Phenobarbital and Aggression

[Debbie and Toby]

Not sure if I should be posting here or in Health and Medical.....Toby was recently diagnosed with epilepsy, has been on phenobarbital since last Friday, almost a week now, for "cluster" seizures, . We have noticed he seems to be very aggitated, plays very rough and very aggressively now. When ever he would start to play to rough, we would use the command "time to quit", and he was very responsive. Now....everything is a challenge! We have also noticed he has an endless appetite now. Has anyone experienced similar issues when using the phenobarbitol? I have done some research on phenobarbitol and can not find anything regarding this. Any suggestions would be helpful. The good thing.....has not had seizures since we started the the phenobarbitol...and that we are very happy about! :-)

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

The appetite is related to the phenobarbital, it should lessen as he gets used to it. His aggression should not be related to the medication as it's effect is more of a sedative effect. His aggression may have to do with the underlying reason for his seizures. Or it may just be the stage of development he is at.

What testing did the vet do? As I remember a case of a dog that became aggressive and it was later determined that there was an underlyng medical reason. I will see if I can find that information - it was on another site about a year ago.

As for where to post these questions, it really doesn't matter. You can post in both places. (I am considering combining the two groups)

[Debbie and Toby]

The vet only did blood work. If it is a stage of development I sure hope it passes soon. I think we will try to get more play time and walks in and see what happens. It may just be coincidence, but it all started the beginning of the week. It makes it difficult to play now because it keeps ending up in time outs for him until he settles down and can play nicely. Will keep you posted. Thank you for the response.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Debbie -

What I am really interested in is what blood tests did he do? and what were the results.

[Debbie and Toby]

Toby is still having seizures, had three again over the weekend. In 3 weeks he has had 6 seizures. Went to a new vet Saturday morning for a second opinion. Her diagnosis is also epilepsy.More blood panels done, ALKP (AlkPhos) was up to 119 from 66, and ALT is still in the normal range. Phenobarbital level was quite low so she doubled his dosage to 64 mg twice a day. He had a seizure in the car on the way hom from the vet. Now only time will tell. We are very worried as Toby has become more agressive and nervous. We are still so much on edge and are so afraid to leave him alone now. I can provide the whole list of blood lab results if you would like.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Sorry your still having problems. Mariner (68 lbs) is on 64 mg of phenobarb twice daily. Although Mariner's underlying cause of his seizures is his brain injury as a puppy, we are now convinced that the Heartgard Plus and/or the Frontline Plus are BIG contributors to lowering his seizure threshhold. Since Thanksgiving we have been dealing with a new round of seizures.

The tests were showing low blood sugar and his thyroid levels are low. He also was having low blood pressure.

His blood pressure is now normal and his blood sugar is on the low side of normal. He did have a seizure today. I know how frustrating it is.

I still think that the his behavior is from whatever the underlying cause is and not the phenobarb.

Please keep updating.

As for the blood results - just curious what as done and what results were out of range.

[Amanda and Quinn]

I am so sorry Debbie, that just sounds awful. Quinn has started having seizures too, and I am learning everything I can as fast as possible. Is your vet experienced with seizures? I ask only because after Quinn's second seizure, our main vet sent us to a dog neurologist. She just didn't feel like she could handle it the way a specialist could, and I'm so glad she did, because the neurologist was amazing. They may recommend a different medication than phenobarbitol--we are taking another medication that is supposed to have fewer side effects. Our local vet was not equipped to do a spinal tap or MRI either, which a specialist would probably do.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

What medication is Quinn on?

[Amanda and Quinn]

He's taking Zonisamide. It's expensive, which I think is one of the reasons they don't use it that much, but for some reason it's actually reasonable at Costco. I almost cried when they told me it was going to be $177 a month at Target, but at Costco it's $53. And you don't even have to be a member.

[Kirsy & Jasper]

Kirsy again. Soory, just saw Quinn is on Zonisamide. Does it help? Any side effects?
Are you in the US? Have to check, if available in Australia.
Cheers.

[Amanda and Quinn]

Nope, sadly, we didn't have luck with the Zonisamide. This was a huge bummer because he had no side effects on it at all. Quinn had two grand mal seizures in 24 hours last week (and I think I staved off a third by massaging him as soon as he vomited) so we have started him on Phenobarbital. So far the side effects have been horrible--we expected his hind legs to be a bit weak, but he's having trouble walking at all and he falls down all the time. I know the neurologist would ideally have us wait it out a little longer to see if it gets better, but I'm too worried that he's going to really hurt himself first. So we're going to bump down the dose a little bit, and see if we can find a level that will stop the seizing but also allow him to be his normal healthy active self.

[Kirsy & Jasper]

Have you heard of applying an icebag on the middle section of your dog's back as soon as he is getting another seizure, possibly already while is still in the preseizure vomitting stage.
I read this on the net last night. Many, many people found they seizures were less severe, shorter lasting and sometimes even stopped them from happening. I surely will try this next time Jasper has one.
Also friends of mine reduced their prescribed Phenobarbital dosage down to 25% due to the side affects and it is still working! A Vet told me the dosage can vary GREATLY between dogs with the same body weight. One could be on say 5ml and have no more seizures, where another dog (same weight) will use 50ml and still seizure.

[Debbie and Toby]

We also have been told to place an ice pack on his hip, we place a thin wash cloth over his hip then hold the ice pack on that. Maybe it is coincidence but it does seem like it may have shortened the seizures.