Seizures in Dogs

[Snowflakey]

So it's been three weeks on the double Zonisamide...she has had two seizures . Last night was the worst one and it was just 9 days after her last one. Waiting for the neurologist to open. Last night was so bad. She seemed to really struggle afterwards, howling and crying but then finally went to sleep. We are all exhausted and worried.

This just breaks my heart. I am so sorry for what you're dealing with. I hope the neurologist has some answers for you. How long did the seizure last?

 

[Snowflakey]

I'm so sorry, this makes me so sad. We are at five weeks now, he needs to make it one more, or they are going to add more meds. I can't believe any animal could handle anymore meds.

I hope your dog continues to be seizure free. I think we are at the 2 month mark now with no seizures. Praying that continues!

 

[paisleys]

I haven't read the whole thread so forgive me if someone has mentioned this. My sister's dog had horrible seizures and it turns out it was the liquid flea/tick medicine that he was given every month! I believe it's the kind you put down the middle or their spine.

Yes! That's the type my other dog had seizures from. Discontinued and no more seizures. (No such luck with this dog though). **Edit--I believe it may have been Advantix? It really killed the ticks though! Within hours. One dog had zero issues but the other had two seizures. When I took my present dog to the neurologist, she did say that some dogs are affected and others aren't. She recommends that seizure prone dogs (etc) do not take flea and tick meds. Because we live in S FL and have a lot of woods around us, I am forced to shave my brindle down now that she can't take meds. She looks like some kind of African hyena type beast but it's worth it. Ticks are horrible! Seizures are worse though.

 

[paisleys]

I hope your dog continues to be seizure free. I think we are at the 2 month mark now with no seizures. Praying that continues!

**Added incorrect quote**!!! I called the neurologist but oddly she wants to continue the Zonisamide until the end of the week, see if she has another seizure. I REALLY don't feel like waiting around for another seizure, plus she gets them every 10 days or so anyway. This double Zonisamide is obviously not working. I was exhausted when I spoke with her so I just said OK. Having my husband call Friday to handle. She had said she thought Keppra was the best when I asked at consultation. However yesterday she mentioned possibly switching her to phenobarbital. I will go through the thread later to find it, but which med is yours on again?
And I am SO happy it's been two months for you!!!! That's fantastic! Whatever you are doing is working.

 

[paisleys]

I'm so sorry, this makes me so sad. We are at five weeks now, he needs to make it one more, or they are going to add more meds. I can't believe any animal could handle anymore meds.

Five weeks is really good! The meds are so hard. Mine has decided she hates the pill pockets so I am struggling!

 

[elgerber]

**Added incorrect quote**!!! I called the neurologist but oddly she wants to continue the Zonisamide until the end of the week, see if she has another seizure. I REALLY don't feel like waiting around for another seizure, plus she gets them every 10 days or so anyway. This double Zonisamide is obviously not working. I was exhausted when I spoke with her so I just said OK. Having my husband call Friday to handle. She had said she thought Keppra was the best when I asked at consultation. However yesterday she mentioned possibly switching her to phenobarbital. I will go through the thread later to find it, but which med is yours on again?
And I am SO happy it's been two months for you!!!! That's fantastic! Whatever you are doing is working.

Mine is on HUGE doses of Keppra and he was having them every two to three weeks, so they added Bromide. I don't think the Keppra works for him at all, but they won't take him off of it unless he goes months without one. Keppra is expensive!!! He did great on Pheno, didn't have one for the 4 1/2 months he was on it. But then it tanked his white blood cells to the dangerous level. this is rare though, Pheno is often a go to for most dogs.

Five weeks is really good! The meds are so hard. Mine has decided she hates the pill pockets so I am struggling!

Five weeks is not great LOL, they should really not have more than one every 3-4 months, but my vet is now shooting for 6 weeks with him, since we are not under control :-(

 

[paisleys]

Mine is on HUGE doses of Keppra and he was having them every two to three weeks, so they added Bromide. I don't think the Keppra works for him at all, but they won't take him off of it unless he goes months without one. Keppra is expensive!!! He did great on Pheno, didn't have one for the 4 1/2 months he was on it. But then it tanked his white blood cells to the dangerous level. this is rare though, Pheno is often a go to for most dogs.

