Sundrop Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Hi all, We have a seizure dog and she is on phenobarbital. Despite that, she had a pretty horrible seizure on October 30. She was in bed with me, which almost never happens, but my husband zonked out on the couch so I thought, "What the heck? She can sleep with me!" Fast-forward to 3:00 AM and I wake up to what I am convinced is an earthquake, only to find her shaking uncontrollably next to me. At first, I thought it was a running-dream, but alas, it was a major seizure. Our previous vet gave us liquid valium as something that might help calm her and prevent clusters. We administered this (rectally). So, we wanted to get another dose... We go to a different vet now and had to talk to a pharmacist, a vet tech and 2 vets before finally getting another syringe with liquid valium. Our previous vet gave us a little "kit" - complete with the syringe, valium and catheter attached - we just had to open and use. The new vet only gave us the syringe w/ valium. Question 1: What kind of catheter should we get and where can we get this? Question 2: The dose we got from the new vet is 3 ML, and though we are not exactly sure, we remember the "old" dose was 5 ML (or some variation of 5, maybe 5.1 or something). For a 65 lb greyhound, what is the appropriate dose? Since we had to (basically) beg our new vet to get this, we are feeling like this isn't correct. Was she given too high a dose from our initial vet, or not enough from the new vet? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revamp Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I have a seizure dog and also have a "rescue kit" of liquid valium at home, but the instructions I received from the vet were to only administer if the seizure won't stop (lasting longer than 2-3 minutes before they begin to recover), or if he goes into clusters of seizures one after the other. He has occasional breakthrough seizures even on a cocktail of Phenobarb and Zonisamide, but in 2 years we've never had to administer the valium. Either way, the emergency valium should, in my experience, always be followed up by an immediate visit with a vet. I'll have to check on the dosage we have when I get home from work. Quote ~Amanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundrop Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Hi revamp - yep, we took her to the vet the next day after she had regained her whereabouts (another reason we were confused that they were hesitant about refilling the prescription). She's had cluster seizures in the past and she has very violent and prolonged seizures (oftentimes lasting more than 5 minutes). That's why we had to get the valium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) Not enough valium. Lucy weighs about 70 pounds and she gets 16 ml of valium after a seizure. Also, it needs to be stored in a brown glass bottle (vial) and drawn up when needed - if stored in syringe, the plastic will degrade the valium rendering it even more useless than the dose. Go to a neurologist and get the correct dose of valium and all the equipment that you need to administer. edited to add - many vets will not prescribe liquid valium as it is a narcotic. Edited November 12, 2015 by MaryJane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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