Worried about Merrick
- Thread starter Zatara and Merrick's Mom
- Start date
Zatara and Merrick's Mom
New member
Not too long after my previous post, Merrick started seizuring again. And he was "fly-biting" very frequently. I finally took him to the emergency clinic. I think he had a total of 3 seizures (that I know of) at home. And then he had another seizure in the back of my car while I was driving to the emergency clinic. Moving him to the car then to the vet's office was an enormous effort. The vet and vet tech (both petite women) basically had to heft, drag and pull. All the while he was having fits of panting and fly-biting. It was very scary. And he was still covered in poop because he lost bowel control during one of his seizures and fell in it.
After similar difficulty getting him to the scale and then into the vet's office, he was finally sedated and given an IV and fluids. His temp was dangerously high (107 degrees) so they are doing their best to cool him down. By the time I left the clinic, his temp was down to 105.8 and he was coming out of the sedation.
He was also given a "loading dose" of phenobarbital. They are keeping him for treatment and observation the rest of the night and then I will move him to his regular vet for continued monitoring.
My poor baby. I hope we can get these seizures under control.
After similar difficulty getting him to the scale and then into the vet's office, he was finally sedated and given an IV and fluids. His temp was dangerously high (107 degrees) so they are doing their best to cool him down. By the time I left the clinic, his temp was down to 105.8 and he was coming out of the sedation.
He was also given a "loading dose" of phenobarbital. They are keeping him for treatment and observation the rest of the night and then I will move him to his regular vet for continued monitoring.
My poor baby. I hope we can get these seizures under control.
Charlie'sMom
New member
I am so sorry, hopefully the phenobarb will do the trick.
Lisa@Caeles Hills
New member
:hug: Oh how scary for you. I'm sorry that this happened again. Poor Merrick! Hopefully the meds will take care of things and they will stop. I've heard that not only can dogs detect sezures, but that people train them to help alert humans who have epilepsy.
sarnewfie
New member
Oh man, i know how scary those are, i am of no help but, zatara may eventually be able to let you know when a seizure is coming.
Riley who is the lone surviving pup from morgans one litter, would tell tina, at least 2-5 minutes before grizzwald, her other newf she got at 6 weeks from a different breeder was going to seiz, he would go run and bark at mike or tina, and lead them to grizz, and than proceed to lay by his side, as if to keep him steady or from bumping into things.
zatara may be freaked at first but than may be a help to you guys to let you know when.
also the chemistry in the body changes shortly before an episode wich is why they can sense it.
if you can keep track of the seizures and try to figure out the trigger, you may be able to keep them from happening quite so often, unless it is epilepsy and thanit may not be possible.
best wishes and keep us posted please.
Riley who is the lone surviving pup from morgans one litter, would tell tina, at least 2-5 minutes before grizzwald, her other newf she got at 6 weeks from a different breeder was going to seiz, he would go run and bark at mike or tina, and lead them to grizz, and than proceed to lay by his side, as if to keep him steady or from bumping into things.
zatara may be freaked at first but than may be a help to you guys to let you know when.
also the chemistry in the body changes shortly before an episode wich is why they can sense it.
if you can keep track of the seizures and try to figure out the trigger, you may be able to keep them from happening quite so often, unless it is epilepsy and thanit may not be possible.
best wishes and keep us posted please.
Annie Milliron
Alpha Goddess
Kirsten,
We walked a very similar route with our Sadie. It's terrifying and scary to watch a dog in the midst of seizures. Sadie often had cluster seizures similar to what you described. There are many resources out there. Sadie ended up taking a combination of Pheno-barbiatal and Potassium Bromide (KBR). We had to get the KBR at a real pharmacy because it needed to be compounded.
Sadie suffered side effects from the meds, but not all dogs do. She suffered from Ataxia... which made her weak in the rear. Usually this would clear up in a few days... .for Sadie it didn't. So if you see this, don't panic.
Many dogs can live long normal lives with epilepsy. Keeping a diary is awesome. Also, Pheno barb can be hard on the liver, so we gave Sadie Milk Thistle with each meal. You can get that any place that sells vitamins... even Walmart, Kroger or Meijer.
