I have my cocker Lou. Lou was a rescue who came to me at 8 months of age. He threw his first seizure 2 weeks after being here. I was not told he was an epileptic.
He didn't, and still doesn't, have them frequently and is on no meds to treat it at this time. I changed his diet to RAW for a bit to get all the grains and gunk out of his system and that helped so so so much! I found it a bit cost prohibitive at the time so I put him on Innova Evo and then on to Wellness Core (because it's easier for me to find here).
Lou seizes every 6-8 months. In the beginning it was petite mal, then he went into grand mal, and now he's into petite mal clusters. He never has more than 2 at a time and is still on no meds other than rectal valium when he needs it.
I hate this disease! For what it does to them, to their bodies, to their minds when they are seizing. Lou seeks me out every time if I am home. He knows it's coming and he wants my comfort. If I am not here he will find my daughter. He crawls in our laps before it gets so bad he can't, and we massage him, use occular pressure, and sing/talk/and in general chatter away at him in a loud voice to help draw him out and give him something else to focus on. I dont' know if it works, maybe it doesn't, but it sure makes me feel as though I am helping him in some small way.
What gets me the most during the whole thing are his eyes. Those soft brown oh so trusting cocker eyes go wild with fear. You can see the terror in them, he knows something is wrong but has no way to stop it. He always vomits after his seizures and again he will turn to me with that look like "Ooops! I'm so sorry mom! I didn't mean it!" It just breaks my heart to see those eyes dazed and confused. I know when he's totally over it when I get a kiss on my cheek and a wonderful doggy "hug" before he slowly crawls out of my lap and goes to find a place to lay down and relax and shake off the after effects.
I know some day he will most likely need meds, but I am really trying very hard to delay that as long as I can. He's got a heart condition that will most likely lead to meds for it some day too. The meds the vet as suggested for either disease are hard on the liver. He's only 6 yrs old, I want him to be med free as long as possible before we have to worry about liver damage too.
I just wondered if anyone else deals with this disease and how you handle the stress of the seizures when they hit.
He didn't, and still doesn't, have them frequently and is on no meds to treat it at this time. I changed his diet to RAW for a bit to get all the grains and gunk out of his system and that helped so so so much! I found it a bit cost prohibitive at the time so I put him on Innova Evo and then on to Wellness Core (because it's easier for me to find here).
Lou seizes every 6-8 months. In the beginning it was petite mal, then he went into grand mal, and now he's into petite mal clusters. He never has more than 2 at a time and is still on no meds other than rectal valium when he needs it.
I hate this disease! For what it does to them, to their bodies, to their minds when they are seizing. Lou seeks me out every time if I am home. He knows it's coming and he wants my comfort. If I am not here he will find my daughter. He crawls in our laps before it gets so bad he can't, and we massage him, use occular pressure, and sing/talk/and in general chatter away at him in a loud voice to help draw him out and give him something else to focus on. I dont' know if it works, maybe it doesn't, but it sure makes me feel as though I am helping him in some small way.
What gets me the most during the whole thing are his eyes. Those soft brown oh so trusting cocker eyes go wild with fear. You can see the terror in them, he knows something is wrong but has no way to stop it. He always vomits after his seizures and again he will turn to me with that look like "Ooops! I'm so sorry mom! I didn't mean it!" It just breaks my heart to see those eyes dazed and confused. I know when he's totally over it when I get a kiss on my cheek and a wonderful doggy "hug" before he slowly crawls out of my lap and goes to find a place to lay down and relax and shake off the after effects.
I know some day he will most likely need meds, but I am really trying very hard to delay that as long as I can. He's got a heart condition that will most likely lead to meds for it some day too. The meds the vet as suggested for either disease are hard on the liver. He's only 6 yrs old, I want him to be med free as long as possible before we have to worry about liver damage too.
I just wondered if anyone else deals with this disease and how you handle the stress of the seizures when they hit.
