Longtime member, not active. Had a basenji with the same diagnosis back in 2004. He took a tremendous amount of bicarb each day, his Fanconi was being well managed, but he started having seizures at night. Our vet gave us something to stop the seizure that we'd administer rectally. We kept track of the number of seizures and they started becoming more frequent, to about twice a week, if I recall. The final seizure he had he went temporarily blind and howled and howled and we knew that was it was time. I just sat on the floor with him and cried. A couple months later we looked at photos we had taken of him right before and he looked very, very tired. Very much the hardest thing we had ever done was to let him go across the Bridge, but after looking at those photos, we had done the right thing. Our vet had told us that it was possible he would have a seizure and not come out of it, and we certainly didn't want that.
Sudden Seizure in 2yr old male tri
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That is very interesting about the flickering! There are so many triggers I'm sure!
Tiki had another seizure....... at least just he seems to be at one a week. Still horrible for him - and to witness. Gut and heart wrenching.
A few notes I forgot to mention as 'tips' that I read about if this helps anyone:
- IF the pre-phase is noticeable a tiny bit of honey MAY snap them out of a seizure continuing (Tiki's come on FAST..... too fast to react.)
- during a seizure to put an ice pack only on their lower back/spine area - take off when the seizure is over. (some have felt the 'after recovery' is quicker with ice.)
- After a seizure 1-2 Tbsp. non-preservative natural vanilla ice cream OR a 50/50 combo of honey and butter!
- A few kibbles at a time as a post-seizure snack. (Someone said a seizure is like running a marathon..... they are often famished after.) But not so many so they don't choke.
- One thing my vet said is that pets have 'styles' typically of seizures..... ie. the aftermath recovery - some are confused, run around the house, spin in circles, are disoriented..... while others get aggressive! That the tend to react the same way for each seizure, like a pattern.
- The one curious observation we had - was that Tiki's always seem to happen late at night and during a heavy rest or sleeping period. He's usually on the sofa - in the zone - relaxing for hours, before one comes on. Or he'll be sleeping on our bed - and at 3am starts a seizure. I wonder if there's a REM component or something going on with 'rest'. Curious if anyone else has noticed that. Storms trigger some dogs....... thunder and lightning don't phase ours....
Thanks for being there - you guys are fantastic and appreciated.
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@Hana , It would be interesting to know if REM somehow, could trigger a seizure ~ it would be the same as flickering lights but without light. And he has them about the same time for each one he has. When I was a kid, we had this little terrier & at the first sound of thunder, he went into a seizure. If he was standing up, he would just freeze & fall over! His legs would stay stiff, his eyes were fixed & glazed & had the foam in the mouth. Scared the living snot out of me the first time I saw it!! I thought he'd just died!! The Vet gave us Valium to give him at the start of a storm & it would keep him from having a seizure. One time, it started to thunder & my Mom had me give him a piece of the Valium so I did & Skippy got up on the sofa & laid down. The storm turned away from us & was gone. I doped up our dog for no good reason! He went into a deep sleep & I sat next to him, crying on him as I couldn't wake him up ~ I thought I'd killed him!! My brother laughed at me, Mom told me to stop being silly & when my Dad came in, he told me Skippy would be okay & took me out to get a Coke. I never gave Skippy another pill of any kind! But I got to reading some things on Canine seizures & here's the 2 links if you want to read them. I hope the Vet gets Tiki's seizures stopped. It is terrible to see your pet going thru that. Keep us posted & Tiki's head rubbed! Nancy B.
#1. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS539US539&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Find+out+about+canine+epilepsy
#2. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS539US539&ion=1&espv=2&i!!e=UTF-8#q=About+canine+seizures -
There are some great groups for seizuring dog owners. I haven't had one, so not sure which are good but I am sure some here can help.
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@Nancy-Berry Thank you so much for sharing about sweet Skippy - and the links!
Every bit of knowledge helps for sure. Have a great weekend! -
Nancy, on REM sleep... it triggers migraines, so wouldn't be surprised if seizures. However, most seizures during sleep for humans is in light sleep. (I worked for 2 yrs with the University of TN Neuropsychology and Brain Research Center with Dr. Joel Lubar. My primary work was with the epilepsy program.)
https://www.epilepsy.org.au/about-epilepsy/understanding-epilepsy/nocturnal-seizures-during-sleep -
@DebraDownSouth This is very intriguing !! I started finding articles about melatonin helping those with "night time" seizures....... Your mention of light sleep not deep REM sleep makes sense. If melatonin helps relieve some night time seizures..... maybe it's because the subject is sleeping more soundly?
Most articles I found said that pure melatonin (check dosing charts of course by weight) 30 mins- 1 hour before 'bed time' can help a lot with dogs with seizures - and for those who panic with storms etc.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/melatonin.htm
http://www.petremedycharts.com/Learning Center/Nutrition/Nutrition/home_cure_for_canine_seizures.html
http://www.vetblog.net/2013/01/dog-melatonin-uses-dose-rate.html
http://dog.rescueme.org/seizuresOne article I found said to not give melatonin for dogs who have seizures. (at bottom)
http://ultimatehomelife.com/melatonin-for-dogs-dosages-safety-and-everything-you-should-know/
Does anyone on this forum have experience with giving their B's melatonin?
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@DebraDownSouth Awesome place to work & what you were working with!
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@Hana Sheesh! I never thought of giving a dog melatonin!!
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I know they have found lower dosages work better for people, but not find much solid research on dosing for dogs for each disorder so I'd start low. However, I am impressed with the amt of vets endorsing it and studies.
http://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/more-melatonin-and-dog-cancer/
leading to this published on help with cancer survival: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10674014Dr Dodman is a rock star: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/3_5/features/Supplements-For-Anxious-Dogs_5095-1.html
https://cvm.ncsu.edu/new-research-study-focuses-on-mysterious-eye-disease-in-dogs/
https://www.vetinfo.com/melatonin-supplements-for-dogs.html
http://vcs.vetmed.wsu.edu/research/clinical-studies/melatonin
