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Only 19 months old and had a seizure, is this normal?

1K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  GoldensGirl 
#1 ·
Sadly I am new to this seizure forum, as our sweet 19 month old Oakley had a seizure last week, and it was the scariest thing we have ever gone through. It happened later in the evening, he was very restless for that time of day and then without any warning he vomited and defecated at the same time. We didn’t know what was going on so we moved him outside and that is when he became completely unresponsive to us and just layed on his side. At this point my husband was laying with him trying to get his attention and I was frantically calling our emergency animal hospital. We took him to the hospital and once we got there, Oakley started to come to a little bit, especially when new vet tech came in the room (much like all golden’s he can’t resist meeting new people). The doctor did blood work to narrow down what it wasn’t and 2 hours later he informed us that he believes Oakley had a seizure. Similar to everyone else, we were freaking out inside this is our first dog and now apparently he has seizures, scary. Luckily our vet was very nice and informative and provided us with canine seizure information to read. Of course we couldn’t resist googling it when we got home though. He hasn’t had another one since thank goodness but we are still on edge waiting to see if another one will happen.

What I am hoping to find out is I have been noticing on this forum that a lot of the dogs are older when they have their seizures, does anyone have any experience with a younger dog having a seizure and have they continued to be the same loving dog as they got older? Also if anyone can help us out with tips on what to do when or if the next one hits that would be great.

I am very grateful that this forum exists because there is a lot of information out there on this, and it provides a little piece of mind knowing that our family isn’t the only ones going through this, and that there is support for our golden’s.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Is there any chance that he could have eaten dropped medication? Our last Golden, Haley, had a single seizure as a puppy, and we realized, I don't remember how, that he had swallowed a dropped prescription medication. He was fine once it was out of his system. I believe the vet actually figured out what must have happened over the phone, now that I think of it.

We are even more careful now with all medications, naturally. That was a very scary wake-up call.
 
#3 ·
Our Golden is 6 1/2 years old, but had his first fit at 15 months old. Unfortunately Monty did not stop at one seizure, as he has now had well over 100 in the last 5 years. Hopefully there is a simple reason for your dogs collapse/seizure and was only a one off.

In response to your question, it does not mean that an epileptic Goldie is any less loving as they get older than a non-epi. If it turns out that Oakley has epilepsy, life may not be as carefree for you, but in between episodes they are just like any other amiable, playful Goldie. Even Monty who unfortunately is not that well controlled with his seizures, although he is on several medications, mostly has a good quality of life.

I hope that this was an isolated incident, but if you should discover that Oakley is epileptic, you will find a great deal of support from this site, as I have done.
 
#4 ·
Welcome to the Forum! I'm so glad that you found us, especially since your pup has seizures.

Watching a dog have one grand mal seizure, which is what you described, is terrifying. That you watched more than one on the your first day of dealing with them must have been utterly exhausting, both emotionally and physically.

Like others, I hope this is a one-time incident. If not, the happy news is that your dog is within the age range where seizures usually result from primary epilepsy, rather than from a cause such as a brain tumor. There are many meds that can be prescribed, but veterinarians typically consider seizures to be "under control" if a dog has not more than one per month. Seizures can usually be controlled with medication, though sometimes it takes more than one med. Multiple seizures in a 24-hour period are called a "cluster" and that is almost always considered an emergency that warrants a trip to a veterinary hospital - an emergency clinic if it happens at night.

Please feel free to ask all your questions. Someone here has probably dealt with any circumstance that you face and this is a very supportive community.

Hugs and prayers,
Lucy
 
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