[Teddysmom]

I have a 3-year-old yellow male lab who had his first seizure on 11/10/06. Since then, he has had 2 other seizures. Two of those 3 seizures seemed to be induced by a particular noise that our cats make when they are accidentally locked in a room and stretch to scratch the door to get out. The dog lays down with his hind legs tighly up against his stomach and shakes his head back and forth as with a person with Parkinson disease. This goes on for about 2-3 minutes, and then he is fine. We stay with him and talk him through it until he is done. He has never lost consciousness, and he has never lost control of his bowels or bladder.

I feed him Purina Healthy Morsels and water. He also gets an occasional hand full of left over meat and cheese. I do not give him bisquits, as he gets terrible diarrhea. Instead, he gets 1 full-sized carrot a day, and he looks forward to this. It's part of his routine. I have to be careful what I give him, or he will throw up or have diarrhea.

My question is what to do about these seizures. He does not do well at the vet and would have to be muzzled and sedated to get the blood work done. I would like to get his thyroid checked as well. The vet is telling me there is a risk since he is having seizures. Could he die if sedated?

And also, will these seizures get progressively worse and more frequent? I'd like to know what I'm up against.

Thank you.
Ted's mom.

 

[talleyJudy]

I'm sorry that Ted is having problems with seizures.

The only thing I can suggest is the information on Dr. John Symes', DVM, website. He has had great success in 'treating' epilepsy in dogs with diet alone.

Maybe look over his home page: http://dogtorj.tripod.com/index.html

And then read the page on Epilepsy and Diet: http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id2.html

I hope it is as simple for Ted as a diet that does NOT include any grain, soy, or dairy; this would include treats and table scraps too. Solid Gold's "Barking at the Moon" or Innova's "EVO" are two kibbles that meet this criteria, and I'm sure there are other kibbles too that I am not aware of.

 

[whitelab21]

here are some links all about epilepsy, the different kinds of seizures and treatment options as well. I think it would be worth getting your dog to the vet. It may be an stressful time for him and he may even have an episode there but at least he will be in a facility where they will know what to do for him. He should get the blood work done because there are medications to treat these seizures. Lots of times these mild seizures will become more severe. I am so sorry to hear your baby has this disease but its important that you educate yourself as much as possible so you know the best way to care for your dog. Hope this helps and good luck

http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Resources.html
http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/epilepsy.html
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm

 

[Teddysmom]

Thank you for responding. I will be sure to check out the websites. I finally figured out how to post his picture. This one is entitled "Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful."

Ted's mom