The vet had started her on Interceptor for heart worm just four days before the seizures started. I was surprised at the time that he chose to give her the stronger dose. Sugar weighs 26.5 lbs. and he gave her the dose for dogs 26-40 lbs. He called the company that produces Interceptor to see if there have been any incidences of epilepsy as a side effect of this medication - Of course, they said NO. I've been combing the web and have found two other reports of young dogs having epileptic seizures following the administration of this heartworm medication. If I found two other incidences, of course there are more. Warn all your dog owner friends! It's devastating to watch my beautiful dog suffering from seizures. We've started her on potassium bromide to control the seizures...after many expensive vet bills and a lot of heartache, we can only hope that she will stop seizing and be restored to health...So, basically, I have two questions: 1) Have you heard of any other dogs beginning seizures after receiving heartworm medication? and 2)Is there any hope that these seizures are only temporary oris the brain damage permanent?
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Sheila

Thank you for the heads up. I have never heard of this before but have heard of other problems related to over vaccinating dogs. We will keep your pup in our prayers for a complete recovery.

Sheila:
I'm so sorry to hear about your pup's seizures :( I never heard of anything like it. My Golden girl, and all of my previous dogs, always took Heartgard for heartworm prevention without any side effects.
I wish I could help you. Have you tried this Web site for answers: http://www.vetinfo.com/
Hope the problem goes away soon. Please let us know how she's doing.

Sugar,
Wow. I'm so sorry to hear of this reaction
and your pup's suffering. My dog was tested
for heartworms as a young pup, and has been
on Heartgard preventative ever since.Don't
know about Interceptor specically causing
this reaction.Is this your first dog ? Has
this vet treated any other animals of yours?
From what you say about basically being
"over-dosed" with this treatment, I'd sure
have a lot of questions for this vet.
All preventatives are potentially dangerous
if given in the wrong dosage.
Hope you can find some answers & pray for
a complete recovery for your Sheltie.
Sorry Sheila, just read your other post on
the Pet forum & know you do have another
dog also treated by this vet.I know it does
not help now, but I feel the vet made a
serious mistake in judgement on the heavier
dosage. Again, prayers for a full recovery..

[ December 26, 2001: Message edited by: lizbud ]

Hi Sheila, I am so sorry your pup is going through all of this and I hope for a complete recovery. I think over medication is more of a common problem than people think. My daughter-in-laws two Schnauzers went in at the same time for their yearly shots after they got home one of them acted dizzy, fell to the ground, couldn't stand up so they rushed him back and they said oh he is having a reaction to the medication, so they kept him and put him on an IV, don't know what else they gave him, then later in the evening he went home, the next morning the other Schnauzer had spots all over her body, etc. so they rushed her down and they kept her and sent her home later in the day.
These dogs had never ever had reaction to the shots before and all they said was they had reactions to medications. It seemed funny to us that both dogs had the same reaction at the same time, we think they were over medicated. Hope you Pup is feeling better.
Jackie

Sugar, an important thing to keep in mind is that lots of dogs get seizures, and lots of dogs are on Interceptor. It would go without saying, then, that some dogs on Interceptor would have seizures. But this does not necessarily mean that the Interceptor caused the seizure. Also, you state that her seizures are not "typical", but what you describe is a very typical "petite mal" seizure.

I'm saying this not to downplay your concerns because I think they are very valid.

But I would hate to see you abandon a good vet over an assumption made on your part, and I would hate to see that your dog was not thoroughly examined for possible other causes of the seizures because you had convinced yourself it was the medication.

Are you sure that you did enough research, and that you weren't looking only at items that would tend to verify your assumption? The reason I ask that is because I have just looked at about four pages of results from typing "Interceptor seizure" into Google, and most of the sites state that their dogs had seizures until they went on Interceptor. Many of the other heartworm preventatives have been known to lower the seizure threshold in dogs, but none are currently suspected of causing the seizures. Again, many of them report the seizures were decreased or eliminated after switching to Interceptor. Also, you don't say for certain, but my guess would be that you immediately discontinued the Interceptor, yet she apparently is still having seizures? Also, the type of seizures she is having are called petite mal

The vet did dose the dog appropriately, and the drug is not currently known to cause seizures, so please don't let your grief, frustraton and confusion cloud your judgement to the extent that your dog may have a serious condition or disease in which treatment may be delayed.

