Seizures in Dogs

[Snowflakey]

We've used the ELLEVET CBD for several years now and have had great success. Our girl is also on potassium bromide...and we generally only check her levels (with a blood test) during her annual exam, or if we're adjusting the dosage because she's had a run of seizures. We haven't had that issue since we started the CBD though. Hoping our luck holds out.

So you are saying your dog hasn't had a seizure in years since you started CBD? How large is your dog and what do you do for dosage? Twice a day?

Praying we have the success you've had!!

 

[dvcgirl67]

So you are saying your dog hasn't had a seizure in years since you started CBD? How large is your dog and what do you do for dosage? Twice a day?

Praying we have the success you've had!!

No, she's had seizures, but they are much, much further apart. She was having several in a three month period (too many). Once we started the CBD we started going 7-8 months and longer between seizures. So it was an instant change for my girl. Good luck to your pup...hope the CBD has the same effect!

 

[Snowflakey]

No, she's had seizures, but they are much, much further apart. She was having several in a three month period (too many). Once we started the CBD we started going 7-8 months and longer between seizures. So it was an instant change for my girl. Good luck to your pup...hope the CBD has the same effect!

That is great news! I'm hoping for the best - so far no seizures being on the CBD but its only been 6 weeks.

 

[elgerber]

Another of my pups siblings had seizures last night, 4 of them. There are now 3 in their litter of 9, that have them.

 

[Snowflakey]

Another of my pups siblings had seizures last night, 4 of them. There are now 3 in their litter of 9, that have them.

So sorry to hear - how old are the pups?

 

[elgerber]

So sorry to hear - how old are the pups?

They are 3 1/2. Ours started as the Pandemic started, the 2nd one started earlier this year, and the third pup started last night.

 

[Snowflakey]

U

OMG! I never saw this!!!! I was just coming on here to ask how everyone was doing and mention something my Dr said today. How is your dog doing now? Any updates? I am so sorry your dog had a seizure. Hopefully none since Coincidentally, mine had one the same night! I never made it back on here. She had another yesterday (38 days later). I spoke with the neurologist today and she asked what manufacturer of the Levetiracetam our generic meds are. There are two companies (according to her) that have less efficacy in their generic versions. One is Lupin and the other Blue Point. I just looked ours up. The first manufacturer we had was Lupin but she finished that and is into a bottle of Apotex manufactured Levetiracetam now. I have a call in regarding the efficacy of the Apotex. Seriously, if these generic meds aren't the same efficacy what is the point??? Let me know how your dog is doing and if you learned anything else.

Another seizure yesterday....ugh. Only made it 7 weeks this time. The prior seizure was the first since being on meds. This one was the first one being on meds along with CBD. I guess the only good thing is they have been very quick. The first two seizures he had before we started meds were much, much longer.

Back to the starting point again counting.....this is just awful. Stresses me right out.

 

[Snowflakey]

They are 3 1/2. Ours started as the Pandemic started, the 2nd one started earlier this year, and the third pup started last night.

See my post above - another seizure yesterday. just rots....

 

[elgerber]

Well my baby made it a whopping 3 weeks and 5 hours this time :-(. Had another Saturday morning. This one was a bit different than the others. So now we are increasing his meds. I hope he can handle them, and I really hope they finally help. Not sure how much more we can all take. As it is, I dont' feel like my husband and I will ever be able to vacation together, as we don't want him to have one in someone elses care.

 

[Snowflakey]

Well my baby made it a whopping 3 weeks and 5 hours this time :-(. Had another Saturday morning. This one was a bit different than the others. So now we are increasing his meds. I hope he can handle them, and I really hope they finally help. Not sure how much more we can all take. As it is, I dont' feel like my husband and I will ever be able to vacation together, as we don't want him to have one in someone elses care.

