Again and Again – Canine Epilepsy Fred
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I wanted to first tell all of our wonderful readers how much we appreciate each and every one of you and how much your support means to us.
Fred had another seizure this morning. Here is a little information on what has been going on for people that are new to our blog.
Jan 27th 2012 Seizure (6 months 2 days since his last)
February 9th 2012 seizure (13 days since his last)
Saw the vet – all the blood work came back great.
February 15 2012 seizure (5 days since his last)
My vet decided that if Fred had another one close to his last one we would double his intake of phenobarbital. Fred will now be on 100mg twice daily. Fred has been on this dose before but it was tough on him when the ataxia (they call it drunken sailor walk) set in.
Today after his seizure we used valium (pill form) to help us aid in getting Fred to calm down after a seizure. Fred is very hyper after a seizure and he is temporarily blinded and he doesn’t always know where he is and who everyone is. We are hopefully that the valium will allow Fred to relax as well as keep his body temperature down.
There is no cure for epilepsy. Some dogs have triggers to when they will seize – with Fred we haven’t noticed any. He only seizes when he is sleeping and normally early in the morning. It used to be 5am and now it’s been 2am. Canine epilepsy is hard because there is nothing you can do for your dog – there is no surgery or wound that you can fix to make it all go away.
We appreciate all the love and kind words and could use everyone keeping their fingers and paws crossed for us as we head down this new road.
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kari@houndgirl.com
OMD! I absolutely HATE reading dis! Poor you and poor Fred. I knows it is difficult to see him go through dis and not bein’ ables to help. I wish there were sumptin’ to help him…ugh!
Please knows ya’ll is in our thoughts and we send our bestest doxie vibes to ya’ll.
Puddles
Poor Fred! I know what it’s like to feel helpless when your dog has seizures. All you can do is be there for them and comfort them. Barney’s seizures always happened when he was sleeping. Usually at night but the odd one in the daytime when he was napping. I always knew in the night because he would drag himself onto me and drool and shake loosing control of his bladder. I would just lay there with him and pet him until it was over. It is very heart breaking. He never got hyper after like your Fred though. I hope things settle around for Fred and you again. Good luck!
You know that you are in my thoughts. Fred WILL adjust to the higher dose and hopefully it will work to simmer his brain down. You’re in for a tough couple of weeks with drunken sailor Fred staggering around the house, but I am wishing as hard as I can that once he adapts that the dose will keep that seizure monster away.
Mango Momma
Oh, this must be so upsetting to you, tough when you have so little control over this monster. We hope Fred adapts quickly to the new dose and stays seizure-free for a long time.
Hugs and Woos – Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning and Mom too
Sending lots of good vibes to Fred. Hopefully the increase in medication will help. We’re still feeling very lucky with April. She’s been seizure-free for 3 years but still taking the Phenobarbital.
I am so sorry for Fred. Hopefully if they get the right combo of meds he will improve. My husband’s aunts doxie had epilepsy and lived to be 16. She had periods where she seized a lot and periods where she didnt seize at all.
Gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that! I had hoped the medication would work. Has your vet recommended any dietary changes? I’ve read that certain diets are helpful in controlling epilepsy.
Keeping you guys in my thoughts and prayers.
Oh Fred…..we are purring for you all….
Oh Fred. Love, hugs and prayers to you and your mom from me, crossed paws, licks and love from Gretchen, and Sissy will cross paws, sling drool and send love too.
I think I might hate the seizure monster almost as much as cancer.
I wish there was some easier way to deal with the SM.
Paws Crossed that this new dosage will do the job.
Hi! Stopping by from Mango & Dexter’s blog to offer a kind word for Fred. So sorry! My late toy poodle Suzie suffered from the seizure monster too. It is very scary! We care!
Our paws are crossed for you, Fred
-Bart and Ruby
Our paws are crossed for Fred and your entire family.
Drools and licks,
Minnie and Mack
Oh Kari – I’m sorry. I’m always available to talk if you need me.
