Penny Is Having Seizures

[Guest Tuxsmom]

I posted 2 days ago that Penny was yelping unexpectedly and seemed stiff. I took her to the vet yesterday.

 

All bloodwork came back normal and Penny's yelping & stiffness had gone away. Vet said she was running a slight temp & perhaps had a higher temp the night before - thus the overall soreness and yelping.

 

All was fine till tonight.

 

her neck is spasming....her spine is "humped" & rounded.. and her front leg seems bent or curled, like she can't put her foot down properly.

 

she is now laying down and her entire body tenses and her back rounds about every minute. did this about 10 times. it has stopped now.

 

everything i have read says not to panic. i am not rushing her to the e-vet. i dont think they can do anything but run tests, which my vet has already done. i'm taking her back to my vet tomorrow morning.

 

anyone been through this? i'm not supposed to panic right? RIGHT??????????

 

:

[Guest TurnerMiller01]

I'm so sorry you are going thru this... and i don t know what to say for seizures in dogs...

however i have taken care of many patients with seizures... and we keep them from injury during a seizure... in other words make sure they will not get hurt on something.. and keep a close watch on them... We always note how long it lasted and what ocurred during the seizure.. that always helped the docs with their medication decisions...

Does anyone have their hounds on meds for seizures?

And.. keep the dog safe from harm during the seizure... stay with the dog, do not try to hold her down during the seizure.. and check her breathing after the seizure...And.. i would call the vet just to report it... maybe?

Again.. i am not sure.. i just wanted to write down a little bit about seizures from what i know about people.. just in case it helps you..

and.. again..

i am sorry that you and Penny are going thru this..

many prayers to you and Penny.

[CaliforniaGreys]

I can say not to panic, but can't advise with anything else. Many people here have seizure dogs, so you just need the right people to see this thread.

I'll pm a few and point them here.

You and your little girl have my very best wishes

[Guest sweetgsmom]

Yes. Aidan has Epilepsy and has grand mall seizures, she has had them for 3 yrs, don't panic! Seizures are horrible to watch but can be controlled, Aidan is on Pheno and Potassium Bromide. If they continue through out the night take her to the e-vet as they may be clusters, even Petite Malls need to be checked out. I really can't give anymore info as it is different with each dog. But if she seems to continue having spasms I would take her to the e-vet.

[Guest Tuxsmom]

thank you all ... ive been reading like crazy. the general consensus seems to be to get immediate care if she is having a long, sustained seizure. she is not at this time thank goodness.

 

her seizures are very mild compared to what ive been reading. they are not violent. i'm in tears anyway, though. lol

 

i did call my vet, sometimes she calls back this late...sometimes not. Penny will go first thing in a.m.

 

i documented the times & durations for her. so far, no new seizures in past 10 mins.

 

cbudshome...thank you for trying to reach a few people...i am extremely grateful.

 

you guys are the best support, thank you thank you

 

 

 

[Guest PhillyPups]

Breathe in and breathe out, Judy will be here soon and is very experienced

 

Breathe in and breathe out -

[Graciehound]

Monitor her temperature. If it seems to be going up, get her to the e-vet. A high temp can be dangerous. With our pups muscle mass, they can build up heat when seizing.

[Tallgreydogmom]

Right now start a log on her seizures

 

date and time

length of seizure

describe seizure

how is she after seizure

how long before she is back to herself

 

did she have an aura before the seizure (restless, pacing, blank stare, yell)

 

when ours are done with their seizure we crate them and give them a bone or something safe to chew on

 

I have sprayed water on their feet to cool them down, cool washcloth on there head and ice packs on them to cool them down.

 

Stay calm and see your vet tomorrow

 

 

Edited June 24, 2009 by Tallgreydogmom

[TheFullHouse]

First, deep breaths, there is nothing you can do for her while she is seizing, wait until she stops, then let her go outside or put a damp cloth on her belly, head and pads. Greyhounds temperatures rise dramatically during a seizure. Most will get up and pant and pace, it's there way of cooling themselves off. Next, give her something with sugar, I use ice cream, a greyhounds blood sugar will drop dramatically thereby increasing the chance of more seizures. You can use peanut butter also, it has sugar.

 

Once you've done that you should see her recover rather quickly. If she has more seizures tonight I'd get her to the evet. They can give her some valium and start her on some phenobarbital to stop the seizures. Now that you have established a pattern of them your vet should prescribe your baby some phenobarbital. You will have to play with the dosage until you reach a dose that controls her seizures.