Oh nooooooo - so sorry to read this. Boy do I know exactly how you feel. We were all on vacation last week, I had my Dad come stay at my house. He did such a great job watching him. I knew he would because he is very calm and I knew the dog would play off of that. Don't give up on being able to take a vacation. There is someone out there that can watch your dog. What about talking to your vet? Maybe one of the assistants there would be willing to watch him? We need to do the same thing as my dad is 82 years old and I know he won't be able to do this much longer.

What are you now doing for meds?

What was different this time from the others?

You are all in my thoughts.

 

[elgerber]

Oh nooooooo - so sorry to read this. Boy do I know exactly how you feel. We were all on vacation last week, I had my Dad come stay at my house. He did such a great job watching him. I knew he would because he is very calm and I knew the dog would play off of that. Don't give up on being able to take a vacation. There is someone out there that can watch your dog. What about talking to your vet? Maybe one of the assistants there would be willing to watch him? We need to do the same thing as my dad is 82 years old and I know he won't be able to do this much longer.

What are you now doing for meds?

What was different this time from the others?

You are all in my thoughts.

We have someone we trust that would watch him, but we are just not comfortable with the the thought of him having one without us here for comfort. They are so not under control, we just never know which one might finally be a bad one, or a cluster.
We increased his Bromide to 3.5 tablets a day, which we have to split, because they make him puke. So in a day, with that and Keppra, he takes 7.5 pills! I need to buy stock in Greenies pill pockets because that is the only way he will take the chewable bromide pills. Butthead.

 

[Dead2009]

I had a St. Bernard named Dixie for about 9 years that would have seizures, sometimes they would be really violent and her body would literally bend as she was having them. It would take her a good 5-10 minutes to come out of them (we had to encourage her to come to her senses quicker by calling her name) and with the really bad ones....sometimes 20. She'd pace for hours on end. When she first started having them it would be one here, one there...then she'd start having clusters.

After I wanna say year 6, we ended up having to put her on 3 different kinds of medication, and she was still having them, but for the most part she wasn't having them as frequently. She'd go maybe about a month inbetween episodes and if she went a longer time than that, it definitely made up for it by having 6-7 a day. It got to the point where they finally got a old of her and she ended up having a stroke so sadly she is no longer with us. My family seems to think she had a brain tumor and of course, if you dont have thousands of dollars to get the proper treatment, no vet is going to help you out.

Coming across this thread, I just wanna say that I know what each and everyone of you is going through when it comes to these episodes, and I hope it all goes better for you.

 

[Snowflakey]

We have someone we trust that would watch him, but we are just not comfortable with the the thought of him having one without us here for comfort. They are so not under control, we just never know which one might finally be a bad one, or a cluster.
We increased his Bromide to 3.5 tablets a day, which we have to split, because they make him puke. So in a day, with that and Keppra, he takes 7.5 pills! I need to buy stock in Greenies pill pockets because that is the only way he will take the chewable bromide pills. Butthead.

Mine is still only on Keppra - 2 pills a day. I give his in cheese.

In one month it will be a year since this all started. He's had 4 seizures so far within this year. Hope he can make it to the year mark without another one.......

Hang in there and keep in touch!

 

[Snowflakey]

I had a St. Bernard named Dixie for about 9 years that would have seizures, sometimes they would be really violent and her body would literally bend as she was having them. It would take her a good 5-10 minutes to come out of them (we had to encourage her to come to her senses quicker by calling her name) and with the really bad ones....sometimes 20. She'd pace for hours on end. When she first started having them it would be one here, one there...then she'd start having clusters.

After I wanna say year 6, we ended up having to put her on 3 different kinds of medication, and she was still having them, but for the most part she wasn't having them as frequently. She'd go maybe about a month inbetween episodes and if she went a longer time than that, it definitely made up for it by having 6-7 a day. It got to the point where they finally got a old of her and she ended up having a stroke so sadly she is no longer with us. My family seems to think she had a brain tumor and of course, if you dont have thousands of dollars to get the proper treatment, no vet is going to help you out.

Coming across this thread, I just wanna say that I know what each and everyone of you is going through when it comes to these episodes, and I hope it all goes better for you.

