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Seizures 101: Basic Information

70K views 77 replies 32 participants last post by  Theboyzmom 
#1 · (Edited)
This week we have had at least 4 new members join the Forum looking for information because they are dealing with canine seizures for the first time. This thread is intended to provide basic information to help people cope and provide better care for their seizure dogs. However, I am not a veterinarian and there is no substitute for having strong veterinary guidance to manage a dog who has seizures.

For newcomers to the GRF, welcome to the Forum! I also offer you a sad welcome to the GRF seizure community. Sadly, there are a number of us who have dealt with this condition. I hope others will join this thread and share their wisdom.

My own experience with canine seizures is described in this thread, where I recorded the information I found during extensive research: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ard/85243-seizures-starting-12-years-old.html. Sadly, my Charlie's seizures were probably caused by a brain tumor and we lost him on July 2, 2011. He died in my arms, where he spent much of his life.

I encourage anyone with a dog having seizures to start a new thread and tell us your story. That will give you a place to ask questions and keep a record of the answers. Many GRF members have a lot of knowledge about seizures and will respond to new threads more readily than older ones. It will also help us have a sense of how widespread this condition has become.

Keeping a seizure journal is important. It will help you identify triggers that cause seizures, as Frontline Plus did for my Charlie. It will also be useful to your veterinarian in determining when medications need to change. Note that our veterinary neurologist considered seizures to be "under control" if a dog only has one per month.

It's important to know that some dogs live for many years while having occasional seizures. There are many conditions that cause seizures in dogs, including hypothyroidism, food allergies, chemical sensitivities to flea and tick prevention products, and brain disease. A veterinary neurologist can help you assess your dog's situation and determine the best course of treatment. Unfortunately, seizures are considered to be "under control" if a dog has only one grand mal seizure per month.

When your dog has a grand mal seizure, s/he is not in control of her actions. Sometimes growling and snapping are part of the condition, not misbehavior or aggression. Losing control of her bladder and bowels is also typical of a grand mal seizure. If s/he has already had a cluster of seizures and the situation seems to be evolving rapidly, there may be an underlying brain condition that needs treatment. Your veterinarian should be able to refer you to a veterinary neurologist, who can assess your dog’s physical condition and prescribe newer meds if they are needed.

Phenobarbital is the most commonly prescribed medication to control canine seizures, partly because it is effective very quickly and partly because it is relatively cheap. Pheno usually causes ataxia soon after a dog begins taking it and the problem usually lessens as the dog's body adjusts to the medication. It takes a few weeks for potassium bromide, another widely used medication, to reach therapeutic levels. Once it does, it is common to gradually reduce the Pheno, which may help with ataxia.

Note that hypothyroidism can cause seizures in dogs and the thyroid meds interact with Pheno, causing the dog to need increased thyroxine. Any dog having seizures should have a full thyroid test panel done.

A technique called "ocular compression" can help you quickly stop your dog’s grand mal seizures when they occur. The technique is described here: Controlling Seizures in Dogs with Ocular Compression - VetInfo.

During a grand mal seizure, your dog burns a tremendous amount of energy. To get his/her blood sugar up quickly, immediately after a seizure give her a couple of tablespoons of Hagen Daz vanilla ice cream. The brand is important because it contains no additives that are harmful to dogs, which is not true of other brands. After the ice cream, your dog needs a full meal of her normal food. It is normal for him/her to want a lot of water, to pace a lot, and to be disoriented for up to a couple of hours.

Clusters of seizures cause swelling in the brain and it is important to stop them. That may require giving her liquid valium rectally. That's something a veterinary neurologist can teach you to do. S/he may also need prednisone to reduce the swelling and prevent brain damage. We raced Charlie to a veterinary emergency clinic whenever he had three or more seizures in one 24 hour period. For his last cluster, they had him intravenous valium and Pheno for more than 24 hours before the seizures stopped. Clusters can also be a sign that underlying brain disease is progressing, so your veterinarian needs to know about them.

Your dog probably has some seizures when you are not around. This used to be our biggest fear about Charlie. When s/he will be alone, it is important to leave your dog in a place where it is relatively safe for him/her to have a seizure. That means keeping your dog off of stairs, which s/he could fall down during a seizure. S/he shouldn't be anywhere that there is a pool of water, since a seizing dog could easily drown. It also means keeping the dog away from tables that have anything on top that might fall on him/her if s/he bumps the table during a seizure. We removed some furniture from our family room to make it safer for Charlie. We also installed gates across doorways and at the head and foot of the stairs. If you need pointers to some, let me know.

