Epilepsy, Any Experience?

[TC]

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Hi everyone,

My boss has four dogs,an Ibizan hound, a Vizsla, and two Hamiltonstovare litter sisters. One of these bitches was always pack leader, a very strong willed dog, she definitely ruled the roost. One of her main habits was to beat up the Vizsla after food (they ended up having to separate for meals in the end, but sometimes Remy would still have a go at him once they put them all back in together) Trust me this does have some relevance to the epilepsy (w00t)

On Sunday she had a fit, and was taken to the vets on the monday as per his advice as she seemed okay after the event. It wasn't the most severest of seizures, but it put the frighteners on her owners. She has been prescribed Epiphen for 10 days, with a view that this may be a one off.

They explained to the vet that since the fit took place, none of the other dogs will go near her, and this is worrying her owners. The two bitches were inseperable and ate hunted and slept together ALL the time. They have a lot of land and the sisters hunt all day long and catch many rabbits, rats etc.

Roxy (the sibling) has been hunting as usual, whilst Remy just stands and wimpers as though she does not know what she is meant to do. My boss is very concerned that it is as though she has lost her memory, she is sniffing each room of the house as though she has never been there before, and all of the dogs are still giving her a wide berth.

She was the most aloof dog, but now what all of the human attention she can get. Liz has also sais that she seems to have a vacant look in her eyes, and she is definitely not the dog she was

The most significant thing though, is that she has completely "forgotten" about the daily aggression to Ralph over food. He is all ready for her attack, but she just wanders past him as if she doesn't know him, let alone want to tell him who's boss.

I have such limited experience from my vet nurse day re epilepsy, and my boss has printed off loads of stuff from the internet, but I said that I would try and get some first hand experiences re the memory loss side of things.

Her vet has not really expressed an opinion of whether this is normal or not.

So, any advice or info would be greatly received for me to pass on to her.

Thanks in advance

Tracy

 

[posh totty]

i have a friend who`s dally is epileptic and will find out info for you, dont think he is on daily med? see what i can do

 

[clairej810]

Is it possible she may have had some sort of stroke or perhaps has fluid on the brain or a tumour? I don't want to sound scary but seizures can be caused by things other than epilepsy.

Having said that I have epilepsy and I know when I have a seizure that for the next 24-48 hours I am completely useless and very disoriented.

 

[dagsquall]

Hi everyone,
My boss has four dogs,an Ibizan hound, a Vizsla, and two Hamiltonstovare litter sisters. One of these bitches was always pack leader, a very strong willed dog, she definitely ruled the roost. One of her main habits was to beat up the Vizsla after food (they ended up having to separate for meals in the end, but sometimes Remy would still have a go at him once they put them all back in together) Trust me this does have some relevance to the epilepsy  (w00t)

On Sunday she had a fit, and was taken to the vets on the monday as per his advice as she seemed okay after the event. It wasn't the most severest of seizures, but it put the frighteners on her owners. She has been prescribed Epiphen for 10 days, with a view that this may be a one off.

They explained to the vet that since the fit took place, none of the other dogs will go near her, and this is worrying her owners. The two bitches were inseperable and ate hunted and slept together ALL the time. They have a lot of land and the sisters hunt all day long and catch many rabbits, rats etc.

Roxy (the sibling) has been hunting as usual, whilst Remy just stands and wimpers as though she does not know what she is meant to do. My boss is very concerned that it is as though she has lost her memory, she is sniffing each room of the house as though she has never been there before, and all of the dogs are still giving her a wide berth.

She was the most aloof dog, but now what all of the human attention she can get. Liz has also sais that she seems to have a vacant look in her eyes, and she is definitely not the dog she was 

The most significant thing though, is that she has completely "forgotten" about the daily aggression to Ralph over food. He is all ready for her attack, but she just wanders past him as if she doesn't know him, let alone want to tell him who's boss.

I have such limited experience from my vet nurse day re epilepsy, and my boss has printed off loads of stuff from the internet, but I said that I would try and get some first hand experiences re the memory loss side of things.

Her vet has not really expressed an opinion of whether this is normal or not.

So, any advice or info would be greatly received for me to pass on to her.

Thanks in advance

Tracy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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I think also it may be worth considering if the new behaviour is linked to the epilepsy fit or to the drugs used to prevent the fits. I believe that human treatment for epilepsy can sometimes affects the patient severly in terms of behaviour and alertness, although new drugs may be more gentle now. Let us know how she gets on.

 

[nina]

Have to say this doesn't sound like any kind of epileptic fit i have ever encountered BUT i know there are many different forms.

Epilepsy is rife in one of the breeds i have & fitting normally occurs after 2 years of age.

The fits can be bought on by stress, excitement, fear, pain or sometimes for no reason at all. They can vary from a mild seizure lasting just a few minutes to one lasting 10 minutes or even more, in the more severe attacks the animal is sometimes sick or urinates as well.

