epilepsy in dogs

Dirty

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Hey fellas. I have a lab who just turned 10 months old. She has idiopathic epilepsy and her latest cluster of seizures last night lasted an hour and were more violent than ever. Her seizures have all been cluster seizures. I will be setting up a vet appointment today again but I was wondering what some of your experiences are.

She is such a good dog but she deserves a better life than this and frankly, I don't think that my family or I can handle it like this much longer. The dog definitely knows they are happening and it is physically and emotionally so stressful on her. They are getting more frequent (a week apart now) and I'm waiting for her to bite her tongue off one of these times or break a bone in the process. I gave her a med rectally to stop them last night and I think it did help but I don't want to just treat the seizures. My two options are finding a preventative treatment that I can afford or putting her down. She is an unbelievable dog so I really, really, hope the former is an option.

I don't believe from what I've read, given her particular age and seizure circumstances, that her prognosis is very good. Please just let me know if you've dealt with this, found any good preventative meds, etc. Thanks in advance.
 
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Allen

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This sucks!

I've only had one dog ever have a seizure and he was already 13+ and at the end of his longevity anyway, so the ex and I decided then and there to have him put down.

Really feel sorry for you and the whole family on this and hope the vet has a better solution for you than putting the dog down.
 

3Roosters

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Well that sucks!! Not to sound like Captain Obvious here, but is she on anything and perhaps somehow allergic to it or something along those lines....ie recent doses of tick chewables? My female springer had a couple bouts of seizures 2-3 min long(although seemed longer when it was happening) while hunting a few different times a few yrs ago. About the only thing we could think it was..and the vet also..is that perhaps she was having a reaction to the tick chewables.. Quit using chewables and she has been fine since.
Good luck!
 

NDSportsman

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Sorry to hear this Dirty. I had a lab that had seizures once in awhile and it was awful to watch but he always seemed to bounce back pretty quick. He never had clusters of them. In fact they seemed really sporadic and only about 3-4 times a year. Vet never suggested any meds or anything. I hope you get some good answers from your vet.
 

Dirty

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She’s never has had any tick preventative yet. Ive tried Switching up food also but no changes. I have been 99% sure it was epilepsy throughout the process and am probably at about 101% right now. Vet appointment in two hours to discuss further.

- - - Updated - - -

After the first one I was really hoping they’d be sporadic but that appears unlikely now. I have known people with dogs with random, infrequent seizures and that would be tough enough. This weekly, hour long stuff is more than any of us here can handle, including my other dog who goes absolutely berserk during these episodes, and of course the sick dog...She doesn’t deserve this type of life.
 


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Sorry to hear.

I had a Vizsla that had violent seizures for years. We had them under control for a while but he would still have breakthroughs every couple of months. Had a drug cocktail of phenobarbital (pill) and potassium bromide. Most just need the pheno but he needed both.

As for price. The vet was looking to charge me about $1/pill (and he was needing 6/day in the end). I had a friend that was a pharmacist and she said pheno was a very cheap pill (!!). I talked with her boss and he said he would charge me a 50% profit over his price. I ended up getting bottles of 1,000 for $12.00. Yes, his cost was $8/1000 pills and the vet wanted to charge me $1/pill. Try to find a pharmacist friend!!

Potassium bromide was fairly cheap but it needs to be mixed and can be hard to find a pharmacist that will mix it.
 

Dirty

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Big C, this is good info. Can you tell me how often your dog was having these before you got the cocktail dialed in? Thanks again!
 

BBQBluesMan

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Dirty, do some research on CBD for your dog. Much cheaper, and little to no side effects compared to phenobarbitol or potassium bromide.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190521101450.htm

In addition to the distinct reduction of seizures in the group of dogs that received CBD oil, McGrath saw a significant association between the degree of seizure reduction and the amount of CBD concentration in the dog's blood.
"We saw a correlation between how high the levels of CBD were in these dogs with how great the seizure reduction was," McGrath said.
This finding led the neurologist to adjust the dose of CBD oil for dogs in a current clinical trial, which was launched in January 2018 and aims to enroll 60 client-owned dogs with epilepsy.
McGrath described the ongoing research as exciting and important.
"It's really exciting that perhaps we can start looking at CBD in the future as an alternative to existing anticonvulsive drugs," she said.
 
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Big C

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Big C, this is good info. Can you tell me how often your dog was having these before you got the cocktail dialed in? Thanks again!


He was having 1-2/mo and they were bad, lasted all night with sever bouts, very violent. There was a period of 1-2 years he didn't have any and then they started to get worse again and we couldn't get it figured out. He lived with these for about 6 years.

Given your dog is only 10 months there may be something else going on as I was told most of the time these don't start in pups, really when they get to be about 2 years old is more common. Obviously no absolutes but there could be some other underlying issues causing them.

I feel for you, it was extremely emotionally draining for him, me, and family. He was sometimes very violent when he would come out of one and I needed to keep him away from my kids. I think he was just very scared. Be careful.
 

Dirty

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Thanks. I have a bad feeling I’m going to have to make a really tough decision today. Kids said their goodbyes just in case. I did not expect this to be in the cards when picking out my new family member and hunting buddy.

She is such a good dog otherwise too and I feel so guilty even having this option on the table.
 
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ndfinfan

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Thoughts and prayers for you and yours Dirty...that is really tough man. The wife and I adopted/rescued a female Jack Russell/Healer mix in September...only been 6 months but I freaking love that dog like she is my own kid. Let us know how things go...hoping for the best for you guys!
 

NDSportsman

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Had a lab pup that died at 10 months from a blood disease. It's almost harder then if they had lived a long fulfilling life. It's amazing how quickly we get attached to them. Hoping for the best for you Dirty.
 

Dirty

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Had a lab pup that died at 10 months from a blood disease. It's almost harder then if they had lived a long fulfilling life...


I couldn't agree more. I ended up having her put down today. I cried like a baby and I have a feeling I'm not done. She had so much life left that she was cheated out of because of plain old shitty luck. This was not a good day.
 

7mmMag

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Sorry to hear that Dirty. I'll be thinking about you and your family in this difficult time.
 


NDSportsman

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My condolences to you and your family Dirty. Take solace in knowing she'll never have to suffer thru another seizure.
 

bigv

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Did this pup come from a breeder? Health clearances etc? Could be genetic?? IF from a breeder with clearances you should contact them. Could potentially get refund if have to put down? Tough situation...sorry have to go through it.
 


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