Hello everyone. Last Sunday, our black Lab Murphy had a seizure, completely out of the blue. We went to bed around 11pm, he went straight to sleep in his bed, in our bedroom. At around 4am, we heard him snuffling around, then he was sick - nothing violent, just a little bile which happens every so often (may three times since we had him). My Husband and I both got up to clear up the mess and check he was ok - Murphy jumped up on the bed and curled up as if he was going straight back to sleep, when suddenly he sat bolt upright and starting look around, startled, as if he'd seen something really scary - eyes bulging, ears back, whining, heckles, whining etc. A few seconds after that, he fell onto his side, and went into a full, stiffened seizure - stiff, shaking limbs, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back in head, horrible howling noise. My husband also said his heart seemed to stop, momentarily. We called the emergency vet while this was going on - the seizure came to an end after around 45 seconds (felt like HOURS!), and Murphy 'came around' fairly quickly after the episode, but was naturally very disturbed and a little shaky. The vet said not to move him, unless he had another seizure, and to take him to our regular vet first thing in the morning to be checked over. He pretty much went straight to sleep and we sat and watched over him until the vet opened a few hours later. He was checked over and nothing was detected and we were told to take him back if it happened again and they would run some tests - he's been fine for the last week, a little lethargic and cuddly for two or three days, but now seems to be completely back to himself. In the meantime, a couple of other Lab owners have mentioned something about Frontline flea control and possible link with seizures. So I guess I was hoping to hear if anyone else had had this experience of seizures, and if so, did you do anything? And also, any thoughts on Frontline and whether there's a link, would be gratefully received. Thanks so much, as always. Laura, Andrew & Murphy.
Everything you describe is very familiar. Our Labrador X had seizures. I know several people whose dogs have seizures. The first time our dog had one was very scary. We had no idea what was happening. After a while we started to recognize the symptoms of when one was about to happen. Before a seizure she would start glancing upwards as if there was something just out of sight on the ceiling. When that started we knew that we had a few minutes to lead her somewhere safe and quiet. Afterwards she would sleep like a log then come back a little bit clingy, then be back to normal after a few hours. After a few episodes, several months apart, the vet decided to put her on medication (I cant remember the name after 20+ years) and it greatly reduced the frequency of her episodes. She lived a fairly normal life after that.
Hi, I've just been googling around for information on side effects of Frontline, the most being skin irritation at the site of application. The only other information that came up was with regard to an extreme/rare allergic reaction which could include seizure, but that would have to be soon after application. This article was about the most useful I could find http://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/drug-information-frontline-plus-dogs-3612.html or from the Frontline site http://uk.frontline.com/pages/Faq.aspx Frontline has been available for many years so I would imagine that all side effects are well known. If you're not happy using Frontline, speak to your vet and discuss your concerns, they are best placed to advise on what is appropriate to use on your puppy. Personally I don't put a lot of faith in anecdotal stories, and I haven't been able to find any scientific studies that would support the theory that Frontline causes seizures
Hello , so sorry to hear that Murphy had a seizure, I know how distressing this can be for an owner because I owned a dog who suffered from them on a regular basis . Most Vets adopt a " Watch and wait " policy as it can often be that a dog will have one and then no more or just the very occasional one . In my case, my dog had several a week and so was put onto medication which worked fantastically well , she lived a happy life . I really hope that Murphy doesn't have another one .
Hi, I don't have any advice but I just wanted to say sorry you had to go through this. It must have been terrifying for you.
Thanks so much for your replies, everyone. MaccieD - appreciate that vets know best, but I also trust and value other experienced Labrador owners opinions. I don't believe in 'Googling' as a rule, you only hear horror stories. But it was strange that Frontline linked to seizures was mentioned by three different, unrelated/linked Lab owners so I was obviously keen to look into it a little further. Snowbunny and kateincornwall - thanks so much for your messages! The first time is, no doubt, the worst but at least if it happens again, we'll be more prepared and know what to do and not do. Just good to hear from those of you that have experienced this too and found ways of managing it, should it turn into a more regular. Thanks again for Labradorforum support - it's a great resource.
I hope it was Frontline for you. I had an epileptic German Shorthaired Pointer and his first fit came out of the blue at 13 months, though he might have had them earlier as I 'rescued' him from gundog kennels at 11 months. If it is epilepsy then the Phyllis Croft Foundation for Canine Epilepsy is very knowledgeable, supportive and helpful, just Google it, they were my lifeline.
