Hero Seized Last Night

[Guest EmbersDad]

i woke up at 5 am to hero thrashing about in his crate. his eyes were bugging out, his body rigid and twitching. he was foaming at the mouth. scared the beejeebus out of me. the entire episode lasted about 30 min. the twitching stopped in a minute or 2, but he was pretty out of it afterwards. wobbly on his feet and afraid of us. peed & pooped in the bedroom. he eventually calmed down and would approach us for lovin. althea got spooked and headed for the hills. after he calmed back down, he drank some water and we settled back into bed. he woke me up about 45 min later to go out and pooped 3 times really quickly. tried to go to bed after, but he was still agitated. turned out he was hungry, so i fed him and althea around 7 am and tried to go back to bed. he wouldnt settle back down until althea came upstairs to watch over him. only then did we all fall back asleep. i already had a vet appt scheduled for him today at noon so please keep us in your thoughts.

 

if anyone else has a dog that seizes, i would like to hear how its being treated and see if the symptoms are similar. would this be considered a grand mal?

Edited March 30, 2010 by EmbersDad

[GeorgeofNE]

How scary!

[Guest PhillyPups]

Tom, get with Judy (JillysFullHouse).

 

for all of you.

[GreyWrangler]

Tom,

 

yep sounds like some of Red's early ones.

 

How old is Hero?

 

Grand mal is the old term, but since i don't know the new one, i still call it that.

 

The out of it phase is the post-ictal phase.

 

this page might help ya.

 

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

 

 

They do get very hunrgy after a seizure, they burn a lot of enegry. Giving a high cal soft snack/small meal helps. Red will get mashed potatoes or a can of soft food. even soup with crackers, whatever i can get to quick.

 

Althea being spooked is really a good thing. Because the alternate is for her to attack the weaker member of the pack. That happened to a friend and he had to re-home the attacking dog.

[nyGreys]

That's very scary. Beanie had seizures, he was on phenobarb.

Sending many prayers for Hero.

[TheFullHouse]

It was a Grand Mal seizure Tom. Saint's seizures are like that. He's being treated with Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide which has been successful in controlling them. If I can be of any help, please let me know.

[Guest Energy11]

 

Yikes! Sorry you had to go through this. Most probably was a seizure.

 

Curfew had one big "episode" in Sept 2008. Vet here, and I, thought it was a stroke, but now, looking back, it could have been a seizure.

Now, he has little "episodes" which two vets have told me are seizures. To me, they look like mini strokes, ...

 

Anyway, when you see the vet, ask about keeping liquid Valium on hand. You can draw it up into a syringe, and keep it handy. IF there is a seizure, you take the needle off (of course), and you can administer the Valium rectally. Most of the time, it will stop a seizure. It does help Curfew with his "episodes."

 

Good Luck, and I am sorry you had to go through this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Oh my, how scary to wake up to that! I had a Sheltie that siezed about twice a year due to liver damage. It is a very scary thing to watch! He would wander around the house for quite a while afterwards. Couple of things I did: took him immediately outside after, even though he would soil himself while seizing. I used a leash, otherwise he would wander around in circles out there confused. I would also baby gate him into one room, or same thing, he would just pace the house endlessly. I have also heard of people who use baby crib bumpers in the crate for the seizing dog. And I also agree with the poster above that it's very good Althea ran away, many dogs do attack instead which is truly awful.

 

Once you get some info from the vet, you should get a lot of responses to medication and other issues. There is a dog on here named Sophie who has been going through this for a few months, might be helpful to read up on her story. Since my dog only had them twice a year, and we knew why, my vet did not put him on any medication. Hopefully you can get some answers, but seizures are still such a mystery.

 

Oh and totally not the time, but I love your siggy, and Athea? my favorite song!

[Guest greytbookert]

oh no! sending good thoughts for you and Hero!

[CaliforniaGreys]

Good thoughts coming from us too Tom

[Guest twhitehouse]

My thoughts are with you and Hero. Hoping the vet visit goes well...

[EllenEveBaz]

Sending best wishes.

[Guest EmbersDad]

we are back from the vet. she said it does look like epilepsy. hero is 3. we talked about medications and the possible side effects. she said to be concerned if he seizes within the next 24 hrs, or within a month, or if they go longer than 5 minutes because of the possibility of low blood oxygen because he isnt breathing right. how i am supposed to get a seizing dog out of the house and into my vehicle is beyond me. if that happens, im supposed to bring him to the emergency room so they can give him a shot to stop the seizing. could that possibly be the liquid valium? my girlfriends daughter is a nurse, and im sure she could administer it. right in the rectum? not in the tissue...just squirt it in there?

 

to make matters worse, he has what appears to be a histeocytoma on his paw. i think thats what she called it. i thought it was a blood blister and was the reason for the appointment in the first place. she did a fine needle aspiration and did note some cells there. its getting sent to a lab for confirmation. she said it may need to be removed, or it may resolve on its own.

