Hallo. Our boy (3.5 years old) is on KBr (Potassium Bromide) for epilepsy. He is also itchy -- we don't know to what, it is a work in progress finding ways to make him less itchy. He recently had blood tests for bromide concentration, which came back in the toxic range!!! Very worrying. He is now on half the dose (and he was on a low dose to start, but I suspect his raw food diet allowed more KBr to be absorbed; salt competes with KBr reabsorption). He'll have blood tests again in 5 weeks. I found a flea on him last night -- first one in two years. I don't currently use any flea/tick insecticide because he is so sensitive and has had a seizure after taking a dewormer. But he is scratching more than usual, and if it is fleas, then I want to try something. Of course I will ask my vet about using an insecticide given the toxicity of bromide in his blood, but I also wanted to know if anyone on this forum has advice. (My vet is the first one to say that asking advice far and wide is a good thing; she does not purport to know everything even though I do have faith in her medical judgement.) I'm keen to know what you use for getting rid of fleas (and ticks to a lesser extent). And specifically for epileptic dogs on meds, are there any interactions between KBr and insecticides? Thank you.
Hi. I'm sorry your boy is having problems. I'm afraid I don't know anything about dogs with epilepsy or KBr but I wondered if a natural flea product might help. Are you in the UK? CSJ do natural flea treatments which include a cream that helps soothe the skin. I don't know how effective these products are or if they are suitable for a dog with epilepsy on KBr as they have essential oils in them but if you were interested you could contact CSJ (by phone quicker) they are very helpful and I'm sure could tell you if the products are suitable. http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=18 Sorry I can't be of more help. Hope you find a solution soon.
Hi there. I too have had an epileptic labrador on KBr. In terms of the problems you are having, specific interactions between KBr and insecticides are not reported as far as I know. My own dog used to fit if given wormers/insecticdes containing avermectin-type drugs, this included selamectin which is in Stronghold. She was fine with milbemycin though, and the induced seizures were not an interaction between KBr and the drug but most likely a leakage of the insecticide over the blood-brain barrier directly causing seizures in an epileptic animal. As far as the itch is concerned, clearly any flea burden is going to make any itchy dog worse so some form of insecticide would be good. I would chat with your vet and see what they stock that isn't based on avermectins. KBr can occasionally cause a rash on its own, and epileptic dogs on phenobarbitone with or without KBr may itch too - is your boy on phenobarbitone as well? This is a situation for much talking to your vet as changes of drug or diet to investigate possible drug or food intolerance can alter KBr/phenobarbitone concentrations dramatically and either worsen any toxicity or precipitate seizures, and if your boy is already on phenobarbitone then adding steroids such as prednisolone to reduce the itch can also cause huge problems. I hope this helps, but this is really one for much discussion with your local vet and I hope you can manage to get him some relief soon.
Thank you for replying. I am in South Africa. I have previously tried natural flea deterrents -- perhaps I should try again. I used diatomaceous earth rubbed into Snowie's coat. It made his coat feel too awful, very sticky and dirty! I did sprinkle the DE on a cockroach once and it died very soon after, so clearly it has some effect, although I smothered it in DE. I have rubbed on a few drops of tea tree oil although I have read it is toxic to dogs, so I am cautious. And also khakibos spray which is made from a local herb and supposedly renowned for deterring fleas -- smelled lovely but made Snowie's coat sticky and I don't believe it had any effect on the fleas. When I stopped using the spot-on treatments two years ago, I decided to wait until I saw a flea before using anything. And for two years I have not seen a single flea, and I regularly use a flea comb on Snowie. Regarding the spot-on treatments, Snowie detested them, would run a mile. I had to hold him in a vice grip to get the stuff on -- so unlike him, he is usually so compliant. When I read how toxic the spot-on treatments are, I felt too awful that I was putting it on him. Judging from his behaviour, it seems he knew already.
Hi Lochan. Thank you for your detailed response. Interesting your dog was fine with milbemycin. That is in Milbemax, and Snowie had a seizure a few hours after having a Milbemax. He is fine with Mediworm, which contains Praziquantel. I have heard of ivermectin but it doesn't ring a bell of a dewormer I have used for Snowie. Snowie has been itchy all his life. He started on KBr in May this year although the seizures started two years ago (infrequently until May, hence medication). It is so difficult to know if this current bout of excessive itching is due to the KBr toxicity or to that lone flea I found (who no doubt has several cousins lurking around). He did have ataxia 10 days ago, which is why my vet tested his blood, although at the time she thought it was due to a sore hip because she thought he was limping (he was sufficiently motivated at her rooms to walk around). When I look back, I am convinced it was ataxia because he showed no signs of being in pain; just could not stand up. The original vet who prescribed KBr is a specialist physician who we sought out to start the epilepsy meds. I did ask him whether the dose would be affected by Snowie's raw food diet -- I had read about salt and KBr absorption. He said that the salt difference between pellets and raw food was negligible and would not affect the KBr uptake. He started Snowie on 4ml once per day, but after a week of living with a dog we could not recognise -- manic and with an insatiable appetite, he lowered it to 3.5ml once a day. Snowie is now on 1.75ml once day since we got the blood tests back a few days ago. He weighed 35kg when he started the meds, and 4ml/day was the correct dosage for his weight. His weight climbed to 39kg in a few months because he ate everything in sight and we gave in to the begging (we felt so terrible about his epilepsy and were compensating). He is now on less food and down to 37kg and getting back to his target weight. He is not on Phenobarbitone -- at least that is one extra complication we do not need to deal with! I will chat to my vet again. On our last pill pack it is stated: "long conversation about allergies"!! She said that KBr is new to her, she puts patients on Phenobarbitone. But since she has been treating Snowie, her associate has been doing research and found that KBr is now the drug of choice over Pb. I read that 80% of vets in Australia use KBr over Pb as the first-line drug these days. And the specialist vet said that KBr is the choice for dogs that do not have cluster seizures; Pb is given when the seizures must be dealt with immediately. In Snowie's case, he was not having cluster seizures.