Other animals - even trusted family pets who seem loving to the seizure dog - sometimes attack a dog that has a seizure. This is an instinctive response based in fear. If it hasn't happened in the past, that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. If you have other dogs, your seizure dog needs to be away from them when no humans will be around.

You're at the beginning of a learning curve and it takes time to absorb all that you need to know. One of the most valuable resources for learning about canine seizures is here: Canine Epilepsy and Dog Seizures Table of Contents - Canine Epilepsy Guardian Angels. This site is also good: Canine Epilepsy Network. So is this one: Links.

Please try to be gentle with yourself, as well as with your seizure dog. It is normal to feel overwhelmed by the demands of caring for a seizure dog. It is exhausting to wake up in the middle of the night because you hear the paddling of a seizure and race to your dog's side to care for him/her or rush your dog to the emergency clinic. Seizure control is a rollercoaster ride of adjusting meds, waiting for the dog's body to adjust to the dosage so that ataxia lessens, and then waiting for the effectiveness of the dosage to wane so you start again.

Finally, remember that you have to go on with the rest of your life, despite your sweet dog's seizures. This condition can take over your life and you mustn't let it. Your dog wouldn't want that and you can't sustain it for the many years that we hope you have left with your dog. I look back at our last six months with Charlie and realize that our lives were ruled by his medication schedule, which was utterly inflexible. Our social lives were restricted and our participation in many pleasures was reduced because we didn't want to leave our boy alone more than we had to. Given his age (almost 12) when his seizures began, we knew our time with Charlie was limited. If your dog is much younger, in some ways that makes the situation even harder to handle.

Please keep us posted and ask all the questions you need to. Someone in the GRF has dealt with almost any problem you're likely to face.

Remember to breathe...deep, slow breaths to calm yourself.
 
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#62 ·
While some might appreciate your advice Dr Thomas, please stop using this sticky (as I feel) to promote your practice.

Seizures are not always cured by Eastern ways. They might help but don't forget what western medicine taught you.

I love a holistic approach. My vet got into the Eastern ideals well over 10 years ago after being a vet for well over 30 years at the time. He sure as heck doesn't have time for internet discussions. If you are for real how would you ever find the time to post?

Don't trash a great sticky here many of us read.

The ideal vet has both Western and Eastern methods combined, they don't push one or the other.
 
#64 ·
Thanks for the kind response. I find it quite paradoxical that you first indicate that I have been using this forum to promote my practice and then you later question as to whether I am real or not. I would surmise that if it were my intent to promote my practice here, I would be doing a poor job of marketing.

As far as my credentials, I graduated with honors from Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and have been in small animal practice for over 34 years. Thirty two years, I have practiced conventional small animal medicine and surgery and about 15 years ago I went to Colorado Stave University College of Veterinary Medicine and received my credentials in TCVM and acupuncture. I have sense been accredited in Chinese herbs as well. I practiced integrative conventional and alternative veterinary medicine for 15 years. I have owned four successful veterinary practices, one in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho that had 9 veterinarians and 25 staff members.

In regards to conventional veterinary medicine, I was the first veterinarian ever to diagnose systemic lupus in the cat, when veterinarians were told that cats do not get SLE. I also discovered that methoxyfluorane anesthesia had the potential to cause hepatotoxicity in dogs that promoted switching to halothane anesthesia. I was involved in the work that was done by Dr. Barkley Slocum in Eugene, Oregon with his work developing the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy that was patented and is the predominant surgical choice for cranial cruciate rupture in large dogs.

In regards to holistic veterinary practice, I just had a book published by Hay House Publishing about the benefits of integrating alternative medicine into conventional veterinary medicine and I routinely give talks to veterinarians and the public on the same topic. I just returned from a conference in Orlando this weekend to give a talk about holistic veterinary medicine. I am just starting a project with Heart Math Institute in California, where I will be determining the influence of the energetic principles of the heart and its influence on the physiology of the brain and the rest of the organ systems.

So, I feel safe to suggest that I am qualified to give my opinion regarding any aspect of veterinary medicine.

Now, that our egos have tossed a few volleys, why don't we discuss something a bit more beneficial to readers. Since we both have had Golden Retrievers occupy our lives, let's focus on them. We might start by looking at those diseases that have been associated with Goldens, particularly those that we consider genetic predisposition disorders such as allergies, thyroid imbalances and cancer. We won't talk about PRA or hip dysplasia as we are not seeing them as readily.

