[help] My brothers 8 month puppy has had 3 seizures in 24 hours

[gigi85]

It started 2-3 months ago, they went to the vet and got some meds. When he was on them he was sluggish and not himself.

They stopped giving him the meds and he was his normal self but it happened again days after, then went back on after that incident.

He was good for a month and now he's had 3 in 24 hours. After the first of the 3 he gave him the meds. This can't be good for his brain, any suggestions?

 

[anjaliz]

@gigi85 Get him back on the meds as prescribed and keep him on them. Your brother should not be changing his dose or stopping his meds at all without consulting the vet.

Lethargy is a common side effect of anti convulsants, especially phenobarbital. It usually goes away on its own after an adjustment period which can last a couple weeks, maybe a little longer in some dogs. If it doesn't seem to go away, your brother needs to discuss this concern with the dog's vet. They may choose to adjust the dose and possibly combine the lower dose with another drug.

CBD and hemp supplements are with looking into to use alongside medication, not as a replacement as there has been limited study done on the efficacy and safe dosing up to this point. Canna-pet is a good brand to look into.

3 seizures in 24 hours is pretty severe. Dog needs to get back on medication pronto. Have potential underlying causes been ruled out? 5-6mo is very young for the onset of idiopathic epilepsy.

 

[kemotx]

@gigi85 Why would anyone stop giving the important meds to a dog who is known to have seizures? Just stopping and starting the meds is dangerous. My Chihuahua had seizures from 6 months on until
He passed away at 14. You go to a Vet who is educated in the health of animals, follow the instructions. Your brother is playing with Fire and causing his pet distress and untreated seizures at any age can be fatal.

 

[gigi85]

@kemotx Thank you! Just curious, did you have to keep your chihuahua on meds the whole time?

 

[davecb]

@gigi85

Thank you! Just curious, did you have to keep your chihuahua on meds the whole time?

Look: puppies who have seizures like that aren't going to wake up one day and be suddenly cured.

If your brother can't accept the responsibility of keeping this dog on the meds that the vet says the dog needs, your brother needs to consider if he is up to the task of owning this dog.

 

[cjgram]

@gigi85 Did they wean him off the meds under vet supervision or just stop giving it to him?

There's really no suggestion to give except take him to a vet and get them to do some blood tests.

 

[raeh]

@gigi85 I do not understand why the dog was taken off medication. Was it just an inconvenience to have to give the dog medication every day..???

 

[marching4christ]

@gigi85 I'd follow the vet's advice for the meds. "not himself" is better than having seizures.

 

[silverthorne]

@gigi85 going back on the meds and following the vets recomendations...

or find some CBD oil and speak with colorado state uinversity or washington state university vet teaching hospitals for dosage recommendations

 

[kemotx]

@gigi85 Actually my Guy only averaged 2 seizures every 3 months or so.. so my Vet had me monitor him and keep a record of the dates the seizures were, had bad they were etc.. he said that at 1 or 2 seizures every 3 months sometimes it was 4 months, that unless the seizures occurred more frequently or they became worse he wouldn't put him on meds.
So he went on till he was about 12 years old before meds were needed. The last 4 days of his life they became very frequent like every other day... then the last day his seizures were happening off and on all day, by that night they were so, so severe and extremely painful for him for the first time of his life, something I swore I would never do, I did... I put him to sleep as he was suffering so much and I could see these seizures were very very different.. they were horrible. I couldn't see him go through another one.. so with meds... your brothers pup can still have a long full life. Don't let him stop the meds again. Take pup to Vet and tell him your concerns. Wishing you the best I also wanted to add, watch the pup and you can learn to tell when a seizure is going to happen a few mins before... my dog, licked the air... over and over couldn't settle.., would stare off in a corner or in space... I would hold and comfort him and talk and sing to him through all of them. It takes them a few mins to recover after.. I also read .. not sure if it's true... that dogs can't see well or at all during seizures.. my dog couldn't see to. That's why I talked and sang to him as it was comforting to him. With a bigger dog you might wanna be careful, they could snap or bite if they are scared, my dog didn't but always be prepared and comfort them IF it's safe for you. One last thing, my dogs seizures always , always came in 3s.. if he had 1 in the morning, he always had 2 more for a total of 3 before the next morning... it was so odd.

