Brawt had another seizure yesterday...

It breaks my heart to watch him go through this but I don't know what to do.

A little history....

Brawt had his first seizure at about 10 months old. It wasn't very bad and didn't last very long. We called the vet and she told us to watch him and if he started having problems call or bring him in. He had another one about a year later and we were told the same thing. He had just been in for his annual checkup a week prior.

About 8-9 months ago he had a pretty bad one. It took him about 8-10 minutes to come out of it completely and be back to normal. Since his last seizure we had switched vets, so I took him in and he got a checkup (including lab) and everything came back normal except his phosphorus level being a little low. At this point the vet said he would just prefer we watch him and if he is showing behavior that looks like he is going to have a seizure to try to prevent it (dark room, calm, etc). He said that he doesn't think phenobarbital is needed at this stage when you compare the pros/cons and the fact that he doesn't have them all the time.

Since then he has two more seizures (in a 4 month period). The one he had yesterday took him awhile to shake. He has also started throwing up with the last two - something he never did before. After he finally calmed down yesterday all he did was sleep. He typically has lots of energy and loves to be active.

I'm so scared he is going to have a seizure when we aren't home and it's not going to end well.

I'm scheduling an appointment with the vet to see what needs to happen next.

Has anyone had experience with this? Input?

Scirracco has random seizures as well. He had 2 in a one week period after Bev was born we know they are brought on by stress with his. He has no abnormalities in the tests either and we dont and will NOT give Pheno. If it gets bad enough for it he will be PTS. Hes already 8. We also worried about this but over the years if he has had one he didnt show any effects of it.

Have you tried giving him greentea in his food or water bowl that works well for them. He responds the same way after that Brawt does.

Do you crate Brawt when you leave?

(((((HUGS))))

It's so hard to watch them siez....
We had a Mini Daschund namedToby that the vet diagnosed with the canine form of Epilepsy and we had to have him on Phenobarbitol. If we missed a day of that pill Toby had a seizure...

When he would siez I would just sit or lay on the floor next to him and just put my hands on his side.... I wouldnt try to pet him I would just "hold" him ya know? Just trying to comfort him, let him know that he wasnt alone... When he siezed he would lose conrol of bowels, bladder, drooling.... I dont think he ever vomited though, that sounds really scarey...


I dont have any advice fo you other than do research and dont be afraid to ask your vet to investigate something further...

Give green tea after the seizure? I've never heard of that but I'll give it a try next time.

Yes, he is crated when we are not home. My husband is going to get a camera set up so we can see what is going on while we aren't home. He is less than 3 minutes from home if something was to happen.

No green tea once a day. Its got antioxidents in it that help.


That sounds like a good plan!

Brawt doesn't vomit while he is having the seizure. He always does it after he has started to come out of it. Like yesterday he seemed fine, but still couldn't stand up or walk. Once he threw up he was fine and took off walking.

I always hold Brawt really close so he won't be able to get up and try to walk. I also cover his face with a wet cloth and try to calm him down.

So instead of water they get green tea? Hmmm, I'll have to give him some when I change it water bowl tonight. It won't hurt the other puppies to drink it as well will it?

Another thing you can try while hes in one is Bachs Flower Essence

Nope All ours drank it and they go apesh*t when we bring it back LOL.

Also Bachs Pet Rescue Remeby.


Some dogs respond well to alternative therapies, however, whilst significant improvements may be experienced, a severe epileptic dog will nearly always require drug therapy as well. Richard Allport, a well-known veterinary surgeon specialising in natural therapies, states that 99% of the animals he treats need to remain on conventional treatment.

Acupuncture

Massage/Acpressure

Vitamins/supplements

Herbs

Aromatherapy

Flower Essences

Here is the sitesi ofund that

harv vomited with some of his seizures. he had weird brain-tumor-related seizures that weren't typical, though. after "regular" grand mal seizures he'd be blind for awhile and out of it for a good half an hour, then very tired. seizing is exhausting to the body.

harv took phenobarb and then we added potassium bromide when the phenobarb wasn't doing it anymore. like i said, his wasn't straight up epilepsy so it progressed pretty quickly, as opposed to a dog with primary epilepsy. if i had a dog who was having occasional, single seizures (not clusters) i'd probably seriously talk to the vet about potassium bromide instead of phenobarb. it takes a longer time to be effective, but it's safer.

websites/forums that i visited and found helpful to me when i had harv:

http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/index.html (recommended by the neuro vet)
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ (has a really fantastic email discussion list)

After having a long talk with JR tonight about Brawt we have decided that Phenobarbital isn't an option for us. I simply can't put him on a medicine that has so many side effects.

However, I'm going to take him to a new vet (holistic) and see what she recommends. There are a few people on the Dachshund site I visit that have been successful with acupuncture. I will talk with the vet about this and see what she recommends. I'm sure she will probably want to try some natural stuff (herbs, etc) first and go from there.

If you just keep my little man in your thoughts and send good vibes that we find something to that works I would appreciate it.

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

Thanks for the links. I've been doing some research and some of the stuff I've found just makes me cry. I've been a mess all day.

It's so hard to go though !! We never went on Pheno unless there were cluster seizures . Amy's Golden and her now Lab has had them has one very randomly . Keep track of them and how long they last . They are so scary !

YOur little man is in my thoughts and prayers.

phenobarb gets a bad rap but it is an extremely effective drug for a lot of dogs and saves lives. so don't rule it out entirely.

i'm not saying go out and demand to start it immediately, mind you. just don't cross it off period the end.

I am so sorry to hear about his seizures! The only thing close to that I have experienced is when Reese ate a moldy pecan (We had a tree in our old backyard) and got tremors.

I think I have definitely gotten lucky with my dachshunds. No back issues, and no Epilepsy (Which Cartman's mother had both, Poor girl).

Brawt has an appointment tomorrow at 3:30 with the new vet (holistic). I'll update once we get back.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Poor Brawt. I'm sending good vibes!

I hope you find help for your dog I couldn't imagine going through that..

One of our old dogs had siezures and they were just off the wall scary..

Good Luck