Zonisamide, Epi-Drug Question

[Guest DeniseL]

For those of you that give your epi-dog Zonisamide....what side effects have you noticed?

 

Thyme has always been a food hound. Recently, its gotten much more noticeable. She spends a good portion of her outside time sniffing for scraps of god-knows-what. I have even caught her trying to eat pieces of carpet lint and tissues inside.

 

I am not too concerned about it. She has always been obsessed, but just wondering if anyone else has had that experience....I haven't read much about side effects, I guess because it is still a newer drug for us in canines.

[MaryJane]

Eating "not so good things" can be an issue with zonisamide (also with some of the other seizure meds). I give more treats during the day to try and compensate for the increased hunger.

 

Do be careful .... they can start to eat dangerous objects like rocks, dirt, sticks and so on( in addition to poo). I started putting a muzzle (with duct tape) on my girl to keep her out of trouble when she is outside. If you have carpet that can unravel - be watchful of that.

 

If I remember right you also have the rectal valium .. if you use that be extra watchful because Lucy who never countersurfs, will pull dishes down from the counter after her being dosed with that. The behavior does not last long but, it can be unsettling behavior.

 

How is she doing by the way?

[Guest DeniseL]

She is doing great! No seizure actvity at all since we started the meds. She didnt seem to have much of any side effects, except for this, and her blood work all came back normal after the first couple of weeks, so I'm just hoping we get a nice long stretch of this drug working for her...

[JJNg]

Decreased appetite is the more common side effect of zonisamide. I actually can't find any references to it causing an increased appetite, either in dogs or humans. How long has she been on the zonisamide, and when did the change in her appetite start? Maybe it's not related to the medication?

[greysmom]

My seizure dog takes pheno, KBr, and Keppra, and he's exactly the same way - obsessed with anything he can eat. He gets plenty of food and treats throughout the day, but if there's any hint of anything that might remotely be considered food-like, he's all over it. I have to watch him very carefully because he'll try and grab treats right out of the other dogs' mouths if given half a chance. He is also a poop eater and wears a muzzle with a stool guard when outside. He will poop and turn right around and eat it - YUK! And right after a seizure for about a week, he will do this in the house if not taken outside enough. Double YUK!!

[JJNg]

Increased appetite and hunger are common side effects of pheno and KBr, but not zonisamide. Sorry, I'm not familiar with Thyme's history. Is she on any other meds beside the zonisamide?

[Guest DeniseL]

Increased appetite and hunger are common side effects of pheno and KBr, but not zonisamide. Sorry, I'm not familiar with Thyme's history. Is she on any other meds beside the zonisamide?

 

This is her first medication. She had her first seizure a couple of months ago and then had about 4 over the course of a few weeks. We took her to a neurologist who recommended medication. We settled on zoni and so far everything has been great. Except the appetite.

 

I had read that other drugs caused increased appetite, but didn't find anything on zonisamide.

[MaryJane]

Maybe I should have been clearer - with zoni, it's more of the eating strange things. I usually describe it as increased hunger but, it's more like trying things out if she can eat it.

 

With the rectal valium it was very bad with her obsession. It got better after I was giving her ice cream after her seizure and before she got the rectal valium.

 

What is even stranger is that the addition of Kbr seemed to remove this obsession. She also did not get "food obsessive" as the neurologist said she might and she did not gain weight, she may have lost a bit. She was also put on thyroid at the same time as the Kbr - that might have had an effect too.

Edited December 29, 2013 by MaryJane

[scullysmum]

Is she given Zonisamide as a supplement to other meds (i.e. Pheno and KBr)? I know that Pheno causes increased hunger and thirst, but having just read up about Zonisamide it seems that in humans at least, it causes loss of appetite and is even being used as a treatment for obesity as it works so well in this regard.

 

I'm afraid I don't know much about Thyme's condition as I don't get to spend much time here these days, but my other thought is that maybe her seizures are not being controlled completely and the strange eating behaviour may actually be a side effect of that? Frontal lobe epilepsy causes behavioural changes.

[Guest DeniseL]

Is she given Zonisamide as a supplement to other meds (i.e. Pheno and KBr)? I know that Pheno causes increased hunger and thirst, but having just read up about Zonisamide it seems that in humans at least, it causes loss of appetite and is even being used as a treatment for obesity as it works so well in this regard.

 

I'm afraid I don't know much about Thyme's condition as I don't get to spend much time here these days, but my other thought is that maybe her seizures are not being controlled completely and the strange eating behaviour may actually be a side effect of that? Frontal lobe epilepsy causes behavioural changes.

 

No it is her only seizure med. I know that it is often used as an add on, but we reviewed all the meds with the dr and decided to give it a try...and it is working really well so far as her only medication!

 

I guess I don't think it is a behavior changer, per say. She was always a complete nut with anything edible. But it does seem a bit more pronounced now...I have noticed a very slight change in her behavior since this whole epilepsy thing started. Its so hard to even put my finger on what it is, or even totally attribute it to the seizures. We have only had her a year and a half and I am still noticing her coming out of her shell, so it could just be "her".

 

Coincidentally, Izzy caught a mouse in our storage room this morning, she brought it upstairs before we could catch her and dropped in on the living room floor. Thyme proceeded to eat it. I almost threw up. The whole mouse. I guess that is not totally abnormal for a dog to eat a mouse, but jeez. So far she seems fine, but I am keeping a close eye on her as she digests it. UGH...so so so gross. Its tail was hanging out of her mouse, and we are not talking a little field mouse here, this sucker was kinda big...wont be kissing her for a WHILE....

[Riverhound]

 

Coincidentally, Izzy caught a mouse in our storage room this morning, she brought it upstairs before we could catch her and dropped in on the living room floor. Thyme proceeded to eat it. I almost threw up. The whole mouse. I guess that is not totally abnormal for a dog to eat a mouse, but jeez. So far she seems fine, but I am keeping a close eye on her as she digests it. UGH...so so so gross. Its tail was hanging out of her mouse, and we are not talking a little field mouse here, this sucker was kinda big...wont be kissing her for a WHILE....

You aren't the only one. We found a dead mouse with hound sized puncture wounds yesterday. I'm grateful it didn't go down the hatch, but I still don't want any kisses!