mudlover71 Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 We decided to place our Chuck on Phenobarbital treatment for his seizures. We are almost at the end of our 1st week and he is having side affects such as sedation, lethargy, and ataxia. We are most concerned with the ataxia. It seemed to get more pronounced as the week went on. Does anyone have any experiences that they can share about how long until these side effects subside? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 My epileptic foster dog would usually have side effects for the first few days after upping or changing the dosage on his seizure and/or behavior meds. The ataxia was worse in the first few days, but gradually got better. However, it never resolved completely. If your dog is continuing to have side effects after a week, you should call your vet and see about using a lower dose or switching to a different med like Potassium bromide. Do you have an appointment to have his phenobarb levels checked? It can sometimes take a little while to figure out what the effective dosage should be for a particular dog, especially if this is the first time you've put him on meds for his seizures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 My husband's BC Blaze was on pheno from about the age of 5 until he was PTS this summer at age 14+. The first few days he had trouble with ataxia (actually couldn't even get out of his crate without stumbling) and our vet cut his dose in half. About a year later, he had another 2 seizures and our vet increased his dose. Blaze was on 1/2 of a 1 and 1/2 grain tablet twice a day and was able to continue to compete (and place) in agility and disc dogs. Since my husband left for work at 4:30 AM, Blaze was fed and received his pheno at around 4:30 AM and PM every day! We carried Pheno in the car, in our cooler and in our dog bag so no matter what, Blaze got his dose within a half hour of 4:30 everyday for over 8 years. IMHO, this helped keep him seizure free. If we weren't going to be home to give him his meds, we took him with us! Barb S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudlover71 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 My epileptic foster dog would usually have side effects for the first few days after upping or changing the dosage on his seizure and/or behavior meds. The ataxia was worse in the first few days, but gradually got better. However, it never resolved completely. If your dog is continuing to have side effects after a week, you should call your vet and see about using a lower dose or switching to a different med like Potassium bromide. Do you have an appointment to have his phenobarb levels checked? It can sometimes take a little while to figure out what the effective dosage should be for a particular dog, especially if this is the first time you've put him on meds for his seizures. Yes we do have an appointment to check his levels next Monday which will be the 14th day. We are going to watch him this weekend to see any changes if not then we will call the vet on Monday. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam'smom Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Yes we do have an appointment to check his levels next Monday which will be the 14th day. We are going to watch him this weekend to see any changes if not then we will call the vet on Monday. Thanks! My old Bc Toby was a pretty servere epileptic, it took a while to find a suitable dose of phenobarb that ulitmately controlled his seizures. It was change fairly often over a period of 2 years until we found a dose that essentially stopped the seizures, he was eventually at 100mg 2x a day. The side effects in my experience usually subsided with in a week. For a while ( when on a lower dosage) it seemed to be doing nothing and he had several seizures we tried Potassium bhromide, I had a terrible experience using that.. the side effects were awful, poor Toby could barely walk he was so stoned and the ataxia from that was FAR FAR worse than any side effect he'd ever experience while on phenobarb. It didn't help that he was initially put on a very high ( almost an overdose) loading dose to bring his levels up as quickly as possible.. that and the fact we had the worst winter storm in 100 years the weekend we had him on it... he almost died. I would never recommend potassium bhromide, it was just nasty stuff in my experience.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Sam's mom, I've heard lots of good things about KBr but I'm with you thinking it's horrible stuff. Our second seizure dog, Kye, started having cluster seizures when she was just over a year old. Our vet put her on pheno and continued to up the pheno and she continued to have seizures. He then added KBr which decreased the number of seizures she had but didn't stop them altogether. We had her PTS when she was just over 2 years old. By that time, she had so much brain damage that she had no quality of life left. After she was gone, I realized that I had spent almost every night of the previous year listening for her to have a seizure. Even now, I wake up from a deep sleep if I hear one of our BCs even scratch themselves during the night. I'd never put myself or another dog thru this again... Barb S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Even now, I wake up from a deep sleep if I hear one of our BCs even scratch themselves during the night. I'd never put myself or another dog thru this again... Oh gosh, Barb, I've been there! My foster dog came to me at 18 mos. old. He had been having seizures since he was 6 mos. old. Unfortunately, his previous owner wasn't completely honest about his dog's story. Koda often had his seizures in the middle of the night. He always had cluster seizures when he had them. Prior to a seizure, he would usually get up and start walking in circles in his crate. I got real used to listening for this. But, Koda did this several times a night