mollydog2

Hi Thank you for your reply, I have joined the epilist and gaining some knowledge. I must admit we did administer valium when she started to cluster but she found no relief from it, for some reason valium makes her even more dazed but does not put her to sleep and it doesn't stop or make her have any less fits. We gave her 2 injections last time. I didn't know that you could give more phenobarb other than am and pm she gets 200 am and pm and we were told that she is up to her maximum dose from her last bloods she had done. All her meds are given with food and she drinks like a fish so we always make sure her bowl is filled and if we are out for a day she gets 2 bowls!! Cheers Molly's Mum Canine epilepsy is not an easy condition to live with. My dog, Monte, also has clusters but he only has 5 or 6 at a time within an hour. We have been seizure free since January but this has happened before. It goes in cycles and there is no way of predicting when the next one will be. I strongly advise that you administer the valium when he starts to cluster. The strain on his system must be enormous. You can also add another dose of pheno when he starts. The most important thing is to stop the cluster. I can't stress that enough. Medicating at 12 hourly intervals is also vitally important. For every hour he goes with being medicated, the elvels of the pheno in particular drop in his system. As mentioned, always give it with food. Make sure he has plenty of water available as well to help his liver and kidneys deal with the medication. EFS

Thank you for your reply, one of the reasons I wrote to this forum was to find out what else I could do to help my precious Molly, from your letter it made me sound like I don't care or have any responsibility to my dog. We have been living in hell for nearly 3 years and everyone keeps telling us to put her down but I won't give up. We have been to all 3 vets in the area and I have used all the info they have given me. We were told that Brisbane is the nearest place to get neuros done and this is not feasable for us as we have young children. I have started to give her meds 12 hours apart and I will moniter her progress. It seems that whatever we do however much mediaction we give her the cycle goes every 6 weeks regardless. I just wanted you to know how much we love our dog and would do anything in our power to help her with what we can afford. Molly's Mum My understanding is that phenobarbitone has to be given 12 hours apart and with (at least some) food. The timing is crucial from what (little) I've read thus far. I've had to delay Molly's first blood work b/c she has a nasty ear ATM but we aren't sure what it is b/c Molly (even under sedation) would not allow the vet to perform a complete exam. I'm not very happy about the experience...am still deciding whether to re-visit or to try a different vet clinic. Sorry to go slightly O/T. I would definitely look for a more knowledgeable vet if this were my dog. While you may live in a remote or regional area, making this expensive, you do have a primary responsibility to care appropriately for the dog. Do you have a major regional centre or small city within a couple of hours' drive? Can you give us an idea of what area you live in? There is no way I'd be satisfied with the 'help' you've received for this condition. At the very least, if a brain tumour is suspected, a scan should be done to rule this in or out. Medication can be started regardless but without a proper diagnosis (reason for the seizures), treating with medication may not resolve or minimise the problem as well as it could do. Please find further help for your dog.

Hi, thanks for the replies, we have been to all 3 vets in the area and noone has any answers, they have all said that they have had no experience with cyclical seizures. We give her mediaction twice daily but not always 12 hours apart but usually the same time everyday. I don't think the vet has done a thyroid panel, what is that? No pesticides and we have moved so it's no the environment, yes I would like the epi list that would be great, Many Thanks Wow, in that case then the only option is to have her properly assesed. If she is indeed having 40 or 50 tonic/clonics I am amazed that she has survived. I am sorry if that sounds a little distressing but she is in the very real position of not surviving the next cluster. I have never heard of a dog having that many quite frankly without at least going into status or going to the Bridge. Is she being medicated at exactly 12 hourly intervals? Has any vet done a thyroid panel? Could she be exposed to any known pesticides or insecticides? There is an excellent epi list that I suggest you join and see what other advice you can get. Let me know if you would like to join this list. It has people from all over the world as members who have dogs with epilepsy and there is also a resident Vet.

No we haven't had any neurological exams done, we were told that the only way we could determine the cause of her fits was to take her to Brisabne and as that is not an option financially our vet just prescribed meds to stop her seizures. Basically when she fits as I call it she is usually resting and she turns on her back and her legs go in a paddle motion and she foams at the mouth, it lasts for about 2 minutes and then she is out of it for up to 5 minutes and then she rises, bumping into anything in her sight and does not recognize us for a good hour, she usually has about 15 fits over 3 days every 6 weeks but this time it was close to 40! I have done research on the net but I must say I get very confused about the information available! Thanks for the tips on her meals, again I have had conflicting opinions on that also!!! Hi, Has anyone done any kind of neurological exam to determine it being a brain tumour? I find it odd that a dog that is having seizures that are caused by a brain tumour is put on medication prescribed for epilepsy and there is not further treatment of the cause of the seizures. When you say she is having 40 - 50 'fits', what exactly is a 'fit' in your eyes? It would seem that your dog could not possibly be having tonic clonic siezures as this number of seizures within a 48hours period would undoubtedly kill her. The strain on her heart for one thing would be astonshing. She would also be declared as being in status and would need emergency veterinary care. I assume she is therefore having a focal type of seizure?? A quick note on her meals. I was advised some time ago to cease all carbohydrates for my epileptic dog. I no longer feed rices or pasta and give minimal kibble. He eats only beef and chicken mince, sardines, eggs, yoghurt and veges.

Hi Everyone that has responded to my letter re my precious Mollydog. We have had a dreadful weekend with her having about 40-50 fits, the poor sole is just exhausted. To answer some of your questions she has not had any injections for 2 years as my vet was convinced that it was a brain tumour and his prognosis was not good for the long term, anyway 3 years later we are in the same predicament. We live in North QLD and our nearest capital State is in Brisbane where she could have further treatment. It is a 14 hour drive to Brisbane or a flight from here, whichever is expensive not to mention any treatment. Anyway we regularly get her blood levels tested and they say she is on her maximum dose. I feed her a mixture of things from boiled chicken and rice to raw chicken wings to spaghetti bologneise, she rarely gets tinned food if ever it's too fatty and it gives her pancreatitus or however you spell it! We give the valium in a needle form and yes the Bromax is replacing the epibrom although my vet said it was the same thing but a locum was there this weekend and prescribed it!!!! Go figure, anyway she is better today and has starting wagging her tail and although has a sore head, she won't let us touch her head, she is in good spirits until the next time! We are finding this extremely difficult as the dog was so distressed this weekend and crying in a confused state. Many Thanks

Hi I am at my wits end! My beautiful border collie Molly is nearing 7 years old and for the last 2.5 years has been having fits. We have been on Phenobarb and epibrom combined but still every 6 weeks she has close to 20- 3 ;) 0 fits for 3 days and then the cycle starts again, this time the fits were really bad and my vet said that it's time to consider putting her to sleep, we have tried valium and all it does is make her stumble around and does not stop the fits. He has prescribed us a drug called Bromax to take with the phenobarb and today is the first day of taking it. Anyone else had any similar experiences or any advice that they can give me? She really is a precious sole and very much a family member!