Waiting for test results :(

2newfs4now

New member
Asher spent the night at the vet last night... He was having clusters of seizures :( My vet thinks it is either epilepsy or a liver shunt... Please keep my little goof ball in your thoughts.
The test results should be in within the next hour or so. My poor, sweet little handful...
 

nowhavethreebears

New member
Oh, no. Did I miss something? I haven't been on here a lot lately. Has the baby been having seizures or was this a sudden thing?
Were they able to stop them with meds?
Prayers for Asher. Please keep us posted.
 
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2newfs4now

New member
Just got home from the vet; Asher has epilepsy and is on phenobarbital for now. I didn't realize some of his behavior might have been caused by this; I chalked it up to male hormones (he'll be one year on Monday). He started having clusters of seizures early Friday morning. I took him in for tests, brought him home and he was having more clusters than not. So, back to the vet for the night so they could keep an eye on him (and treat his hot spot) Big sigh....
I don't post that frequently but, I check in regularly. I'll keep everyone updated. I'm sure I'll have some questions. I'm going to shoot off an email to his breeder now. Probably not what she wants to hear about when she returns from Nationals :(
 

victoria1140

Active member
Have you had a look at diet changes perhaps.

Also do you keep a diary so you can record weather/seasons changes in case you can find a trigger

Big hugs coming at you,l know how you feel
 

2newfs4now

New member
No, Victoria, I haven't. I'm still trying to digest the news... I will start researching food and possible triggers. This is a condition I know absolutely zero about.
Thank you to everyone for your good thoughts.
 

Shel

Active member
I've had an epileptic dog (Norm, my Saint, pictured in my avatar).

As mentioned above, keep a journal. I recorded weather, moon phases (seizures are more common during full moons), changes in appetite, environment, and behaviour. Norm exhibited pre-ictal (period prior to seizure) behaviour changes that included fearfulness of strangers which was out of character for him.

Do not get discouraged when you start/change medications. You may see drastic changes in Asher. Norm was severely dysplastic and the meds caused ataxia (weakening his in rear) that made walking difficult. I didn't give up, it took a few months of adjusting dosages (he was on potassium bromide and phenobarbital) and once we found the perfect dose, he was back to his old self.

Here is a great resource: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/

One thing I found comforting was learning that they don't feel any pain during a seizure. Remain calm and "matter of fact" when he comes to and it will be less confusing for him. If you are stressed, he will be too. A bit of ice cream after a seizure seems to help them come around a bit faster.

Shel
 

DAWNMERIE

Active member
Well wishes and prayers from the east coast. Are you sure he didn't get into some mushrooms or anything? Vin's son's dog Keke got into some and seized on and off for a day and half and then nothing after that.
 

2newfs4now

New member
Thanks for the link, Shel. Dawn, I've noticed minor seizures while on the meds. Asher also exhibited some behavioral changes about a month ago. He's the type of dog that will happily go with anyone that has his leash. Last month when I took him in to be bathed, he was showing horrible separation anxiety. Not like him at all! There were/are other changes that I chalked up to being a (almost) year old, intact male...
I started a journal on our life together when I picked him up from the breeder; it will now become more of a medical/epilepsy journal. Thanks to everyone for the tips and good thoughts.
PS Dawn, I will keep an eye out for mushrooms. I know they are in the yard and Asher eats anything he can get in his mouth.
 

CoCo2010

New member
hi there, we are from England and have 2 epileptic dogs, coco our newf who is 3 1/2 yrs, she has had epilepsy since she was 14 mths old and is on libromide, her meds are under control now and has been fit free for nearly a year now,it took us a year to reach the right level for her, hades our saint , hes nearly 4 and was disagnosed last October with the same condition, hes has been on libromide for 6 months now ( which is now not working for him) so we had to recently start on him pheno aswel and now we are slowly trying to when him off the libromide ...he has been fit free for just over 7 weeks and had a fit on Friday just gone, so adjustment in meds will have to take place again.....I could go on talking about this horrible condition for ages , if you need to ask any questions please ask as im an expert in having 2 epileptic dogs now, your not on your with this.

take care sam
 
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2newfs4now

New member
Thanks for asking :) I suppose I could post more often... Asher is doing well on the lowest dose (for his size) of phenobarbital. I haven't seen any evidence of seizures at all. He's back to trying to live up to his neighbor to the north (Owain). He can sometimes be another PFH but, he's a sweet, affectionate boy so, I think I'll let him stay ;)
 
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