Sweet Blaze Has Developed Seizures

[Guest Blaze]

Hi! Our sweet Big Blaze had a seizure a couple of nights ago at around 10pm. He is almost 9yo and this is his first episode. He had a second seizure at around 2:30 am so we rushed him to the all night vet and they kept him for the rest of the night and the next day. He had one more seizure, and they ran blood work and found nothing. We started him on Phenyob (?) and he's home. Well, they think it might be a brain tumor - but the MRI is expensive and I guess we wouldn't pursue treatment, so we opted out of the MRI. I guess that leaves us not compleley sure of why he had the seizures but now it's been 24 hours since his last one and he's doing really well.

 

I love him so much. Should we prepare ourselves for the worse or is it a really great sign that he hasn't had another seizure since we got home?

[Guest IrskasMom]

I am so sorry , you are going through this ...... but there are quiet a few People here who are very experienced with Seizure Dogs. Hopefully , they can give you some Pointers. Hugs to you and Blaze .

Edited January 6, 2013 by IrskasMom

[msjpk]

So sorry u r going through this. Please read posts on Henry's seizures and maybe that can help or you can get a second opinion.

[duncan41]

Only experience here is with focal seizures, but as Erika said, there are folks here with tons of experience who can help you understand the process of getting them under control.

 

Sorry Blaze is going thru this, but you have come to the right place for advice!

[cometdust1]

My greys siezures were caused by hypothyroidism.Once he was put on thyroid meds he never had another one.Could be from a number of things,inculing a brain tumor, but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion without a second opinion.Others on this board will have lots of info for you.Hope it's not that serious.

[a_daerr]

I'm currently going through the same thing with my Henry. The GT folks were very helpful. Is your guy having any other issues neurologically? Wobbliness, memory problems, obsessive behaviors, issues on one side of the body? If not, I wouldn't automatically assume brain tumors. The vet I use did bloodwork, including a full thyroid panel, to rule thyroid problems out first. Also, they reviewed for Tick Borne Diseases, as some of those can cause seizures to start unexpectedly. Because everything came back normal on Henry's blood tests, we did a consult with a vetrinary neurologist. I was very happy I did this- the fee was only $100, and we got a lot of helpful information. Because Henry is only five, his seizures are characteristic of epilepsy. But epilepsy can occur at any age, so I would probably consider that first. Epilepsy can be controlled with medication. Being that this is his first seizure, it's also possible that something triggered it- a new cleaning product, a new medication or supplement, food. Is it possible that he ingested something accidentally? If so, he may never have another seizure again.

 

A tumor would be the worst case scenario... but if everything is inconclusive, I might still do an MRI. They're expensive, something like $1100 where we live. But not all tumors are malignant, so it is possible that he could survive and live many more years if he had surgery to remove the tumor. Nine-years-old is still relatively young for a greyhound. Depending on the size and nature of the tumor, he could live many more years with basic treatment, like prednisone.

 

I think E-Vets may be worst-case scenarists due to the nature of their work, but I don't think the opinion you got is the 'end all be all.'

 

Just a couple other pieces of advice, if you have other greyhounds (or dogs in general), take caution to keep Blaze safe if he should seize again. Dogs can get in a pack mentality, and will attack a seizing dog to protect the rest of the pack. A lot of people suggested muzzling, crating, or separating the seizure dog when you're not home.

 

If you have any other questions, please PM me. I'd be glad to give you more information about out journey with seizures.

Edited January 6, 2013 by a_daerr

[Guest Blaze]

thanks for the posts and encouraging advise. Sounds like we aught to get him to our family vet and see what all tests were run and make sure there isn't a blood test overlooked or not run. We normally would go through all that but we were so stressed and didn't get any sleep and all.

 

great advise - thanks much

 

so far he hasn't had another seizure so I'm feeling optimistic.

 

I just love him so much. He's my heart.

[Guest dmt]

Kerry, my bridge angel, had seizures when she was 10. She was put on potassium bromide and then we found out she had hypothyroidism. Once she was treated for the thyroid, she didn't have anymore seizures and was taken off the potassium bromide.

Sending many good thoughts!

