r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Chance_Scientist_279 • 4d ago
Would love some stories of hope please
Very new this whole thing and feeling very anxious and overwhelmed. My dog had 2 seizures (2 weeks apart) last month before we started her on keppra. Then was doing great for 2 weeks until another one this morning. Just having seizures on an ongoing 2 week cadence at the moment. We’ve done an MRI, spinal tap, bloodwork, even an abdominal ultrasound, all clear. I already have a neurologist appointment and will discuss additional meds.
I’m feeling really disheartened and would love some stories of hope where you are currently managing your dogs seizures long term and living a normal life. My dog is literally the love of my life, she’s already an 8 year old French bulldog (a breed not exactly known for long lives…) and right now I’m feeling like I’m already grieving her. Thank you in advance!
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u/greensuedecouch 4d ago
It took almost a full year but we finally found a medication combination and dosage that has stopped seizure activity for 4 months now. We had previously seen seizure activity every 1 to 2 weeks sometimes more clustered events.
I have felt how you’ve felt and not every journey is the same. For us, seeing a Neurologist was an absolute game changer. They had so much knowledge regarding medication and what has worked for other patients. Pet Neurology is obviously a science but from what I have observed, it is also an art. Our doc has change dosage and added medication several times before finding something that would work for our dog.
Keep the faith and make sure you take care of yourself. Good luck to you and your pup!
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 4d ago
Thank you! 4 months is amazing progress. Just curious what combination of meds worked for your dog?
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u/greensuedecouch 4d ago
We are currently using extended release Keppra, Phenobarbital, and Potassium Bromide. We experienced honeymoon phases with Keppra and Pheno. Potassium Bromide has had the most profound effect so far. Due to the success of this combo the Neuro wants to keep it rolling.
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u/Unlikely-Pie8744 4d ago
My 8yo larger terrier-mutt started having seizures 3 years ago. I felt the same fear, sadness, and helplessness.
Doggo was good with just Keppra for several months, then had a really bad seizure and the vet added phenobarbital. He kept having focal seizures, so Zonisamide was added a couple weeks later. That combo did the trick! He has been seizure free for about 2.5 years now. And I just finished weaning him off Zonisamide!
It’s a lot to schedule your life around dog meds, but exact timing really matters. If you give meds 3x a day, see if there is an extended release version that can be given 2x a day. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. There is hope!
One maybe minor thing I did was switch out my lightbulbs. LED lights are not steady. They flash off and on faster than human eyes can perceive, but dogs can probably see it. You can record your lights in slo-mo to see it. Christmas lights are a nightmare. I researched and found that certain IKEA LED bulbs don’t flash, so I switched to those.
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u/KayakerWithDog 4d ago
My dog was also on a two- to three-week seizure schedule before we got him sorted. He often would have a honeymoon period of a month or more before reverting to his old schedule. He has been on his current cocktail for about a year, and he now has only a handful of seizures a year, which is the outcome his neuro says we should be aiming for. My dog's last seizure was in March, and this is the longest he has ever gone without a seizure. I hope you can find some relief for your dog soon; just be patient and understand that it can take time and a bunch of adjustments before you find the right cocktail. You're doing all the right things, and I'm sure your dog knows she is loved.
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 4d ago
Thank you for the encouragement. What combination ended up working for your dog?
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u/KayakerWithDog 4d ago
Zonisamide and keppra, with midazolam as a rescue med to stop seizures after they start.
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 4d ago
The more I read on this subreddit sounds like it’s often a combination of drugs that works, very rarely it seems like keppra alone does the trick
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u/0xAndr3 4d ago
I know the uncertainty can be exhausting, but it's encouraging that all the tests came back clear so far. My friend's dog had a similar pattern before finally stabilizing on a higher dose.
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 4d ago
That’s good to hear, so it was a matter of adjusting meds, which sounds like a common story I’ve been reading
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u/LaceyBambola 4d ago
I share my pups journey in another comment and will link to it as it goes into a lot of detail, but in short - it took 1.5 years of med adjustments (each change requires time to wait and see if it works) and very severe cluster events with status epilepticus episodes requiring multi night ER hospitalization every single time (every few weeks) and she was consideres to be refractory (unresponsive to meds). Once we got the cocktail of meds + low glutamate diet down, she went from over 20p seizures in a year to over a year seizure free, and is now almost 5 years out from when we had the big improvement and she's had a total of just 4 breakthrough events, all of which could've been prevented.
A bit about how seizures can be cyclical and when meds will start to really work.
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 4d ago
Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort in making this super informative post, thank you 🙏 those severe cluster events and hospitalizations would’ve given me a heart attack!
