Tag Archives: Fred

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.

Again.

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Fred had a seizure on Jan 27 2012 – it had been 6 months and 2 days since his last seizure.

Fred had another seizure this morning – making it 13 days since his last.

I’ve had a loss of words for a few weeks and especially today.
I decided since we could use the support and love and im speechless I would leave you with my original post that I did to inform our Hound Girl readers of Fred being diagnosed with Epilepsy.

Fred has canine epilepsy.  When Fred has seizures they are Grand Mal and it affects every inch of his body.

Fred started seizing out of the blue over a week ago.  He was a healthy happy 4 1/2yr old bloodhound.

Seizures are horrifying.  They say it gets easier as time goes by to watch your dog go through it. 

As each day passes that he is seizure free I will begin to not jump at every move he makes.

There is nothing I can do to cure him, but I can control his epilepsy.

This takes time, patience, medicine, and one hell of a fight.

Fred is not in any pain, this is something I have to remind myself of daily.

He may be scared after wards but Scott and I are here for him to help him through that scary time and if we are not Haylie is here to assure Fred this is where he belongs.

Right now there is allot of uncertainties but one thing is for sure no one is giving up on him.

We are hopeful but we are scared.

I’m grateful to so many of you that check on us daily, post on your blogs about us, email me like crazy when I need support and allow me to cry to you when I’m scared.

I owe everyone a huge thank you for all your loving and supporting comments.

FRED is a fighter and is ready to FIGHT.

My Own Pharmacy

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Once a week I have to sit down and divide and cut up Fred’s pills.  This week he had a few more because he was on an antibiotic for the growth that was removed off his side.

I’m sure many of you can relate to this picture.

Sure, I never thought I would have a dog that had to take daily medication twice a day.  I thought my pill cutter would only be used for my medicine.  Heck I don’t even have a pill organizer!!

For those that are new to our blog – Fred takes thyroid medication and phenobarbitol for his epilepsy.

As of last week there were not as many pills he was taking.  Fred had a thyroid level check and his blood test came back showing that it was still low so we had to up him a little more on this thyroid medicine.

Fred is feeling great so please dont worry.  Knock on wood we are still seizure free.  I would sit and cut and organize pills every day if it meant Fred would remain healthy and seizure free. 

Cheers to all the other druggie dogs!!

Fred and the Bump

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Fred has had a growth on his side for a little over a week, we have been keeping a close eye on it.  Its doubled in that week so I put a call into the vet yesterday when I got home.  He wanted to see Fred, so Fred and I loaded up and off to the vet we went.

Its not the best picture because a certain hound wouldn’t stand still but you can see the growth

My vet did have a gut feeling that it was non cancerous but he did want to remove it.  With Fred being an epileptic dog we try not to sedate him due to the increase risk of him seizing.  

Fred was a little nervous today and positioned himself between the exam table and the chair, in hopes that the doc wouldnt see him!

I opted not to go into the “back” with Fred this time.  One of my favorite vet techs was there to console Fred.  I was a little too nervous and that wasn’t going to help Fred.  Today he was very scared at the vet so I just didnt want to make it worse.

 

Fred has 4 staples and some stitches, he ate his dinner like a champ and slept very well last night.  Staples will come out in about 2 weeks.  Hopefully we can avoid the cone as long as he leaves it alone!

I did opt out of getting his growth biopsied, I did this for several reasons

  1.  The vet had a gut feeling it was not cancer – I love my vet and do trust him.
  2.   If it was cancer I would not subject Fred to chemo – he has been through enough in his life, we would just live day by day and enjoy the time we had.
  3.  I would rather take that $140 and spend it on Fred with things he loves and to spoil him!

Today Is A Good Day

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Today is special.

  It marks 2 months since Fred had a grand mal seizure.

Fred still has epilepsy – there isn’t a cure.  It can be managed with medication most of the time.

 The odds are that he will still have a few seizures a year and I’m ok with that, things could be worse.

I can finally take a deep breath.

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**Enter my current contest for a free bag of pet treats (they are good for cats too!) just click HERE

Allergies aren't just for humans

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*****If you are on facebook we could please use your VOTE!!!  I entered a picture of Fred and Uncle Mickey for the look a like contest :)   You can vote once daily!  Please click https://www.facebook.com/#!/FetchCorporate?sk=app_262878517080091 to go and vote! Thank you ****

 

Saturday morning I noticed that Fred was itching again.

Fred went to the vet a few weeks ago because all down his back he had these little sores. 

He was given a steroid shot and a round of prednisone. 

Fast forward to Saturday.  Fred was miserable itching again.  I ran my had down his back and could feel the sores again.  Then I noticed in his groin area the sores had spread. 

Sigh…vet time again.  I really should own stock at my vet’s office.

We left there with a diagnosis of enviromental allergies with a secondary staph infection.

Fred is now on an antibiotic and steroids.  I will be holding my breath while he is on the antibiotic because alot of antibiotics can lower the effect of phenobarbitol and the last thing I would want is Fred to start seizing again.

The silver lining is that with Fred getting 6 pills twice a day now he loves all the cheese and turkey dogs that his pills are hidden in!