Re: [PyrNet-L] Health: Care: Epilepsy

[Carol Brescher Boyle <carol@NaturalDogFood.com>]

Dan,

I know a little about this subject, and was just getting ready
to post about Cajun's problem with Advantage which led me into
the world of seizures. We applied Advantage in the four spots
that were recommended, the last one being the rump. Cajun was
in season and in the process of cleaning herself, must have
ingested some of the Advantage. (BTW, Bayer had changed the
application location and limits it now to one spot at the base
of the neck).

Within 24 hours of this occurring, Cajun had her first seizure.
I called the vet, and he said not to worry about it. Keep her
quiet, and bring her in the next day. Within 2 hours she had 
another one. We threw her in the bath tub and bathed her
then took her to the vet. He prescribed phenobarital. Long
story shortened, this did not stop the seizures. Another trip
to the vet. Shots of pheno, then back home. Four am we gave her
the second bath. According to the info we found on the net 
(where else are you at 3am and a with sick dog) lots of info
on Advantage including the fact that it takes 2 baths to get 
the stuff off.  Her seizures were now blinding her, and "cascading".
They were getting worse. Back to the vet, who put Cajun on
IVs of pheno and valium. At 4 pm the next afternoon, she had
her last seizure, exactly 12 hours after her second bath, but
also with heavy veterinary intervention. She stayed at the
vets for 24 hours after her last seizure, then we were
allowed to bring her home. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

So I got to know a little more about epilepsy than I would like.
There are a lot of good web sites out there and I have listed
them below. Lots of info, as well as alternatives. But you don't
mention how bad the seizures are. Or how old he is. Or (naturally
one of my favorite topics) what you are feeding. Many seizures
are food related, and eliminating a particular food can
mean the end of the seizures. (If you have time check out my
web site noted on my signature line, go to rogue dogs, and
read about Rascal's epilepsy, and its cause.) 

Also there are certain drugs that we give to our dogs that
promote seizures. According to Dr Clemmons at the U of FLA
Advantage and HeartGuard are two of them (Cajun was on both).
When I emailed him (and he so graciously responded), he said
that he had not found that these drugs cause epilepsy in
dogs, but that both (and there were others on the list) 
lower the threshold for the seizures in dogs that were prone
to it. According to a USDA report my husband found on the
net, Advantage has been known to cause neurological disorders
in rats. But lets face it, no drug is 100 percent safe.    

And on the other side of the coin, there are certain foods
and supplements like kelp, that have a very positive effect
on the nervous system. And this is where we are now. 

Cajun has done 6 mos on the phenobarbtiol. We will begin weaning
her off of this shortly (my vet wants her to go another 6 mos
because of the intensity of the seizures but I can take some
time off in July to start this). One of the potential negative
side effects of this drug is liver damage. There are some
less toxic alternatives, so find out what your vet plans on
giving Cody if this is what you choose to do.

But before I would put my dog on any drug, take a hard look
at his internal and external environment. Our dogs suffer the
same bombardment that we do of toxic chemicals and other
environmental hazards. Eliminate as many of these as are
practically possible. 

Below is the list of web sites and news groups that might
be able to assist you. 

Dalmatians.com/dca/seizure1.htm
Information on Epilepsy in Dalmatians
http://www.rt66.com/~dalcrazy/epilepsy.html
http://www.dalmatians.com/dca/seizure1.htm

http://www.rt66.com/~dalcrazy/Emma%27s%20Page.html
http://www.rt66.com/~dalcrazy/Epil-K9.html

Epilepsy/Neurology:
Neurology Service at UFL's Vet Med Teaching Hospital

http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neurohp.html

Alternative Therapy in Dogs w/ Nervous System Disorders
http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/Alt_Med_Neuro.htm

newsgroups;
news://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/dmofgs
news://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/seizures
news://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/altmed
news://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/general
  
But please, for Cody's sake, explore the options out there
before you elect to put him on meds for the rest of his life.

I never would have put Cajun on it, but there was no alternative.
Now I want to get her off. I may not be able to, but I will cross
that bridge when I come to it.

Good luck to you and good health to Cody. 

Daniel Rice wrote:
> 
>  Epilepsy  - Cody has it for a year now and it has got worse over the last
> few months ,we are waiting for blood test to come back and put him on meds.

-- 
  Carol
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