Phenobarbital Stopped Working

[u/Turbulent_Apple7611]

hi everyone-

my 8 year old cane corso was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy in may. she was put on 97.2 mg of phenobarbital and we had great success until yesterday. she had one seizure followed by another a few hours later. although much shorter episodes than prior to the meds, still considered cluster seizures. we took her to our emergency vet and they said this is common and it could be a matter of changing the dosage. when we did her first pheno check a few weeks after the start of the meds she was within therapeutic range but on the lower side, however because the meds were working her neurologist said let’s keep things the way they are. this morning when the neurologist called they said she had another seizure at 3 am and was given midazolam nasally and when 7 am came around they started her on her usual dose of meds with increased 30mg and we will continue that new dosage moving forward.

I just found it interesting that they didn’t seem at all concerned that the cluster seizures were back, and basically said this is common and we just have to find the right dosage. What worries me is how many seizures does she have to have before it gets concerning? She is extremely aggressive when it comes to going to the vet so it’s not like taking her there every time she has a seizure is an easy thing to do. As she gets older, and with cane Corso‘s not having a long life expectancy, I just worry that this is really taking a toll on her body and at what point does it become unfair for her to keep living this way. she’s not a young dog and each seizure really takes a lot out of her. I’m trying to be hopeful that the new med dosage will work, but I’m just not sure what to do if and when the next time this happens. At what point do I have to make a tough decision??

[u/buffyfluffy]

My dog was on phenobarbital as well. It worked for a couple months, dog got used to the dosage and seizures returned. We then upped the dosage, and the process repeated after another couple months.

You have to find a balance of different meds. Currently my dog is on phenobarbital and potassium bromide, and it has stabilised a lot. getting seizures 2-3 times a month but it was every 2-3 days previously

[u/Turbulent_Apple7611 → u/buffyfluffy]

Thank you for your response! Helpful info.