Canine Epilepsy - Please help a very worried owner!

[shepgirl]

You're right about the liquid valium. The reason for that is that in animals you insert rectally and it has almost immediate benefits. For humans who are convulsing they will inject the valium intravenously to abort the seizure immediately. For animals, not everyone would be able find the vein and inject and it would take too long to get to a clinic , thus the liquid to insert rectally.

[Falconara]

Our Mutt Jay started having seizures around June of last summer (1yr old).

The first several seizures where Grand Mal Seizures and usually ended with a fair amount of disorientation and aggression...the very first one he ended up biting Dad afterward.

We took him to the vet and our vets started him on Potassium Bromide -- which is a liquid substance...they frontloaded him on it (he was mouth shy from that for months...so we ended up squirting the medication on bread and putting a wee bit of parmesian on top for him to munch down), and now we give it to him every night.

We started him on about 2.5 mL, then 3.5mL, and now we're at 4.5mL and steady....he kept having seizures every once and a while for the first few months -- which is why we updated the dosage...but at the time they were petit mal...which was definetley an improvment...we also didnt have the aggressiveness after those either.

So far we havent had a seizure in a few months -- the last one started with an eye twitch (which is how it always starts) and I put my hands on his head and rubbed and soothed and that seemed to break it. The medication made him gain alot of weight...and we dont feed him much...mostly caloric filler like green beans so he doesnt scavenge...and we run together....but he's mostly in shape now despite the weight.

Another thing we noticed was the first time we had a seizure came right around the time I went to get Ruby...and since Ruby was a rabid catfood eater we moved the catfood -- for most animals Taurine is a non-essential Amino Acid...meaning they can produce it on their own...for cats however it is not....so there is a great deal of it in their food.

There was a study done in 2003 by Torres et all looking at Newfies and their Taurine levels. What they found was that some large breed dogs do in fact have a Taurine Deficiency, which can lead to Cardio Mylepothy and Seizing. As a result we have been supplementing Taurine (along with the KBr) just in case....methionine can also be used....or, if you dont want to purchase the goey stuff, Beef heart is a great source....there hasnt been alot of research on it...but enough to make me worry about Jay which is why he is on it.

Hope that helps

~Cate

[Medusa]

My RB Charmin had epilepsy; it began after the birth of her only litter of pups. (She had 2.) She was a peke-a-poo and she was put on phenolbarbitol at one year of age. She lived to 18 1/2 and the phenolbarbitol gave her no problems whatsoever and no side effects. It started working for her almost immediately but she did have one grand mal. I stroked her and softly called her name and that brought her out of it. As I said, she lived to a ripe old age and finally died of a heart attack. I'm sorry that you're experiencing this; it's kinda scary when it first happens but I myself had seizures as a child, so I could relate perfectly to what Charmin was going through. Take heart; I hope the meds start working right away and that you have Cody w/you for a long time. Don't be scared. Keep the faythe. (Glad I ventured over into the dog section for a change. )

[pomtzu]

Don't rule out diabetes as a cause for the seizures. I had 2 Lhasa Apsos that were diabetic and one of them was very difficult to regulate even on insulin. She would have a seizure if her blood sugar dropped very low.

[sassyvega]

Our beagle/shepherd/mutt Vega started having seizures about 5 yrs ago. Always had grand mal 2-3 months apart. Had a cluster about a yr ago that lasted a whole weekend Put him on pheno after that. He's had 1 grand mal and other mild seizure activity since then. He has gained about 6 lbs. He recently(last few days) has started acting kinda manic though and I'm wondering if this is seizure activity.(see my post in behavior section).

[GiantSchnauzer]

My first Giant started having seizures at 1.5 yrs of age. It was heartbreaking to have a young dog diagnosed with epilepsy. She was on Phenobarb and Potassium Bromide. I don't remember the dosage as it was 8 yrs ago.
As others have said the side effects of the meds can be worse than the seizures. The KBr did a number on her already dysplastic hips.
Every dog is different. Your dog may not have any more seizures.
I wish you the best with Cody.