Seizures in Dogs

[Snowflakey]

5 months!!!

Our boy had a seizure Saturday night - ughhhhhhh - can't believe it. We are back at square one. He went EIGHT months too. Darn it, darn it, darn it.

 

[Marionnette]

I've been following this thread since our border collie mix began having seizures last year. She had just turned 3 at the time. It's been a long, difficult road to travel.

We originally went to our primary care vet who prescribed Keppra but our poor pup progressed to weekly seizures. She was switched to zonisamide and then switched again to phenobarbital but the seizures still occurred every 7-10 days. Even worse, she began to have cluster seizures of 3 in a 24-hour period.

We finally switched to a neurologist in September. He put Pandora on a combination of Keppra and phenobarbital and also advised up to administer an additional dose of her medications in the event of a seizure, breaking the Keppra in half before giving it to her because it's an extended release pill. He has his own website with holistic recommendations that include CBD oil and gluten-free diets.

We gave away all of her treats that included wheat and started her on a gluten-free diet. We also ordered CBD oil for her and she gets it twice a day with her other meds. The clustering stopped but the seizures were still occurring rather frequently. Her longest span between seizures was 6 weeks and after that they began occurring on a weekly basis.

The neurologist increased her Keppra to 3x daily. Being semi-retired, it's not as difficult as it would be for someone who has to leave their dog for hours. She went 9 weeks without a seizure. That's the longest she had gone without one. We were feeling pretty good about things and then...

...the worst bout of cluster seizures she had ever experienced began. After the first 3, we thought that she was done. That was the usual way it worked with her. But then a 4th and a 5th and before we could get her to the ER she was having one every hour.

They kept her in the ICU for 3 and a half days. The bill was astronomical! They started with a midazolam (a sedative/anesthetic) administered as a shot in her thigh. She had 2 more seizures that day. So they put her on propofol (another, more powerful anesthetic) to try to break the cycle. It worked but we were very concerned about the brain damage she may have suffered from what amounted to 15 seizures in a 36-hour period. Our fears were alleviated within just a few hours if getting her back home. She's the same dog that she was before that episode.

The neurologist added zonisamide to her course of medications. The dosage is such that she gets 3 capsules twice daily. That's in addition to 1 phenobarbital every 12 hours and 1 Keppra 3x daily. And we are still giving her CBD oil and keeping her to a gluten-free diet. The advice for post-seizure care is still the same...break the Keppra and give all 3 meds following a seizure (up to 5 times in 24 hours). Plus he sent us home with syringes and a 5 ml bottle of midazolam to be administered 0.5 ml up each nostril following a seizure.

It's been 3 weeks now without a seizure. Like my husband says, it's not a matter of IF she will have another. It's a matter of WHEN will the next one happen.

Long post. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. Pandora has a follow up appointment with the neurologist next week. I'm going to ask him about the Pro Plan Neuroscience food. My heart goes out to all of you who are dealing with this.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Our boy had a seizure Saturday night - ughhhhhhh - can't believe it. We are back at square one. He went EIGHT months too. Darn it, darn it, darn it.

I know...it's awful when they have a seizure, but eight months apart is considered very good control so keep doing whatever you're doing. But I get it, the clock or counter starts over. We're at 11 months for a true "seizure" for my airedale Phoebe, but she did go through a several week period with vestibular syndrome last summer that was not fun.

 

[Snowflakey]

I've been following this thread since our border collie mix began having seizures last year. She had just turned 3 at the time. It's been a long, difficult road to travel.

We originally went to our primary care vet who prescribed Keppra but our poor pup progressed to weekly seizures. She was switched to zonisamide and then switched again to phenobarbital but the seizures still occurred every 7-10 days. Even worse, she began to have cluster seizures of 3 in a 24-hour period.

We finally switched to a neurologist in September. He put Pandora on a combination of Keppra and phenobarbital and also advised up to administer an additional dose of her medications in the event of a seizure, breaking the Keppra in half before giving it to her because it's an extended release pill. He has his own website with holistic recommendations that include CBD oil and gluten-free diets.

We gave away all of her treats that included wheat and started her on a gluten-free diet. We also ordered CBD oil for her and she gets it twice a day with her other meds. The clustering stopped but the seizures were still occurring rather frequently. Her longest span between seizures was 6 weeks and after that they began occurring on a weekly basis.