Thanks for checking in and telling your story. Our vet brought up the brain tumor also but there would be signs of that which our dog doesn't have. We are speaking with a neurologist in a few weeks - an hour appointment for $150 so we think it is worth the knowledge of what he has to say. Our dog is only 3 yrs old.

 

[elgerber]

checking in here. We have not been able to make it longer than 7 weeks. Two weeks ago today, I was at Boo Bash with dd, and dh texted me from home in MN, telling me he just had one. It was not overnight this time, about 7:45. Great way to start Boo Bash, but it was 6 weeks to the day since the last.
Now dh and ds are at the Nascar finals, He had one Friday night, after I went to bed, 12 days since the last. He had another right before noon today, so about 36 hours. Really not cool. Poor DH trying to enjoy his vacation, and I am now very concerned. He is on a ton of meds already, adding more is just going to be hell. Not to mention, thinking of what all these do to him over time, and how long he can take it. He will be 4 in December.

 

[dvcgirl67]

checking in here. We have not been able to make it longer than 7 weeks. Two weeks ago today, I was at Boo Bash with dd, and dh texted me from home in MN, telling me he just had one. It was not overnight this time, about 7:45. Great way to start Boo Bash, but it was 6 weeks to the day since the last.
Now dh and ds are at the Nascar finals, He had one Friday night, after I went to bed, 12 days since the last. He had another right before noon today, so about 36 hours. Really not cool. Poor DH trying to enjoy his vacation, and I am now very concerned. He is on a ton of meds already, adding more is just going to be hell. Not to mention, thinking of what all these do to him over time, and how long he can take it. He will be 4 in December.

I'm really sorry to read that. Can you remind us how old your boy is and how long ago he was diagnosed?

My girl, who will be 10 years old next week....hasn't had a true seizure since May, but we have had several other neurological issues with her since then....including a couple of small spinal strokes, and a diagnosis of vestibular syndrome. Two MRIs alone since June....and too many vet visits to count this summer....it's been a costly summer.

She's still going for cold laser therapy and acupuncture to help with her hind end weakness. She's still got some "sway" in the hind end, and so we have a couple of "yoga mat runways" in my house so our girl is able to easily navigate our hardwood floors and easily get up. I've never had another dog (and we have had five others) who has had so many neurological issues and I feel that somehow this is all tied together even though the neurologists say that is not necessarily true. Our girl used to love to play ball and in particular jump up, spin in the air and catch the ball. Those days are over for our Phoebe, but we decided that in addition to her PT, we will also take her for a 1/2 to full mile walk every day depending on how far she can go. We just never know how it's going to go, and we want her to enjoy her senior years.

I understand how hard it is to travel because DH and I have no been able to do this. We had a trip (our first since Covid) planned for next week to Puerto Rico, but we feel like it's too much to leave her with a pet-sitter right now.

I hope your guy is able to get further relief between seizures. Hang in there!

 

[elgerber]

I'm really sorry to read that. Can you remind us how old your boy is and how long ago he was diagnosed?

My girl, who will be 10 years old next week....hasn't had a true seizure since May, but we have had several other neurological issues with her since then....including a couple of small spinal strokes, and a diagnosis of vestibular syndrome. Two MRIs alone since June....and too many vet visits to count this summer....it's been a costly summer.

She's still going for cold laser therapy and acupuncture to help with her hind end weakness. She's still got some "sway" in the hind end, and so we have a couple of "yoga mat runways" in my house so our girl is able to easily navigate our hardwood floors and easily get up. I've never had another dog (and we have had five others) who has had so many neurological issues and I feel that somehow this is all tied together even though the neurologists say that is not necessarily true. Our girl used to love to play ball and in particular jump up, spin in the air and catch the ball. Those days are over for our Phoebe, but we decided that in addition to her PT, we will also take her for a 1/2 to full mile walk every day depending on how far she can go. We just never know how it's going to go, and we want her to enjoy her senior years.