[MaryJane]

Rather than your regular vet, see about getting an appointment with a neurologist. He/she would be able to provide much more information on what other tests should be run .. for example, on Lucy we ran a lead test because I had been building an addition to the house and there's a chance that she could have been exposed to lead which can also cause seizures -- but, it didn't turn out to be the cause. IMHO (others might disagree), you typically don't need to have an MRI because it doesn't change the treatment options - the dog still goes on anti-seizure meds as not many people would have their dog go through very risky brain surgery.

 

If you haven't started, make sure you keep a journal of dates, times and what activities, food at the time of the seizures. You may be lucky and and the medicine is able to control the seizures and Blaze will not have another one. But, be prepared just in case this is not how it works out. Since Blaze already had a cluster, you might want to talk to the neurologist about a "cluster buster" which is something that you give if your dog has more than 1 seizure in 24 hours - this way you can try and manage the seizures at home rather than going to the ER each time it happens.

 

There is a great mailing list for epi-dogs, I suggest that you sign up at http://www.canine-epilepsy.com

[krissn333]

I too would suggest a full thyroid panel and tick panel before I got too far into seeing a neuro doc or medicating for seizures. Ace had a few small seizures and her thyroid was low AND she needed her neck adjusted at the chiropractor. The occiput area was out of whack and the doc said that can also cause seizures.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am sorry that Blaze had seizures as I know they can be very scary. I second a Neurologist as it could be several things causing the seizures. I will hope that it's something treatable and you and Blaze have many more years together!

[MaryJane]

I tried to word my last response as positive but, since some replies are not stating that you might not need the meds, I think I need to add a little more to my response ....

 

A dog that has had three seizure in what is likely less than 24 hours has already experienced what is called a "cluster". If you stop the medicine, there is a chance that the dog could go into "non-stop" seizures - it's pretty bad. You want to avoid that situation because even if you get them into an ER their body temp may have gone so high that there is so much damage that the choices are limited - yes, this is as bad as it sounds. Note, A dog with seizures on medicine could also go into this state, less likely though (and that's why you'll always hear me mention "cluster-busters"). If your dog goes on seizure meds, it might be best to think that this is going to be a "lifetime" medicine. If you do need to adjust meds, then you work with a neurologist to move the dog off one and onto another medicine. If it turns out that there is another issue like thyroid, it does not necessarily mean that your boy is not going to need anti-seizure meds but, then again that could be the problem and maybe you'll be able to get him off the seizure meds (don't count on it though).

 

Don't rely on responses that you get from this thread - after all, do you know who we are and what our experience is.. that's why I always recommend seeing a neurologist and getting information from them on how to handle and BE PREPARED for the seizures. Many regular vets have the experience to handle the once every 6 months seizures but, you are way past that with your dog having a cluster. If you go to a neurologist, I suggest posting about questions that you should ask as a neurologist can run upwards of $200 a visit and you want to get as much from the visit as possible. Some neurologists require that you get an MRI as part of their treatment plan but, others don't - make sure you get one that doesn't require an MRI.

 

I don't mean to sound so negative, so let me say that Lucy who has had two clusters is doing good. I don't have problems so far dealing with the seizures but, I try and stay a step ahead and that includes making sure that she stays out of the ER. I take precautions when I leave the house and make sure all the dogs have muzzles and that Lucy is also placed in a separate room with a muzzle. My two other boys are great with her when she has a seizure but, I'm not going to take any chances that any of them get hurt. I'm also part of the epi-dogs mailing list to stay up on what other owners are doing for their dogs and what medicines they are on and possible side effects - it's a great list but, it does not replace the expertise from a neurologist. I also talked to as many seizure dog owners as I could to find out their experiences and how they handled their situations.

 

Mu suggestion - get on the internet and STUDY everything you can about seizures.

[Guest Blaze]

thanks everyone - I appreciate the reminder of the meds he's on and that he can't go off abruptly. I have his blood test results now and i can't tell that they ran thyroid. But it is trhee pages and I'm not a medical professional so maybe it's in there, I thought it was 'THS" or something and I don't see that. Oh, and yes, they gave us a 'cluster-buster' to do at home if needed, but when I first started posting I didn't know that this is what it was called. they gave us valiam and the syringe and a tube for administrating it rectally.

 

he hasn't had any more seizures but I'm still worried with the more that I read and learn.