Hi Laura. Reading your post took me back to Snowie's first seizure -- exactly the same pattern, vomiting, appearing to be terrified, jumping on the bed, falling on his side, that awful sound like a donkey. I even feel that stress again! A doctor friend of mine said that just before a seizure in humans, a person will feel nauseous, so it made sense to him that Snowie vomits before a seizure, probably due to nausea. If we hear Snowie vomiting in the night, we jump up and are ready to attend to the seizure that is likely coming. I have read that a cold pack applied to the base of the spine can reduce the intensity of a seizure (possibly even stop the seizure from starting), so one of us races to the freezer to get the cold pack while the other makes sure Snowie is safe -- there is always the danger of injury when falling and when "paddling" with his legs, so we make sure he is in a safe place, can't bash into anything, and when he is about to fall over, we hold onto him and lower him down gently. We also make sure all the lights are off, stroke him, and say gentle things in a soft tone to make him feel safe (not sure he can hear in that moment, but it makes us feel better). The jumping on the bed is probably their way of seeking out comfort -- it is exactly what Snowie did the first time, we were so surprised cos he never jumped on the bed. But he probably sensed something was weird in his head and had no insight into what was happening to him and sought us out for comfort. Have you checked your dog for worms? Snowie was infested with tapeworm at the time, unbeknownst to us because it was winter and we were walking him early in the morning when it was still dark and picking up his poo in the dark. A few days after his first seizure we happened to have slept late, and it was then that I saw the "rice" in his poo, the tapeworm eggs. He was treated for worms and he put on 1kg in that week. We don't know if the tapeworm caused the seizure, but it is a very common cause in humans in South Africa (where we live). Snowie also had a seizure a few hours after taking Milbemax (a dewormer). An hour after taking it he started scratching madly. A few hours later his eyelids got swollen. And then at 4am he had a seizure. He does not have seizures after taking Mediworm, so we use that now. I also stopped all insecticides and medication that mentioned a risk of seizure. Snowie's seizures always happened in the early hours -- around 4am. And often at full moon (I used to dread it when full moon came around.) He had full blood tests done twice in a two year span and they came back normal, no sugar problems either -- we wondered if a drop in sugar in the early hours led to the seizure. Nevertheless we started giving him a snack (like a raw egg) around 10pm until we had moved his dinner later to 7pm (I was giving him dinner at 4pm because I always had meetings at 4.30pm and I needed him quiet at that time -- so 4am, 12 hours later, made sense for a low-sugar induced seizure, if that is what was causing it). His first seizure was when he was 1.5 years old. We left him unmedicated until he was 3.5 years old because his seizures weren't severe or frequent enough. We were told if fewer than one a month or shorter than 2 minutes, then best not to medicate. He was averaging a seizure every 4-6 months lasting about a minute each time. But last year he had a seizure on the Saturday morning and another on the Sunday morning, and our vet said he must be medicated to prevent the danger of status epilepticus, a prolonged seizure that might end in brain damage or death. We saw a specialist vet who put him onto Potassium Bromide. It came with its own set of side effects and he had two seizures, one the week after being medicated and another a month later. But thankfully he has been seizure free since July last year. I could go on and on with all the details, and am happy to share if you want to know. But please make sure you and your vet assesses your dog as an individual. What might work for Snowie might not work for Murphy. What caused Murphy's seizure might not be what causes Snowie's. I do believe that you are your dog's best advocate and you need to question the vet and make sure they are doing the right thing by your dog. Unfortunately with us I think the specialist vet wasn't careful enough with explaining to us how the medication works, and he didn't make an appointment for us to retest Snowie's blood for Potassium Bromide concentration until it was too late and was in the toxic range. We trusted the specialist vet to guide us. It took our regular vet, who loves Snowie, to tell us to have his blood tested based on the symptoms he was presenting with. Snowie is now on a very low dose and will have blood tests soon to make sure the blood concentration levels are in the normal range. While Googling does reveal all the horror stories of the world, equally so you will find comfort in success stories. This is an excellent website: http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/. As is Phyllis Croft (mentioned by Stacia http://www.pcfce.org.uk/index.php/tips-hints-and-ideas. And hopefully Murphy's seizure is a once-off. Have you asked his breeder if her breeding pair has a history of epilepsy?
No useful advice to add, just popping in to say how sorry I am that you have had this frightening experience, it must have been just awful. Sounds like you are getting great advice from others with experience, so do keep us posted. The nice thing about the forum is that we are open 24/7 and there usually is someone around, even just as a warm hand in the dark if you are worried.
I'm really sorry this has happened to Murphy, and hopefully he will never have another seizure. It's a horrible, frightening thing, especially for you witnessing it.
I am sorry this happenned to your sweet boy. Our boy, Raphael, had his first seizure at about 3.5 years old. Excellent advice everyone has given. raphael has had 5, and they are 2 months apart. I find it helpful to stay relaxed, and look at the time, so I know how long it lasts, and if they get any longer. They always seem to last 2-3 minutes. I know Raphael is hyper afterwards, and takes about 15 min to calm down. I keep hold on him, because he will want to get up before he is fully balanced again, and I don't want him jumping on the couch and losing balance. Within a few minutes after it ends, his balance is fine. It is more common than you think, especially with certain breeds. Best of luck, praying it does not happen again. raf
Oh no. My friend just told me her Keeshond is at the Vet's after having two seizures at home and then another at the Vet's. No chance of it being Frontline, it's winter here. He's 9 years old though. She's very worried because they leave on Wednesday for a work/vacation trip and he'll be boarded. Do you have a diagnosis on Murphy? Is it wait and see at this point? A tip, if he has another one, can you video it? I ask because we rushed to a neighbour's at 2 am a few months ago, her dog was seizing and it lasted over half an hour. We were there for half an hour ourselves and it started before we got there. Turned out the dog had experienced several but was not medicated at all for them because the owner never saw them and she did not believe how bad her mother said it was and she did not tell her Vet. It's a hard thing to describe to your Vet anyway, a video might really help. You just about need a third person to do that I think. Lots of good thoughts for you and Murphy.