The neurologist increased her Keppra to 3x daily. Being semi-retired, it's not as difficult as it would be for someone who has to leave their dog for hours. She went 9 weeks without a seizure. That's the longest she had gone without one. We were feeling pretty good about things and then...

...the worst bout of cluster seizures she had ever experienced began. After the first 3, we thought that she was done. That was the usual way it worked with her. But then a 4th and a 5th and before we could get her to the ER she was having one every hour.

They kept her in the ICU for 3 and a half days. The bill was astronomical! They started with a midazolam (a sedative/anesthetic) administered as a shot in her thigh. She had 2 more seizures that day. So they put her on propofol (another, more powerful anesthetic) to try to break the cycle. It worked but we were very concerned about the brain damage she may have suffered from what amounted to 15 seizures in a 36-hour period. Our fears were alleviated within just a few hours if getting her back home. She's the same dog that she was before that episode.

The neurologist added zonisamide to her course of medications. The dosage is such that she gets 3 capsules twice daily. That's in addition to 1 phenobarbital every 12 hours and 1 Keppra 3x daily. And we are still giving her CBD oil and keeping her to a gluten-free diet. The advice for post-seizure care is still the same...break the Keppra and give all 3 meds following a seizure (up to 5 times in 24 hours). Plus he sent us home with syringes and a 5 ml bottle of midazolam to be administered 0.5 ml up each nostril following a seizure.

It's been 3 weeks now without a seizure. Like my husband says, it's not a matter of IF she will have another. It's a matter of WHEN will the next one happen.

Long post. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. Pandora has a follow up appointment with the neurologist next week. I'm going to ask him about the Pro Plan Neuroscience food. My heart goes out to all of you who are dealing with this.

PLEASE ask about the dog food. It has to be approved by a vet before you can buy it. And it is expensive!

I know 2 people personally who started their dogs on the food and they've gone months without one. Please check in and let us know if your going to try it and how things go.

Keeping Pandora in my thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine all you've been dealing with......you're a good dog mom!

 

[Snowflakey]

I know...it's awful when they have a seizure, but eight months apart is considered very good control so keep doing whatever you're doing. But I get it, the clock or counter starts over. We're at 11 months for a true "seizure" for my airedale Phoebe, but she did go through a several week period with vestibular syndrome last summer that was not fun.

What is vestibular syndrome?

All our dog is on is Keppra. The vet said they consider that "a honeymoon drug" meaning it only lasts about 6 months before you have to put them on other meds. It's been a few years our dog is on it and it is still working great!

 

[elgerber]

I've been following this thread since our border collie mix began having seizures last year. She had just turned 3 at the time. It's been a long, difficult road to travel.

We originally went to our primary care vet who prescribed Keppra but our poor pup progressed to weekly seizures. She was switched to zonisamide and then switched again to phenobarbital but the seizures still occurred every 7-10 days. Even worse, she began to have cluster seizures of 3 in a 24-hour period.

We finally switched to a neurologist in September. He put Pandora on a combination of Keppra and phenobarbital and also advised up to administer an additional dose of her medications in the event of a seizure, breaking the Keppra in half before giving it to her because it's an extended release pill. He has his own website with holistic recommendations that include CBD oil and gluten-free diets.

We gave away all of her treats that included wheat and started her on a gluten-free diet. We also ordered CBD oil for her and she gets it twice a day with her other meds. The clustering stopped but the seizures were still occurring rather frequently. Her longest span between seizures was 6 weeks and after that they began occurring on a weekly basis.

The neurologist increased her Keppra to 3x daily. Being semi-retired, it's not as difficult as it would be for someone who has to leave their dog for hours. She went 9 weeks without a seizure. That's the longest she had gone without one. We were feeling pretty good about things and then...

...the worst bout of cluster seizures she had ever experienced began. After the first 3, we thought that she was done. That was the usual way it worked with her. But then a 4th and a 5th and before we could get her to the ER she was having one every hour.

