Another Seizure

[GreyWrangler]

same time as the last one. but that was a month ago.

 

no shrimp, but did have some (stolen) salmon juice two days ago.

 

so frustrating to not know what is causing the blasted things.

 

right now he is finally letting the diazepam work and is napping.

 

on the good side, Lottie stayed as far away as she could whilst it happened.

And she is feeling better after having had a bad few days with an UTI.

[Guest Carla]

Nancy,

 

Hope Red is going to be ok. And Lottie too.

 

Carla

[Guest EmilyAnne]

It may have been the salmon juice. Read this thread for more info: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=195270&hl=

 

[Guest Winterwish]

I hope Red will be feeling better and has a relaxing sleep,poor doll.

Sending support and good thoguths your way GreyWrangler,Red and Lottie.

[4greyhounds]

I hope both of them are on the road to a recovery soon! Bless their hearts and yours too, you are a very good mommy.

[patricia]

Sending prayers for both sweet babes.

[6greyhounds]

Praying that your babies will soon be well. Those seizures can be scarey and we know the feeling Belle has had two but 11 months apart.

[CaliforniaGreys]

Sending prayers for both

[GreyWrangler]

It may have been the salmon juice. Read this thread for more info: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=195270&hl=

 

 

 

only think is it wasn't raw. It was canned.

[TheFullHouse]

You may never know the cause. If it was the same time last month he may be developing a pattern to his seizures which is quite common. Lets hope and pray this is the last one.

[Guest greyhound1]

:hope

[Guest EmilyAnne]

It may have been the salmon juice. Read this thread for more info: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=195270&hl=

 

 

 

only think is it wasn't raw. It was canned.

Then it definately was not the salmon juice.

 

Henry's first grand mal here, (We adopted him with awareness that he had already been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy) I took him to the vet the next day and it was determined he had a UTI. I think the UTI triggered that seizure.

 

Something interesting, one lady on the Epil K9 list said everytime her dog is on Amoxicillin, her dog's seizures stop. Weird.

 

Anyways, I know what it's like always trying to figure out what the triggers are. It triggers strong emotions because you REALLY want to know the cause! (((((Nancy)))))) I often say, I wish it was like Star Trek and we could just scan their bodies with a scan thing and it would tell us everything we need to know. Has Red been vaccinated recently? My last epi-pup, I made the mistake of getting him ALL his shots in ONE day. He had seizures multiple times a week for the next month. It took about 4 months before the seizures finally reduced back to being only once every two months.

 

Do you have a plan for what to do post seizure just in case Red has another? (really hoping he doesn't though!) Do you know about the ice trick? I did it with Henry when he went into an extremely violent grand mal March 11th, and the seizure stopped at only 1 minute, within seconds of doing the ice trick. Coincidence or not I don't know, but I intend to employ this trick again, especially considering there's no harm in trying!

 

[Guest EmilyAnne]

The ice trick I was talking about:

 

From~ http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels...rgencycare.html

 

There is some exciting news, however, about a new technique that has recently been published in a prestigious veterinary journal. This technique may be able to help you shorten or even abort (stop before it begins) your pup's seizure, and may even help reduce the amount of post-ictal recovery time, and to return your pup to full functioning more quickly.

The technique was tested both in an ER and a regular veterinary hospital as well as by people in their own homes, on 51 epileptic dogs. In all 51 cases, the technique either aborted or shortened the usual duration of the seizure, and in many cases, the post-ictal recovery time was also shortened. These results were published in an article by H. C. Gurney, DVM, and Janice Gurney, B.S., M.A. The article is entitled, "A Simple, Effective Technique for Arresting Canine Epileptic Seizures." It appeared in The Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, in the January-March 2004 issue, pages 17-18.

