 Barked: Fri Feb 8, '13 6:12pm PST |
 | |  | | Hi Luke! Penny had seizures for a few months. For her, it was due to an anti-fungal med she was taking for her skin. She'd been taking it for about 3 years and evidently it built up to a toxic dose for her. Her regular vet and her specialist doggy dermatologist had not warned me that this could happen. It also was not listed as "possible side effects, etc." so it was quite a shock for me. I took her to both of her vets to get advice and was told to keep a journal of her seizures and what happened during the seizures (for her they scared the bejeebers out of her and she'd go stock still, staring off into space, then she'd walk like she was drunk, then come over and want to be held and reassured. Her temp was normal and the vets said that if her temp went up (sometimes that happens if you have one seizure right after another)to rush her right to an emergency vet. If she only had one seizure and her body temp seemed ok and she snapped out of it within a half hour or so (recovering from all after effects and acting normal again) and there was no more than a seizure a month, she didn't need doggy meds for seizures. The vet explained that if there was no permanent damage, she didn't have to drive or go to a job (funny vet) we could go without meds and just keep a good eye on her. That's easy for me as she's by my side all day, I'm retired. So, I took her off the antifungals and kept her on a really healthy diet and the seizures stopped for her! I was SOOOoooo glad!! But, after a seizure, I always took my ques from her. If she crawled into my lap, she wanted affection and that's what she got. If she didn't, I just watched her and would touch her slowly and gently to check her temp and make sure she didn't seize again. The main danger of cluster seizures (one seizure right after another) is elevated body temp and you HAVE to rush the animal to an emergency vet immediatly if that happens. Thank goodness, that never happened to her, cause untreated that can kill them! Not that she'd ever be untreated, but it made me watch her like a hawk! If the dog seizes more than once a month, the vet will probably put the dog on a daily med that's much like a doggy Valium. NOT human Valium! It's supposed to help. When the dog seizes, just make sure all people and animals steer clear of the dog, but watch them closely. What I did was to write it on the calendar with the symptoms each time Penny seized, then I'd write it down and take it with me to the next vet visit. Also, it's a good idea to have a doggy tag made up for it to wear that sais, "Seizures" or "Epileptic" so that if the dog wanders off or gets lost, the people who find it will know that it needs its medicine. One of Pennys tags sais, "needs meds" another tag sais "epileptic". I think it makes it less likely that someone will keep her as they'll know she's kinda "high maintenence" and some folks don't want the bother of a dog like that. Not that it bothers me a bit, Pennys more than worth it, but your mom may want to do something like that. Good luck and best wishes!! |  |  | |  |
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I'm sorry, but I have to ask if your pup has been wormed? Even if he has been, loose kitties sometimes make "deposits" in the back yard and those get gobbled up...ick, I know but pups will be pups...I wish you the very best!