They kept her in the ICU for 3 and a half days. The bill was astronomical! They started with a midazolam (a sedative/anesthetic) administered as a shot in her thigh. She had 2 more seizures that day. So they put her on propofol (another, more powerful anesthetic) to try to break the cycle. It worked but we were very concerned about the brain damage she may have suffered from what amounted to 15 seizures in a 36-hour period. Our fears were alleviated within just a few hours if getting her back home. She's the same dog that she was before that episode.

The neurologist added zonisamide to her course of medications. The dosage is such that she gets 3 capsules twice daily. That's in addition to 1 phenobarbital every 12 hours and 1 Keppra 3x daily. And we are still giving her CBD oil and keeping her to a gluten-free diet. The advice for post-seizure care is still the same...break the Keppra and give all 3 meds following a seizure (up to 5 times in 24 hours). Plus he sent us home with syringes and a 5 ml bottle of midazolam to be administered 0.5 ml up each nostril following a seizure.

It's been 3 weeks now without a seizure. Like my husband says, it's not a matter of IF she will have another. It's a matter of WHEN will the next one happen.

Long post. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. Pandora has a follow up appointment with the neurologist next week. I'm going to ask him about the Pro Plan Neuroscience food. My heart goes out to all of you who are dealing with this.

I am so sorry. As the owner of dog number two with seizures, my heart breaks for you.
Long ago our Golden had 11 in one day. it was horrible.

I agree though, PLEASE to ask about the food. I would normally scoff at such ideas. But it's been our miracle. Pheno almost killed my fluff, Keppra does diddly and Keppra with Bromide couldn't get them under control well enough. Since the food, he is 5 months seizure free! The longest he had ever gone before was 7 weeks and a few days, most often nowhere near that long.

 

[elgerber]

What is vestibular syndrome?

All our dog is on is Keppra. The vet said they consider that "a honeymoon drug" meaning it only lasts about 6 months before you have to put them on other meds. It's been a few years our dog is on it and it is still working great!

I'm sorry he had another. It's so hard.
8 months is a great length of time though. Our neuro on day one said every four months is considered totally fine. Keppra did nothing for our guy, he is still on it a year and a half later, with another med.
I would advocate for the food as well for you, especially since he went that long without one.
I am going to start sounding like a dog food salesman, no royalties for me LOL, but it really has been our miracle in a bag, at least for now.

 

[longboard55]

Our dog had an eye removed with cancer and now a collapsed trachea. Do no think dogs are cheap to own.

 

[Snowflakey]

I'm sorry he had another. It's so hard.
8 months is a great length of time though. Our neuro on day one said every four months is considered totally fine. Keppra did nothing for our guy, he is still on it a year and a half later, with another med.
I would advocate for the food as well for you, especially since he went that long without one.
I am going to start sounding like a dog food salesman, no royalties for me LOL, but it really has been our miracle in a bag, at least for now.

We are going to wait and see when another one rears it's ugly head. Since the vet has to approve getting the food, they said to wait since he went so long in between seizures.

When I told you about the food, we had bought 2 bags and was going to start him on it around this time last year. But since he stopped having them we gave them to a friend with a seizure dog and the food has been doing miracles for them also!!

 

[Marionnette]

Well, we made it 6.5 weeks without a seizure. Pandora had a mild one this morning. This is the first time that I had to administer midazolam to her and we're just monitoring her for any side effects. She's a little uncoordinated but alert and responding to commands.

She had her neuro appointment a couple of weeks ago. Phenobarbital was within therapeutic range and all liver function tests were normal. We discussed changing her diet to the Pro Plan but he said let's wait to see how she does with the zonisamide added in first. We don't want to throw too many variables into the mix or we won't know what is working or needs to be tweaked.

He also mentioned putting her on a ketogenic diet if the time comes to make any changes. One thing that concerned both of us is that the Pro Plan food has corn gluten and wheat bran in its list of ingredients and we have had her on a gluten-free diet for months.

So for today, we reset the counter back to zero and watch her like a hawk for another since she tends to cluster. And I'll be calling the neurologist later to discuss whether to make the change in diet now.

How are everyone else's dogs making out?

 

[Snowflakey]

Well, we made it 6.5 weeks without a seizure. Pandora had a mild one this morning. This is the first time that I had to administer midazolam to her and we're just monitoring her for any side effects. She's a little uncoordinated but alert and responding to commands.

