Steak Had A Seizure.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Stress/anxiety can trigger seizures in people (as well as dogs). Peak stress "seasons" for people are Christmas for kids, tax time for adults. Or so said an ER doctor when my sister had to take her 3-year-old son in after a seizure on Christmas eve many years ago.

 

Best wishes for you and Steak.

[AEB]

I'm sorry about Steak. I hope you get answers from the vet.

Yes, stress is a trigger (in people and I presume dogs). And exhaustion and confusion can last for hours afterward. We had a Cocker Spaniel when I was growing-up that would drop on walks and have grand mal seizures. She would defecate. Scary. The first time it happened I ran down the street crying that my dog was dead. Then she popped-up. It seemed like a miracle to me.

 

What type of injury lead to the stitches in his neck? did he have a head injury?

[kamsmom]

No, no head injury. It's so minimal, he was playing and running around with one of my other greys and one of her toe nails caught him in the neck. He really didn't even need to be stitched up it wasn't that bad but was torn enough to be able to be stitched up. I don't think the injury has any bearing to the seizure now, just coincidence.

 

He is doing well this evening, just more tired. He ate his whole dinner tho. I had forgotten that this morning he skipped breakfast because of the rain. When it rains he also won't eat.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

for both you and Steak

Judy always has great advice on the seizure front.

I had a GSD that was a seizure dog and it's scary as sin the first time you ever go through it.

So if you ever need or want to chat feel free to give me a ring.

I'm not nearly as well versed in seizures as Judy but have been through them with my dog.

[Guest zombrie]

Hugs to you, after having a cluster seizure dog for 7 months (1-2 clusters a month, 9 seizure total in 48 hours usually), I know how scary it is, especially seeing it for the first time.

 

The first bout of seizures Manny had, he urinated a lot, too and I asked the exact question when I posted here. He had a seizure in the early morning before the humans woke up and he was peeing every 5 minutes, and peeing large amounts. After the 3 other seizures that afternoon before heading to the e-vet, we realized he was drinking A LOT. When they have seizures, they get incredibly hot and he was trying to cool down.

 

Definitely separate him from the others. I never would have expected my dogs to go after Manny. But even when Manny was having seizures in the x-pen, Mira, the one I would least expect to go after him, became aggressive on the other side of the gate.

 

I would go to the vet and insist on rectal valium, since most likely he had a seizure the day before. Clusters can be dangerous, so having valium on hand is a must. It stops the seizures immediately.

[greypuppyluv]

I'm sorry you and Steak are having to go through this. They truly suck.

 

You can check out Canine-Epilepsy.com for lots of good information about seizures.

 

I also wanted to add that one way I've found that Phaelin had a seizure when I wasn't around was the residue he left (from the foaming at the mouth) had an irridescent sheen to it.

 

To add to this......there is a chat list for those of us with seizure dogs you can join that is similar to the Greyhound-L called EPIL-K9. You can click here to find out how to join. I have really learned a lot from the many caring people on the list who have dealt with everything from holistic treatments to feeding and anything else you can think of.

[Guest Gert]

I can't offer any advice.....but, I'll be keeping you and Steak in my thoughts!

[maggiespet]

No experience or advise - just keeping Steak in my thoughts and prayers. How scary for everyone. Poor guy.

[TheFullHouse]

How is Steak doing this morning?

[Maddiesmom]

Hugs to you and to Steak.

[NeylasMom]

Beth, how is Steak doing today?

[Guest LindsaySF]

I wanted to add this link as well. http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm

 

It helped me a lot with Sophie. I liked how the site was organized too, easy to find what I needed.

[Guest snakes]

Sorry to hear about Steak.

 

FedX has seizures and they are definatly related to his anxiety. If he becomes increasing anxious there is usually a seizure around the corner and a BIG symptom with his that a seizure is iminent in the next 12 hours is if he pees in the house while i am away. After some bad side effects with seizure meds we control his anxiety with homeopathy which he responds well to. Often if i see hsi anxiety increasing i give him some rescue remedy which usually really helps.

 

Good luck, it cna be very scary but i am sure you guys will get through it all ok!

[kamsmom]

I'm so sorry that I haven't kept up here... On Jan 26th Steak had another seizure, same symptoms, same reaction afterwards. This time tho it was about 2pm and was sunny and nice outside. No storms at all.

