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MEDICATIONS
AND DIETS THAT HAVE WORKED FOR EPILEPTIC DOGS
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Dee and Wally: This is my 4-1/2 year old
Sheltie, Wally. As you can see, he just loves the snow up here in Utah. But don't let this
cute picture fool you--he's a little devil-child at times. He is the third Sheltie for me,
and by far the most hyper of all. When he gets excited (which is most of the time) he
jumps around in circles (I call them loop-de-loops). The really funny thing about it is he
has taught one of my rabbits the same maneuver! Whenever they play chase, both of them
will stop and take a turn at a loop-de-loop. It's the cutest thing you've ever seen. Wally
began seizing August 2002. All his seizures have been grand mal with a very short recovery
period. He averages a seizure every 3 weeks, and one time he actually went 6 weeks without
one. He eats a preservative-free dry and canned dog food, along with the epi-peanut butter
cookie treats. I add 100 mg vitamin C and a few drops of vitamin E daily to his food. He
was started on 7 mg. Pb twice a day and has been increased to 60 mg. Pb and .2 mg
Soloxine, twice a day. (He had a cluster of seizures the beginning of January when his Pb
was 35 mg, twice a day so the vet increased it to 60 mg. when his bloodwork showed he was
not at a therapeutic level). We are now in a waiting period to see how long he will go
with this new increase and I will have his blood and bile checked in another month.
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Deena and Jake:
My Australian Shepherd, Jake, will be 4 yrs old on Nov. 3. He came to
live with us along with his litter mate, Sammo, at 4 months old to be
playmates for Tori our 7 month old Aussie. He has been a funny, lovable,
bouncy addition to our family, so it was pretty devastating when he began
having seizures late March of this year. Our vet was great, calling back on
Sunday with the diagnosis and calling in prescriptions to a local pharmacy.
We started 120 mg Phb daily and slowly weaned him off as he began Kbr and
got the levels up where needed. Until about Sept. 7th the seizures were
controlled to 1 every 3-4 weeks. Then all of a sudden he had 3 within 8
days. We added Phb back into his regimen and have been seizure free since
Sept. 16th. His vet recommended 60 mg Phb twice a day along with the 150 mg
Kbr, but I decreased this slightly since Jake and both his siblings were
suffering from what turned out to be a nasty viral infection. That much
medication made mad dashes to the back yard dangerous when his hindquarters
kept slipping out from under him. They are all now on the mend, and I will
increase the Phb back to the recommended dosage. Right now our main concerns
are just finding the right medication combination to keep seizures at bay
without sacrificing his mobility and bouncy nature. All three are on a diet
of Nutro Lite with Glucosamine and Chondroitin, along with whatever treats
they manage to con out of their parents. We try to keep people food to a
minimum except for fresh fruits and vegetables. This they love so much they
will even harvest their own when allowed into the garden.
I was really glad to find this website and look forward to corresponding
with other epi-parents.
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Denise and Hunter: Hunter is a six year old chocolate
lab. He began having seizures when he was almost two years old.
He has been on Phenobarbital for three years now. Hunter was recently diagnosed with
hypothyroidism and is taking Soloxine to supplement his thyroid. He has
seizures about once or twice every two to six months. He loves to play ball any
chance he gets. He also loves riding in the car to grandma's every day. Medication and Food: 30 mg of
Phenobarbital and 0.4 mg of Soloxine twice a day. Nutro Natural Choice Chicken and
rice adult formula for large breeds, Milk Thistle daily.
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Diana and Claire (and Angel): Claire (who is in the front of the
picture) is a 57 pound mixed breed dog. We adopted her from the Humane Society in
1995. She was so adorable. I can't believe how big she is considering she was
so small when we got her. She is our little bear. Medication and Food: 65 mg
Phenobarbital once a day. Pedigree dry. |
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Diana, John and Little Miss Paige: A little
dog named Oscar came to our home as a lost dog in 1988. He was a laso opso. He
got under the fence one day to a silver haired yorkie terrier. Their unity came to
us weighing 8 ozs at 6 wks old. We named her PAIGE. She was born 11-2-92.
That Christmas she sat in a coffee cup under our Christmas tree. Never any
health problems, just always so tiny and delicate. She lost her daddy, Oscar
in January of 2000. Little Paige grieved for at least 6 months. She had never,
ever been away from him.
On January 10th, 2002, Paige had her first onset of seizures. They were, as we
have learned, status grand mal clusters. She was put on pb, changed to
primidone then off primidone and back on to pb after a change of vets. To date she
has had bile acid studies, 6 panel thyroid, x-rays, liver ultrasound and one subnormal pb
level. She is currently on 2.5 mg pb twice a day, mylicon pediatric drops for
bloating and gas. We have the valium protocol at hand and R&R. After her
bloodwork for her pb level on Monday, March, 18th, 2002 she will be considered for
kbr and possibly soloxine.
Paige is a little 3.5 lbs of utter joy. She is not a dog to us, she is our
baby, our child. She is totally dependent upon us. We have been blessed
with having the Guardian Angels cross our paths. We met under some pretty
devastating circumstances but have come to share an unconditional love with each and every
one of them and all their precious babies. We will all continue to share our
experiences, our knowledge, our tears, our moments of happiness with each other. All
of our hearts seems to be as one.
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