he has jsut ben wormed, thta did occur to me but then i would of thought ti would of showed up in the bloods :S

i think he got fed some breaded/spicy chicken thins from my room mate :S

did think about thyroid but vet didnt mention it and i forgot to ask

Hi

I don't know if this is correct, so someone will have to correct me if I'm wrong, but a woman that I used to work with told me that her vet told her to get some all-bran to give to her dog when it had "the runs" because apparantly the all-bran works on dogs the opposite way it does for humans, i.e helps stop it, rather than loosen it.

As I say, that is what I was told years ago.

Also, rice and pasta is good for when dogs have upset tums.

I asked about thyroid too but Loki is so healthy looking the vet ruled it out immediately. However I still might get tests done just to rule it out. A behaviourist who we worked with suggested for thyroid to have a "Jean Dodds" test done. This link gives some info, together with symptoms:

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...oidDisease.htm

All I can suggest is do as much reading as possible, cut out the culprits of seizures in dogs which are prone to them (eg the commercial dog food preservatives I mentioned), try supplements, keep stress to a minimum, rule out the other causes that have been mentioned, etc. Keep a watch on your dog - he may never have another seizure again or he may have them regularly. If this happens you may need to consider the drug route.

he shows some signs, like dandruff.lol

hes got a few skin abresions type thins on his neck where bits of the skin have scabbed and the scabs are comign off, although the vet has checked these.

hes underweight and more prone to losing it tbh.

i have a funny feeling it might be the new food i tryed him on :S

i dunno if i should wait for him to settle downa dn try again or just cut my losses and go straight for james wellbeloved ?

anyone reccomend the better flavour of his too if thats the general opinon ?

news front from oscar is hes rying t ogive me a heart attack.lol

came home from shopping to find he had been to toilet in kitchen bless him, not his fault, hes going liek every couple hours :s

did ask housemate to watch him and let him out if needs be, so yeah thanks ¬_¬

but he also had signs of blood and mucus in his faceies :S

have rung vets and because he had bloods this morning and thye were clear they arent to oconcerned yet, but if he persist will see him in the morning :S

i am going to be so in debt at the vets soon, my credit card is nearly empty after earlier todayat the vets :S

and hes virtually uninsurable now :S

so yeah, turning into an awesome weekend, poor oscar

so much for having an assignment to do.lol

uni are gonna kill me.lol

soz its so long, hope its clear.

Hello there, Ceiron! So sorry to see your post and that your doggy is having these problems! I wrote the DW article on epilepsy, so I can understand how distressed you will be.

As has been said, KEEP CALM! Your dog will pick up on any "uncalm vibes" - he will start thinking that he has done something bad, and that won't help!

You say he's 10. From what I've read, that's quite late to present with idiopathic epilepsy (it's usually evident at about 3), so it may well turn out to have another, identifiable cause, which could be good news because another cause may be curable, whereas idiopathic epilepsy isn't. So, it's important to have a vet opinion after an examination, rather than to place overmuch emphasis on diagnoses from Dogwebbers, who, although very helpful and knowledgeable, haven't had the opportunity to have a "hands-on" look at him. (No offence, fellow DW-ers!).

The usual treatment is, as said, phenobarb (Pb). I wasn't aware that Potassium bromide (KBr) had been licensed yet in the UK, but I'm pleased to be set right there. From other sites I know, I've heard that it is very effective. Pb can upset the liver and kidneys, which is why your vet will recommend regular checkups, probably every 6 months or so. Bood tests will, likely, cover things like Pb therapeutic levels (i.e. how much Pb is swilling about in his blood, and thus how much more he can take if it's necessary) and liver tests (such as GGT- gamma globulin transferase).

You are lucky that your vet has taken the opportunity to look - when my Snorri first fitted, I phoned, and was told that there wasn't much point in having an exam, because there wouldn't be anything to see! However, his symptoms (sounding much like what you've described) were enough for the vet to say that it sounded like epilepsy, and that Border Collies were prone to it. The definitive answer from the vet came when I had to get him out of bed at 4 a.m. to deal with a cluster.

I solved the food problem when our local butcher started to sell minced leftover lamb/beef as dogfood. With that, and his Pb, Snorri-dog has had a clear life for four years now. The butcher's mince works out fractionally cheaper than commercial dogfood, and there is never any reluctance to eat it. In fact, my spoiled beggars won't eat anything else now.

I know what you're going through (been there, seen it, and I HAVE worn the teeshirt ), but try to relax - it's NOT an automatic death sentence!


epileptic dog, being a Lert

With every good wish for you and your boy

Snorri

Snorri - I didn't know KBr hasn't been licensed - is it not used in the UK then? I was hoping that if Loki (18 months) had to be treated with the phenobarb we could use KBr too ...?

Edited - I think maybe it might be after all - I've found UK websites with it mentioned as treatment:

http://www.nichols-online.co.uk/html..._epilepsy.html

That's something then ...

And great news about your lad being seizure-free for four years!

thanks everyone, really thanks.

he seems a little better in himself, aint going to toilet a smuch so will see how he is tomorrow, got a vets appointment if i need it too tomorrow.

cant afford it though.lol

am so exhausted now and stuff, been a tough few days and stuff, not coping grat with other stuff either so wasnt really something i needed but the no one ever does eh.

uni will kill me monday but hey i dunno if ui care right now, some things are more important.

thanks everyone though, wil ltry and get some some rest soon, nice to know got people to talk to.

All the best to you xx

Oh Ceiron, im so sorry you and oscar are going through all this trouble, you were so good to take him and he was so lucky to have found you, i hope everything turns out ok.

Thanks for the update on KBr, LS! As Snorri-dog has had such a long time free, it has been a while since I cruised the canine epilepsy sites to catch up on developments. But because Snorri-dog is now so stable, I'm not too keen on messing about with his meds! If it ain't broke, don't fix it, so to speak!

We heard that one of his brothers had "grown out of" epilepsy (I gather this can happen), and, with the vet's go-ahead, we tried to wean Snorri-dog off his meds over three weeks. One week after stopping them completely, he had an attack. This turned out to be his last (so far), but it has shown that he can be kept stable on half the recommended dose of Pb (which can only be good for his innards!).

Recent changes to vets' prescribing law means, unfortunately, that human Pb is no longer available for dogs: we have to give him "Epiphen", which is exactly the same thing in a different packet, which has raised the cost by 8 times (£0.08 per tab, as opposed to £0.01 per tab before!). Except that now, we have to fiddle about cutting the pills in half, because it's only available at the recommended dose. Bah!

So, you see, Ceiron, it's not too bad! The initial vet work may tax your resources (vet work always does ), but the maintenance isn't too bad. I have to get by on limited means, too, but I manage to keep Snorri-dog fit-free on them, because I promised both my dogs, as pups, that they would always get the best I could afford. It's possible that they do TOO well sometimes , but the Pb is an essential.

Good luck!

Snorri