Hi everyone, I am new to the forum. I did a little bit of reading and found other people talking about their dogs having seizures and there’s a lot of information there. I’m having trouble absorbing everything that I am seeing and reading and being told and I feel like I can’t make sense of most of it. Or I guess I should say I’m having trouble applying it to my situation. but I really need a little bit of advice from some people who have been through it before about the behavior changes I’m seeing in my dog. so three weeks ago my beautiful 3 year old black lab/German shepherd mix kirby had a seizure. Called the emergency vet because I’m new in town and have not set him up with a vet yet. They said that one seizure is allowed and could be caused by many things and that if I wanted to bring him in I could but my other option would be to watch to see if it happened again and if it happened again then we would know we had a pattern and that he needed to be treated. So that was three weeks ago. During that time my car broke down and had to be hauled off to the junkyard so I’m sharing a car with a family member Who lives above me. That family member went out of town last week. Friday night shortly before midnight Kirby had his second seizure. I had no car since they were still out of town so I couldn’t take him to the vet. I decided to just stay with him until morning and try and find a way there. 440 A.m. he had another seizure. 7:50 AM another. I was frantically looking for someone to take me and my dog to the vet and no one would help. Part of the problem is that like I said I’m new to the area and don’t know many people yet. I finally got him there shortly before 11 AM. this emergency vet is using a curbside service at the moment because of Covid so I was not able to go inside with him. When I arrived they came outside to take him from me and asked me to describe what was happening even though I had explained it to them over the phone. When I told him about my car three weeks earlier they acted like I was lying and said that if I had called them they would’ve told me to bring him in right away after the first seizure. But they were definitely the people I called. So I don’t know what that was about but it was kind of upsetting. they took him inside and I sat in the car in the parking lot for two hours before getting a phone call saying that the doctor had finally seen him. He had not had any more seizures while he was there and they had not given him any medication to prevent seizures or anything else. I had already paid $500 upfront and they wanted permission to do some bloodwork and said that would cost a little more. I said fine and they called me an hour after that to tell me that The only thing the bloodwork showed was that he was mildly dehydrated. They wanted to give him fluids and I said that was fine. They told me I could take him home in about half an hour. He said they would be sending me home with some medicine for him that would last about two weeks and then I needed to get him in to see another vet. 20 minutes after that phone call I got another call saying he had a violent seizure and that they had given him Valium. They said they wanted to watch him a little bit longer and that he was a little wobbly and that it was going to be another $300 to cover the fluids and the Valium. So $800 later I took my dog home and all I knew was that he was basically healthy and that he needed to take these pills every eight hours. Now that’s just me complaining, just because I need to complain. It’s not about the money but it feels like $800 should’ve gotten me some more answers or reassurance or treatment of some sort. They said I should wait a little while before giving him his first dose of the seizure medication. I spent the first hour we were home shaking, and trying not to throw up, terrified that he would have another seizure before I could get these pills in him. They also said that he was pretty heavily sedated by the Valium and that the medication would probably sedate him a little bit more and he’d probably sleep a lot for the next 24 hours. that was Saturday late afternoon and it is now Sunday at 9:30 PM. And he has not had any more seizures. Hallelujah! but that’s the only good news. he is so restless and so anxious he paces and paces and whimpers and paces and won’t let me leave the room. He gets hysterical if I walk away. I’m exhausted I’m completely drained and I still haven’t eaten anything because my stomach is so tied up in knots. Again this is just me complaining it’s not about me and I know that. I’m simply trying to express the level of frustration I’m feeling about the situation because I hate seeing him suffer and I hate the thought of him having another seizure. I am alone in this. I do live with someone else as I mentioned but they have no stake in this and while they care about me they don’t know anything about dogs or have any connection to my dog. They don’t know how to help and cannot take over and care for the dog for a little while so I can get some rest because he doesn’t want them he only wants me. He will only lay down and go to sleep if I am in the room. If I leave the room he sits at the door and cries and if I’m not back quickly enough he will start to pound on the door with his front paws or tries to jump/pull down the gate that is at the bottom of the stairs and I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself. When I come back into the room he spends another half an hour pacing, and whimpering just barely like it’s under his breath. He doesn’t seem to respond to commands that he should know. Some but not all. He seems to understand me when I’m talking to him but if I tell him to do something he just stares at me or keeps pacing. He’s drinking well, and he will take a few bites of dry dog food but mostly just seems interested in the wet food that I’ve been using to get him to take his pills. So I gave him a whole can of that for dinner. So it’s not a loss of appetite he just doesn’t seem interested in his regular food. He’s always been kind of a picky eater anyway. but when I give him the canned food he scarfs it down like he’s starving so I don’t think that he is resisting his regular food because of nausea. The