Dog_Horse_Girl Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 We're on the road to Brisbane at the moment. We stayed overnight in Tennant Creek NT on Saturday. While relaxing in our unit, Molly had a mild seizure. I thought very little of it; she's been off her medication a few months so I just gave her a normal dose. Within the next hour, she had a cluster of slightly more severe seizures...which quickly escalated. I rang the vet listed in the phone book, it's 6pm by now. Get another number to ring, goes to voicemail, leave a message. Wait 5 minutes, by this time Molly's in constant seizures, OH is holding her, she's vomited a number of times...things are very serious. Ring again, leave another message. Am in panic mode when I call our Darwin vet...and get their voicemail so leave a message...wait a few minutes then leave another, and then send a text marked EMERGENCY. Lovely wonderful vet rings back straight away on receipt of the text. Molly's tongue is now blue and her body is so hot I wonder if she can survive. Vet gives instructions: dose her with valium and get her under cold water. That's all we can do. So that's what we do. OH has her in the shower, water streaming over her little body, while I'm scrambling to get the valium into her mouth and get her to swallow. We battle for I don't know how long...finally her temp comes down, she calms a little, the seizures stop. She's back to her normal self, but will stay on the medication now. I'm not taking any more chances...poor little thing. She was very dopey after the valium but bounced back on Sunday morning... While I knew in theory what to do, I didn't think clearly and Molly nearly didn't survive. :D If we hadn't reached our vet, I think the outcome would have been terrible. The local vet did ring back but wasn't anywhere near TC and the nearest vet hospital was Alice Springs, about 5 hrs drive away. We were very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 :D LM, I think you thought and behaved remarkably well under the distressing circumstances. To think to text "EMERGENCY" to the Vet. To be even able to administer a valium during seizure. Thanks to you, your thinking and your preparedness (even if it didn't feel as though you were prepared ...... you obviously were able to put your hands on the valium - that you had it with you was great) saved Molly's life. Well done. I trust you managed a moment to have a stiff drink after that. I would be keeping her on her seizure meds from now on as well, I think, if she were mine. Hoping that it is all smooth sailing (ie travelling) from now on and that Molly enjoys her tripping about with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Oh gosh! How frightening for you! What an awful experience! Hope she gets back on track soon! Could you keep an emergency vets number in your phone just in case for next time? Even if it is not close to you maybe they could give you advice quickly over the phone and you will be sure to speak to someone because they are always staffed. We have our regular vet but have called the pet emergency centre in Brisbane before at midnight for advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 I've got our Darwin's vet after hours number in my phone. Molly seems just fine again, which is great. I'd never seen seizures like this in her; she had only experienced petit mals up until now, so the clusters and the severity just floored me. Her tongue turning blue plus the extreme temperature had me thinking she wouldn't survive...and if we'd waited any longer to administer the valium and cold hosing, she would have died. We had the valium with us for our car-sick dog, Ruby. I'd hate to think of what might have been if we didn't have any valium with us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Phew ! What frightening thing for you all. So Glad she is OK now-well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 That must have been so frightening and upsetting for you I really hope she stays well now and the rest of the trip is uneventful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borderpower Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I glade to hear that Molly is doing better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru Borders Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 OMG poor Molly and poor you!!! That must have been awful! Glad she is ok now and great job saving your fur baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mokhahouse Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Best of luck with Molly staying seizure free for the rest of your trip. My son had seizures as a teenager and I know how frightened I was so I can imagine your horror. Sounds to me like you kept a clear head and did a great job helping her. Well done. Happy travelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laeral Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Oh how terrifiying for you Dont beat yourself up, It sounds like you did the right thing and saved her life. Glad to hear she is back to normal and is doing well Big to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 If you can organise communication between a local vet and your own vet, it might be worth seeing if you can get a prescription for a small volume of injectable valium to keep on hand. It can be given rectally in an emergency situation, which is safer for all than trying to give oral medication to a seizing patient (though you've done a commendable job getting your dog through this episode). