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celli
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25-02-2012, 12:40 PM

Seizures and possible brain tumour

Hi
I'm posting in the hope there's someone else out there that has had a similar experience with their dog.

My 10 yro SBT Spud recently started to have small grand mal seizures, in the first week these were confined to happening in the car but in the second week he has had 3 in the house. He has been on Epiphen for 8 days so still early days.

After full blood, urine and blood pressure tests ( all very normal ) the vet thinks the most likely cause to be a brain tumour, although obviously without an MRI he can't know for sure. Spud is insured but I've decided not to put him through extensive tests as they may show nothing and even if they did I wouldn't put a 10 year old through major cranial surgery.
The fits themselves are very small, confined to jaw champing, turning one circle and very occasional loss of bladder control, he seems to bounce back after the fit within 10 minutes and isn't distressed or disorientated at all, neither does he have any other symptoms such as tremors or head tilt. I've been told that the milder the symptoms the better chance there is of him living with his condition so I'm still hopeful.
I've started him on ( hopefully ) tumour reducing supplements ( selenium, vits ABCE, arginine and some enzymes ) he is also on a raw diet with the occasional meal of Orijen.

Any experiences ( good or bad ) or general thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Jane
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Brandykins
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25-02-2012, 12:51 PM
Aw so sorry to hear that. My Loki suffers from the Grand Mal fits and has done so since before her 1st birthday. She is now 6 years old. She is on 2 x 60 mgs of Epiphen and 1 10 mg Potassium Bromide tablets in the morning and the same in the evenings.

I have to say that her fits now are not nearly as bad as they were a couple of years ago, in fact, she went 1 year and 8 months with them, then took them last August but only 6 over 2 days (in the past she's had 39 in two days!). She had 7 just two weeks ago but they are not nearly as bad.

The Epiphen and Potassium Bromide had helped her and I am sure, once the Epiphen is in her blood, your dog will be helped.

Hope the meds for the brain tumour works - I am sure they will.

Big hugs to him from me and doggy licks from Loki xx
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celli
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25-02-2012, 01:13 PM
Thanks so much for the good thought Loki

How did you cope with 39 fits in one day !? I think I'd have needed medication myself after such a trauma. Hope your dog remains fit free
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Mazza
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25-02-2012, 02:35 PM
My boy was 11 years old when he started having odd blank episodes, I would enter the room and he acted strange as though he didn't know me, so hard to explain,not exactly growling but muttering. It would last only a minute and I thought it was the start of dementia or the fact that he was almost deaf and had poor eyesight. One day his balance was very poor and I took him straight to the vet and he diagnosed what I feared and said was certain it was a brain tumour. He was put on medication and appeared to pick up but sadly he died three days later in my arms, no sign of any pain or distress. It was a shock to me and my vet. Ironically I got a pup a few months later and I could tell by the similar gait that something was wrong with his brain but numerous vets said it was HD and thought I was neurotic!! Eventually a brain scan proved this to be true,he has a mass covering more than half his brain, they couldn't do anything for him and the outlook was poor. I still have him a year on and he has a near normal life. They were suprised to hear he had never had a siezure and to expect them but so far so good.. I hope the medication works for Spud, I know only too well what a worry it is.
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celli
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25-02-2012, 02:56 PM
Very sorry to hear your experience brophy, seems very unfair that your pup should have a tumour at such a young age . I know a couple of people who's dogs have brain tumours and they've gone on to live normal or near normal lives, I've even met one who's head is distorted by the tumour and yet he's in no pain and has a normal life.
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cava14una
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25-02-2012, 04:02 PM
No experience just wanted to say hello and hope you get some help
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3dognight
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25-02-2012, 05:41 PM
hello there iv got a pal who is going through this now, the dog is 8 and and he was having them every day ,the vet said the same as yours/.m wife is a pharmacist and they despence potassium bromide for dogs who do this .its working for my friends dog.i fit every 2 months as opposed to lots in 1 week....please ask your vet about the meds i mentioned here, im not one! and hope i got the name right.good luck to you and your pup...
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Lucky Star
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25-02-2012, 07:18 PM
Hi there

No experience of a brain tumour but my Loki, like Rose's Loki, has the full blown seizures. He is currently on potassium bromide alone, with rectal diazepam and now Keppra for when he clusters.

I'm sorry your dog has started having seizures and I hope the diet and epiphen work. It can take up to two weeks to become fully effective and he will need blood tests to monitor the levels.
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celli
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25-02-2012, 09:20 PM
I have read about bromide being used in conjunction with Epiphen and it's certainly something I'll look into if the Epiphen on it's own doesn't work.
In the mean time Spud's his usual self, wanting all the attention and determined to have as much fun as an old boy can.

[IMG][/IMG] My boy spud
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Lucky Star
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26-02-2012, 06:51 PM
Oh he is lovely. What a lovely expression!
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