Epileptic Dog

[iltby]

Hi all,

I haven't posted on here in a very long time but I was hoping for some advice. One of our Huskies has developed epilepsy at the age of 10 - she started having grand mal seizures last year and after an MRI ruled out a brain tumour or brain mass she was diagnosed with late-onset epilepsy. We've been treating the epilepsy with Phenobarbitone and Potassium Bromide, and have also been including herbal supplements, but the drugs are just playing havoc with Lily's system and her quality of life is awful - the drugs make her incredibly distressed and wobbly and just not herself. Earlier in the year we managed to get the drugs to quite a low dose and she was stable for a little while but then had another seizure and so the dose had to be increased again (all of this has been done under the care of our local vet and a neurologist at SASH). We're currently working to bring it down again but because of the nature of the drugs it's an incredibly slow process. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and whether people might have an advice or input.

Thanks.

[Jumabaar]

I opted for some slightly different drugs for my boy and have split the Potassium into a morning and night dose which has helped with the ataxia. He has also started doing physio to try and keep him strong and help with proprioception and he is now back to being able to cock his leg again after 6mths of squatting- Yup I got so excited when he managed it.

[BC Crazy]

Sorry to hear about the troubles you have been having with your Husky iltby.

I have a 3 year old BC that was diagnosed with Epilepsy 5 months ago. She has only just started taking medication for it.

She is on Phenomav 100mg, half twice a day. Which is a mid range dose. She is also taking Kalma 2mg as her seizures seem to be triggered by stress.

The first week on meds was terrible. She was incontinent & very aggitated. Then she just seemed to settle once her system

got used to it. She is doing very well atm & no seizures. I also have her on McDowells herbal Epilepsy drops + nerve recovery

as she is a very anxious girl. I have found massage has helped & do this morning & night before bed.

Hope I was of some help. I understand how very stressful this situation can be. Very worrying time. Every dog is different &

what works for one may not work for the other. Good luck with your Husky & hope things settle soon.

Maybe if you move this thread to the Health/grooming section you may be able to get more advice??? Just a thought. I have a thread

about Epilepsy over there.

Edited April 12, 2014 by BC Crazy

[~Anne~]

Long time no see ILTBY. Welcome back. :)

We took Monte off the bromide as it was the main cause of additional problems with him. His seizure control was no different after he was taken off it but he was certainly happier for a while.

I'm not sure who your specialist is, we were seeing Georgina Childs and I can't speak highly enough of her. She put Monte on Keppra in place of the bromide, which we had to wean him off as he had been on it for about 8 years, but he was only given this when he had a cluster.

[iltby]

I opted for some slightly different drugs for my boy and have split the Potassium into a morning and night dose which has helped with the ataxia. He has also started doing physio to try and keep him strong and help with proprioception and he is now back to being able to cock his leg again after 6mths of squatting- Yup I got so excited when he managed it.

Thanks for your response, Jumabaar. Where did you go to pursue the physio?

Sorry to hear about the troubles you have been having with your Husky iltby.

I have a 3 year old BC that was diagnosed with Epilepsy 5 months ago. She has only just started taking medication for it.

She is on Phenomav 100mg, half twice a day. Which is a mid range dose. She is also taking Kalma 2mg as her seizures seem to be triggered by stress.

The first week on meds was terrible. She was incontinent & very aggitated. Then she just seemed to settle once her system

got used to it. She is doing very well atm & no seizures. I also have her on McDowells herbal Epilepsy drops + nerve recovery

as she is a very anxious girl. I have found massage has helped & do this morning & night before bed.

Hope I was of some help. I understand how very stressful this situation can be. Very worrying time. Every dog is different &

what works for one may not work for the other. Good luck with your Husky & hope things settle soon.

Maybe if you move this thread to the Health/grooming section you may be able to get more advice??? Just a thought. I have a thread

about Epilepsy over there.

Thanks very much, BC Crazy. What are the massages you're using on her? I'm wondering whether Lily needs to be on another drug entirely. Her liver wasn't coping with the Phenobarbitone which is why the Potassium Bromide got added in...they're all such heavy duty drugs and the herbal supplements don't seem to be working as well as we'd hoped.

I did think that, I wasn't sure which forum was more suitable. I'll see if I can get it moved!

Long time no see ILTBY. Welcome back. :)

We took Monte off the bromide as it was the main cause of additional problems with him. His seizure control was no different after he was taken off it but he was certainly happier for a while.

I'm not sure who your specialist is, we were seeing Georgina Childs and I can't speak highly enough of her. She put Monte on Keppra in place of the bromide, which we had to wean him off as he had been on it for about 8 years, but he was only given this when he had a cluster.

Thanks for that, Anne. The reason Lil got put on the Bromide was that her liver wasn't dealing well with the Pheno. Georgina Childs is who we've been consulting with too, she's fantastic. I don't think Keppra's been spoken about to us, maybe it's worth asking about because I think it is the Bromide that affects Lily so badly rather than the Pheno.