Epilepsy

[GSDTanner]

My 2 year old GSD was diagnosed with epilepsy and has had 2 seizures about 3 months apart. I was just curious if anybody else has experience with this that can give me tips or just advice. Right now I'm just trying to find out if he has triggers or what brings them on and it's just frustrating to watch him go through it. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[1sttimeforgsd]

In the little black strip at the top of the page, click on the word search and type in epilepsy. There are several post on there hopefully one will be helpful to you. Someone may come on here later and give you some suggestions also. Best wishes for your boy.

[GatorBytes]

Had your dog had a recent vaccination just before this happening?

This could be a result of aluminum (all vaccines) toxicity or mercury (rabies) from the vaccines. Also may be due to MDR-1 Mutation and reaction to flea/tick and heartworm prevention. Was your dog on any past abx. or other drugs for diahrrea, itchy skin...anaesthesia from being altered?

[Lauri & The Gang]

My Cocker Spaniel was diagnosed with Idopathic Epilepsy. That means they couldn't figure out WHY he had seizures.

Through trial and error we learned that ANY type of vaccination would cause one so he only got the 3 year Rabies.

I also found that feeding him a carb-free diet helped greatly. We feed a raw diet but you can also do home cooked if you want.

Carb-free means no grains, starches or sugars. No rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, etc. You will not find a bagged kibble that is carb-free.

[GSDTanner]

He did not have any vaccination or anything before this happened. He has not been on flee and tick prevention for awhile due to sensitive skin. That's what they tol is too is they have no idea what has caused it. So far it's only one siezure no cluster seizures and its far enough apart he is not need to go on medication. I will definitely look up other discussions of this topic...how is the no carb diet helping him? I've been thinking about doing raw for him jut because of his very itchy skin but just not sure how to go about it

[GatorBytes]

Well then you've got Laurie right there posting who can help with that...she's the raw go to gal.

As for seizures, this could still be some relation to vaccines. However as far as I know there is no testing for.

If you are feeling industrious, search holistic vet practices that do heavy metal hair (fur) testing, can also find out if deficient in trace minerals.

There are herbs and suppliments, homeopathy that are helpful for heavy metal toxicity and removal of. Vit. C has it's place in that regard.

Magnesium is indicated as helpful for seizures (and many other things). Sometimes it is all that is req'd.

Apple pectin, Silica - found in cucumber, diatamacious earth, Horsetail (herb, but not sure of use in dogs)

Low/No carb forces the use of fats. Fats are required by the brain...the brain is made up of 60% fat (in humans)

[Momto2GSDs]

When I called Natural Rearing about this subject for a friend, this was their suggestion:
Natural Rearing (www.naturalrearing.com) has seen good results with the following list of natural items added to their diet:
B-6 Niacinamide
Forskolin Extract (Coleus Forskohlii root extract standardized - to contain 18% Forskolin )
Magnesium Complex
Tibetan Nerve Support (crush before feeding)
order_desk@naturalrearing.com
Phone: (541) 899-2080 - Roger


I have also read that the herbal "Skullcap" Scutellaria lateriflora, or Mad Dog Skullcap (not Chinese Skullcap - (Scutellaria baicalensis) has shown great results. "Skullcap is a nervine and is effective in moderating overactive synaptic activities in those parts of the brain where seizure episodes are triggered."

Hope this helps!

[Jaursland]

There is a great website that is extremely helpful for k9 epilepsy google epilepsy guardian angels. We had a Siberian Husky that had epilepsy was manageable with medication. I would get your dogs thyroid checked because that could be a cause. Unfortunately for us our husky didn't live past 6 years old because it progressed quickly and medications no longer controlled it but most dogs do live a full life.

[kiya]

You can beat your head in the wall trying to figure out why and what hapened honestly there àre so many variables you could go crazy. If you have a vet you can trust take one day at à time. First do process of elimination, did they put your dog on meds yet? There are a lot of great support groups on line I can give you links to them but I am posting from a new tablet I just got . My girl kiya has been having seizures since she was 18 months old she'll be 9 in mày. Hang in there and do a search here to read a lot of previous posts about seizures your not alone unfortunately you have lots of company. Good luck.

[GSDTanner]

Yes I had his thyroid checked everything was totally normal. He doesn't need to be on medication yet because of the fact that he has not had more then one in one month and the medication is hard on their bodies. I will definitely look into those supplements thank you. So far both seizures happened when he was just laying down at night and did completely different things during the day. It's just hard watch him being so young and happy and heathy to being so helpless and it doesn't make any sense. I want to try anything to help him and figure out what I can do to make it as less frequent as possible as I don't want to put him on medication.