 

when it rains, it pours huh....sigh...

 

thank you everyone for your support and concern. hero and i appreciate it.

Edited March 27, 2010 by EmbersDad

[Guest Energy11]

we are back from the vet. she said it does look like epilepsy. hero is 3. we talked about medications and the possible side effects. she said to be concerned if he seizes within the next 24 hrs, or within a month, or if they go longer than 5 minutes because of the possibility of low blood oxygen because he isnt breathing right. how i am supposed to get a seizing dog out of the house and into my vehicle is beyond me. if that happens, im supposed to bring him to the emergency room so they can give him a shot to stop the seizing. could that possibly be the liquid valium? my girlfriends daughter is a nurse, and im sure she could administer it. right in the rectum? not in the tissue...just squirt it in there?

 

to make matters worse, he has what appears to be a histeocytoma on his paw. i think thats what she called it. i thought it was a blood blister and was the reason for the appointment in the first place. she did a fine needle aspiration and did note some cells there. its getting sent to a lab for confirmation. she said it may need to be removed, or it may resolve on its own.

 

when it rains, it pours huh....sigh...

 

thank you everyone for your support and concern. hero and i appreciate it.

 

Hey Tom! I just sent you a PM. Dee

 

Yes, the liquid valium can be preloaded (*you might be too nervous when the seizure is happening). Have it preloaded, and in a spot you can get to it. You can use Ky or other lubricating jelly. It is inserted just a little bit, into the rectum, and then, ... the medication goes in. Because of all the mucus membranes in the rectum, IT ACTS QUICKLY! Almost as quickly as IV.

 

I KNOW this sounds hard, but if my DH can do it, so can you guys. I have done it twice with Curfew now, and with a few humans, too.

 

This stuff is magic for seizures. I would imagine the vet will put Hero on Phenobarbitol to start, to help control the seizures, as well.

 

Good luck and sending lots of love, and hug! Dee

Edited March 27, 2010 by Energy11

[PrairieProf]

I have no personal knowledge of any of this, but I'm really sorry you and Hero are going through it, I know how scared and stressed I'd feel all alone with that happening to my dog.

[Guest PhillyPups]

Tom, sending prayers for you and Ember. I got off the first post immediately to call Judy, who has Saint seizure free for over 5 years and he had very violent seizures, and yes she had attempted pack attacks by his siblings, hence their use of crates for sleeping.

 

To you and for Hero and Althea.

[Guest Energy11]

Tom, sending prayers for you and Ember. I got off the first post immediately to call Judy, who has Saint seizure free for over 5 years and he had very violent seizures, and yes she had attempted pack attacks by his siblings, hence their use of crates for sleeping.

 

To you and for Hero and Althea.

 

 

It is AWESOME that Saint is so well-controlled! It is wonderful to hear stuff like this!

[Guest ss556]

Tom, sending my prayers for Hero. I hope all things work out and that "pouring rain" goes away.

[MandysMom]

Sending prayers for Hero.

[Burpdog]

With that kind of seizure I'd want some valium to administer rectally in case he seizes like that again.

[TheFullHouse]

You can have valium suppositories compounded at your nearest compounding pharmacy that can be inserted rectally. We keep them on hand for Saint just in case one of these days he has a breakthrough seizure. Our vet gave us a prescription after Saint clustered one night.

[MerlinsMum]

I was worried and sorry to hear this, Tom I have been thinking of you both. Please keep us posted, will be checking in here or on FB again later.

 

:grouphug :grouphug

[Fiona3]

Tom, I am just seeing this now. I am so sorry that Hero is experiencing this and so frightening. You have some very wise and experienced people right here who can give you advice on how to handle his condition. How is Hero feeling now? Hugs to all of you.

[Guest Energy11]

You can have valium suppositories compounded at your nearest compounding pharmacy that can be inserted rectally. We keep them on hand for Saint just in case one of these days he has a breakthrough seizure. Our vet gave us a prescription after Saint clustered one night.

 

EXCELLENT idea for those not comfortable doing the liquid Valium in the syringe. Guess my vet didn't suggest these, because of my medical background. I am confortable with the way we do it here, but, the suppositories are a wonderful idea!

[GreyWrangler]

Red has been on Phenobarb for years and I am now adding the potassium bromide. But we have always also had diazepam tabs to give him after the seizure, then eight hours later then again 16 hrs later to keep him from forming a pattern to the seizures. We also give him a supplement called Marin, it is a derivative of milk thistle to help his liver.

 

Usually the vet won't put a dog on drugs for just one seizure. Red had maybe two a year for a few years before he started to have them more frequently and then went onto Pb.

 

We don't crate, if i wasn't fortunate to have Lottie who like Althea heads for the hills if possible, I would have to crate one of them when not around.