Phaelin Had Another Seizure Tonight

[greypuppyluv]

My DH called me at work a little while ago to let me know Phaelin had another seizure not too long after he got home from work tonight. From talking to Mike, the seizure was about a minute long, but Phaelin had an easier time coming out of it this time. We're figuring this is his third seizure in the past 3 weeks. I had really hoped the last one we saw would be the last one he would have, but I guess not.

 

I will be taking him in to my vet's office soon to get the rest of the thyroid tests done so we can see where his levels are at. I had planned on doing that this past weekend, but ended up taking trips to a shelter and out to search for a lost greyhound instead. I could kick myself for not planning this better. Sigh. It is what it is, so we will move on and get his thyroid tested and hope that will be the problem. If not, I think the vet talked about possibly seeing a neurologist.

[4greyhounds]

Sending lots of prayers and white light...

[Guest tricolorhounds]

Oh No... I'm sorry to hear that. Hoping the Vet can find an answer.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Oh no! I don't know what to say, except I'm so sorry, and once again, if his thyroid levels show to be all normal, please take heart that epilepsy can be very treatable. With Henry, I feel I went on too long without meds, and it set a pattern into his brain which caused him to keep having more seizures. Weekly seizures are definately frequent enough that it could set a pattern. So if you don't get answers soon on what could be causing them, I personally would medicate. It may be that Phaelin only needs a low dose to keep control, especially if you start sooner rather than later.

[patricia]

Sending my prayers.

[2hounds]

Many good thoughts coming your way. I hope you can figure out what is going on and it is an easy diagnosis.

[greypuppyluv]

Oh no! I don't know what to say, except I'm so sorry, and once again, if his thyroid levels show to be all normal, please take heart that epilepsy can be very treatable. With Henry, I feel I went on too long without meds, and it set a pattern into his brain which caused him to keep having more seizures. Weekly seizures are definately frequent enough that it could set a pattern. So if you don't get answers soon on what could be causing them, I personally would medicate. It may be that Phaelin only needs a low dose to keep control, especially if you start sooner rather than later.

My vet and I talked about possibly putting him on anti-seizure meds, but we wanted to get the thyroid results first. It is something I'm keeping in the back of my mind. From talking to Jenny (sweetgsmom) over the past year and a half, I've got a pretty good idea of certain things we need to do. I know each dog is different.....I'm just hoping we can get a handle on things before they get too bad.

 

I do appreciate everyone's input.....from Phaelin's other thread, I've already kept some things in mind.....like looking for little triggers before he has a seizure, the ice pack thing. I wasn't around for this one tonight, but will still keep in mind things people mention. Sorry if I sound like I'm rambling, but him having this seizure has sort of made my brain a little fuzzy.

 

Thanks for everyone's good thoughts....they are truly appreciated.

[Beautybabe]

I'm sorry you and your pup are going through this. Years ago, we had a great Dane who had many grand mal seizures. We learned to anticipate them by a metallic smell in the room just before a seizure. I wish we'd had the support of a group like Greytalk. Good luck to you all.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

I am so very sorry to hear of Phaelin's seizures. I have only just now seen this thread and would like to offer a link to a website (that's if someone hasn't already posted it) which I was directed to and found very helpful when our grey had her first seizure. Hers are relatvely mild and far between, however they are all scary to witness.

 

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

 

We had our girlie for over a year when she had her first seizure. I want to say she was about four when the first one happened. I questioned everyday what we were doing wrong that she was even having them, but our vet has so far diagnosed them as idiopathic. In my heart I feel her triggers are threefold. When she is stressed by being taken from her regular routine, being off from her normal eating schedule, and what I believe began it all....her distemper shot just two weeks prior to her first seizure.

 

When she had her first seizure, I took her into the vet within the hour. The vet did some bloodwork and found her ALT levels in her liver to be way off. This happens as a result to something toxic happening to their bodies. We then suspected the distemper shot. We treated for several months with vitamin E and Milk Thistle to help with the livers recovery. She has since been tested several times and her liver values are back to normal now, but still the occassional seizure happens. Since her last distemper shot, we have done titers to determine her "normal" for her distemper levels. Up until her last test a month ago, she was within good range to be considered protected, but has been consistantly dropping over the last three titers we did. This means that sometime in the near future she will need another booster which is scaring the beans out of me.