 

[ogugua]

@gigi85 Our dog is also on phenobarbital for epilepsy. The first week or two that she was on medication she was definitely out of it- stumbling around and unable to jump on or off furniture or use the stairs without falling. It was scary, and hard to watch. After that she got used to the dose and returned to normal, which our vet told us to expect.

Our vet was also very clear with us that forgetting to give her regular doses or stopping the medication would probably cause her to go into withdrawal and have more seizures.

After over a year on phenobarbital without any seizures our vet has been working with us to gradually taper her medication (over the course of approximately six months). Since she's still young and her seizures haven't been severe her vet agreed to try tapering to help avoid some of the possible organ damaging side effects of phenobarbital.

At this point we've had blood tests every six months for two years, constant vet communication, and will possibly be phenobarbital free in two months. That being said, if she starts having seizures again we're absolutely putting her back on medication because possible organ damage years from now is less important for me than actual harm caused by the seizures now.

 

[gigi85]

Thank you for the responses. They didn't keep up with the med treatments because of how he acted on them. (Not the smartest) but he was doing well on and off. He hasn't had that many since his first seizure. But just recently got bad. My brother talked about CBD oil but being in Arizona with no med card, he really doesn't know how to acquire anything for the pup.

 

[ctaylo9]

@gigi85 I'm the girlfriend of the brother. Our dog just turned 1 and was previously on phenobarbital twice a day. This medicine made him extremely hyperactive which led to the destruction of furniture, corner baseboards, and just overall more aggressive behavior. Phenobarbital also leads to liver failure, which we would like to avoid. He was weened off of the prescription after extensive research and switched to an all natural dog food along with capsules of 100% organic inner leaf aloe vera. So no, he was not just taken off the meds cold turkey. After speaking with the vet we decided to try the all natural method that worked well for about a month until today's incident. The dilemma: do we let our dog suffer through prescription meds that MAY work/MAY kill him, natural remedies in trial that might flop, or an option someone else may have tried on reddit? We cannot afford for a CT/MRI to see if there is a brain tumor causing the seizures and also can't risk the pup suffering even more.

 

[colwyn]

@ctaylo9 The liver failure is a risk not a guarantee. And dogs on pheno get their levels checked regularly to ensure that they aren't in the damaging area.

An all natural dog food is NOT a recommended course of action for seizures. Find a new vet and tell them your concerns about pheno. There are lots of other drugs you can choose from that may help your dog without side effects.

Untreated seizures can be dangerous. Especially in dogs that have clusters like yours does. Out of control seizures can lead to death. Treat your dog properly.

 

[paradoxsolver]

@ctaylo9 Potential liver failure down the line versus definite seizures now?

OP says the meds made the puppy sluggish, you say they made him hyperactive and aggressive. It can't be both can it? Which is it? It seems like lethargy is a more likely side effect than hyperactivity.

 

[ctaylo9]

@paradoxsolver It is hyperactivity. OP lives across the country, I live with the pup. We've decided a new course of meds through which we've spoken to the vet about and should work the same with less side effects. We will see. Regardless of which meds, seizures are still apparent.

 

[anjaliz]

@ctaylo9 There are alternatives. It doesn't have to be phenobarbital. If you and your boyfriend are really concerned about the risk of liver failure, consider asking your vet about potassium bromide or levetiracetam. I was concerned about the potential long term liver damage of phenobarbital, my vet and I agreed to try KBr. It has worked well for my dog.

3 seizures in 24 hours is pretty serious. He needs medication.

 

[cjgram]

@ctaylo9

After speaking with the vet we decided to try the all natural method that worked well for about a month until today's incident.

Did the vet recommend this?

There are other seizure medications out there. There is an adjustment period for every medication, especially if it alters brain activity. He needs to be medicated, this clearly isn't working and him having repeated seizures is more of a problem than any potential side effect of a medication way down the line.

 

[laurencem]

@ctaylo9 Sticking with the vet's course of action seems a lot safer. If you're unhappy with a side effect, don't stop the medication. Instead, go to the vet and ask for a plan to switch to alternative drug in a way that's safe and less likely to cause harm. You might try getting a second opinion from a different vet, but regardless, it's reasonable to trust the advice of someone who's been to vet school and has more experience with such matters.

Where did you get the aloe capsules? What kind of research did you do?