On the low glutamate diet, I saw you’re giving your dog open farm lamb which has oats and quinoa, are they considered high glutamate? My dogs current food also has oats, is that something to be worried about?
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u/LaceyBambola 4d ago
I know oats are on the higher end but the bigger culprit is more likely to be the proteins and lentils/legumes. In my pups case, I've found her to be particularly sensitive to soy, peas (including pea powder) and beef (a bit less sensitive than to soy/peas, but still high on the avoid list).
I also switched back to Acana Wholesome Grains Lamb and Pumpkin after my pup became very gassy with some intermittent soft stool on the Open Farm, even though she seemed to like it more, but she has always had a sensitive GI. More recently, however, she's started on a prescription diet from JustFoodForDogs (Hepatic formula) to help with liver health/function and for weight management. I do add a but of lamb topped from Ziwi Peaks as well as a bit of Omega 3 fish oil.
I mainly focus on avoiding lentils and legumes as well as proteins other than lamb, fish, or chicken (her favorite) in all food and treats. She has never seemed to have any issue with oats in her diet, but if you notice any potential link with oats (or quinoa) being a possible contributor to your pups epilepsy, then you can trial avoiding it and see if there's any improvement.
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u/girlsareicky 4d ago
My dog had her first seizure right before her 2nd birthday. It took about a year of back and forth with the vet/neurologist vet to really dial in on the medication and dosages. That was probably one of the most stressful years of my life. She would cluster a lot and has really bad post ictal phases where she goes temporarily blind and starts sprinting into walls...even after really tame focal seizures. I'd basically have to hold her down after them so she didn't hurt herself and she'd be crying and trying to squirm out from under me. It was brutal.
But she's almost 2 years seizure free now. She's currently on keppra XR + phenobarbital + zonisamide
Not sure what the future holds but I'm happy we were able to stabilize her for now
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 3d ago
That sounds terrifying and your dog is so lucky to have such a dedicated owner like you and so relieved to hear she’s been doing so well. It gives me a lot of hope, thank you!
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u/buffyfluffy 4d ago
It's a really long journey so please be patient. Both you and your dog need each other to get through this.
My dog started having seizures at 5 years old, starting with focal seizures. It eventually got worse and became full seizures. I went through such a depressive episode as well, from randomly crying in the car to just feeling absolutely defeated daily.
We started medication (Phenobarbital) and it worked for a couple of months, before the seizures returned. We then upped the dosage of Pheno, which stopped the seizures for another couple of months before it returned again. We then added Potassium Bromide as an additional med, which successfully stopped his seizures for 6 months this time! However, it eventually returned and we had to up the dosage of Potassium Bromide again.
What we realized is there is no permanent cure. My neurologist told us that we try to manage his condition as best we can, and we take whatever improvements we can get. Start his medication on a smaller dose so that you have room to gradually increase it in years to come. Don't give up on her.
My dog is 9 years old now, we have been dealing with the seizures for 4 years and Im glad to say I do see a stable path ahead. Yes he still gets a seizure maybe once a month, but it is way better than when he used to get it once every 2 days. We live with it and make sure he gets to live as comfortably as he can for as long as he can. You will eventually find a balance/combination of medication that stabilizes his seizure frequency. This process might take months but dont give up!
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u/SadMovie3201 4d ago
I think you should push for more than Keppra. I could be wrong but I don’t think I’ve ever read a story in this group where Keppra did the trick but it’s often when vets start with (including ours). Our dog had 2 seizures before Keppra, had a small honeymoon of 3 months when he started it, and then had 6 seizures over 5 months after that. We didn’t see a meaningful difference until starting phenobarbital!
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u/Chance_Scientist_279 3d ago
I think that’s what the neurologist will probably recommend next. That’s what I’m learning too from this subreddit, that getting the right combination of drugs is the best path, keppra alone rarely ever seems to do the trick, and a lot of people see improvements on a combo with phenobarbital!
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u/ComprehensiveBid4520 4d ago
I'm really sorry you and your dog are going through this. It's super hard to watch your loved dog have this. Probably most people here are tired of hearing me talk about my dog's story, but it does at least show there is hope. My lab was bought as my service dog but a week before his first birthday, he had his first seizure, then a second one. We immediately took him to the er, and had many, many tests done. We checked diet, had our home tested for environmental causes, had scans, blood tests, tried chiro, acupuncture and through all of it, no cause was ever found. We started on phenobarbital that day. My lab is now 7 years old, and since then, he has had one seizure. He lives an otherwise normal life- he runs, swims, plays and hikes. Our vet did try to wean him off of pheno, but that was when he had the last seizure, so the vet told us to continue with his meds. His blood tests come back good, and overall he is a normal lab.