I understand how hard it is to travel because DH and I have no been able to do this. We had a trip (our first since Covid) planned for next week to Puerto Rico, but we feel like it's too much to leave her with a pet-sitter right now.

I hope your guy is able to get further relief between seizures. Hang in there!

He will be 4 at Christmas, first seizure March of 2020. We traveled together in early Sept of 2020 when we had a period over the summer when they were under control. Then October happened and it hasn't been under control since. Since then we have not left him. DD and I went to Fla and the guys are now in Arizona. That is really not related though, as these are rescheduled COVID trips. DH and I now have Disney reservations for next Sept and are hoping for a long weekend in the late winter/early spring. Then Friday and today happened. Right now, I don't want him out of my sight, and I am alone until Friday, with our dogs and my sons dog. Luckily I work from home, and have no need to go anywhere else.
I will call the neuro in the morning and see what our next step is. I felt at least we could make some plans, with 6-7 week spacings but now I am back to not wanting to leave him alone at all.

 

[Snowflakey]

He will be 4 at Christmas, first seizure March of 2020. We traveled together in early Sept of 2020 when we had a period over the summer when they were under control. Then October happened and it hasn't been under control since. Since then we have not left him. DD and I went to Fla and the guys are now in Arizona. That is really not related though, as these are rescheduled COVID trips. DH and I now have Disney reservations for next Sept and are hoping for a long weekend in the late winter/early spring. Then Friday and today happened. Right now, I don't want him out of my sight, and I am alone until Friday, with our dogs and my sons dog. Luckily I work from home, and have no need to go anywhere else.
I will call the neuro in the morning and see what our next step is. I felt at least we could make some plans, with 6-7 week spacings but now I am back to not wanting to leave him alone at all.

Oh Erika this just breaks my heart. It will be 4 months this week with no seizures. I worry about it every day. He is still only on one med that the vet said would only last about 6 months before more frequent seizures would happen but so far it hasn't.

Let us know what your neuro says. Wish I was close to you, I'd watch your dog so you could have a most deserved Disney trip.

 

[elgerber]

Oh Erika this just breaks my heart. It will be 4 months this week with no seizures. I worry about it every day. He is still only on one med that the vet said would only last about 6 months before more frequent seizures would happen but so far it hasn't.

Let us know what your neuro says. Wish I was close to you, I'd watch your dog so you could have a most deserved Disney trip.

Thank you! We actually have a very trusted pet sitter, who stays at our house, it's just the thought of not being with him if he had one, or if he suddenly had a cluster of them, or one really really bad one.
I am angry. Angry that the dog we waited over a year and half for, we only got 2 years with him, before being scared all the time, and possibly losing him young. Last year, I dreaded bed time for a long while, was terrified to go to sleep. I had finally gotten past that, until he had 2 over the weekend. Last night I was terrified to go to sleep again. I know I can't do anything anyway, but I can't help it.

 

[Snowflakey]

Thank you! We actually have a very trusted pet sitter, who stays at our house, it's just the thought of not being with him if he had one, or if he suddenly had a cluster of them, or one really really bad one.
I am angry. Angry that the dog we waited over a year and half for, we only got 2 years with him, before being scared all the time, and possibly losing him young. Last year, I dreaded bed time for a long while, was terrified to go to sleep. I had finally gotten past that, until he had 2 over the weekend. Last night I was terrified to go to sleep again. I know I can't do anything anyway, but I can't help it.

Of course you can't help feeling the way you do, I truly understand this fear. Worst part is there is nothing I can say or do to take this fear away.

There is a reason you got this dog. Fate knew you'd be the perfect person for him, and you are. Not many people would care the way you are and would just "give up" on the dog. You truly are amazing in all your doing.

Have you tried the Purina Pro Plan NeuroCare dry dog food? It's expensive but is known to help with seizures. We bought 2 bags a few months ago and our plan is to start our dog on it when he has another seizure to see if that helps him go longer between seizures......just a thought for you to try. Reviews were really good, especially from people with seizure dogs.