 

This is important for you to know, your baby is feeling nothing. She can not hear, see, taste, smell or feel your touch during a grand mal seizure which is what looks like is happening. She may be confused when coming out of it, I wouldn't get too close, some dogs will bite in their confusion.

 

Remember, this is a disease that can be controlled, with diligence by you and your vet. If I can help you in any way, please let me know.

[Guest Tuxsmom]

no noticable aura. she was asleep, then got up and went to front door to be let out.

 

she was stiff & her left front foot wouldn't flatten out, it curled under. she went & peed & came back in, still stiff.

 

then her neck started spasming up & down and actually shortened as her spine rounded up (while she was standing)

 

then she layed down and her whole body would spasm into that same position and she would yelp.

 

i am much calmer now after reading about everything i could find. i feel so badly for people who have to watch their babies go through the more violent version of this.

 

i am hoping that my vet can find a cause, and that this won't be an "idiopathic" thing. i am ready to remove all chemicals from the house, switch to a raw diet..whatever it takes.

 

oh, i did get a rectal thermometer. her temp is 101.9 . it was 102.9 at the vet yesterday. i will keep checking it.

 

 

First, deep breaths, there is nothing you can do for her while she is seizing, wait until she stops, then let her go outside or put a damp cloth on her belly, head and pads. Greyhounds temperatures rise dramatically during a seizure. Most will get up and pant and pace, it's there way of cooling themselves off. Next, give her something with sugar, I use ice cream, a greyhounds blood sugar will drop dramatically thereby increasing the chance of more seizures. You can use peanut butter also, it has sugar.

 

Once you've done that you should see her recover rather quickly. If she has more seizures tonight I'd get her to the evet. They can give her some valium and start her on some phenobarbital to stop the seizures. Now that you have established a pattern of them your vet should prescribe your baby some phenobarbital. You will have to play with the dosage until you reach a dose that controls her seizures.

 

This is important for you to know, your baby is feeling nothing. She can not hear, see, taste, smell or feel your touch during a grand mal seizure which is what looks like is happening. She may be confused when coming out of it, I wouldn't get too close, some dogs will bite in their confusion.

 

Remember, this is a disease that can be controlled, with diligence by you and your vet. If I can help you in any way, please let me know.

 

 

thank you judy !!!! i am going to get the peanut butter now. she never went into an unconscious state, i don't think. unless it was very quick. it seems she is having a very mild version?

[Batmom]

Doesn't sound like seizures. Sounds like muscle spasms. Take her to the e-vet now. Unless they're total boobs, they can help her.

[TheFullHouse]

Sometimes they can look like they're there when they really aren't. A good way to tell is if she responds to your voice. If she doesn't you will know she's not truly aware of what's going on. There are so many forms of seizures, she could be having mild ones. Most vets don't want to treat seizures unless they are having more than 1 a month.

 

If she's aware of you she may be having muscle spasms, pretty bad ones. You may want to take her in and have her checked.

Edited June 24, 2009 by JillysFullHouse

[Tallgreydogmom]

How are you doing?? You are not alone, so many of our greyhounds have seizures. For the most part the cause is unknown.

[Guest Tuxsmom]

aghh... ok i'm almost to the decision to take her in for fear of not going when i should have. but evet is one hour away from me...

 

she has not had a spasm in almost 30 minutes now. her temp is now 101.6.

 

she ate peanut butter like it was going out of style. then she got up & drank with a normal body posture and no stiffness. i am so confused.

[TheFullHouse]

How's she doing? If it was a seizure, she should be coming out of it by now.

 

We must have been posting at the same time. If she's doing okay now, then I'd take her in the morning. If she has another attack I'd make the hour trip to the e-vet. Seizures are different in every dog. Saint has grand mal seizures, he stiffins and convulses very violently so there is no question that he's seizing. Some have very slight seizures and some really bad. Keep a good log, with complete descriptions, that's your best course to follow and will help your vet in diagnosing her properly.

[greysmom]

Mild seizures can look like other things - bad muscle spasms, charlie horse, even bloat - and it's very hard to tell just from observation, though most bloodtests don't show anything either. If her muscles are spasming she could be low in potassium or another trace element, and that would show up. If she has another one before morning you should take her in asap. That would mean she's clustering and might need medical help to stop the cycle.

