Shelly in IL Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 My 2 year old standard poodle just had her second seizure last night. That's two in two months :( After her first one, she was tested extensively and they couldn't find a cause. We were remodeling, and she was extremely stressed by the tool noises. We assumed stress as a trigger. This one followed Wednesday grooming, Friday full day at dog sitters (no kennel, just outside romping and indoor resting) and Saturday our son came home from college. At approx 11 pm she started into the grand mal. I've seen raw diets and accupuncture help. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 There are so many things that can cause and so many options to help. We rescued Luna last April, and she started having seizures...a lot. There were weeks where she would have 2-3 a week. She started on one medicine in June, and the longest she went is 30 days. She slowly went back to having them more often so another med was added in October. Again she went about 30 days for a while, then started regressing again. We have an appointment Monday to talk about possibly changing or adding meds again. She is only one, so this will be a long road. Some things we have done are limiting sodium intake, going grain free, not having the tv on in a dark room, exercising her but not letting her get too over exerted. It's hard when we don't know the cause. There is no common thing that happens before she has one. If you are on FB, I am part of an amazing group there that might be more helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Is she on seizure medication? When I worked for the vet, we had several pets that were successfully on medication for many years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriamarosa Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 My basset beagle mix has had seizures off and on for years. What seems to help her is: orijen adult dog food, avoiding chemical flea meds, & magnesium in the form of natural calm (a supplement formulated for humans) periodically. Magnesium gets used up in times of stress, and a deficiency of magnesium is linked to seizures. A deficiency is also linked to muscle spasms-it is hard for us to differentiate between an extreme spasm and a seizure in our bassett beagle dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Is she on the topical flea and tick medication? It can cause seizures in some dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 1) no she is not on seizure medication. This is her second that we know about 2) yes, she has been on the flea/tick medication, but she's been off for the winter 3) I've heard seizure medication is hard on the dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Finding triggers helped us the most. Our dog cannot have any antihelminth meds (worms), no plastic chew toys, and no acorns. She will go for several months without a seizure if she avoids the triggers. We opted not to go with the barbiturate seizure medicine because our dog is overweight, yet extremely active. We felt the side effect risks were greater than the effects of the seizures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 1) no she is not on seizure medication. This is her second that we know about 2) yes, she has been on the flea/tick medication, but she's been off for the winter 3) I've heard seizure medication is hard on the dogs Yes some meds can be hard on dogs. But the alternative isn't great either. Regular seizure activity...especially Grand Mal's can sometimes cause irreversible damage. Most vets will do full blood work to rule out any issues first, and once on meds, will continue regular monitoring of their blood to make sure liver levels are ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) My poodle mix has seizures. They don't seem to distress her and they don't cause her to lose bowel/bladder control. They happen about once a month (that we know of). The vet hasn't suggested medication because they are not causing her distress. Edited March 20, 2016 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 Smoke has been tested for other issues. She came back clean. She has lost control of her bladder both seizures we have seen. We are now suspecting approx 3 others over the course of the last year and a half, as her bed has been soaked 3 other times without explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Our mini poodle has seizures and is on meds. She cannot take any flea medication, but even with that elimated she had a few. One time she fell down the stairs (luckily my daughter had stayed home sick from co-op that day) and tended to her. She still has a few seizures while on the meds, but they are mild and honestly, I think I am the only who could tell she is having one because it is so subtle. She comes and stands next to me and seems 'off' she licks her lips a lot and leans over stangely. They only last 2 - 3 minutes. We love our dog so much! Hope you find a solution for your dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passionate for truth Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Check out Dogtor J on line - he is a vet that actually started working with 'human' patients after discovering diet changes that stopped seizures in his 'doggy' patients. http://dogtorj.com/main-course/the-g-a-r-d-the-glutamate/epilepsy-and-the-g-a-r-d/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 our little rescue had seizures many years ago. The vet ran extensive tests and could not find an answer. He stuggested we keep and food/activity log. We started the log and realized she had a seizure after eating a particular dog treat. We never gave her the treat again and she never had another seizure. It has been about 8 years now and no further problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Check out Dogtor J on line - he is a vet that actually started working with 'human' patients after discovering diet changes that stopped seizures in his 'doggy' patients. http://dogtorj.com/main-course/the-g-a-r-d-the-glutamate/epilepsy-and-the-g-a-r-d/ Why are you pulling up seizure threads? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 1) no she is not on seizure medication. This is her second that we know about 2) yes, she has been on the flea/tick medication, but she's been off for the winter 3) I've heard seizure medication is hard on the dogs The medication can be sedating at first, which is upsetting to the owners. But, over time, the dog adjusts to it and lives a normal life. Every so often you must check liver function with some blood work, and check levels of the medication itself, also with blood work. But really, most pets do very very well on it. It becomes not a big deal. And yes, with epileptic dogs stress can be a trigger. Often we would prescribe some valium or similar for days the dog went to the groomer or would be under stress, just as a back up/top off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Why are you pulling up seizure threads? Her website, which is linked in her sig, is some ridiculous "heal your seizures by going GF!" thing that also, conveniently, sells stuff. She's basically spamming hoping people will go to her site. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Our lab/golden mix had his first seizure a couple of weeks ago. The vet did bloodwork but really downplayed the seizure saying until they have several a week it really isn't much to worry about. This was relayed through my older daughter as I wasn't there, and it also wasn't our regular vet. Not really happy with that answer and my husband and I decided we will definitely insist on more workup by our primary vet if it happens again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 There is a newer drug out called zonisamide that doesn't have nearly as many bad side effects as the older drugs. Our vet also suggested giving our dog a melatonin every night. Our dog hasn't had a seizure since last June now. Also if we are going to be going through something that will stress him out we will give him a half a melatonin during the day. Hugs to you and your baby. We now do Bravecto which our vet said shouldn't be a problem. The topical flea and tick stuff gave my dd a rash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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