We are with you in this fight and know exactly what you are going through. These battles have thier ups and downs. You, and Fred of course, will get past this. We are praying the increased meds do thier job and the seizures stop. Keep in mind that pheno metabolizes through the liver and prolonged use can cause issues. I would talk to your vet about liver supplements and check out which ones Payton takes for ideas. There are also websites I can pass on if you are interested that document dupplements and diet recommendations. Payton is also on many different kinds of anti-seizure medication. When she would relapse we would have to add one. Make sure your vet knows about the other options out there as our local vet was not aware of them all. Fred is a fighter, and so are you!
Love,
Christy and Payton
Fred, we are sending your drool and our paws are crossed over bunches for you. We don’t like it when our bestest buddy is not feeling well. We wish there was more we could do for you, but we know your Momma is doing everything possible. Sniffs, The HoundDogs
-Corbin
Hi Fred, that’s not good at all. I can’t imagine how frightening this must be for you. To come out of something like that, scared, unable to see and not know what’s happening. I’m sorry that there’s so little medically that can be done. It would be great if God cut you a long break before the next seizure or if they went away altogether.
Oh, we are so sorry to hear that Fred had another one. We are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.
The silvers and more
Saying lots of prayers for Fred!!!
Luv,
Dave
I am sending lots of healing thoughts your way, Fred, and my paws are crossed for you!
Love ya lots,
Mitch
I’m so sorry to hear this – it just breaks my heart. I have
my paws crossed that the new dosage will be helpful.
Stewey
We love you Fred
Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Sending woofy hugs and love to you Fred… and to your dear sweet Mama.
I’m so sorry for you both! Paws crossed these meds work
Dachshund Nola
Sending love, prayers and hugs.
Thinking of you Fred! I am sorry you are experiencing these episodes again. I am sure your momma and vet will figure it all out.
We are sending lots of love and support. I hope this dose helps Fred feel better and makes the nasty seizures go away.
Your pal, Pip
Hi Dear Fred, we are very sorry to hear the horrible seizure monster has been visiting again. We are sending you all our hugs and healing slobber and to the SM we are sending a huge kick in the butt so he will go away!! Take care Fred. Love your sweet face. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory x x
Oh Fred
I am so sad that the seizure monster is bothering you. I wish I could help you. Oh I wish.
I have been sending healing bubbles your way- I hope they help a little- please know that I love you and your dear family
love
tweedles
We are sending healing energy and woos of comfort to Fred…and strength to you (it must be very hard to feel like you cannot fix things). Thank you for continuing to educate us about what Fred goes through and what canine epilepsy looks like; this is important to know.
So sorry to hear about this Kari. I can not begin to imagine what you must be going through and I wish I had magic words that would help it go away. Just wanted to let you know we are thinking about you and Fred and hope that you are both doing better real soon.
[...] sling drool, send good vibes, or whatever you do to support those in need, for our pals Tsar and Fred. They and their worried moms need some power of the paw! Like this:LikeBe the first to like [...]
What the hell FRED?!? Poor baby! No more drunken sailor!! Love & hugs y’all!
Wiggles,
Calhoun
We’re the heartbeats btw!
Oh no, just hearing about this now – I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Epilepsy is scary and so heart-breaking to watch your big strong dog made so helpless during an ‘attack’. I really hope the increased dosage helps and that he adjusts to it quickly. When we played around with my old Beau’s doses, the ataxia lasted about 2 weeks but he did eventually get used to it. I hope Fred will have an easy time and feel better afterwards.
In the meantime, we are thinking of you and wishing you all good things.
Oh I hope Fred does okay on the higher doses of meds and that it keeps the seizures at bay. g
Hi there, haven’t been here for a while. I’m so sorry to hear about Fred’s diagnosis. I know how scary the seizures can be because Rufus had them as well. They always happened at night too, the first time, out of the blue. We thought he was dying. We were so scared and had no idea what it was and called the emergency vet hospital. Unlike Fred, Rufus was never put on meds and the seizures went away after about 3 or 4 times. Maybe Fred will get lucky like that too? I hope so. Big hugs to all of you x
Thanks for keeping us updated on Fred’s condition. We didn’t understand how disorienting a seizure can be-we’re hoping and praying that his seizures subside.