medication they gave him is called Keppra. Everything I’m seeing online talks about phenobarbital or potassium bromide so I’m not really seeing a lot of stories of people using Keppra and discussing its side effects or success. What I’m reading says that it could cause some sedation or stomach upset including nausea and vomiting. He doesn’t have any of those things. He’s just so restless. at some point here I need to go back to work so that I can make some money to get him in to see another doctor. I have two weeks to make that happen before I run out of medicine. The vet even recommended taking him to see a neurologist and said an MRI might be necessary and would cost at least $2500. So I need to come up with as much money as I can as fast as I can! Meanwhile trying to get a car. But again I’m just complaining about my own things now. My point is that I can’t get back to work to start preparing for all of those things If I can’t leave his side. so I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with a dog having these types of seizures, and behaving this way more than 24 hours after the last seizure. Or does anyone have experience with this medication and does it maybe cause this kind of restlessness and severe separation anxiety? Is it going to get better? Is the restlessness and pacing and whimpering and jumping on doors going to cause him to have more seizures? I’m so afraid of stressing him out because I’m terrified it’s going to make it more likely they will start again. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to try and relieve this anxiety and restlessness he’s experiencing? most of all can anyone say anything to me to relieve some of my anxiety so that I don’t nearly have a heart attack every time I hear a noise because I think it’s him falling over again or kicking something in the midst of a seizure? I hate being the new guy and asking so desperately for help but please please please someone help me understand what’s happening to my baby and help me to know what to expect in the coming days and weeks! He doesn’t normally sleep in my room, and I thought about bringing him in there so that at least I can lay in my own bed and try to get a few hours of sleep in between his doses of medication since he needs to take it at 2 AM. But The vet said that because the seizures did affect his vision (although she says it is temporary) and the medication may make him a little wobbly, I shouldn’t change his environment or move around any furniture for several days or even a week. So I need to know if it’s OK for me to leave him alone to go get some sleep even if it means he’ll be crying while I’m gone. Like I said I’m afraid if I leave him there crying and pacing it’s going to bring on another seizure! now I think I’m just repeating myself. I don’t know who else to turn to. Please help me!
A very warm welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry you are having such an incredibly stressful time. I don't have any real life experience of seizures in dogs, but if he were mine I think I'd go and get a second opinion from another veterinarian or take the referral to the canine neurologist. There are pet charities that will help you with the bill, it's definitely worth ringing around any in your area to see if they can help you finance it. As hard as it sounds, i'd also try to whip out my phone and film him the next time he has one so that you are able to show the medical professionals exactly what's going on. With intermittent things it can be very tricky to get to the bottom of it, and filming the occurrences can be helpful. So sorry I don't have any more suggestions, but you will both be in my thoughts and do let us know how you get along!
Thank you so much for the kind words. I had no idea there were charities that help with that kind of thing. Any idea how I find one of those? I think you’re right about him needing to see someone else. I’m gonna ask a few people today for recommendations and see if I can make him an appointment somewhere. thanks again for replying, I feel a little bit less alone in all of this.
I am so sorry to read about your dog Kirby having seizures. They are very scary, I know because my dog has suffered from epilepsy since he was just over 2 years old. Sam is now almost 11 years old and he has been fighting this thing for almost 9 years. Reading your post brought back many memories for me and I always hate hearing about new dogs and their humans joining this unpopular “club”. What I would say is learn as much as you can. One helpful site for me was http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/. I am so glad that your current vet recommended that Kirby start on an anti-epileptic drug. Given that Kirby has had multiple seizures, he must be on medication. My dog is currently on Keppra along with several other drugs. All drugs have different side effects and it does take time for them to adjust. Please keep in mind that dogs with epilepsy can lead a normal life. I think that it is harder for their humans to deal with then it is for them. I remember feeling the same way as you do right now about leaving your dog alone. It is hard, but you also have to live your life and not let epilepsy control you. I have never gotten an MRI because his neurologist once said to me that probably we would not learn anything that would change the course of treatment. I hope that this info helps. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions that you have. Good luck to you and Kirby!
Hello, my Cavachon has seizures. He started 4 years ago and I was in a proper state when he had his first but the lovely emergency vet reassured me that he was fine. It was a year before he had the next one and then was put on meds. For the next two years he had a seizure every few months so the vet adjusted his meds and it has now been 7 months since his last seizure. Other than the seizures he is absolutely fine, it usually takes him about an hour to fully recover from a seizure but then he is back to normal. My vet also said not to bother with further tests as it wouldn’t tell us anything. I hope you find a good, sympathetic vet who will get the meds sorted for you as there is nothing worse than watching your pet go through a seizure.