 

Then last night he had a much more violent seizure I was jolted awake at 1:30am to a noise, I ran to the living room to find Steak on the floor, mouth bleeding and his whole body just stiff. His head was shaking so violently I had to hold him so that he didn't continually bang it on the tile. It lasted for 2 minutes (timed from the time I arrived). I think he probably started in the chair and fell off since I found saliva foam and drool all over the chair.

 

I'm stuck in the house right now since my husbands car is stuck in the driveway and he used mine to get to work. (We are in an ice storm and the roads are awful right now) Steak is calm and ate breakfast this morning so I think it's fine to wait till this afternoon to go to see the vet.

 

I'm off to check out the epilepsy sites. Is this strange that the seizures are just now popping up? Or is it just that they have gone unnoticed all this time?

 

Yesterday Steak was increasingly whiney. He talks all the time but yesterday was much much more than normal and at one point he drank an entire bowl of water by himself. I even made mention to my husband that the last time he seized he tanked up on water...

[RaineysMom]

I'm sorry Steak is continuing to have seizures...I really feel for you

 

how old is he? Rainey's started literally out of the blue back in August (she turned 10 on 10/4). Nothing worked except phenobarbital, which makes her crazy (and hard to live with) We tried Keppra and zonisamide too, those didn't work for her so we had to put her back on the pheno on 12/31.

 

seizures are super scary and can be very dangerous as they can injure themselves. Make sure he is not around your other pups while you're gone, they can go into a pack mentality and go after him during one.

 

sending hugs to you both!

[kamsmom]

I have been really cautious about the other dogs. Last night when it happened the other dogs stood around him but just kept howling and barking, no one got too close and it was just the weirdest thing. Almost like they knew he was in trouble. When I jumped out of bed I remember that Isis was standing right beside me and had her nose up against my arm.

 

I really think they knew and before I woke up they were trying to help. Altho I am not naive enough to think they wouldn't turn as they are dogs so if I am gone Steak is sectioned off from everyone else.

[TheFullHouse]

He tanked up on water probably because he got really hot since that seizure was much more violent that previous seizures. The energy the muscle contractions use really raise the body temperature. He probably bit his tongue which is where the blood was coming from. Saint has done that a couple of times. The new theory on seizures is that the brain learns from every seizure how to have more. Since he's having them more frequently, I'd seriously ask the vet about starting him on some seizure control medications.

 

You're very smart to keep him separated from the rest of the pack when you're not home.

[kamsmom]

He did the water before the seizure, but he also did it again after the seizure.

 

We are definitely going to be talking to the vet about meds today. When Steak isn't having a seizure he is fine but during those moments he is seizing it is the scariest and saddest thing to see. I feel terrible thinking that he may even be having them when I am not home

[Burpdog]

I am just now seeing this! Sending prayers & good medicine thoughts to Steak.

[Guest Gert]

Dang Beth! I was hoping no news was good news and that Steak hadn't had any more seizures.

[Guest CampWhippet]

I just saw this.

 

I have a seizure dog, she requires 2 medications three times a day and one medication once a day. Without them she's be a goner. Even if we are late with the phenobarbital by more than an hour or so she has a seizure.

Edited February 3, 2011 by CampWhippet

[TheFullHouse]

He did the water before the seizure, but he also did it again after the seizure.

 

We are definitely going to be talking to the vet about meds today. When Steak isn't having a seizure he is fine but during those moments he is seizing it is the scariest and saddest thing to see. I feel terrible thinking that he may even be having them when I am not home

 

 

I'm very lucky in that respect because I'm here all the time. Hopefully they can get him started on some meds. He's going to walk around drunk for a while but his body will adjust to the medication. The hardest part is watching and being patient while he goes through the process. If you need to talk, you have my number.

[kamsmom]

Jonathan, I hope he doesn't get that bad

 

Thank you Judy. We go in today at 4pm. What do they need to do? Draw blood? Schedule and MRI?

[Jackandgrey]

I certainly would not do an MRI. They should do bloodwork. I would be insisting on medication at this point and in that case he will need to have bloodwork regularly to monitor blood levels. I know they are terrible to watch but the chances are good you can get them controlled.

 

Hugs for your boy.

[Batmom]

It might be worth ex-penning him at night as well. As he has had more than one seizure, the other dogs are likely to be keyed into his behavioral changes, and it is truly scary how fast something can happen.

 

Hugs and hopes he can be medicated so as to have no further seizures.