There are a ton of links online. There was a Yahoo Group for canine epilepsy and there was a wealth of good information shared. Also it was a good place to talk to people who really understand. Here are some other links:
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ (this link has info about the email list and articles by Dr. Jean Dodds. It's Awesome.
http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/
Also, Khiori, another Newf Netter had a site with good info on it. There has been much posted here on NN, and you may want to go back and do a search. Don't hesitate to PM me, if you want to talk further... or just to vent. I'll PM you my phone number too.
Hugs and prayers for all of you. Remember to try and stay positive... for your sake and Merricks. My sister inlaw's Lab has had this for 10 years and has led a very wonderful life.
Hugs,
Annie
We walked a very similar route with our Sadie. It's terrifying and scary to watch a dog in the midst of seizures. Sadie often had cluster seizures similar to what you described. There are many resources out there. Sadie ended up taking a combination of Pheno-barbiatal and Potassium Bromide (KBR). We had to get the KBR at a real pharmacy because it needed to be compounded.
Sadie suffered side effects from the meds, but not all dogs do. She suffered from Ataxia... which made her weak in the rear. Usually this would clear up in a few days... .for Sadie it didn't. So if you see this, don't panic.
Many dogs can live long normal lives with epilepsy. Keeping a diary is awesome. Also, Pheno barb can be hard on the liver, so we gave Sadie Milk Thistle with each meal. You can get that any place that sells vitamins... even Walmart, Kroger or Meijer.
There are a ton of links online. There was a Yahoo Group for canine epilepsy and there was a wealth of good information shared. Also it was a good place to talk to people who really understand. Here are some other links:
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ (this link has info about the email list and articles by Dr. Jean Dodds. It's Awesome.
http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/
Also, Khiori, another Newf Netter had a site with good info on it. There has been much posted here on NN, and you may want to go back and do a search. Don't hesitate to PM me, if you want to talk further... or just to vent. I'll PM you my phone number too.
Hugs and prayers for all of you. Remember to try and stay positive... for your sake and Merricks. My sister inlaw's Lab has had this for 10 years and has led a very wonderful life.
Hugs,
Annie
Blacknewfs
New member
Oh, I'm so sorry your sweet Merrick is having seizures. I hope that you can get to the bottom of this quickly and get this under control. Good thoughts on their way.
NessaM
New member
Oh this is awful! I hope the medications help and that Merrick is back to normal soon! Big hugs from here!
I can't remember if you got Merrick from a breeder but if you did I'd call them up and let them know so they can adjust their breeding program. Epilepsy is often genetic, isn't it?
I can't remember if you got Merrick from a breeder but if you did I'd call them up and let them know so they can adjust their breeding program. Epilepsy is often genetic, isn't it?
nowhavethreebears
New member
How frightening for you and for poor Merrick. Sending hugs and prayers that the meds will control him.
Please keep us updated when you can on his progress.
Please keep us updated when you can on his progress.
Newfs Forever
New member
Sending a lot of good thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, this will be controlled quickly and easily.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Sailorgirl
New member
Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. It is so scary, I know. My Simon lived many happy years on phenobarbital, although there were some bad side effects. Although a lot of times once you can get the seizures under control you can greatly reduce the amount of medication they need.
Sound Bay Newfs
Active member
Kristin, I am so sorry you are going through this with poor Merrick. I hope the meds help to keep his seizures under control.
Zatara and Merrick's Mom
New member
Thanks so much to all of you for your kind thoughts and well wishes for sweet Merrick.
As of this writing he is still at our regular vet under observation. He has not come out of the stupor from the massive loading dose of phenobarbital -- he has to remain under observation until he does (in case he starts to seizure again).
Erin, I am wondering if you can comment a little more about the type of side-effects your Simon had?
Nessa, yes I have been keeping his breeder up to date. From what I have read, I agree with you that there can be a genetic link.
