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A very worried golden owner

31K views 182 replies 34 participants last post by  Pipsqueak 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

Yesterday my beloved 21mth old golden, Rosie had a seizure. It occured when we were making a fuss of her outside of my work place. She was happy and had been perfectly normal before it happened, just excited to see us. She then stretched out her front legs, collapsed and had a grand mal seizure. Thankfully it lasted under 30 seconds, though they were the longest 30 seconds I have experienced! She is fine now, recovered extremely quickly and no sign of any since. I have been on the phone to her breeder who reports last summer she heard of another pup in the litter had a seizure and she was going to phone them tomorrow to find out whether it developed into epilepsy or not. She is the world to me and I am heart broken. I know this may be the only one she ever has but it is much more likely this is going to develop into epilepsy. Thankfully she is fully insured so any tests or meds required she will have but I am looking for some info or reassurance from others who's dogs started so young. I am actually a vet but all that does is make me worry about the worst case scenario! I know about all the meds, tests required but I am worrying about how early she has started all this. She is my first golden retriever and she drives me nuts sometimes but she is one of my best friends. Why do we have them????!! They give us so much worry!!!! :-(

Lucy
 

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#86 ·
How did I miss this thread! LucyMoosey, sorry about you girl. :( Lots of great info & insight here!

Tom, I just ran across this about magnesium:
"50% found in bone, 49% found in cells & organs, 1% found in blood"
So, blood work will not tell you very much at all! Tailer's Holistic Vet suggested that we get supplements from Sustained Release Magnesium Supplements | Jigsaw Magnesium w/SRT | Jigsaw Health that is where I found the breakdowns. Tailer takes 200mg in the morning and another 200mg at night. It will cause loose stool, so start slow till their system gets use to it!

Friday, my chiropractor suggested I start takeing it too...helps with stress, headaches, tight muscles...I'm gonna start taking Tailer's too...I'll let ya know how it changes me!

Good Luck everyone with their pups! We again are on day 11, seizure free! WooHoo!
 
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#88 ·
So far we are all ok.............!!! I swear every time she has barked my heart has missed a beat (she always barks either before or after a seizure).

I'm hoping this time has scared me so much I won't forget again. It's just sunday that is difficult because it is not our normal routine!!! She usually gets her morning Pheno in my car before we head off to work - that way I know for sure she has had it because she does have a sneaky habit of pretending she has it and then whoops it pops out the side of her mouth!!!! In the car is a good place I can watch her closely for a few mins before we head off!!! On sunday, mostly, we aren't going to work....!

This epilepsy is stressful - even when things are going well!!!!!!!!

Currently following a few "webinars" on Idiopathic Epilepsy for us vets, so if I hear anything new I will pass it on.
 
#89 ·
Lucy

I am sure she will be o.k.

What about buying a pill case (they sell at Walgreens and other drug stores) Monday through Sunday and putting her pheno in there. That way you will know if you have given it to her or not.
 
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#90 ·
Hi Karen, they do sound like a good idea except it wasn't really me getting confused with whether I had given her them but more that I completely forgot until her next ones were due which worries me even more!!! I didn't want to give her double dose then. I think I almost need a big sign in my kitchen wall saying "Have you given Rosie her pills???"!!!!!!
 
#92 ·
Since Monty went onto keppra 3 times a day as well as the other meds, I have set the alarm to go off on my mobile for ALL his meds, except the potassium bromide as he has them with his food each time. I also have a pill organiser which confirms that all of them have been taken. I have my alarm on repeat so that if I am busy doing something at that moment I am reminded again 15 minutes later. This works very well for us as I always have the mobile phone either on my person or very close. It seems to take the pressure off me, as I was always worried about missing his tabs, and then spending the next few hours/days after realising in fear!
 
#93 ·
So Rosie did a strange thing today........whilst chasing her best friend round the garden, she followed her behind a tree trunk between that and the fence but unlike her mate, couldn't get through. So then when she tried, she stuck out her back leg and sort of had a spasm with it mid air.....but then she reversed back and I called her over and she was fine. Earlier today, she also fell right over on her walk.....! Either it's just the odd Pheno side effects or perhaps something is brewing??????


Or perhaps I am being totally neurotic and there is nothing wrong.....!!!!! We can never rest can we?
 
#95 ·
... So then when she tried, she stuck out her back leg and sort of had a spasm with it mid air.....but then she reversed back and I called her over and she was fine. Earlier today, she also fell right over on her walk.....! Either it's just the odd Pheno side effects or perhaps something is brewing??????...
These could be focal seizures, which are localized and not nearly as spectacular as grand mal seizures. I hope that I'm wrong, though. Anyway, zonisamide is especially recommended for focal seizures, but only if they become a significant concern. Here's a thread about zonisamide: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retrievers-seizures/90840-zonisamide-seizures.html. I don't know what it costs in the U.K., but it's quite expensive in the U.S. unless you find the generic.

Wishing you seizure-free days,
Lucy
 
#96 ·
Hope this is not a forewarning, but at least you are aware and if anything does materiaslise you will be alerted next time and could perhaps adjust the meds slightly. I remember the consultant saying to me in the beginning that if I recognised obvious signs of an impending fit to either give an oral diazapam or one extra pheno, but the problem with that theory is that you could overreact!

It may just be a quirky side effect of the pheno, or as Lucy says a focal seizure , although thankfully I do not have any experience of them in Monty - at least I do not THINK I do- Monty had a strange occurence a few weeks ago when he suddenly stopped and stared at a door frame and then very slowly started the nodding and went down slowly. I thought he was going to have a fit and got prepared but seconds later he was running about quite normally.