Five weeks is not great LOL, they should really not have more than one every 3-4 months, but my vet is now shooting for 6 weeks with him, since we are not under control :-(

I guess I meant that I would be happy with going 5 weeks at this point! Great compared to me . Good luck! Thanks for keeping me posted.

 

[elgerber]

I guess I meant that I would be happy with going 5 weeks at this point! Great compared to me . Good luck! Thanks for keeping me posted.

I'm sorry, you are right. A few months ago, 5 weeks would have been great to us also. Now it needs to be more, in our situation.

 

[paisleys]

I'm sorry, you are right. A few months ago, 5 weeks would have been great to us also. Now it needs to be more, in our situation.

Yes, 5 weeks is not ideal. It all needs to be a lot more. I miss normalcy

 

[Snowflakey]

**Added incorrect quote**!!! I called the neurologist but oddly she wants to continue the Zonisamide until the end of the week, see if she has another seizure. I REALLY don't feel like waiting around for another seizure, plus she gets them every 10 days or so anyway. This double Zonisamide is obviously not working. I was exhausted when I spoke with her so I just said OK. Having my husband call Friday to handle. She had said she thought Keppra was the best when I asked at consultation. However yesterday she mentioned possibly switching her to phenobarbital. I will go through the thread later to find it, but which med is yours on again?
And I am SO happy it's been two months for you!!!! That's fantastic! Whatever you are doing is working.

Mine is on Keppra. However - the vet did say this drug is like a "honeymoon drug" meaning it works good for about 6 months and then doesn't. We are only into month 2 of no seizures on this med.

I'm sure you are exhausted. My heart hurts for all you're dealing with.

I have read that half the battle is figuring out the right meds to use so this is part of the process I'm afraid.

 

[elgerber]

Mine is on Keppra. However - the vet did say this drug is like a "honeymoon drug" meaning it works good for about 6 months and then doesn't. We are only into month 2 of no seizures on this med.

I'm sure you are exhausted. My heart hurts for all you're dealing with.

I have read that half the battle is figuring out the right meds to use so this is part of the process I'm afraid.

We were told that too, but I don't know that it every really worked for him. But don't you wonder why they prescribe a drug that they tell you up front, that it only works well for so long?

 

[paisleys]

Mine is on Keppra. However - the vet did say this drug is like a "honeymoon drug" meaning it works good for about 6 months and then doesn't. We are only into month 2 of no seizures on this med.

I'm sure you are exhausted. My heart hurts for all you're dealing with.

I have read that half the battle is figuring out the right meds to use so this is part of the process I'm afraid.

Mine is now on Levetiracetam (had to copy and paste that word!) I didn’t realize till my husband mentioned it later it is Keppra. I had reread your posts yesterday and remembered what you said about it being a ‘honeymoon drug’. My husband spoke to her so I’m going to call back next week about that. She’s keeping her on the Zonisamide for another three weeks to wean her off of it slowly too. Three giant pills this poor dog has to take twice a day. Luckily the lady stocking shelves recommended chicken franks to me yesterday when I mentioned my dilemma! So far so good. Thanks again for the info.

 

[tennisfan]

Mine is on HUGE doses of Keppra and he was having them every two to three weeks, so they added Bromide. I don't think the Keppra works for him at all, but they won't take him off of it unless he goes months without one. Keppra is expensive!!! He did great on Pheno, didn't have one for the 4 1/2 months he was on it. But then it tanked his white blood cells to the dangerous level. this is rare though, Pheno is often a go to for most dogs.

Five weeks is not great LOL, they should really not have more than one every 3-4 months, but my vet is now shooting for 6 weeks with him, since we are not under control :-(

As mentioned below, Keppra is the brand name for Levetiracetam which is the generic and is cheaper than the branded version. Well it is in the UK so assume its the same over there.

It also never worked for our dog, vet was ok with stopping it.