First, let's look at the common denominator in these diseases; that of an immune imbalance. Yes, hypothyroid is associated with immune imbalance. Read Dr. Gloria Dodd's work regarding hypothyroidism and immune imbalance. Now, let's look at what we mean by genetic predisposition. We used to believe that the cellular DNA directed the function of the body's cells, but after the genome study, we found that this was not the case. The DNA acts only as a transmitter which instructs the production and aligning of specific protein that in turn give direction to the cell. Science has now confirmed that the source of the information that directs the cellular DNA comes from outside the cell. I would refer you to the research done in epigenetics. A good example of their studies was using families that were genetically predisposed to diabetes mellitus. They found that these families could adopt a child and bring him into their home and he would have the same probability of developing diabetes as the family despite the fact that there was no genetic similarities.

If we agree with cell biologists that the source of information that directs the cell comes from outside the cell then we would be remiss not to look at all possibilities that influence the cell from the outside. This includes many things such as nutrition, environmental toxins and energetic influences that cause stress. So, if we want to find the source of these genetic predisposed diseases that affect Golden Retrievers as well as other dogs, we must start looking at sources that have a negative influence on the immune system, because we can no longer blame it on the genetics.

The two most damaging extracellular affects found to have a negative impact on the immune system in the pet is improper diet and over-vaccination. There are others, but we have research that indicates that these are major factors. So, it is my opinion that instead of finding new methods of controlling symptoms associated with these diseases, we should be finding ways to prevent damaging the immune system in the first place and also attempt to repair the imbalanced immune system as well.

As a clinical practitioner, instead of asking the pharmaceutical company to get me another drug to suppress the imbalanced immune system, I should be focusing on the relationship to feeding heat-processed dry kibble and the production of inflammatory cytokines that circulate throughout the body. It has been determined that these cytokines cause inflammation in the lining of the gut (80% of the immune system is associated with the health of the gut), creating leaky gut syndrome and hyperimmune disorders. As improperly digested macrocolides from the food pass through the damaged gut, the immune system identifies these nutrients as pathogens and respond by producing antibodies. The immune system is over-active (hyperimmune syndrome) and allergies develop to food and any active environmental antigens as well. Then we start the vaccination protocols that add more stress on the imbalanced immune system and it is not hard to figure out why it can't do its job when exposed to actual pathogens such as early cancer cells.

I find that it is my job, as well as other holistic-minded veterinarians that we look at probable sources of immune imbalance and take measures to correct them instead of relying on drugs that only further disrupt the immune system. Then, and only then will we eliminate these diseases that haunt our favorite breed. This just scratches the surface but I just got off a long flight and I am tired.

Have a nice day.
 
#67 ·
This section scares me.

I am not sure if its a seizure or what that my Riley is having but its not pretty. This morning for example, Around 7 am he woke me up with a bark, sounded like a mean bark and jumped off my bed, he run into the living room and when he walked back into my bedroom he collasped onto his belly, his back legs was pointing straight forward and his front legs was straight out in front slightly elevated and rigid. His eyes had the look of hopelessness, this lasted a minute or 2 then he got on his side and all four legs were straight out and rigid. After a minute or 2 he started moving around a little and looked at me like he was asking for help, but there was nothing I could do. He finally got up and went for some water, he came back and laid in the floor where he had the seizure. I thought it was over and about 15 mins later it happened again. My wife and I just sit in the floor beside him and talked to him. Me I am about to cry. Another time about a month ago he was out in the yard playing with the grandbabies when he come running in the house and crawled up in my wife's lap. He got a funny look in his face and went limp. he slide out of her lap slowly down on the floor onto his side and his legs went rigid. We done the same then, just sit down and talked to him. Now he done this same thing about 2 years ago and we haven't seen him do it in 2 years unless it was when he was alone. 30 mins after he has these he is fine, playful, eats good, real attentive, like nothing wrong. I am sure these are some kind of seizures but he dosent thrash about or try to nip us, he just lays there and looks at us hopelessly. WE just talk to him softly and pet him till he comes out of it. He is 5 years old this Christmas and this morning is his fourth seizure that we know of. Some things I have noticed when he does this is a pecular smell around him, and when its over he goes to where he was laying and licks the carpet, and I dont mean just a little bit, but he has never had a bathroom incident when he has these. The vet said he was fine and that these kind of dogs has these occasionally. He said that if they got more frequent he would suggest some medications. I am so scared for him.
 
#68 ·
Jinger is my seven year old Goldie. She started having seizures a few years ago. We've been lucky that she has never had more than four in a years time. She had started to have one seizure and within 20 minutes a second. After she has one I give her a little cup of vanilla ice cream with valium in it. It stones her out for a while but its better than taking a chance of cluster seizures. My vet prescribes the dose and I always have it on hand.