There is so much that nobody knows or understands about this condition.

Again, I hope Rosie os OK.
 
#97 ·
... Monty had a strange occurence a few weeks ago when he suddenly stopped and stared at a door frame and then very slowly started the nodding and went down slowly. I thought he was going to have a fit and got prepared but seconds later he was running about quite normally..
Indeed this could be a focal seizure. I suggest adding it to your seizure log and then not worrying about it. You just want to be aware that it could be a focal seizure and mention the episode to your vet, as well as watching for other similar events. One focal seizure does not call for a change in medication, but dozens per day would.
 
#99 ·
Another worrying day for us :-( She woke us up this morning barking (which is not uncommon) but she wouldn't settle. Went for a walk and had breakfast but still not right. Her eyes are very odd, she looks at you and then her eyelids appear to get heavy and then she looks away and starts moving again. I didn't hear her have a seizure this morning but my partner heard a bit of noise but she never barked so he thought nothing of it. It may be that one is brewing but it seems more like post seizure state. I have taken her to the field and she ran round like a greyhound!! But kept coming back to me all the time. Now she is at home she is just sleeping again and seems more settled. I've given her an extra half Phenobarb tab just be sure.

This is stressful as always. Diazepam at the ready! Unfortunately I'm on call today, so got to go and see two dogs in the next hour.
 
#104 ·
Thanks folks, things have settled down. She wasn't 100% till about lunchtime but it was managable. She slept in my car when I was working and has been for a couple of walks since and isn't restless any more and her eyes are normal. I am concerned she had a seizure this morning but it must have been so small for me not to have woken from it as she sleeps in her crate at night time and it makes a hell of a noise if she has a seizure. I was afraid this was our first 'non-triggered' seizure when I remembered..............yesterday she managed to get a packet of rehydration and electrolyte salts from the back of my car (which is designed to be diluted and given to calves.....) and destroyed it (I had pink powder EVERYWHERE!!!!) and she licked a lot of it up - this may well have altered her electrolytes and caused the seizure. She is terrible for tearing things up!!!! However it was 18hrs prior to the seizure so I can't be sure but it is a connection.

Another thing to be ever so careful of. She never usually bothers with the contents of my car boot but something must have smelt good......!!!!
 
#106 ·
Prayers for Rosie.
 
#107 ·
So when you think you might have just about at least sorted one thing for now life throws in another concern........

Rosie has a small pigmented lesion in the bottom of her right eye on the iris. I have looked closely but can't quite work out what it is for sure. I have spoken to an opthalmologist who said it may be nothing but it may also be something to monitor. Opthalmology is such a specialist thing in dogs that I would rather just get it checked for piece of mind so we are going next weds afternoon to put my mind at rest if nothing else. It is very unlikely to be a melanoma at her age but it could be something which could potentially turn into one later in life. In which case I need to know to monitor it.

Another claim for PetPlan!!!!!!!!

I am beginning to think Rosie and I are jinxed...........it has taken us about 4mths to get her almost sound after a walk one March morning.......even now I'm not 100% convinced but I think that may be me being paranoid but I was VERY close to referring her for a orthopaedic work up as well. Perhaps we will just get all her problems in the first few years of life and the rest will be bliss?????????

I can only hope!!!!!!!!

None of the above is a patch on the stress and heart ache of Epilepsy but sometimes I wonder why we put ourselves through it all - but then you only have to look at their little faces and it's worth every single moment.
 
#108 ·
hmmm strange with the eye, Tom also has a problem with one of his eyes too, I don't know what it's called but I first noticed it when he was a pup, I could see a reflection in one eye and not the other, I dismissed it as being just an anomaly at first but got the vet to check it anyway, which he did reluctantly and then confirmed he did have an issue and could have been caused in the womb or at birth. I left that practice as they were useless and Tom had no continuity when his fits started. His current vet spotted the eye problem straight away by the way (to which I very little faith in either as regards his epilepsy nor his specialised neurologist ) but think its worth a mention.
 
#109 ·
Oh how interesting Tom has an eye problem too. I take it there was nothing to worry about? The opthalmologist I spoke to explained the procedures I needed to go through to narrow down what it might be but I decided I would rather just get someone who looks at eyes all the time to check it out. In some lights, you can't see it. Only in real bright lights. Which makes me wonder how long she could have had it for?

I really hope this is just me being ultra paranoid!!!!!!!
 
#111 ·
This discussion of eye issues is interesting. My Charlie had cysts inside his eyes. The vets, including an experienced veterinary ophthalmologist, insisted that they caused him no pain and didn't interfere with his vision, but I have always wondered. Many Goldens have pigmentary uveitis, which is painful and can lead to blindness, so it's always good to have someone qualified check for that.
 
#113 ·
Good luck with the eye thing...Wednesday is so far away...

I'm gonna have to look deeper into Tailers eyes today and see if I see anything unusual!
 
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#115 ·
GOOD NEWS :)

It is nothing to worry about. Though exceedingly rare!!! The Eye Clinic only have a couple of other dogs with the same lesion on their eyes! It is raised but well defined hyperpigmentation of the iris. They can't know for sure it won't change shape or get bigger but the chances are pretty slim. So leaving things well alone for now. Oh and it's not inherited or genetic and no breeds are predisposed. A very random event, similar to having a mole on your skin but on your eye instead.

Money well spent for my peace of mind :)
 
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