Mine is now on Levetiracetam (had to copy and paste that word!) I didn’t realize till my husband mentioned it later it is Keppra. I had reread your posts yesterday and remembered what you said about it being a ‘honeymoon drug’. My husband spoke to her so I’m going to call back next week about that. She’s keeping her on the Zonisamide for another three weeks to wean her off of it slowly too. Three giant pills this poor dog has to take twice a day. Luckily the lady stocking shelves recommended chicken franks to me yesterday when I mentioned my dilemma! So far so good. Thanks again for the info.

Hopefully they get a balance for your dog, it is trial and error unfortunately. Our dog ended upon 13 tablets a day of libromide, epifen & another one but he inhaled his food so was easy to medicate him

 

[elgerber]

As mentioned below, Keppra is the brand name for Levetiracetam which is the generic and is cheaper than the branded version. Well it is in the UK so assume its the same over there.

It also never worked for our dog, vet was ok with stopping it.



Hopefully they get a balance for your dog, it is trial and error unfortunately. Our dog ended upon 13 tablets a day of libromide, epifen & another one but he inhaled his food so was easy to medicate him

Yes, he does take the generic, but it's easier to type Keppra LOL. I can't even imagine what the brand name would cost. I drive 75 minutes round trip, so that I can use GoodRX for his, and I pay $100 for 2 months. Without that, it's anywhere from $200 to $800 for that two months, depending on where you go.

We use whipped cream cheese, my dog is kinda fussy about pills, but we cover them with gobs of whipped cream cheese and he wolfs them right down.

 

[Snowflakey]

Mine is now on Levetiracetam (had to copy and paste that word!) I didn’t realize till my husband mentioned it later it is Keppra. I had reread your posts yesterday and remembered what you said about it being a ‘honeymoon drug’. My husband spoke to her so I’m going to call back next week about that. She’s keeping her on the Zonisamide for another three weeks to wean her off of it slowly too. Three giant pills this poor dog has to take twice a day. Luckily the lady stocking shelves recommended chicken franks to me yesterday when I mentioned my dilemma! So far so good. Thanks again for the info.

Fingers crossed things start to get better! I wrap my dog's pill in a piece of cheese and he has no clue the pill is even there - ha ha! He pretty much inhales it over chewing it anyway.

 

[Snowflakey]

We were told that too, but I don't know that it every really worked for him. But don't you wonder why they prescribe a drug that they tell you up front, that it only works well for so long?

I wonder the same thing......

 

[elgerber]

My guys sibling had a second seizure last night. She had her first Feb 13th, she isn't on meds yet. I feel so bad for them. It's hard enough to go through it myself, but then to think of their sweet girl having one also, is terrible.

 

[paisleys]

My guys sibling had a second seizure last night. She had her first Feb 13th, she isn't on meds yet. I feel so bad for them. It's hard enough to go through it myself, but then to think of their sweet girl having one also, is terrible.

Aww, that is terrible to hear...

 

[paisleys]

Fingers crossed things start to get better! I wrap my dog's pill in a piece of cheese and he has no clue the pill is even there - ha ha! He pretty much inhales it over chewing it anyway.

Mine is just super annoying how she takes forever to chew and a lot of the times just spits the pills out. Gah! My other dog would be easily gulping these pills down.

Hopefully they get a balance for your dog, it is trial and error unfortunately. Our dog ended upon 13 tablets a day of libromide, epifen & another one but he inhaled his food so was easy to medicate him

13!!! Wow, that's very hard. I also wonder what all of these meds are doing to them. My husband said he saw ours fall down twice this past Saturday. Otherwise she does seem pretty normal. She is due her heart worm meds too. Procrastinating.

 

[elgerber]

Mine is just super annoying how she takes forever to chew and a lot of the times just spits the pills out. Gah! My other dog would be easily gulping these pills down.



13!!! Wow, that's very hard. I also wonder what all of these meds are doing to them. My husband said he saw ours fall down twice this past Saturday. Otherwise she does seem pretty normal. She is due her heart worm meds too. Procrastinating.

Yeah, it makes them clumsy. I think my dogs is made of steel (he is made of rubber actually), his doses are nuts, and he is just a bit clumsy. When he had lower doses, you couldn't even tell. Now it shows occasionally, but not all the time. He does agility (he will never be able to compete again) and he occasionally knocks down the jumps because his feet drag sometimes.