 

I have found that it seems she will seize within a day if she is off her regular eating times too. I felt that from dinner time around 6PM, to breakfast at 8AM was such a very long time, allowing her glucose levels to drop too far. She has since been getting a little less for dinner, and an extra cup of kibble after last outs around 11PM. It seems to keep her glucose levels a bit more stable through the night. We also changed to a more holistic food which she has been doing absolutely fabulous on. The website also has a great recipe for turkey muffins which can be made in advance and frozen to be given as snacks between meals to help boost the glucose levels. I make them with chicken though as sometimes turkey can be considered a seizure trigger for those dogs that can be sensitive to it. The girlies will kill for these muffins!

 

The final trigger is just plain stress. When we adopted our latest grey just a year ago, our seizure girlie had a seizure the day after we brought our new grey home. She was off her regular schedule, off her regular kibble, and just plain stressed from the new addition. We no longer greysit for friends, I do not foster, and we try to keep her on an even keel to help her stay as stress free as we can make it for her. She is a very hyper girlie, and I have heard the hyper ones are just more susceptable to seizures anyway. It was said that sometimes their brains are just on overload which can cause the seizures.

 

Give the site a read, I hope it helps you in some way to determine what Phaelins' triggers are so he can live as seizure free as possible. I have lurked and watched your theads of Phaelin along the way, and just absolutely adore that sweet face!

 

 

[Patclara]

So sorry Phaelin had another seizure.

If only they could find the cause, you could begin to find a solution.

Unfortunately, in my experiences with seizures, (not Hounds), we never found the cause.

Good luck, hopefully if a cause is not found, you will be able to prevent them with meds.

Special hugs to Phaelin.

[greysmom]

We adopted out first grey knowing she had idiopathic epileptic seizures. Hers were very mild (comparatively), lasting almost exactly 10 minutes, and spaced anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks apart. On the advice of our adoption group, vet, and a neurologist we decided not to medicate her then. She stayed on that schedule for nearly 4 years, then she began clustering - up to 5 in one week before we could get to the vet. We started her on a low dose of Phenobarb and she was great after that. Only one more seizure until we got her dose right and none after that.

 

Hope you can figure out what's happening with Phaelin. With Libby, we never could figure out any triggers and just had to watch her around the time she should be having one.

 

greysmom

[greypuppyluv]

I am so very sorry to hear of Phaelin's seizures. I have only just now seen this thread and would like to offer a link to a website (that's if someone hasn't already posted it) which I was directed to and found very helpful when our grey had her first seizure. Hers are relatvely mild and far between, however they are all scary to witness.

 

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

 

We had our girlie for over a year when she had her first seizure. I want to say she was about four when the first one happened. I questioned everyday what we were doing wrong that she was even having them, but our vet has so far diagnosed them as idiopathic. In my heart I feel her triggers are threefold. When she is stressed by being taken from her regular routine, being off from her normal eating schedule, and what I believe began it all....her distemper shot just two weeks prior to her first seizure.

 

When she had her first seizure, I took her into the vet within the hour. The vet did some bloodwork and found her ALT levels in her liver to be way off. This happens as a result to something toxic happening to their bodies. We then suspected the distemper shot. We treated for several months with vitamin E and Milk Thistle to help with the livers recovery. She has since been tested several times and her liver values are back to normal now, but still the occassional seizure happens. Since her last distemper shot, we have done titers to determine her "normal" for her distemper levels. Up until her last test a month ago, she was within good range to be considered protected, but has been consistantly dropping over the last three titers we did. This means that sometime in the near future she will need another booster which is scaring the beans out of me.

 

I have found that it seems she will seize within a day if she is off her regular eating times too. I felt that from dinner time around 6PM, to breakfast at 8AM was such a very long time, allowing her glucose levels to drop too far. She has since been getting a little less for dinner, and an extra cup of kibble after last outs around 11PM. It seems to keep her glucose levels a bit more stable through the night. We also changed to a more holistic food which she has been doing absolutely fabulous on. The website also has a great recipe for turkey muffins which can be made in advance and frozen to be given as snacks between meals to help boost the glucose levels. I make them with chicken though as sometimes turkey can be considered a seizure trigger for those dogs that can be sensitive to it. The girlies will kill for these muffins!

 

The final trigger is just plain stress. When we adopted our latest grey just a year ago, our seizure girlie had a seizure the day after we brought our new grey home. She was off her regular schedule, off her regular kibble, and just plain stressed from the new addition. We no longer greysit for friends, I do not foster, and we try to keep her on an even keel to help her stay as stress free as we can make it for her. She is a very hyper girlie, and I have heard the hyper ones are just more susceptable to seizures anyway. It was said that sometimes their brains are just on overload which can cause the seizures.

