Guest QuickNLazy Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Max (born July 5 2000) had a seizure around 7:30 Saturday morning. We woke to find him flailing in the hallway, husband scooped him up and laid him on our bed and tried to steady his body, I held his head, his eyes were darting from sided to side and he just looked terrified. He wasn’t foaming at the mouth, but he his muscles would spasm. It was the first time it has ever happened (that we know of), it only lasted a few minutes, and about 30 minutes after it happened we were able to stand him up and he walked around and seemed fine. Four months ago we lost our female (Q-Tip) to an enlarged heart that wasn’t caught until she had a seizure that never stopped. So needless to say we have been a bit unnerved by the whole experience. We called our old vet (we recently moved) just after it happened and He said to keep an eye on Max and to notify him if he had any more seizures. Both husband and I work so it is hard to keep an eye on him all day so I took him into the new vet (recommended on the GreyTalk vet list) this morning and she took some blood. Max has always been a healthy boy and hasn’t had any health problems. The vet seems to think he may have low thyroid levels, but from what I am reading online Greyhounds are commonly over diagnosed with low thyroid and put on med’s that can permanently alter their body’s natural thyroid production. We won’t get the blood work back until tomorrow, but I guess I am just looking for answers. If she does say his levels are low do I let her put him on thyroid medicine? I don’t want to put him on any med’s that he doesn’t need. What if it is something else like epilepsy, how would I know? Has anyone else been through this? If so do you have any advice? I know I am probably over reacting I just want our boy to be ok. Thanks for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) I know I am probably over reacting I just want our boy to be ok. It's good to do something--at least it will make you feel better Blood work is a good place to start. I recommend a full thyroid panel and a tick panel as a low thyroid and a TBD can cause seizures. Did you do anything Friday or Saturday like give heart worm meds or treat for fleas/ticks? Edited October 22, 2007 by Burpdog Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytlady94 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Or any vaccinations? Quote Greyhound angels at the bridge- Casey, Charlie, Maggie, Molly, Renie, Lucy & Teddy. Beagle angels Peanut and Charlie. And to all the 4 legged Bridge souls who have touched my heart, thank you. When a greyhound looks into you eyes it seems they touch your very soul. "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more then he loves himself". Josh Billings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuickNLazy Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 No, nothing recently. On Friday night he seemed more needy than normal. We had two friends over and Max is normally pretty shy when we have people over, but he kept coming over to me for attention and snuggles which was odd. I don’t know if he knew something was not right. I have noticed the water bowl has been more empty than normal, but other than that it has been routine as normal for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 The only way you would know if he has epilepsy is if all his blood work checks out, his thyroid is okay and they can find no other health issues that would be causing seizures. The best thing to do is keep a journal. Write down the date, time and length of each seizure. This gives your vet something to work from. Most vets won't treat seizures unless your hound is having 2 or more seizures a month. There are medications that he can be put on that hopefully will control them. Keep in mind seizure meds have some side affects but most of them go away after a while taking them. The most commonly used are Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide. Our Saint is on both to control his seizures but some pups can be controlled on one or the other. First get a clean bill of health and then see if he has any more. It's basically a waiting game from here on out. I know how hard that's going to be but one step at a time. If I can be of any help, please let me know. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicocat Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 If he is low thyroid, I wouldn't hesitate at all to put him on Soloxine. Quote Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 We have been there (non grey) The first thing that was done was a comprehensive blood panel and urine. All tests came back fine with the exception of almost a non existant thyroid function test sent to Michigan State. We were to keep a diary of all seizure activity and if anything was different that could have made him anxious. He went almost 3 years with no more seizure activity. Then they started again and he was put on medication KBR for seizures and Soloxine for the thyroid issues. Cody went for a VERY long time with no more seizure activity until he had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic last May which caused him to sneeze almost non stop. Then he started seizing and was hospitalized for 4 days to get him under control. Knock on wood we have been fine since. I know your fears...sending hugs and prayers. Quote Patti-Mommy of Lady Sophia 7-28-92 - 8-3-04... LaceyLaine 8-2-94-12-5-07... Flash Gordon 7-14-99 - 8-29-09... BrookLynne...Pavé Maria... and 18 Bridge Kids. WATCHING OVER US~SOPHIA~QUEENIE~LACEY LAINE~ CODY ANGELO~FLASH GORDON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alannamac Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I have several friends with non-greys who have seizures. It seems to be a fairly common