Canine Epilepsy

[Blazer]

Blaze has Idiopathic Epilepsy he suffers from seizures, this started in Dec 05. I have learned so much plus had alot of support from our Vet and online friends, I am always seeking more info.

If you have any info please pass it along, thank you so much.

[Sibe]

Many years ago, I had a dog with epilepsy. He was a rescue animal and he also had heart worm! He lived 16 years and was very happy. He would have seizures for a couple minutes periodically, then hop up like nothing ever happened and shake himself off and go about his business! No meds for him back then, but he did ok.

[GSP4619]

Sorry to hear about that Blazer. You now have all our support in here as well :)

[Blazer]

Thank You GSP4619!

Many people have asked me about Blaze's seizures, what happens to him while seizure takes over his body and mind.

Well Canine Epilepsy is something I had never seen nor wanted to see, the seizures take control of the dog and the family.
Blaze has Idiopathic Epilepsy: meaning no known cause and most likely inherited.

What's the big deal about epilepsy? Why is such a fuss made over it? If a dog has a seizure, you give them pills once or twice a day and they live normal lives, right? Why should breeders remove dogs from their program who have produced seizures or have epileptic siblings?

Seizures are the result of muscle responses to an abnormal nerve-signal burst from the brain. They are a symptom of an underlying neurological dysfunction. Toxic substances, metabolic or electrolyte abnormalities and/or imbalances cause an uncoordinated firing of neurons in the cerebrum of the brain, creating seizures from mild "petit mal " to severe "grand mal".


Grand Mal is what Blaze has he falls down, loses consciousness and extends its limbs rigidly. Paddling of limbs, salivation followed by possible loss of control of bladder and bowels and vocalization (blood curdling scream) may follow. This may occur for 3-5 minutes and is most often followed by a period of restlessness, pacing, bumping into objects and loss of balance. (Post Ictal period) Blaze is conscious but may appear deaf, blind and disoriented. Great care must be taken to prevent the dog from injuring itself at this time.



A typical seizure unfolds like this: At 4:30 am you hear a loud bump as your dog falls off the bed. His whole body is rigid, with his neck pulled backward so strongly that his head nearly touches his back. His eyes are rolled back in his head, and his mouth is wide open - champing frantically at nothing, saliva spewing forth. His legs gallop nowhere. He empties his bladder, his anal glands, and often his bowels. This continues for up to several minutes, during which time he does not breath.

Lack of oxygen to the brain means death for brain cells. As the seizure declines, he is unconscious. Suddenly he snaps into a semblance of awareness, but is totally uncoordinated and often blind. He pulls himself up and staggers into a wall or a piece of furniture. Not having an understanding of why he isn't moving forward, he continues to shove blindly against the barrier until it moves or someone pulls him away from it. Over the next 20 minutes to several hours he gradually comes back to his senses.

Then the pacing begins. He doesn't know why, but he must pace - back and forth, back and forth - without end. This can go on for hours. Finally he goes into an exhausted sleep. With some luck, he doesn't "cluster" (having anywhere from 2 to over 50 seizures over the next 2-3 days) or go into status epilepticus (continual seizing that often means death). You try to go back to sleep for a few hours, praying that the seizures are over for now, and thanking God that he lived through this one.

Blaze's Seizures started Dec 18/05, he is on phenobarbital
to try and control the seizures from coming, so far this had not worked. Sunday morning at 7:30 am Blaze had another seizure, only 8 days since last one.

When will the next one come, we have no way to tell you that, it could be anytime, anywhere. Other dogs must be removed from the room, house as they can and will attack the dog while in a seizure.

Our life has changed as Blaze is now like a child that can never be left alone, Blaze's meds can not be late, I carry them with me incase we are in the car and he has a seizures, what then, I pull over and try to keep BLaze from getting hurt or hurting one of us.

I pray that with all the love of our family our babysitters, our wonderful Vet Dr Judy Hawthorne of Hawthorne Animal Hospital and everyone else who has helpped me learned about this disorder and the meds Blaze will live a long happy life. We hope to give him every chance he deserves

[pbrdog]

I've done some research on seizures, as Luke has had a couple in the last year or so. My vet had me do some research on Addison's Disease and Hypoadrenocorticism to see if he fit any of the descriptions noted. They did a blood test and all results came back normal. There are so many things that can bring on a seizure. Go ahead and Google Addison's Disease and see if maybe he fits any description they talk about. Here is another site you can look into also. http://www.vetinfo.com/dhypogly.html Good luck. I know how you feel when you have to watch a grand mal and there is nothing you can do about it besides make it quiet and as dark as possibe and talk them back when they start to come out of it. One thing never do though, is try to comfort them when they are in the seizure. When they start to come out of it, they are very confused and scared and may become violent if you are in their personal space. I would just give Luke time to come back to reality and then you can see when they recognize you again. :(

[Blazer]

Blaze has had all the tests, we know he has Idiopathic Epilepsy he will not stop having seizures, sometime even meds don't work.

Thanks for the advice though.

[crestie_rsq]

I also have an epi-dog (the little guy in my avatar). As a matter of fact, it was one year ago today he had his first grand mal seizure. While the last year has been anything but fun trying to get a handle on the seizures (he suffers from cluster seizures), I have learned SOOOO much. Ricky is on a high dose of phenobarb (64 mg x 2/day) and 300 mg of potassium bromide x 1/day. It wasn't until we added the p.bromide that we started to get much control. Of course, we're still dealing with the side effects of taking these meds (Roo gained 10 lbs in a 3 mo period from the phenobarb) and he had a severe case of ataxia from not only the meds, but from the seizures themselves

Ricky's seizures seem to come in cycles. The longest he's gone in this 1 yr period seizure free is about 10 weeks. I keep a journal on his daily activities, food intake, etc. trying to come up with a common denominator. The only thing we know positively is that he cannot tolerate cleaning products, especially if they contain bleach, nor can he tolerate rosemary/sage/eucalyptus. I had to search & search to find a natural flea preventative that didn't have some of those items (finally settled for the Neem oil spray). The only chemicals I use on Ricky is HW preventative every other month. He is also on a totally grain free diet (Natural Balance).

I'm sure you're already aware of it, but without the help, support & guidance of the wonderful people at www.canine-epilepsy.com I would have been a total & complete basket case.