Seizures

Michel1127us · 01-01-2012, 10:04 AM

I have a 2 1/2 year old male shepherd who has had a few seizures. 3 of them I personally witnessed. 2 of them were last night. Since the last one, about 2:40am, he has been pacing, whining ( a little ) and disoriented. He definitely is not acting himself in anyway. Other than taking him to the vet can anyone offer any advice, information etc on how long these symptoms will last? He doesn't even act excited to see me (not normal) or does not want to chase his ball (loves that). He will sit on command but 100% not himself other than that. After the first one we witnessed he came out of it and behaved normally, but not now. Any info or past personal experience is welcomed. Thank you and Happy New Year!

CarrieJ · 01-01-2012, 01:05 PM

Aw, I'm sorry.
My girl started her inherited epilepsy two weeks before her second birthday. I believe the term is idieopathic (sp? ...sorry Selzer! lazy) epilepsy. Basically meaning unknown cause.

I would recommend taking him into a vet. You need to rule out tick borne disease, heart issues, etc. Also, meds can and do control them to a point. Meds (usually pheonobarbitol and potassium bromide...although there is Kepra which is pretty $$$$)

When Alice has a seizure it's a full on grand mal type; eyes go blind, stiff posture, "running in place", locking jaws, frothing at mouth. They can last as long as 60 seconds for this part of the seizure. When she comes out of that, it's somewhere between 2--10 minutes of "re-orientation" apparently blind, uncoordinated, (can you blame that?) and very very very affectionate. Annoyingly so, for an aloof female GSD; especially for the cats. It's like she "leaves" and comes back so she wants to find everyone and love them up.
I don't do much except make sure that she doesn't hit her head on anything or fall off a sofa/bed and hurt herself. I also just make sure that she doesn't crash into stuff during the re-orientation. I don't give her any commands other than call her name so she can hear me/find me. It's not a long period but it'll seem longer.

She has one usually in the very early morning (like 1:00 AM----6:00 AM) and usually about every six weeks to two months. She tends to cluster more in the summer if it's hotter.
I keep a log book with dates, times, what was going on around her, and length of seizures, with lenghth of reorientation period. Oh, also, I record her dosages of meds in this book; whether something has been raised or lowered.

I had problems with my first vet, so I went through three of them before I found one that understood:
Quit overdrugging my dog and let's work on a combination of diet and drugs to slow side effects down. (Ataxia "drunky butt" excessive hunger, etc.)
Write your questions down so you can remember to ask the vet your questions and concerns.
And, do not be afraid to change vets if you have to.

LisaT · 01-01-2012, 05:17 PM

Dietary changes,

check the thyroid,

check for any evidence of tick disease....

those are the rules outs and the appropriate places to start.

BowWowMeow · 01-01-2012, 05:27 PM

Was he vaccinated recently?

LisaT · 01-01-2012, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BowWowMeow

Was he vaccinated recently?

yes, great question!

slbirchfield · 02-01-2012, 07:31 AM

How is your boy doing since the seizures. Mine had one on Sunday, it was his first. He is 4 1/2 years old and has shown no changes in behavior since. Our vet did not think it was a big deal, so I'm trying to do as much research as I can. The first thing that we have done is to move him off of foods that use corn meal of corn gluton in hopes that it will help with any high blood sugar issues.

01-01-2012, 10:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
Michel1127us New Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 1	Seizures I have a 2 1/2 year old male shepherd who has had a few seizures. 3 of them I personally witnessed. 2 of them were last night. Since the last one, about 2:40am, he has been pacing, whining ( a little ) and disoriented. He definitely is not acting himself in anyway. Other than taking him to the vet can anyone offer any advice, information etc on how long these symptoms will last? He doesn't even act excited to see me (not normal) or does not want to chase his ball (loves that). He will sit on command but 100% not himself other than that. After the first one we witnessed he came out of it and behaved normally, but not now. Any info or past personal experience is welcomed. Thank you and Happy New Year!

01-01-2012, 05:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
LisaT Crowned Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Northern CA Posts: 17,002	Dietary changes, check the thyroid, check for any evidence of tick disease.... those are the rules outs and the appropriate places to start. __________________ K9 Tick Disease Information http://www.rabieschallengefund.org

01-01-2012, 05:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
BowWowMeow Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 14,797	Was he vaccinated recently? __________________ Ruth & the 4 Legged Rescue Gang Rafi the malaroo http://www.dogster.com/dogs/693238 Gio & Varda, the krazy kittens ....In my heart: Cleo Kitty Chama Kai Basu Massie

01-01-2012, 01:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
CarrieJ Knighted Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,428	Aw, I'm sorry. My girl started her inherited epilepsy two weeks before her second birthday. I believe the term is idieopathic (sp? ...sorry Selzer! lazy) epilepsy. Basically meaning unknown cause. I would recommend taking him into a vet. You need to rule out tick borne disease, heart issues, etc. Also, meds can and do control them to a point. Meds (usually pheonobarbitol and potassium bromide...although there is Kepra which is pretty $$$$) When Alice has a seizure it's a full on grand mal type; eyes go blind, stiff posture, "running in place", locking jaws, frothing at mouth. They can last as long as 60 seconds for this part of the seizure. When she comes out of that, it's somewhere between 2--10 minutes of "re-orientation" apparently blind, uncoordinated, (can you blame that?) and very very very affectionate. Annoyingly so, for an aloof female GSD; especially for the cats. It's like she "leaves" and comes back so she wants to find everyone and love them up. I don't do much except make sure that she doesn't hit her head on anything or fall off a sofa/bed and hurt herself. I also just make sure that she doesn't crash into stuff during the re-orientation. I don't give her any commands other than call her name so she can hear me/find me. It's not a long period but it'll seem longer. She has one usually in the very early morning (like 1:00 AM----6:00 AM) and usually about every six weeks to two months. She tends to cluster more in the summer if it's hotter. I keep a log book with dates, times, what was going on around her, and length of seizures, with lenghth of reorientation period. Oh, also, I record her dosages of meds in this book; whether something has been raised or lowered. I had problems with my first vet, so I went through three of them before I found one that understood: Quit overdrugging my dog and let's work on a combination of diet and drugs to slow side effects down. (Ataxia "drunky butt" excessive hunger, etc.) Write your questions down so you can remember to ask the vet your questions and concerns. And, do not be afraid to change vets if you have to.

02-01-2012, 07:31 AM	#6 (permalink)
slbirchfield New Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 3	How is your boy doing since the seizures. Mine had one on Sunday, it was his first. He is 4 1/2 years old and has shown no changes in behavior since. Our vet did not think it was a big deal, so I'm trying to do as much research as I can. The first thing that we have done is to move him off of foods that use corn meal of corn gluton in hopes that it will help with any high blood sugar issues.

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