Hello guys,

My Huck is 16 months old now but he's recently this past month started having seizures. He had his first one on January 7th, then he had one last Thursday (24th) and then again today, and we rushed him to the vet today. They're taking blood work, so we should hear the results from that tomorrow.

I'm so nervous, and I'm not even sure what to hope for! I don't want his blood work to come back abnormal, but it breaks my heart to think my baby might have epilepsy! What I've read about pheno makes me scared, so if he has to go on that, any success stories? (The liver damage is what really scares me with it)

I've read up a lot on these forums and if he has any more in the future I'm going to try the ocular compression. I'm nervous for my baby and I know how wonderful and supportive you guys are, I guess I'm just reaching out for some support and I know a lot of you have more experience than I.

Thanks everyone!

Grace

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Love you forever, Spiffy - 3/3/02 - 8/1/11

Hi there Huckleberry, sorry you are needing to post here, but yes, you will get loads of support and advice.
My knowledge of seizures is much less than others here, who I'm sure will reply to you, but Alice had epilepsy for nearly two years before we lost her to something else.
It's always a shock when our beloved pup starts seizing and our lack of knowledge leads us to fear the worst. Many, many dogs live out happy, fulfilled lives, their condition controlled by meds. It isn't always easy to cope with, but we do adapt and learn to accept it.
There's lots to read on this forum, and I know we will all will share our experiences with you and help you through.

Take care,
Lyn

Thank you so much for the kind words Lynlegs, it feels better knowing I'm not all alone and that there are others going through the same thing that I can go to for support and help.

Also something I just figured out. - I was reading on these forums and saw someone mention that Tramadol (Pain med) can trigger seizures in seizure-prone dogs. Well, we also have a boxer that's currently on tramadol and to get her to take her pills you have to put them in a pill pocket and stick it that in a treat bag so she thinks she's getting treats.

Me and my future mother-in-law forgot to tell my fiance this and the other night he accidentally fed Huck that Tramadol pill pocket thinking it was a treat. We just let my fiance know to pay attention in the future and didn't think anything further about it until now I just read that Tramadol can lower the seizure threshold. - could this explain Huck's seizure this morning?

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Love you forever, Spiffy - 3/3/02 - 8/1/11

sorry to see you've found your way here with Huck, fingers crossed it was the pill, as you will soon learn that anything can be a trigger for seizures, don't be scared of the phenobarb, its used on lots of epileptic dogs.
Start making a log of everything he eats, meds, moods, absolutely anything that might highlight a pattern.
Keeps us posted

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I am so sorry that you are going through this with Huck It must be so hard to see your 'little' boy like this

The fact that he has had 3 seizures within that amount of time is a sign that meds are needed. I also hated the idea of giving Pheno but it is the first port of call because it can be so effective and helpful and a miracle in many cases. After the inital first month I was afraid not to have it. The down side is the possible effect on the liver which will need monitoring. You can also add a liver supplement to help support the liver. However the pulse method (time on then off) needs to be used.

There are so many people in your position living with epi dogs trying to find the right balance of meds. After a while you might also need to add another med to keep a lid on things. The epi angel list is the best source of info as they are knee deep in epi issues while supporting the liver. Canine Epilepsy Resource Center & Home of the Epil-K9 List

You are right to look for things that may trigger a seizure. Each dog is different so it could be anything including Tramadol. However my vet prescribed Tramadol for my seizure dog so perhaps the risk isn't that high.

Good luck with your amazing boy. I'm sure your vet will also point you in the right direction.

"They never said that it would be easy. But they said that it would be worth it."

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Our Trooper had seizures from 4 years old to almost 13 years old. He had pettite mal seizures for the first two years and they advanced to grand mal seizure. He has been on Phenobarbital for all that time. We supplemented with Tagament for his stomach, Milk Thistle (without dandelions in it) for liver function, Glycoflex (his hips were not 100%) and Ambrotose for his immune system.
The Pheno has to be given at exact times 12 hours apart so we did 5:30am and 5:30pm. We did the supplements at 10:30am and 10:30pm.
We tried our best to monitor and see what could trigger his seizures. No luck there.

We have an epilepsy group on facebook called epi-pets.... there are lots of folks there who have experience with epilepsy in dogs and cats ... as for me ... My boy Cuinn has had seizures since age 1, he is on medication, he is on pheno and has been his entire life... but he is now 11 years old and is doing well...

you are welcome to join us on facebook as well as here... several of our members on facebook are also members here ...

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Shalva and the Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhound
Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhounds

Welcome to our GRF seizure community, where none of us really want to be. I'm so sorry that Huck is having seizures. All of us here know how frightening it is to watch them and how much uncertainty and fear comes with the condition.

It's good that your are having the blood tests done. If you didn't include a full thyroid work-up, that's a test that's recommended since hypothyroidism can cause seizures. Your vet may also refer Huck to a veterinary neurologist to help determine the cause of the seizures and to find the best meds for Huck.

Despite the side effects that we all hate, Pheno is widely prescribed for canine epilepsy because it is both inexpensive and effective very quickly. Potassium bromide is highly effective for many dogs, but it take months to build up in the dog's system enough to control seizures. Since every seizure makes additional seizures more likely, stopping them quickly is a priority.

There are many other drugs that can help to control seizures, but some are far more expensive - to the point that many people simply can't afford them. For Huck's sake and yours, we will keep our fingers crossed that these two are enough.

Please keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask questions. Someone here is likely to have experience with just about anything you encounter.

Hugs and prayers for Huck and for you,
Lucy

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Lucy, owned by Joker and Sunny, who remember Charlie with me
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...years-old.html

Thank you so so much everyone for your kind, supportive and helpful posts! You've all made me feel a lot better about the pheno in case it's what he has to go on.

Now just to wait for the blood work to come back tomorrow, I'm nervous about it but keeping my fingers crossed that everything comes back fine! Huck's been good the rest of the day, playful and sweet as ever! He does seem to nap a little more the day of a seizure but otherwise acts fine.

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Love you forever, Spiffy - 3/3/02 - 8/1/11

Heard from the vet!

Blood test all came back normal and his thyroid is normal! I asked the vet if at the moment she was leaning epilepsy and she said she was. She doesn't want to put him on medication just yet, which I thought was a bit odd but she seems very reluctant to put him on the pheno. She wants to keep an eye on him first and she says if he has any more seizures then she's going to put him on the medication.

So I guess for the moment we're just sitting tight keeping an eye on my baby, who's doing great today. We went out and played ball earlier and he's his usual energetic silly NOSY self!

I asked her about the tramadol causing his seizure yesterday and she said that was certainly possible, that she'd heard that it could sometimes cause seizures in seizure prone dogs. So who knows, maybe that's a trigger for him?

Thanks for all the support I'm getting. I'll keep everyone updated!

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Love you forever, Spiffy - 3/3/02 - 8/1/11