 

Give the site a read, I hope it helps you in some way to determine what Phaelins' triggers are so he can live as seizure free as possible. I have lurked and watched your theads of Phaelin along the way, and just absolutely adore that sweet face!

Thank you for the website. I have bookmarked it and will go back and read it when I can spend a little more time (it's 10:30pm and my brain just won't function this late!) I took a quick look at the site and really want to check out the FAQ section.....it looks like there are lots of the same questions that I have. It also helps to know what other people's experiences are.....the more I can learn from what others have gone through, the better.

 

And thanks for your kind words about Phaelin......he really is a sweetheart.

 

So sorry Phaelin had another seizure.

If only they could find the cause, you could begin to find a solution.

Unfortunately, in my experiences with seizures, (not Hounds), we never found the cause.

Good luck, hopefully if a cause is not found, you will be able to prevent them with meds.

Special hugs to Phaelin.

Thanks, Pat. I'm sort of expecting that we won't find the cause of his seizures. But even if we don't, we'll work at trying to minimize them with meds, if that's what it takes.

 

We adopted out first grey knowing she had idiopathic epileptic seizures. Hers were very mild (comparatively), lasting almost exactly 10 minutes, and spaced anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks apart. On the advice of our adoption group, vet, and a neurologist we decided not to medicate her then. She stayed on that schedule for nearly 4 years, then she began clustering - up to 5 in one week before we could get to the vet. We started her on a low dose of Phenobarb and she was great after that. Only one more seizure until we got her dose right and none after that.

 

Hope you can figure out what's happening with Phaelin. With Libby, we never could figure out any triggers and just had to watch her around the time she should be having one.

 

greysmom

What's interesting to me about this whole thing is that I'm dealing with weekly migraines myself and can't find any triggers. It's a frustrating experience and I'm thinking Phaelin having these seizures will be a similar situation to what I'm going through. My meds right now help reduce the severity of the migraines, but don't eliminate them. I'm hoping we'll have more luck with Phaelin's seizures. I will be more aware of what's going on before the seizures and see if I can figure out any triggers.

[seeh2o]

I'm just now seeing this thread, Paula. I'm very sorry to hear that Phaelin had another seizure. I hope your vet can help you get a handle on this and get them under control.

[Guest tricolorhounds]

Paula, I'm sure I've mentioned it before but... our Lab Cecily is on Phenobarbitol for Petit-Mal seizures. The only diagnostic tool left to try is a very expensive MRI and all that will confirm is a brain tumor so because of her age, we decided against it. She has been on meds for a year and a half and is doing great. Pheno is very inexpensive, I think I pay $16.00 for a 3 month supply.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

In my pursuit to avoid drugs, I was able to figure out some of Henry's definate seizure triggers. Yet, even though I know of some of his triggers, I still have to medicate. In some cases knowing the triggers can be enough, especially if figured out early enough on before a pattern is set into brain.

 

In chinese medicine, they talk about cooling foods and warming foods. With epilepsy, you want to avoid the warming foods. I don't think the list is anything set in stone though, and don't assume everything on the warming list will be a trigger for Phaelin. Someone posted this on Epil-K9 list several months ago, and I saved it to my documents~

 

Some warming foods are: sweet potato, ginger, mutton, turnips, anchovy, black pepper, caper, coconut milk, fennel seed, mussel, shrimp, vinegar, chicken, garlic, trout, oats, quinoa, black beans, kidney, pheasant, venison, and turkey. Beef is considered to be warming to the Liver specifically, though different sources say that it is either warm or neutral in general.

 

Some foods that are cooling: asparagus, bananas, chicken egg whites, millet, wheat, tofu, bamboo shoots, mung beans, potato, barley, most veggies, clams, crab, rabbit, duck eggs, yougurt. Duck is considered to be neutral to cool.

 

For Henry chicken, chicken eggs, Flagyl, raw fish and stress are definate triggers. It took me a while to figure all that out though. His Focal seizures helped me figure it out.

 

I brainstormed to death trying to figure out what was causing Henry's seizures. Drove me a little batty at times. I've now got it worked out in my head and come to peace with that I can't cure Henry. But I am glad to know some of his triggers. If you need help brainstorming, or have a question, no matter how silly it may seem, please feel free to PM me. I rememeber I had a billion and one thoughts going through my head when I was trying to figure out Henry's epilepsy.

