Seizures... :-(

I don't know how many people over here know me but I was a member of PV starting 2004. Norton, who just turned 5 has epilepsy and has been taking Pheno since he was about a year old. Up until last October he has been seizure free. Over the last year, he has had three seizures. One was last October, and the last two were July and now one last night. He has always been on a lower dose of Pheno and managed it really well. No side effects what so ever. I talked to my vet and she said to keep my eye on it. I just feel so horrible watching him. Last night's was fairly mild. Just a dribble of pee and the episode that lasted about 5 minutes. He was up and around shortly after that. He finally settled down and went back to sleep after about an hour or so. He has to be right next to me so when I laid back down to go to bed, he sat and stared at me in the dark. I could feel his eyes watching me and his little harumphfs were heart breaking. I guess what I am looking for is suggestions from others who have to deal with the same thing. I have gotten better dealing with the seizures. I can be a bit more relaxed and I think that helps him as well.

Gretchen,

I don't know if his dose might need to be increased just a little or what. It is something I would consider if you witness another seizure. I don't know if it is true or not, but my vet told me that there is a great chance for every seizure you witness, they may have one that you don't know happened. My boy Taz started having seizures around age 6, but I only witnessed about 6 of them in two years then to my knowledge, he never had another one.

I wish I could write with advice, I'm sorry I don't have any but I wanted to jump right in and say I'm sorry you and Norton are going through this. :( I hope you can get it figured out quickly. I know Carter is at risk for seizures and through my research doses can work fine, then all of a sudden need to be changed. I hope that is all it is for Norton.

Hugs to sweet Norton. I've heard their dosages often need to be changed as they get older. It sounds like you and your vet are on top of things!

I have no advice or experience with seizures with my own pets but I just want to send hugs to you and to sweetie pie Norton. I miss the big man and hope you can get this under control.

Poor Norton, and how scary for you to witness.
I'm sorry I don't have any real advice.
Tyson was on phenobarbital for what we thought were seizures (very odd, never lost consciousness, his whole body just twitched). It was so hard to watch, and although it's hard, I agree with what you said about maintaining your calmness, they can certainly sense when we're upset or worked up.
Hugs to you and Norton.

I'm so sorry Gretchen. The good thing about pheno is they tolerate it so well and even increases in the dose over the years do no long-term harm. Maybe the dose needs to go up a little, but your vet will discuss this with you. Lots of hugs to you both.

I'm with Rona - phenobarb dose adjustments are generally well tolerated. Hugs to you and to Norton. I'm sure you both were quite scared.

I am by no means an expert, but when Teddy was having seizures, I read everything I could get my hands on.
Here are a couple things to think about: can you get a video? I know that it is hard to watch, but if you could get a video or him on your cell phone or camera, that might help the vet also. Has anything changed in the past year? His food, weight, amount of exercise, etc? There may be a possibility that any changes in weight could effect how he processes his current dose of pheno. Can you tie it to a certain time of the day? Before or after meals? That might help your vet adjust his dosage too. And do you have a supply of valium on hand? I had 4-5 syringes at a time on hand for Teddy. Also talk to your vet if you should or shouldn't give him any food after the seizure.

I hope that you can get it back under control because I know how horrible it is to watch your baby suffer. I think that it is just as bad on us as it is them.

Just wanted to send a hug to you and Norton.

My Mocha has seizures. He was on potassium bromide, but had some problems on it. That is unusual, as it is well tolerated by most. He is on a new medication called Levetiracetam.
There is a really good site, on epilepsy and they also have a forum that has postings from all over the world.
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/index.html
Mocha has had a couple of cluster seizures, which is more than one in a 24 hour period. The last one lasted 5 minutes, stopped briefly and then rolled into another one. It was going on too long and I had to give him diazepam, rectally, to stop it. If they go on too long, the dog can suffer brain damage or possibly die. It is a good idea to have it on hand, if the seizures are longer than 5 minutes.
I would talk to your vet or neurologist about adjusting the medications.

Thanks everyone..It is just so frustrating...I have never had a dog that had any kind of an illness like this so just when I start to relax..wham!! His seizures are ALWAYS in the middle of the night. He sleeps almost at my shoulder so his twitching is what wakes me up. There have been no major changes other than I think he might be up a pound or two so you may be correct that his dosage needs to change. He was about 18 pounds when we started the treatment. He is about 22 pounds now. He goes every six months for a check up so I think and adjustment is probably in order. I am also going to talk about have the extra meds on hand for just in case situations. We have done everything we can to make sure that he doesn't do anything that will affect his balance. No more shots-just titers is probably the biggest one. Which then eliminates any kind of boarding because he doesn't have the shots. Not that I have a life where I could go on a vacation! Thanks again everyone...I appreciate your input.

Candace wrote:
There is a really good site, on epilepsy and they also have a forum that has postings from all over the world.
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/index.html

I am a member over there too. I just read and sometimes it scares me too much.