Probably the most exciting part of this discovery is that the technique is not in any way harmful to your pup, and it does not involve giving extra medications. It is as simple as applying a bag of ice to the lower-midsection of your pup's back, and holding the bag firmly in position until the seizure ends. The exact area on the back is between the 10th thoracic (chest) and 4th lumbar (lower back) vertebrae (bones in the spine); what this means is that the top of the ice bag should rest just above the middle of your pup's back, following along the spine, and drape down to the lower-midsection of the back. To see a very good diagram of where the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae meet on a dog's spine, go to:

http://www.takingthelead.co.uk/3/Anatomy/skelton.htm

Look for numbers 13 and 14 on the diagram. Number 13 on the diagram is the13th thoracic (chest) vertebrae (there are 13 total); count back toward the head to number 10: that is your start point for the ice bag. Number 14 on the diagram is the 1st lumbar (lower back) vertebrae (there are 7 total); count toward the tail to number 4: that is your end point for the ice bag.

With a properly sized ice bag, you should not have to worry about being too exact: aim for the middle of the back, and the correct area will be covered. Application of ice to other areas of the body (head, neck, legs and other areas of the spine) was not found to be effective. Ice bags on the middle of the back was the only area found to work.

The article reports that the sooner the ice is applied, the better the results. So you should have the ice ready and prepared: if you have a small dog, fill a small-sized (quart) Ziploc freezer bag with cubed or crushed ice and keep it in a particular spot in your freezer. If you have a large dog, use a large-sized (gallon) bag. You can also freeze water into a block in the bag. When you hear or see a seizure begin, run for the ice or, if you live with another person, have one person run for the ice while the other runs to help the pup. Place the ice bag in the lower midsection of your pup's back and hold it there firmly until the seizure stops. If this technique works as reported, your pup's seizure should not be as long as usual and you may also see an improvement in the duration of the post-ictal period.

The article reports that people who tried using a bag of frozen vegetables instead of ice had less success than those who used ice, so keep a bag of ice at the ready. The article also indicated that dogs with cluster seizures are a special case and may need their usual protocols after the seizure, so if your pup has cluster seizures, follow your veterinarian's instructions for using valium.

And, the article does not discuss using ice after a seizure, only during the seizure itself and also states that you remove the ice the minute the seizure is over. If you can get to an ice bag during a seizure, you might be able better to assess if this will work for your pup or not. During a seizure, most dogs should not be distracted by the ice.

[SPDoggie]

Oh, poor Red, and you

 

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Oh Nancy, gosh...we were just talking about him and his seizures too.

 

I'm wondering, do you think it might be the minute amount of mercury in the fish?

 

Either way, it still stinks that he's having these seizures.

 

Poor Red and you.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Nancy, Henry had a grand mal this afternoon. I did the ice thing again, and again, the violent seizuring stopped within two seconds. It was amazing how quickly it stopped. I know now it really works. Henry still remained in a certain 'state' after I applied the ice, but it was a hundred times better than the violent part. You can read it under 'Henry Had A Massive Grand Mal'.

[GreyWrangler]

You may never know the cause. If it was the same time last month he may be developing a pattern to his seizures which is quite common. Lets hope and pray this is the last one.

 

 

I had to stop at the vet's office for another reason so I asked them to check the records on his last one and it was january 29, so approx. 6 weeks ago.

 

 

[GreyWrangler]

Nancy, Henry had a grand mal this afternoon. I did the ice thing again, and again, the violent seizuring stopped within two seconds. It was amazing how quickly it stopped. I know now it really works. Henry still remained in a certain 'state' after I applied the ice, but it was a hundred times better than the violent part. You can read it under 'Henry Had A Massive Grand Mal'.

 

I just went and told the parents about it, then put one of the cold/ice packs we used for dad's knee after this replacement surgery, back into the freezer.

 

I am also going to go get some Rescue Remedy, won't hurt to try it when the early behaviors are noticed. It didn't work on our thunder phobic greys, both passed now, maybe it will ease these for him.

Edited March 22, 2008 by GreyWrangler

[Guest EmilyAnne]

You know, one thing about these epi-pups, there's a bond like no other.

[Guest RooRoo]

Awww Nancy, I'm sorry to see this. How helpless you must feel. Please give some extra scritches to Red and tell him his pals Rizzo and Kiwi are thinking of him. Hang in there.

 

to Lottie too