 

How soon till you know Thyroid results? Wouldn't it be great if that was all it was and simple thyroid med for life and this would be solved? I recall a thread long ago, where someone has a grey, who was put on seizure meds in previos home without checking thyroid first, and it was found shortly later that he was Hypothyroid, he was put on Soloxine, and it turned out he no longer needed seizure meds.

 

 

 

[greypuppyluv]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Emily. I'm taking Phaelin in this morning to get the thyroid tests done and I think we should hear back within a day or two on the results. I sure hope the cause will be something easy, like having a low thyroid, but with my wonderful luck, it won't.

[grey14me]

Oh no, Paula :grouphug

[ShantisMom]

Oh no! I too was hoping it was a freak thing. Hopefully the testing will help provide some simple answers. We will keep your baby in our thoughts!

[Guest LindsaySF]

I hope you can get it figured out. This sucks.

 

Good luck at the vet.

 

[duncan41]

Oh! Was hoping that there would be no more seizures. We will pray that an difinitive answer will materialize and you can concentrate on minimizing your migraines. You don't suppose that the seizures and migraines are connected, do you?

[greypuppyluv]

Oh! Was hoping that there would be no more seizures. We will pray that an difinitive answer will materialize and you can concentrate on minimizing your migraines. You don't suppose that the seizures and migraines are connected, do you?

Thanks. I don't think the two are connected.....I've been having the weekly migraines since about June or July and his seizures just started about 3 weeks ago. Luckily, my meds have worked well the last 2 weeks. But, I will keep that in mind.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

Oh! Was hoping that there would be no more seizures. We will pray that an difinitive answer will materialize and you can concentrate on minimizing your migraines. You don't suppose that the seizures and migraines are connected, do you?

Thanks. I don't think the two are connected.....I've been having the weekly migraines since about June or July and his seizures just started about 3 weeks ago. Luckily, my meds have worked well the last 2 weeks. But, I will keep that in mind.

 

Have you installed any new carpets, new bedding, sprayed your home or lawn for pests, painted any walls, installed any new flooring?

 

Just thoughts.

 

[greypuppyluv]

Phaelin's thyroid test results came back today......his TSH and free T4 levels are normal. So, that's eliminated. At this point, we're just going to wait and see if he has any more seizures.....if he does, we'll probably take him to a neurologist. I need to do a little more research this weekend so I can make a more informed decision if that does happen (I'm guessing it probably will ).

 

Oh! Was hoping that there would be no more seizures. We will pray that an difinitive answer will materialize and you can concentrate on minimizing your migraines. You don't suppose that the seizures and migraines are connected, do you?

Thanks. I don't think the two are connected.....I've been having the weekly migraines since about June or July and his seizures just started about 3 weeks ago. Luckily, my meds have worked well the last 2 weeks. But, I will keep that in mind.

 

Have you installed any new carpets, new bedding, sprayed your home or lawn for pests, painted any walls, installed any new flooring?

 

Just thoughts.

No, nothing that I can think of. I will go over this in my head again this weekend and see if there's anything else I can think of that is new here and might be causing a reaction in Phaelin. Thanks for the suggestions.....I do try to keep everything in mind.

[Guest shanesmom]

Praying he doesn't have any more seizures

[greypuppyluv]

Phaelin had another seizure this morning, so I called the vet's office and we'll be putting him on sodium bromide for now and see how he does. The seizures have happened pretty much every 14-16 days. I feel so bad for him. This morning's seizure happened while he was eating and I thought he was choking at first. After a few seconds, I realized he was seizing and I tried to help him, which was hard in our tiny kitchen. His head kept hitting the cabinets while his feet kept hitting the oven. I was able to position him so that his head was clear of the cabinets (without getting hurt myself), but his feet are a little bruised. Poor guy.

 

I'm not sure if we'll be taking him to the neurologist or if we'll just try to treat this through our regular vet. At this point, we're putting off running any more tests since Mike will be losing his job next year (his company plant is closing). I hate to think that way, but I can't see spending $1000 on an MRI when I don't know how long it will take Mike to find another job, especially in this economy.

 

I just hope Phaelin can get some relief from the sodium bromide. If not, we'll keep trying different meds/mixtures until we can hopefully get the amount of seizures reduced.