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Wow, how frightening for you LM!! As you know, Monte has clusters. Sometimes the clusters can be so close in succession he is all but in status epilepticus. Following on from what Rappie said, we use valium and adminster it rectally. It is far easier putting a syringe (no needle of course) up a seizing dog's rectum than trying to give them a tablet and not choke them in the process as well. Injectable and rectally administered diazepam works far quicker than adminstering orally (within a few minutes, whereas oral can take up to 10-15 minutes to take affect). It only has a relatively short shelf life though so we only purchase small amounts each time. Is she only on Pb or is she also only Kbr? We also immediately turn on our air conditioner to cold (even in Winter) when Monte starts a cluster. After he has finished, we give him ice cream, yoghurt or sometimes a little jam on bread. The ice cream is best though as it has water for hydration, sugar for energy and it is cold and this helps their body temp drop. The biggest worry is how much their little hearts can handle when they have continous siezures. Edited November 11, 2009 by PugRescueSydney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and words - it means a lot to me. One of the first things I'm doing when we move into the new house is to find a new local vet. I'm sure there are some terrific practitioners in our part of Brissy and a few people have suggested a vet in Kedron (but they are greyhound specialists I think?). I'll be asking about emergency procedures and medications to keep on hand for Molly just in case. The valium tablets seemed to work very rapidly, and I did give her three (2mg tabs)...by the time the second or third was administered, the seizures had abated enough that I could dose her orally but it wasn't pleasant for her or me. BTW - we'll be in McDowall (unless the house/neighbourhood is awful LOL) so a vet in the general vicinity would be ideal. If anyone has any recommendations or suggestions, we'd be grateful. PRS - she's on Pb only at the moment. I hope that won't change but will have her levels checked and discuss appropriate medications and doses with the new vet. This isn't the first time we've saved Molly's life. A while back (couple of years ago) she was choking on a piece of food...so I stuck my fingers down her throat to remove the blockage but it seemed to take forever to get it out. She's got more lives than a feline, this little dog. Edited November 11, 2009 by lillysmum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Glad to hear she is doing better. I hope you never have to go through that again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Wow, what an experience it must have been!!! So glad it all worked out, at least now you know what to do in case of "next time". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Wowy Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 (edited) Liquid Valium can be given rectally via syringe in the case of a seizuring dog. Perhaps you could have a chat to your vet about having somethng like this on hand in case of emergencies. You did well in managing to get the valium down her throat while she was fitting. ETA Sorry, just saw that this has already been mentioned. Edited November 12, 2009 by Bow Wowy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and words - it means a lot to me. One of the first things I'm doing when we move into the new house is to find a new local vet. I'm sure there are some terrific practitioners in our part of Brissy and a few people have suggested a vet in Kedron (but they are greyhound specialists I think?). I'll be asking about emergency procedures and medications to keep on hand for Molly just in case. The valium tablets seemed to work very rapidly, and I did give her three (2mg tabs)...by the time the second or third was administered, the seizures had abated enough that I could dose her orally but it wasn't pleasant for her or me. BTW - we'll be in McDowall (unless the house/neighbourhood is awful LOL) so a vet in the general vicinity would be ideal. If anyone has any recommendations or suggestions, we'd be grateful. PRS - she's on Pb only at the moment. I hope that won't change but will have her levels checked and discuss appropriate medications and doses with the new vet. This isn't the first time we've saved Molly's life. A while back (couple of years ago) she was choking on a piece of food...so I stuck my fingers down her throat to remove the blockage but it seemed to take forever to get it out. She's got more lives than a feline, this little dog. I can definitely recommend the Kedron vet. She does my shar pei for me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirov_grrl Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 So glad to hear she is feeling better LM. Here is a website I've found really helpful for my girl http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 Molly is much better again. Can't wait to move into the house at the end of the week so we can start getting back to normal. With a number of recommendations, I'm going to try the vet in Kedron. Ruby also needs her lame leg looked at again...she's uncomfortable enough that she needs another visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutt lover Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I'm so happy for you that Molly is now ok how terrifying for you, good luck with Ruby hope you have success with your new vet and the medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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