She had her neuro appointment a couple of weeks ago. Phenobarbital was within therapeutic range and all liver function tests were normal. We discussed changing her diet to the Pro Plan but he said let's wait to see how she does with the zonisamide added in first. We don't want to throw too many variables into the mix or we won't know what is working or needs to be tweaked.

He also mentioned putting her on a ketogenic diet if the time comes to make any changes. One thing that concerned both of us is that the Pro Plan food has corn gluten and wheat bran in its list of ingredients and we have had her on a gluten-free diet for months.

So for today, we reset the counter back to zero and watch her like a hawk for another since she tends to cluster. And I'll be calling the neurologist later to discuss whether to make the change in diet now.

How are everyone else's dogs making out?

So sorry to hear but I'm glad it was a mild one. Fingers crosses no others follow right now.

Our dogs last one was April 10th but over 8 months ago before that one so we haven't done anything different for now. He's only on Keppra.

Thanks for checking in here - I really feel this thread helps all of us with seizure dogs!

 

[elgerber]

Well, we made it 6.5 weeks without a seizure. Pandora had a mild one this morning. This is the first time that I had to administer midazolam to her and we're just monitoring her for any side effects. She's a little uncoordinated but alert and responding to commands.

She had her neuro appointment a couple of weeks ago. Phenobarbital was within therapeutic range and all liver function tests were normal. We discussed changing her diet to the Pro Plan but he said let's wait to see how she does with the zonisamide added in first. We don't want to throw too many variables into the mix or we won't know what is working or needs to be tweaked.

He also mentioned putting her on a ketogenic diet if the time comes to make any changes. One thing that concerned both of us is that the Pro Plan food has corn gluten and wheat bran in its list of ingredients and we have had her on a gluten-free diet for months.

So for today, we reset the counter back to zero and watch her like a hawk for another since she tends to cluster. And I'll be calling the neurologist later to discuss whether to make the change in diet now.

How are everyone else's dogs making out?

I'm sorry she had another. Very glad it was mild. Praying for no cluster for you!!

If we make it until noon Saturday, it will be 6 months. It's still shocking to us.

 

[Snowflakey]

I'm sorry she had another. Very glad it was mild. Praying for no cluster for you!!

If we make it until noon Saturday, it will be 6 months. It's still shocking to us.

Praying you continue seizure free! That is awesome!!!

 

[elgerber]

6 months, and 2 days!!! Amazing.

 

[Princesca]

I don't remember if I ever posted in this thread, but one thing I always recommend people get tested is their dog's adrenal response. My dog had a grand mal seizure in 2014, the day after a trip to the vet. We took him to the ER vet, where we were told it was either a brain tumor or idiopathic epilepsy. Somewhere online I saw it recommended to keep a log of seizure activity, and what preceded it, and after several episodes, it became evident that my dog was having seizures after 'exciting' events. After a few months, he went into what we later discovered was Addisonian crisis. One of the vets got a wild hair to try a dose of corticosteroid, and he bounced right back. To this day, I believe that his untreated Addison's was causing him to go into hypoglycemic seizures. I'm no vet, and I could never get a vet to confirm the link, but I can say that he was having breakthrough seizures on his meds until he started daily prednisone and Zycortal shots every 3 weeks. He never had a single other seizure after that.

I never had the guts to take him off the seizure meds; he was a big boy and it was so traumatizing for me every time he had one.

He passed away in Jan 2021 of an infection in his paw that we couldn't cure, but he was happy and lovey up until we had to let him go. He lived with 'epilepsy' for almost seven years, and was seizure-free for 5+ of those, once daily adrenal support began.

It's one more thing to check. (Addison's Disease.)

 

[Snowflakey]

6 months, and 2 days!!! Amazing.

YEA! Our boy had another one last night - exactly one month. UGHHHHHHHHHH

 

[Snowflakey]

I don't remember if I ever posted in this thread, but one thing I always recommend people get tested is their dog's adrenal response. My dog had a grand mal seizure in 2014, the day after a trip to the vet. We took him to the ER vet, where we were told it was either a brain tumor or idiopathic epilepsy. Somewhere online I saw it recommended to keep a log of seizure activity, and what preceded it, and after several episodes, it became evident that my dog was having seizures after 'exciting' events. After a few months, he went into what we later discovered was Addisonian crisis. One of the vets got a wild hair to try a dose of corticosteroid, and he bounced right back. To this day, I believe that his untreated Addison's was causing him to go into hypoglycemic seizures. I'm no vet, and I could never get a vet to confirm the link, but I can say that he was having breakthrough seizures on his meds until he started daily prednisone and Zycortal shots every 3 weeks. He never had a single other seizure after that.