It's very scary the first few times. I've learned to sit beside her making sure she can't hurt herself and pet her softly talking to her telling her it will be over in a few minutes and that I'm there and won't let anything hurt her. It seems to help her if we talk to her. She seems to come out of them a little quicker.

After Jingers first seizure I found this forum and I thank God for all the support, advise, and caring.
 
#69 ·
Hi. I am so glad I found this forum. Hopefully this is the correct spot to voice our issues. My 7 1/2 year old Golden started having these strange switches about 6 months ago. They started out very sporadic when he would bark. I took him to the vet they the said it was due to his chronic ear infections and at the time he was tested and had a kidney infection. We have battled ear infections for his whole life and it's been a challenge keeping them under control. The "twitches" started becoming more noticeable and frequent happening when he would be resting, sitting up, begging for attention, etc. a few weeks ago he had his first grand mal seizure. We rushed him to the vet (a new vet) his blood results were normal, and his sugar levels were on point. They told us to keep an eye on him. Over the next few days I would notice he would lose his balance when he would be sitting up (almost as if his left leg would give out) or if he were completely lying and then trying to get up suddenly he couldn't and his legs would slip around on the floor. I called the Vet and he suggested we check his Cortisol levels to see if maybe his pituitary gland was swollen. In addition his appetite had really increased as well as his thirst. We received the results yesterday and all came back normal. The vet has highly advised we not give seizure meds as they cause a whole realm of side effects. I agree and love this new vet! We just don't understand what is causing these twitches. I did switch him to Buffalo LID Duck about 4 months ago and his symptoms have progressed although his ears have looked amazing. He was on Purina Pro Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon Prior (we have a Pit with sensitive skin and stomach), and prior to that for about 6 years 4 Health. We also had him on the Seresto Collar for 2 years. I have been doing so much research that I have read so much negative info on both the Buffalo Blue and Seresto causing seizures. Has anyone else had these issues? Also, the twitching and legs losing balance?
 
#70 ·
Welcome to the Forum and to our Golden seizure community. I'm so very sorry that your boy is experiencing seizures., which sound like a mix of focal seizures and grand mal seizures.

I encourage you to start a thread of your own, which will become a record of your experiences and also a reference for you. It will also be a place where others with seizure dogs will know to watch for your posts and respond to your questions.

If you haven't already done so, I also encourage you to consult a veterinary neurologist. They are the specialists with the most expertise in treating seizures. Given the age of your boy, I suspect the diagnosis will be idiopathic epilepsy, which simply means seizures of unknown origin. But I'm not a veterinarian, let alone a neurologist, and simply share what I have learned in many hours of research related to seizures in two of my Golden boys.

Seizures are dangerous and each one makes the next one more likely, so it's good to get them under control. Alas, most veterinarians consider seizures to be "under control" if a dog has only one per month. Most of us think that's way too many, but that's the veterinary standard.

The most commonly prescribed medication for canine seizures is Phenobarbital, which most of us simply hate. The side effects include severe ataxia - the "drunken sailor walk" that is described in many threads here - and also worsening thirst. Dogs tend to develop a tolerance for Pheno, so the dose keeps going up and you live with the ataxia all over again after each increase. The drug is also what I call "brittle," meaning that being 30 minutes late with a dose will probably result in a seizure...or it did for my Charlie. When it was prescribed for Joker, I balked and insisted that we try other drugs.

The good news is that there are other drugs that have fewer side effects. The Seizures 101 thread has several posts that provide information about various medications and there are threads and posts about specific drugs in many of the threads in this sub-forum.

My Joker was on gabapentin and we later added generic Keppra and prednisone. This is an expensive combination, though there are discount programs that help to bring the cost down. Let me know if you need pointers to those. My Charlie took zonisamide for focal seizures. That's another drug that can be very expensive, but our veterinary neurologist helped us find it at Costco, where the cost was bearable.

Please don't hesitate to ask all the questions that you need answers for. Someone in this community is sure to have experienced almost anything you encounter and this is a very supportive group.

Good luck and please keep us posted.
 
