Jasper fitting

Jasper my "mad" Jack Russell turned 6 in November 2011 and started fitting. I took him to the vet and he put Jasper on Phenobarbitone 30mg one tablet every 12 hours. Jasper was still getting fits 3 times a month. Last Friday Jasper had two fits within one hour. I took him to the vet and she give me epilease 100gm, one twice a day. Afterwards he had 6 fits from 4pm Friday until 3am Saturday Morning. I phone the vet at 11am and she said to increase the phenobarbitone to 3 tablets a day. Two at 7am and one at 7pm.
Jasper has had no more fits since then. I have started giving him one total multivitamins and two vitamin B complex tablets.
Jasper's fits only last around one min. but i really hate seeing him have these fits.
I have only found out from this site that other dog owners dogs have fits too.
My vet told me that some Jack Russells start having fits at 6. But he had to admit he does not know why Jasper is fitting Jasper has had blood tests.
Sorry for the long message. Its great to have support. Thank you.

Very sorry to hear about Jasper. Epilepsy is a horrible condition. My collie is on 45 mg twice a day and, touch wood, hasn't had a fit in the two plus years he's been taking it. He is slightly different in that his fits occurred whilst he was actually doing agility but they didn't start until he was five. I've only ever seen him have four but, as they were becoming closer in frequency, we decided to medicate him. Once he had got used to the epiphen, he's been fine and leads a completely normal life. He even got back into agility although a shoulder injury put paid to that.

I was offered more tests to try and establish why he was having the fits but, to be honest, it wouldn't change the treatment so we decided not to put him through them. He is due to have his regular blood tests soon and also tests to check his liver function as the pheno can sometimes affect that.

It is an awful shock and takes a while to get used to the idea but you will gradually relax about it. There are plenty of others on here who will also offer you support. Take care.

Thank You. Poor JASPER, I have his life in my hands I love him so Much, BUT hate these fits AND HATE Jasper being so tired and so much in pain while he as these fits. . I take him every morning for a 6 mile walk. I have noticed he lags behind BUT he loves his walks.
I love the little man He is my friend But................ I must make a decision to stop his pain.
Again thank you very much for replying to my message.
God Bless ( I hope I can say that!)
Chris

Hi there and welcome to Dogsey.

I'm sorry to hear that your dog has been having fits. I hope they will be controlled now. My dog suffers from seizures too - he gets clusters over a few days. The worst he had was around 17.

If Jasper has just been given an increase in phenobarital, he may well be suffering from the side effects. These can last around two weeks and typically include ataxia of the back legs, sleepiness and excess hunger and urination.

I know the fits look awful but it is unlikely that Jasper remembers much afterwards. It is hard for the owner, I know.

Thank you. Jasper is not right. But that is life I just tryed to take Jasper for a walk (Jasper LOVES Walks) He does not want to go. He is now crying, no fit but not a happy dog.
I don't want to put him down. I had a lovely dog Patch, he was in a home in Newport and was going to be put down in 1977 at the age of 17 months. I had to put him down in March 1997.

You shouldn't have to have him put down, don't worry.

The combination of fits, the aftermath of the fits (post-ictal phase) and the drug side effects could be causing him to cry. Also, the excess hunger after fits and drugs can cause crying. My dog gets ravenous after fits.

Give it a little more time and play it by ear. If the drugs are making him drowsy, let him sleep and don't worry about massive hikes.

Have you spoken to your vet for some reassurance about all this?

I see Jasper has also been prescribed potassium bromide (Epilease). This can produce the same side effects as the phenobarbital. It takes longer to get working in the system to be effective - up to around 3 months. Do you mean 100 mg twice a day?

Have a look at this website on canine epilepsy. There's lots of good info on there:

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...m/site_map.htm

Hi
I know seeing your dog fitting is not pleasant, but the dog doesn`t know what is happening. One of mine had occasional grand mal fits. I used to put towels round him and leave him afterwards. He didn`t know me for up to 30 minutes after, and was very tired for a day or so.
Apart from that he enjoyed his life and lived to a ripe old age.
Please warn others in the household not to approach him whille he is fitting and for a time afterwards. You can tell by their eyes when they are back with you.
I wish you well. x

sorry to hear Jasper has had seizures, my dog recently started too, thankfully his seem to be under control now. Don't panic about him not wanting to go for walks just now, my dog didn't either for the first ten days or so, but he's back to normal now, he's on 90mg 2 a day of Phenobarb and at first he just slept and ate.
It does take a while for the meds to get to a level that will keep him reasonably fit free, it took a month for spud's, the Phenobarb needs to be at 25% and even then he's only reached 23 1/2 but the vet's happy with that and Spud's had no more fits. Be patient and give the meds time.

Thank you all very much for replying. Jasper had a good walk this morning.
It's very very good for me to get your replys. Thank You all so very much.

yes Jasper is on 100mg twice a day of epilease