We have all our paws crossed here for Fred. Sending you lots of pawsative thoughts and healing zen.
Stay strong and positive.
Big Nose Pokes
The Thugletsx
FRED!!! Buddy! I am so sorry to hear that *!@! Seizure Monster has been visiting you
I sure hope the increased meds will make that creep go away! Hugs to your Mom from my Mom and lots of healing vibes coming to you from both of us pal.
The Roo Family
Oh Fred… i pray you have better days ahead and the meds will work. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers everyday. Hang in there Kari. *HUGS*
Sending lots of slobbers and love your way Fred!
Slobbers
xxx
I’m so sorry to hear that Fred had another seizure and has been having them more often. Hopefully once they get the medication adjusted he will not have them anymore.
I am sorry to hear about Fred and I am sorry that you are going through this. I know the feeling of helplessness of having to watch a loved pet have a seizure. I know the restless nights of jumping awake at every little sound with the fear that your loved pet is having a seizure. You posted a comment to my site http://www.cletusthebloodhound.blogspot.com about Fred. My bloodhound Cletus was diagnosed with epilepsy originally prior to his diagnosis of congenital hydrocephaly caused by open lipped schizencephaly. I have done extensive research into all of these different seizure causing agents. If you would like, I could speak with you more in depth about his seizures, things to look for prior to a seizure, etc from my experiences with Cletus. My email is dsilber27@hotmail.com With Cletus, I was able to tell 24 to 48 hours in advance of an upcoming seizure after I learned what to look for. My other dog, Magnum also trained himself to let us know about 2 hours prior to Cletus having a seizure. The same type of tricks may or may not work for you and Fred but it couldn’t hurt to try. All my best, Doug
I am very sorry to hear this Fred. I hope your medication is adjusted so these seizures slow down and give your Mommy less heartache
sending our heartfelt positive prayers for Fred, the poor baby….I wish they could cure this awful disease!
I’m so sorry to hear this.
I had a friend with epilepsy and it was scary watching him seize. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like with a dog.
I will continue to keep you in my prayers.
I’m so sorry Fred continues to struggle with seizures. I can’t imagine how traumatic it must be for all of you. Hang in there!
I’m sorry his seizures have been back and causing more grief! Ataxia was one thing we never had to deal with for Treat. I don’t know of anything to help with that, but I hope that there are others who do. Please know that we’re thinking of you, though! I know it isn’t easy!
Kiss Fred for us….we can’t imagine how scary this must be and we hope the higher dose works without the side effects….
Howdy Fred, just wanted to let you know we are thinking of you. Hope you are ok. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory x x
How are you doing Fred? We continue to send White Dog healing energy and positive thoughts.
Hugs and Kisses to Fred.
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Then your mission is to create a blog post where you tell 7 things about yourself and then choose 15 other blogs that you enjoy to receive the award also. AND copy and paste the Versatile Logo for your blog.
congratulations!
Oh Fred…we are so very sorry to hear about this…we are sending along lots and lots of healing thoughts and prayers that your new meds are working and you will be back to feeling good again…xoxo Chloe and LadyBug
Keeping you in my thoughts… ((hugs))
Oh Fred!! We will pray for you. Brodie has epilepsy too. That reminds me…we need to have an Epilepsy Awareness meeting…. Are you a part of the club?
We are sending you our prayers.
Fred get better. You are a beautiful strong boy you can beat this seizure monster.
Emma
We haven’t been by in awhile and are so upset for Fred! We are so sorry he is experiencing these awful seizures.
We are sending all the good vibes and healing thoughts we can generate for Fred AND the momma!
Sugar the Who