 

Unfortunately, most seizures in greys are idiopathic. The good part is that they can be very well controlled with either valum, phenobarbital, potassium bromide or a combination of meds. It may take a little while to figure out the right dose.

 

Another thing to help her is to put a cold pack on her head/neck to help keep her cool. Look up poster "EmilyAnne" as she has a nice blog in her signature about her grey Henry and his seizures.

 

greysmom

[Guest Energy11]

Bump ~ for help

YES, I HAVE A DOG ON SEIZURE MEDS. Curfew is on Phenobarbitol, 180 mgs. a day, AND for what you are describing, I HAVE INJECTIBLE VALIUM, loaded in a syringe, 10 mg., which can be given RECTALLY (needle off the end, of course), anytime a seizure lasts more than a few minutes. JUST REMEMBER, if a dog/human is seizing, they are NOT breathing, either. Do you have any Valium or Xanax??? If so, and it is VALIUM, you can give 10-15 mg by mouth, IF the dog is not seizing and able to swallow ... prolonged seizures are not good. Please keep us posted. D

[Guest Energy11]

With seizure dogs, keeping both Oral and Rectal valium on hand is a VERY good idea. I'd ask the vet for both! Good luck with this! Hugs to you and your houndie!

[Guest 4baddogs]

No advice, just God Bless you all with seizure dogs. This would be so difficult.

 

I hope Penny is OK.

[LuvAPuppy]

you're hearing from amazing experts who have seizure dogs. I have had two seizure dogs but fortunately the episodes are very few and far between so I'm by no means an expert, but....

 

from your description and my not being able to see it happening, this sounds like pinched nerve/muscle spasm like episodes, not so much "brain seizures" to me. Especially since you mention sore neck/spinal issues. again, no expert here and I know you plan on the vet in the morning. My thoughts are with you though, I know what it's like to worry in the night about pets and people!

[Guest Energy11]

you're hearing from amazing experts who have seizure dogs. I have had two seizure dogs but fortunately the episodes are very few and far between so I'm by no means an expert, but....

 

from your description and my not being able to see it happening, this sounds like pinched nerve/muscle spasm like episodes, not so much "brain seizures" to me. Especially since you mention sore neck/spinal issues. again, no expert here and I know you plan on the vet in the morning. My thoughts are with you though, I know what it's like to worry in the night about pets and people!

Yes, you could be right, for sure. If the OP has Valium, THAT would help the muscle spasms too, as it is muscle relaxer too. Let's hope all goes well for them tonight, and the vet gets to the bottom of this :-))

[greypuppyluv]

Mild seizures can look like other things - bad muscle spasms, charlie horse, even bloat - and it's very hard to tell just from observation, though most bloodtests don't show anything either. If her muscles are spasming she could be low in potassium or another trace element, and that would show up. If she has another one before morning you should take her in asap. That would mean she's clustering and might need medical help to stop the cycle.

 

Unfortunately, most seizures in greys are idiopathic. The good part is that they can be very well controlled with either valum, phenobarbital, potassium bromide or a combination of meds. It may take a little while to figure out the right dose.

 

Another thing to help her is to put a cold pack on her head/neck to help keep her cool. Look up poster "EmilyAnne" as she has a nice blog in her signature about her grey Henry and his seizures.

 

greysmom

 

A few websites to check out if you haven't found these already:

 

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ (this one has a good table of contents that you can check out such as types of seizures and what to do before, during and after a seizure)

 

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

 

http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/

[Trudy]

JUST REMEMBER, if a dog/human is seizing, they are NOT breathing, either.

 

Not always the case. It can happen, but not always the case.

[Guest HoustonGreys]

Doesn't sound like seizures. Sounds like muscle spasms. Take her to the e-vet now. Unless they're total boobs, they can help her.

 

I always hesitate to say anything in H&M because there are so many others much more knowledgeable than myself but when I saw muscle spasms mentioned it reminded me of my late girl, Amy, who started with muscle spasms because Babesia had gone into her central nervous system. If the vet decides it's muscle spasms PLEASE have them test for Babesia and they need to run the second test that tells if the Babesia is active. This needs to be done ASAP.

Praying for you and your sweet girl.

Edited June 24, 2009 by HoustonGreys

[jamngrey]

no advice but wanted send well wishes