phenomenon in dogs....not sure why...... treated like an everyday thing once they knew it wasn't associated with any other known medical issue. Their dogs don't seem to remember the episodes either, and get up like nothing happened I hope this is the case with your pup too, and you can relax and just treat as your vet recommends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Dogs are unaware of their seizures if they are grand mal - they are unconscious. As has been stated, keep track of his seizure activity - date/time and any thing out of the ordinary the day of or day prior. It may never happen again or you may have a dog who has a seizure every now and then or you may end up having to medicate him to control the seizures. Like Judy's Saint, Ryan is also on phenobarbital and KBr to control his seizures. He's also on Gabapentin now - which can also work to control seizures, but he's on it for other reasons at the moment. I've read that Gabapentin can be rather expensive to use for dogs. Ryan is on 300mg a day and it was $27 for a 21 day supply. I have no idea how much he'd need to control seizures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cjsgreys Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Our first greyhound, Parris, developed idio-pathic seizures when he was 10. I was clueless about seizures and found an invaluable resourse with lots of support at http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MrsDooLittle Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I adopted Mr Green Jeans in June of this year and had been told he had two seizures....each time after he received a flea treatment. Though vets had said there was nothing in the treatment itself that could cause the seizure, the brand was changed and he was fine with subsequent flea treatments. About a week and a half after I adopted him, I was downstairs one night and heard some noise upstairs. I thought it might just be him wandering around looking for me. When he didn't come downstairs, I went upstairs to find him laying in an odd place in an unusual position. He got up and started coming downstairs with me and it was apparent he had difficulty on the steps. Once downstairs, he walked around bumping into things, he was panting and very nervous and after about 10 minutes of watching this I woke up my daughter (my husband was out of town) and off to the ER we went. By the time we saw the vet, Mr Green Jeans was back to normal but the vet talked to me about possibly putting him on medication to control the seizures if they continued. The next couple days I emailed folks in the greyhound group to try to gather more information about his seizures. I learned that he had had more than the two I was told about and in fact was crated in one foster home so he wouldn't hurt himself during multiple seizures. I discovered he had had several seizures in the last 3-4 months he was in foster care. I took him to my regular vet and we started him on potassium bromide. Initially we gave him the liquid form, and now we have switched to the pill form. Interestingly, when I got the liquid filled one time I asked for it to be flavored. It ended up being a blue color and the day after he had the first dose he had a little episode....panting, pacing, nervous, etc., but not an actual seizure. This happened the next day and it dawned on me that perhaps it was the new prescription. I stopped using the flavored meds and the episodes stopped. I have since read online that certain dyes could trigger seizures in some dogs. He has been okay except for one little episode in September when he paced, was nervous, etc., for about an hour but never had an actual seizure. He had gotten sick and thrown up about 2 hours previously and after reading and reading and reading I began to discover that blood sugar levels can sometimes be linked to seizures. I read that if they do get sick, feed them something like natural vanilla ice cream or honey to bring their sugar levels back up. I don't know if that truly could have been the case that night, but the other day when he had gotten sick (he has a touchy tummy) after eating grass, I gave him some food with honey afterwards and he didn't have any sort of episode at all. Is it all linked? I don't know....but I figure the little things I am trying to do can in no way hurt him and if they help then it's all worth it. I make sure he gets nothing to eat that has any sort of dye in it (not that I normally give him stuff like that but who would have thought the flavored meds would cause a reaction....but that blue had to come from somewhere right?) and I give him honey if he happens to get sick. I know I am babbling but like you, I was so terrified and so worried when this first happened with Mr Green Jeans. And, I didn't really 'know' him or his normal behaviour so it was especially difficult. Now that I know him, I am more in tune with his personality and I can sense better if something seems awry with him. Mr Green Jeans is on thyroid meds and was when I adopted him. I think you're doing all you can do right now by getting blood work done and trying to find out what could have caused the seizure. The chairman of the greyhound group called me after this happened because she was not aware of his many seizures and she offered to take him back to the group. I told her I was already attached to him and it was just not in my nature to return an animal because he had special needs and that I was just happy he was finally somewhere where he could get help. He was in foster care for several months recovering from a leg injury so I don't know if the seizures just got lost in the mix or what... My email is cindylhbrown@bellsouth.net if there is anything I can do to help..... Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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