Please realize, most causes of seizures, in man and animlas, are never known. Also, if she is having repeated seizures, there is a pretty good chance that she has a chronic condition that will never go away.

Of course, if you still think it was the drug, by all means pursue it!

The fact that the drugs administration and the onset of the seizures could very well be a big, unfortunate coincidence.

Or you could be right on target.

I just hope you keep your mind open to both possibilities.

Thanks for listening, and if you want to rejct everything I've said it won't hurt my feelings! :D ;) I hope your little girl gets to feeling better, and will pray for her recovery.

Leah,

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Of course, you may be right that the timing of the first seizure and the administration of Interceptor may be a "big coincidence." I have heard, however, from several other people who have had similar experiences. But as you say, who's to know. I am interested in your statement about the petite mal. If you found my description of Sugar's seizures to fit this category of seizure, why is it that my vet couldn't figure it out??? His first diagnosis was that "perhaps" it was some form of narcolepsy, saying that it wasn't epilepsy because an epileptic seizure wouldn't continue for an hour??? Of course,we're keeping her on the potassium bromide. We've discovered, quite by accident, that we can create a distractor that helps quiet the seizures. Since Sugar was prancing around the kitchen, unable to stop moving and banging her nose on the floor, I put her in her crate and sat with her. I saw a bit of fluff (dog hair of course) beside the crate and swept it up with my hand. Sugar focused on my hand movement and was able to quiet herself and the seizures were reduced to a simple head twitching. My husband tried the same thing yesterday and again, she quieted and the seizure was much less severe. Have you ever heard of this? Sheila

Sheila,
First off Welcome to PetTalk. And I am sorry to hear your baby girl is sick.
In April my greyhound Shaianne went under for routine surgery to remove a mole off her leg, I picked her up on Friday and Sat morning she had a grand mal seizure. I called the vet knowing that Greyhounds are notorious for not handling anesthia well. The vet told me it had nothing to do with the anesethia. I believed him b/c I know that purebred dogs are prone to epilepsy after the age of 6 mos to 5 years. He told me before they medicated her to keep an eye on her for up to a month. Two weeks later she had another grand mal, so I called the vet and they wanted to see her right away, I took her and we got blood work etc. She was put on a low dose of phenobarb and the seizures were controlled.
I noticed over the course of a few months she had a rapid weight gain. She gained 6-8 pounds in a month. The vet didn't seem concerned b/c she looked great. I think now that she was retaining fluid, and her lungs were filling up, the amount of activity that she could handle reduced to about half. We couldn't take long walks, and when we did she often would lay down, about 2 blocks from home. I just thought it was because she had gained so much weight. Then on Sept 13, she had a grand mal seizure and crossed to the bridge. After talking to my vet, and a friend that is a vet, and I work in the medical profession and alot of them agreed with me that she had an anuerysm and it leaked and that is what took her sweet little life. I don't want to scare you at all, but it was coincedental that the seizures started after her surgery. I have a wonderful vet and do not hold them responsible at all. If the meds didn't stop the seizure the next step would have been an MRI or CT thinking it might be a brain tumor. It was my decision that I wasn't going to go that route. She had a wonderful life, she wanted for nothing. She gave and received more love than she knew in the 2 years before I got her. I have no regrets with her. My only regret is that she didn't live longer.
But then I wouldn't have the sweet little Keegan the Barbarian in my life! :)
I will be praying for your beautiful baby and you will be in my thoughts.

Staci:
:D :D Keegan the Barbarian? :D :D Perhaps she's related to my first Golden: "Natasha the Red Menace." ;)
Is the sweet little girl giving you a lot of trouble?

Don't Get Me Wrong! She is the cutest and very sweet when she wants to be. But she has a dominant and an ornery streak in her that amazes me daily!
I love every little hair on her body.

Sugar,
I happened to go by my own vet's office
today to pick up an RX refill for my dog
and while there I put this question of
dosage given for your dog was correct,
considering her weight and was assured that
it was correct.I agree with Leah that you
should not turn away from a good vet b/c
of this unexpected reaction with Sugar.
I hope He/She is working hard to find
answers for you & to help Sugar recover
completely. Best of luck to you. Liz.

Shais-Mom, let me tell you the more ornary and independent they are the more you love them, I know because Daisy is all of those things and more, but she can give me a little kiss and I love her more every day.
Jackie