I never had the guts to take him off the seizure meds; he was a big boy and it was so traumatizing for me every time he had one.

He passed away in Jan 2021 of an infection in his paw that we couldn't cure, but he was happy and lovey up until we had to let him go. He lived with 'epilepsy' for almost seven years, and was seizure-free for 5+ of those, once daily adrenal support began.

It's one more thing to check. (Addison's Disease.)

Thank you for this. I'm looking into it. I've always said his seizures seem to happen when he gets "stressed or excited" from something.

 

[Marionnette]

How are everyone's pups doing? I'm hoping that all is well for them.

Our Pandora ended up in the ER again two weeks ago. Seven seizures in a matter of 36 hours with the last two being an hour apart. They kept her overnight with no additional seizures but they increased her phenobarbital to 1.5 tablets of 92.7 mg. I'm very concerned about liver damage from such a high dose. Poor girl! It took her several days to regain her coordination.

We changed her diet to be completely grain-free and have added MCT oil to her kibble. The neurologist told me that he recommends the MCT oil supplement over the prescription diet because the only difference in the Purina food is the increased amount of triglycerides. And he doesn't think Purina adds a sufficient amount.

We've been doing the additional MCT oil plus increased phenobarb for 2 weeks now and Pandora had another seizure on Friday morning. Just one and she came out of it fairly quickly. But geez! Not even two weeks!

 

[elgerber]

How are everyone's pups doing? I'm hoping that all is well for them.

Our Pandora ended up in the ER again two weeks ago. Seven seizures in a matter of 36 hours with the last two being an hour apart. They kept her overnight with no additional seizures but they increased her phenobarbital to 1.5 tablets of 92.7 mg. I'm very concerned about liver damage from such a high dose. Poor girl! It took her several days to regain her coordination.

We changed her diet to be completely grain-free and have added MCT oil to her kibble. The neurologist told me that he recommends the MCT oil supplement over the prescription diet because the only difference in the Purina food is the increased amount of triglycerides. And he doesn't think Purina adds a sufficient amount.

We've been doing the additional MCT oil plus increased phenobarb for 2 weeks now and Pandora had another seizure on Friday morning. Just one and she came out of it fairly quickly. But geez! Not even two weeks!

I'm so sorry! Have they talked of adding additional meds with the Pheno? It's so hard when they have them so close together. I hope they can find the right combo of things to help her.

Rider had his semi-annual blood work Memorial Day weekend. His bromide levels had been maxed out at 2.9, but they have dropped to 2.1. But since he has been seizure free for 31 weeks (exactly at this minute), or 7 months 5 days (but I am not counting at all), they are not changing anything. For him this food has been a life saver.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm so sorry! Have they talked of adding additional meds with the Pheno? It's so hard when they have them so close together. I hope they can find the right combo of things to help her.

Rider had his semi-annual blood work Memorial Day weekend. His bromide levels had been maxed out at 2.9, but they have dropped to 2.1. But since he has been seizure free for 31 weeks (exactly at this minute), or 7 months 5 days (but I am not counting at all), they are not changing anything. For him this food has been a life saver.

That's great news about Rider! It sounds like you have found the magic bullet that works for him!

On our last regular visit with the neurologist, Pandora had gone 6 weeks without a seizure and he had said that he would be satisfied if she could consistently go 6 weeks. He didn't change any of her meds at the time. Her liver function studies were within normal range and her phenobarbital was 31mcg/mL.m (therapeutic level ranges from 15 - 35).

She's on phenobarbital, Keppra and zonisamide. She gets 1.0 mL of midazolam intranasal immediately post-seizure to stave off clustering, plus she gets an additional full compliment of her other meds, even if I just gave them to her. I'm not sure what more can be done for her and it might just be that this is her lot in life. She goes back to the neurologist in about a week to have blood work done for another phenobarbital level.