Dog seizure medication
Common Questions and Answers about Dog seizure medication
seizure
Last night I was 45 minutes late to giving my dog the phenbarbatol ( sp), and his thyroid medication. This morning he had a mild seizure, first one that I am awear of since 3 months. Could being late have caused it this morning?
I added a quarter more medication today to each of his dose ( twice a day). I called the vet and they want to recheck his blood levels, which I will do next week.
He prescribed 60mg Phenobarbital 2X daily(the dog is approx 52 lbs, so the dosage seems appropriate), though I came to find out my wife has only been giving her 30mg 2X daily. Regardless, the dog has not had another seizure since starting the medication.
I was not around to witness her first two seizures, but I did witness the third and fourth.
I am sure that your vet has given your dog diazepam and/or valium (anti-seizure medication). He may do so again tomorrow. And he should prescribe your dog phenobarbitol twice a day, for an unknown amount of time (some dogs take it for life). If your vet has not mentioned or given any of the meds i have mentioned, please ask about them and why they are not being used in your dog's case. And please keep us updated!
I don't hear very many good reports about keppra with regard to it's side effects. I do hear many complaints about mood swings, aggression, cognition and memory problems, etc.. However, I have read a few comments saying it can actually HELP with mood swings and bipolar disorder (which she doesn't have). Please comment on this. My daughter has just begun this medication for seizure disorder. She has had seizures several years apart from each other.
Try not to panic when it happens. Let the seizure run its course and keep your dog out of the way of things like furniture that may harm him. It's very common for dogs and humans to vomit, defecate and/or urinate in the course of a seizure. You'll want to make sure your dog doesn't breathe in stomach contents if he vomits. Recovery time is always necessary and at least an hour is usually needed. Some dogs may need the rest of the day to fully recovery.
I agree with pixie that it sounds like a seizure. When a dog (or human for that matter) is status epileptic they tend to sleep for quite a while. A seizure uses up a tremendous amount of energy and the recovery takes a lot longer than the seizure itself.
While seizures are frightening to witness, they don't do harm by themselves unless the seizing doesn't stop. You need to find out why it happened in the first place.
My dog was having a seizure - Lost control of muscles, body function, fell over, eyes rolled in head, she acted like was dying, etc. I held my dog, comforted her, and was not sure what to do. I massaged her heart and also rubbed her face down with a watered towel believing that the wetness would jolt her back to normalcy. My mother freaked out stating that putting water on my dog would do more harm than good. It seemed to work though. Was I wrong in doing so and was my mother right?
He's 17 years old!!! Bless his heart and yours! Maybe you should talk to the vet. Might be time to go see God. I know it sounds heartless, but I am a firm believer in quality of life, and at 17, I know your baby has had some quality. Good luck, and God bless you.
I first noticed my dog having a seizure back in Aug. Soon after doing this bloodwork, Chem, and T-4 test, my vet had my dog put on Levothyroxine Sodium 0.4 mg twice a day. He has since had two mild seizures, one Oct 8th and then again this morning, Oct 25, 2010. He has deep breathing, almost sounds like it is laborded breathing. My vet seems to feel that we have him on the correct dose since the last test done 30 days later showed he was at 2.9 ug/dL the range is on this test 0.9-3.9.
He spent the night at the emergency vet clinic and was getting ready to have his morning outing there when he had another grand mal seizure which was bad enough to scare the staff caring for him, including the vet. He received IV medication and was kept another 24 hours in which he was seizure free. He weighs 150# so his dose of Phenobarb is high. He exhibits much of the same behavior I have seen posted in the blog started in 2011 which makes me feel some better.
Our dog, a weimariner, is 8 years old and in general good health. Yesterday and last night she had seizures. She has never had them before. She lost muscle control, spasms, foaming, not incontinent thankfully, but definitely had the post-ictal thing afterwards.
Anyone had any experience with something like this? She seems fine, but tired, today.
She had 5 seizures total. We're taking her to the vet today. Has anybody had to give meds to their pet for this?
Have them check both and make sure you tell your vet that your dog might have had a seizure this summer. They do not have to be full blown ones to be a seizure, they happen because the body is starving for some nutrients. I now have my dog on Natural Balance due to some of the added nutrition I have been told helps with the thyrod, and now giving him a vitamine each day. He is on thyroid medication and antiseizure meds for right now, and doing well. He is 7yrs.
He so far has not had a seizure while on it. At first I did not want him on that medication because he seemed like a different dog, but after three week on it, he acts like his old self.
I did not read all the post on here, but I will say that the dogs kind of go blind after they have a seizure, so when you come close all they see are shaddows...so they are scared of you. I did the same as you I got my other dogs out of the room and I too was scared to be around my sweet loving dog.
A large percentage of dogs respond to one anti-seizure medication. For some, one is not enough and they need 2, 3, or 4 others! (I have seen it). It is not excessive to have more than one drug. Each drug works on a different receptor in the brain. The more ways a seizure can be prevented, the more likely the dog is to not have them. We start off giving one and hope they respond, but may need more.
I have known vets that prescribed phenobarbital after one seizure, never bothering to wait to see if there would even BE more seizures without the use of the drug.
IF it is epilepsy, if it is a simple case of idiopathic epilepsy (not caused by an injury or disease), it is usually fairly easily managed with medication and the dog is able to live a mostly normal life. Unfortunately, epilepsy is all too common today in many breeds, because too many people who are breeding dogs are not aware that they should not be breeding dogs that have diseases that are transmitted genetically.
Two months ago my sister, 29, had a seizure, full body shaking and unconciousness, bit her tongue and some memory loss. At the hospital her MRI, EEG, EKG CT scan and blood and urine test all came back clear. The Neurologist said, "well, sometimes this happens." Then a week and a half ago she had one in her sleep, and then another just a few days ago. This time the doctor has put her on Kepra. Again her tests came back clear. What does this mean? Does she have epilepsy?
Generally in my experience as a veterinarian if a dog seizures at intervals of 30 days or less, we start them on an anti-seizure medication typically phenobarbital. Valium is also a very safe medication that is effective to have on hand just in case your dog should have a seizure.
If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact our veterinary office.
I too have a rescue dog, a Westie, that has cost me a lot of $$ over the two years we've had him...but all his problems were/are more treatable than what I read you are up against.
I would ask the vet for advice given you (we all) have financial limits on dog care. It would seem the only out is euthanasia and I think the dog hospital has the experience to calibrate that decision.
Had your dog had seizure prior to the cluster seizures 2 days ago? Or was this the first time he showed any seizure activity? If it was the first time, at the age of 15, I think I would wait to see if the seizures were going to become a problem before putting him on medication. Once you do that, he'll have to be on it for the rest of his life. Most vets don't put dogs on seizure medication for one incident, even if it was a cluster.
I dont really want to put her on phenobarbitol, read to many bad side effects. Just found a site called allergicpet.com that has a natural seizure medication thinking about trying it. just wondering if anyone else has used this medication from this site.
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