Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Seizures - when to start on MEDICATION?
Jasper has genetic inherited seizures since he was 16 months old. The breaks in between seizures go from 5 days to as long as 9 weeks. His seizures always happen in the SAME order and never last longer then 1 minute. No Cluster seizures. He recovers within a short time and is back to normal.
Although it is very devastating for us to watch the "experts" say dogs are NOT aware of it or in pain, only confused afterwards.
My question is: WHEN SHOULD YOU PUT THE DOG ON MEDICATION?
After reading about the side effects of liver damage, constant blood tests, depression, aggression...
What is worst for our dogs? The Seizure or the Medication for it?
Love to hear your opinions.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Debbie and Toby on
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Toby has had seizures since November. He was 20 months old when they started. All of his have been grand mals and always in clusters of three, so he was started on meds right away. He is currently on phenobarb and potassium bromide. The side effects are always a concern, so we do have to take him him for regular blood draws to montor the blood levels. His phenobarb can not be increased as the levels would then put him out of the safe range, so the vet is hoping by adding the potassium bromide we can get the seizures under control. Toby has an increased appetite, he eats like a horse now, has gained over 6 lbs since November, so we have added green beans to his meals, he is more agressive, seems more nervous and paces a lot! But, at this time, the vet said it was more critical to stop the clusters and try to lessen the frequency of the seizures. I would definitely consult with your vet whether or not it would seem necessary to use meds. We are sending big hugs to Jasper!
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Permalink Reply by Kirsy & Jasper on
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It is 5 am in Australia. We are up already as Jasper just had another seizure after 3 weeks break and this time right in his bed, after he vomited first. Hubby gave him a few drops of BACHFLOWER REMEDY afterwards. He is back to normal. I guess we are lucky, they are no clusters, because in that case we would have to consider Medication.
We will find a holistic Vet to try acupuncture next. I will also search for more info on the Net. Trying to avoid more Vet visits and therefore the Meds!
Have Toby's seizures stopped since he is on both Medications now? Big Doodle kisses to Toby and his loving family. -
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Thanks Debbie. I received your answer to this question on the "SEIZURE & ALLERGIES" Discussions and pasted it here.
Permalink Reply by Debbie and Toby 4 hours ago
Toby's seizures started in clusters of three, with a seizure about every 5 -9 hours. He was going 3 - 6 weeks in between clusters, now he has been going 12 - 14 days in between clusters. Not really sure why they are getting closer together.......We are hoping the potassium bromide will be at an effective level soon, our next blood work is scheduled for April 23
Permalink Reply by Kirsy & Jasper 3 hours ago
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So they actually are more frequent now that he is on Medication? If the PHENOBARB by itself didn't work, WHY not JUST try Bromide now? How do they work together? I am so sceptic about Vets and Medications -
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Permalink Reply by Amanda and Quinn on
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We started Quinn on medication after his second seizure. (They've all been grand mals.) We hoped the first was a fluke--and to be honest I wasn't even sure that the first one was a seizure, since I'd never seen one before--but after the second I wanted to stop them from happening. Our specialist freely admits that she is aggressive with seizure medication, and I was ok with that. It wasn't just that I was worried about him hurting himself, though of course I was. But Quinn gets aggressive for a few minutes after his seizures: sometimes for as long as half an hour. The last thing I wanted was for someone to get hurt as a result of them.
I don't for a second think that we've seen the last seizure in Quinn's lifetime, but we have gone two months without a seizure since putting him on Phenobarbital. Before that we were seeing them at least once a month. If we continue to see a reduction like this, we'll keep him on it. It's not ideal, and he'll need bloodwork on a regular basis for the rest of his life, but I would rather take some calculated risks with medication. I've never had much luck with alternative medicine. But it's completely up to you and your vet. -
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Jasper never gets agressiv, just confused and clingy after his seizures. So I fully understand your concern about Quinn hurting someone plus the Phenobarb seems to work for him, unlike poor Toby!
Looking at those photos of our dogs - how cute are they all???? -
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They are pretty darn cute. :)
If you have a cell phone that records video or something like that, and you haven't done it already, it can be really helpful to record one of Jasper's seizures. We have a Flip camera, and after the first seizure we left it out on the counter so we could easily grab it when a seizure hit. Since Quinn's are basically all the same, it's been nice to just hand a little video to whatever doctor we're dealing with and show them exactly what happens when he seizes. Just a thought. -
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Good Idea Amanda! Must get hubby to do this next time, as I am to shaky to film. Just can't get used to watching a seizure. I sooo feel for him and constantly need to remind myself, that he is unaware and NOT in pain while it happens, just confused afterwards. He then gets loaded with TLC! That always helps.
A Big Doodle kiss from Jasper to Quinn! -
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Sorry to hear that Jasper had another seizure. I hope he is doing well now. Does the Bachflower Remedy help? Is it similar to Rescue Remedy? We have just consulted with the vet about using Rescue Remedy and at this time he said he would rather we don't add anything else into the treatment. I know the vet visits and meds get expensive. Let me know how the accupuncture goes if you decide to try it. Big hugs to Jasper!
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They are both the same product the proper name is BACH RESCUE REMEDY.I researched this product. Can be used by humans and animals without any side effects! So even, if it doesn't help, it can't harm the dog! Jasper settled down pretty fast, after the remedy, but he always does anyway.
I am looking into EAR Acupuncture with a Tap/ Tack, that prevents fits.
Here are some great websites for EPILEPSY:
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Resources.html
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/default.htm
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/k9epilepsy/ -
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Permalink Reply by AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner on
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