Annie, thank you so much for all the info and for describing your personal experience about Sadie. I am sure that it will be very useful as I try to learn more about this condition. I will look into the Milk Thistle for sure.
Christine, I will definitely keep an eye on Zatara to see if there is any correlation between his behavior and Merrick's seizures -- hopefully he will not have any more but I think it is highly likely that he will. I did not recognize any warning signs in Merrick's behavior last night (i.e. before the seizure). I wish I could remember what Zatara was doing before the seizure but I was too focused on the computer at the time so I don't know if he got spooked before or after the seizure started. When Merrick had one of the subsequent seizures last night though, Zatara was barking like crazy (they were both outside at the time). I am sure Zatara was trying to tell us that something was wrong.
As of this writing he is still at our regular vet under observation. He has not come out of the stupor from the massive loading dose of phenobarbital -- he has to remain under observation until he does (in case he starts to seizure again).
Erin, I am wondering if you can comment a little more about the type of side-effects your Simon had?
Nessa, yes I have been keeping his breeder up to date. From what I have read, I agree with you that there can be a genetic link.
Annie, thank you so much for all the info and for describing your personal experience about Sadie. I am sure that it will be very useful as I try to learn more about this condition. I will look into the Milk Thistle for sure.
Christine, I will definitely keep an eye on Zatara to see if there is any correlation between his behavior and Merrick's seizures -- hopefully he will not have any more but I think it is highly likely that he will. I did not recognize any warning signs in Merrick's behavior last night (i.e. before the seizure). I wish I could remember what Zatara was doing before the seizure but I was too focused on the computer at the time so I don't know if he got spooked before or after the seizure started. When Merrick had one of the subsequent seizures last night though, Zatara was barking like crazy (they were both outside at the time). I am sure Zatara was trying to tell us that something was wrong.
noblenewf
New member
Kirsten,
I am just now reading this and I am so sorry to hear about Merrick. This situation must be terrifying for you. Seizures are so scary. Being a nurse, I've seen many of them but I can attest that it's something you can't ever be prepared for or get accustomed to. They are scary enough when it involves a person...let alone your beloved pet!!! How horrible! I know many people with labs that have epilepsy and if it's any consolation they are all living very fullfilling lives on anti-seizure medication. I am so sorry you and Merrick are going through this right now. Please know that we are all thinking of you and are here if you need us. Please keep us posted on Merrick as we are all concerned about him and worried. Majorly big hugs being sent your way!
I am just now reading this and I am so sorry to hear about Merrick. This situation must be terrifying for you. Seizures are so scary. Being a nurse, I've seen many of them but I can attest that it's something you can't ever be prepared for or get accustomed to. They are scary enough when it involves a person...let alone your beloved pet!!! How horrible! I know many people with labs that have epilepsy and if it's any consolation they are all living very fullfilling lives on anti-seizure medication. I am so sorry you and Merrick are going through this right now. Please know that we are all thinking of you and are here if you need us. Please keep us posted on Merrick as we are all concerned about him and worried. Majorly big hugs being sent your way!
BoundlessNewfs
New member
Saying a little prayer for Merrick. Hope you can get the seizures under control.
You say his temp was dangerously high...could this have caused the seizures? Does he have an infection of some kind?
You say his temp was dangerously high...could this have caused the seizures? Does he have an infection of some kind?
Annie Milliron
Alpha Goddess
Sadie would get very hot during a seizure. Some things we learned.... keep stacks of towels on hand. Hers usually occurred in the middle of the night. We would put a couple of folded towels under her head to cushion it from hitting the floor. We would put another between her back legs, to absorb any urine or waste.... she often lost control during a seizure. We'd talk to her throughout the whole thing, and I'd use ice and cool damp clothes afterwards. She often would pace restlessly afterwards and then collapse into a deep sleep. Cora never showed any signs of wanting to "attack" her during a seizure. She was only concerned and wanted to be nearby. But it's been known for an animal to attack another animal when they are in the midst of a seizure.... so just be aware. Some people used rescue remedy afterwards to help calm them down. It didn't make much difference with Sadie, but every dog is different.