#75 ·
New onset seizures- phenobarb side effects

Hi all,
I havent been on here in a very long time. The last time we lived in Japan and Buddy was very sick. He recovered from that, and lived long enough to almost complete our ' repatriation' 2 year cross country RV trip after my husband retired. However, my gut feeling back in Japan that he had cancer was correct and the prostate cancer diagnosis came in early Dec. 2015. We used to joke that we were seeing our country one Walmart at a time and Buddy was seeing the states with ine vet visit at a time as his health ( rescued from the streets of San Antonio) was always challening. The vets we saw in Monument were amazing with their support and we did doggie hospice in the rV over the winter of 15-16. They Estimated we had a week, but Buddy gave us almost 2 months of his crazy happy self. He was such a joy and I learnd so much about savoring the moment from him during his last says with us.
Now his older brother, Callie- age 14 had a grand Mal seizure. The emergency vet said due to his advanced age, prospects were not good. He alos has a testicular tumor deemed inoperable 2 to spots on his lung. Suspicion of cancer, but none of the symptoms Buddy had.
Anyway, new phenobarb dose and his hind leg weakness is pretty bad. Is this going to get better? I read several papers and 2 weeks its estimated to decrease. But will it stop? He already has some dysplaia and arthritis so hind legs arent great on a good day. Any info anyone has is welcomed.
Thanks so much!
 
#76 · (Edited)
Nani's 2nd Seizure in 5 years

Greetings and Thank You for This Forum.

Our Nani girl had what I know to be her 2nd seizure this morning - she's fine now - why I say "What I know to be" is because it's the 2nd seizure we've witnessed. The first one happened at about a year old - she's now five.

I've read some of the great info on this forum - but I'm beginning to think maybe she's epileptic - only because she doesn't lose control of her bowels - just stiffens up and foams at the mouth, jerks & her eyes also roll in their sockets like REM sleep while the seizure is happening - they last about a minute or so. Her Vet has checked her out and says to just keep a close eye on her for the next day or so - since they are so far apart - he asked that we keep a log of her behavior for the next several days. If we see any further issues then we are to bring her back in. He did not prescribe any medications at this time.

I took Nani off flea meds after the 1st seizure 4 years ago - I have used just a mix of ACV and a few drops of lavender essential oils and water as a flea spray which works for her. she is very active - eats only home-cooked chicken and fresh veges twice a day now (used to be 3x per day) she's a lean loving (not mean) eating machine lol. She happens to be my Husband's support buddy - he is partially blind and fully disabled. So this is particularly difficult for both of them :( We're praying she'll not continue with the episodes but we'll certainly do what we need to do for her medically to keep this under control IF it does continue.

If anyone knows of specific differences between epileptic and grand mal seizures in dogs - specifically Goldens - I'd sure appreciate your input.

Thank you All
Nani's Mommy Karen
 
#77 ·
Follow up on Callie. About to turn 15 in Dec. and all research papers I have read point to a brain tumor for seizures late in life, so we have been managing him palliatively. We opted out of the phenobarbital due to the negative impact on his quality of life. Added prednisone to manage clumsy behavior and limb spasms after second grand mal seizure, and added small doses of xanax based on a study to help with seizures, and/or related anxiety. He seems to be on a monthly schedule and despite changing heart worm and stopping flea control, they still happen around the same time each month. During his (Grand Mal) seizures he loses bladder control, stiffens, and then is laying down running in place and clamping his jaw and foaming. Dogs are blind after a gand mal for a bit, and the post ictal stage for Callie lasts about an hour post seizure with a lot of confusion. I got a medic alert tag for him with seizure alert based on one person saying their dog got out after a seizure and in the confusion ran down the road. Dog foaming at the mouth, not responding to commands would even make me concerned about rabies. Sadly she never saw him again. Callie is on borrowed time, we are aware, but a newly added treat ball has taken place for his daily walks as activity levels are challenging. He still loves his tortillas- and yes we cook for him more than us- and seems to be happy most days.
 
#78 ·
Hi Karen (aka) Nani's mom-almost all seizures are termed epilepsy unless you can get a diagnostic scan (MRI/CT) to prove it is related to a tumor. There are many types of seizures ranging from small ones where they stare off into space, to medium ones where a little limb movement happens, to the big ones (Gran mals) where the works happen. I have read an exhaustive amount of veternairn studies and it seems many dogs just have a seizure now and then and is not in need of meds like phenobarbital and not terribly impacting. Each time a person or dog has a seizure, it "shorts out" the brain a little and lowers the threshold where a trigger may cause another seizure a little bit easier, so the goal is to keep as few from happing as possible. Just an FYI- if a person or a dog has seizures that don't stop (over 4 minutes is cause for concern), their lungs aren't working well either- so breathing is compromised and it is a life threatening emergency.

Sounds like Nani is doing well with conservative management. I started a seizure log like you vet recommended to see if we could eliminate any potential causes, or determine what the trigger may be. In Callie's case, we suspect he has some cancer somewhere so even eliminating flea and heart worm won't make much difference....so we cook for him, keep him pain free, and pray we will know when it is his time. Wishing you and Nani much love.
 
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