every night, even if it never progressed to a seizure. I worked with a neurologist to try and help him and she believed that he was actually experiencing sub-clinical seizures throughout the day and night, which was why he could never relax. I became so accustomed to listening for his circling in his crate at night that when we went away for a few days once, I was unable to stop listening for Koda's pacing, even though he wasn't even there. We did this for 7 months and were mentally and physically exhausted. I can't imagine doing it for as long as you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 The side effects should get better after a few days, if not, talk to your vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel_55 Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Angel was diagnosed with epilepsy in April '08. Since then, we've had a hard time finding an acceptable dosage. I don't know if this is the norm, but it takes her 2 or more weeks to get adjusted to a new dosage (when we raise it). I too would not recommend Potassium Bromide. We put Angel on it... she didn't have any more seizures, but she was seriously totally psycho the time she was on it. Since she wasn't having any more seizures, we lowered her phenobarbittol but kept the bromide at the same level... had a seizure the next day. We took her off the Bromide and raised her pheno, but it was almost a month before she back to normal again (I guess not normal, but as normal as she can be on phenobarbittol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Hello all, While I'm sure all of you are aware of this, the fact that nobody mentioned it makes me bring it up. There is a California vet named Dr. Jean Dobbs who is doing tremendous work with epileptic dogs. A student of mine put her dog on Soloxine, which increases thyroid function in dogs with hypo-thyroidism, after Dr. Dodds identified the problem from a 6-panel thyroid test. Because my friend is local, she took the dog to see Dr. Dodds, but she has a website with protocol for sending her a blood sample through your vet. Dr. Dodds does the study and returns a written analysis of her findings together with her recommendations. After another blood test to confirm the dog is on the correct dosage of Soloxine, Dr. Dodd's gave the woman a prescription and she buys it online fairly cheaply. I'm not suggesting that it works for every dog, but that one never had another seizure. He is supplemented with taurine and vitamin D as well. Here's the website: http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM or click here Best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel_55 Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Hello all, While I'm sure all of you are aware of this, the fact that nobody mentioned it makes me bring it up. There is a California vet named Dr. Jean Dobbs who is doing tremendous work with epileptic dogs. A student of mine put her dog on Soloxine, which increases thyroid function in dogs with hypo-thyroidism, after Dr. Dodds identified the problem from a 6-panel thyroid test. Because my friend is local, she took the dog to see Dr. Dodds, but she has a website with protocol for sending her a blood sample through your vet. Dr. Dodds does the study and returns a written analysis of her findings together with her recommendations. After another blood test to confirm the dog is on the correct dosage of Soloxine, Dr. Dodd's gave the woman a prescription and she buys it online fairly cheaply. I'm not suggesting that it works for every dog, but that one never had another seizure. He is supplemented with taurine and vitamin D as well. Here's the website: http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM or click here Best wishes I read that page... and I still am totally confused, is it just a blood test? And how does it help? Sorry, I'm a little slow here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Angel_55, It's just a blood test, but Dr Dodds tests for specific things relating to your dogs thyroid. Click here for more information about the testing. Look at the 6-panel thyroid test on the list and I would strongly urge you to have Dr Dodds do at least that test. It is the very first thing I would do if I had a seizure dog. She will email you specifics about your dog's thyroid levels that you can discuss with your vet, and she will make recommendations for treatment. After she's done the test, you can also talk with her by phone. Low thyroid levels are a signifigant factor in canine epilepsy. In some cases, like my friend's, Soloxine has cured dogs and they never have another seizure. There are no side effects with Soloxine other than apparent good health. There may be ways to prevent seizures in your dog without PhenoB or Potassium Bromide. Click here to visit a website with more information than you ever thought you could find on epilepsy. Cheers and best wishes to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Amelia - do you know if Dr. Dodd's testing can be done if the dog is currently on medication? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 I don't know if a dog can be tested once on meds, but you can email her or call her office. They will respond. Cheers all, Amelia - do you know if Dr. Dodd's testing can be done if the dog is currently on medication? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwibc Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I have an epileptic BC as well and his seizures were not controlled until the addition of Potassium Bromide. Phenobarbitone is much harder on a dogs liver and can cause serious problems. If I had the choice I would have started with Potassium Bromide first before adding Pb. JMO Epilepsy is a horrible disease and I hope they find the gene for it soon so others won't have to go through the same ordeal. Julie & BC Cash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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