99% of the time once the seizure has passed they are normally as right as rain, maybe a little quiet for half an hour or so, but i have never seen one act like you have explained?

Dont know whether any of this is any help to you BUT as Karen has said fits & seizures can be caused by all number of things & i think it is definitely worth your boss perhaps consulting with the vet to see if some tests can be done, as i also had a bitch that had meningitis & was having seizures & when she came round from them she was very vacant looking & just not herself at all which is more in keeping with what you were explaining.

Either way my advice to him would be to pop back to the vet & get some test sorted out.

 

[senga]

a nurse that i know swear by bahls rescue remedy i even give my wee dog it if she is to hyper. :luck:

 

[ILoveKettleChips]

As dagsquall points out, epilepsy medication can cause altered behaviour, but fits themselves can often leave animals in a bit of a state, and obviously it needs to be considered whether there is an underlying cause for both the fits and the behaviour.

I think the most likely explanation is that the Epiphen is doping her a bit. The other dogs may well be behaving strangely towards her because she's not acting normally. Epiphen can make them groggy and dozy, but it can also disinhibit dogs which show aggressive tendencies and cause a spectrum of other problems. However, of all these side-effects, the only thing we see commonly is that they act a bit 'fuzzy'. The other dogs are probably just a bit confused!

Dogs that go onto Epiphen long-term often have to go through lots of dose-change experiments to get a suitable level in their bloodstream. In this case the vet has had to use a middle-of-the-road dose to start with, so I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't ideal for this particular dog.

I think your boss should firstly get in touch with the vet to discuss these symptoms. I don't think there's anything to panic about at the moment - it's not unheard of for animals to have one single fit, which has no explanation, and never to have one again. I imagine the vet is going to wait and see whether this is the case before deciding to investigate further or alter the medication.

 

[clairej810]

BUT as Karen has said fits & seizures can be caused by all number of things

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I've been called many things before but never Karen!! Although my parents vicar did call me Helen for about 10 years!! (w00t)

 

[TC]

Guys,

Thanks so much for this information so far :thumbsup: I shall keep her informed of everything as it comes in.

The dosage of Epiphen is 60mg once per day. One of the first things that I said to Liz after she had told me everything, was that they would probably want to see her after the ten days to maybe take bloods for moitoring the levels as they moved forward. She said that the vet hadn't mentioned anything about taking the dog back, and to be honest, she forgot to say anything. I am quite suprised that he did not ask to see the dog on the last day of treatment, but maybe he just expects them to take her back anyway:wacko:

The bitch is four, and has never suffered anything like this before. As ILKC, I did say that sometimes a dog will have an isolated fit, with no further incident. I also fet that the medication may be to blame for the "vacant" expression, but Liz is adament that the "abnormal" behaviour was apparent before her first dose of drugs, as well as since.

She has left for the day now, but I will have another chat with her tomorrow and hopefully will have even more replies to show her.

Thanks everyone

Tracy

 

[whippetmad]

my dachsie used to have fits,he was on medication,but it made it worst,so we he had a fit we would leave him alone,as long as he was in no danger to himself,and wait until he was out of it,he has not had a fit for about 3years now,and he us nearly 15.

 

[nina]

BUT as Karen has said fits & seizures can be caused by all number of things

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

I've been called many things before but never Karen!! Although my parents vicar did call me Helen for about 10 years!! (w00t)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

so sorry, where the hell did i get Karen from

Hope i haven't offended, put it down to a senior moment :thumbsup:

 

[nina]

Guys,

Thanks so much for this information so far :thumbsup: I shall keep her informed of everything as it comes in.
The dosage of Epiphen is 60mg once per day. One of the first things that I said to Liz after she had told me everything, was that they would probably want to see her after the ten days to maybe take bloods for moitoring the levels as they moved forward. She said that the vet hadn't mentioned anything about taking the dog back, and to be honest, she forgot to say anything. I am quite suprised that he did not ask to see the dog on the last day of treatment, but maybe he just expects them to take her back anyway:wacko:

The bitch is four, and has never suffered anything like this before. As ILKC, I did say that sometimes a dog will have an isolated fit, with no further incident. I also fet that the medication may be to blame for the "vacant" expression, but Liz is adament that the "abnormal" behaviour was apparent before her first dose of drugs, as well as since.

She has left for the day now, but I will have another chat with her tomorrow and hopefully will have even more replies to show her.

Thanks everyone

Tracy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

:luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[Lanakeshena]

Ive had 2 pets with epilepsy, one a cat we have now who is on epiphen, which is working on her, this was started as a trial like your dog has been put on to see if it helped and then reduced and stopped to see if they are ok without, well our cat isnt she has constant fits one after the other so has to remain on the medication. Her behavior on medication is the same as before she had the fits.

We also had a dog with epilepy or fits, which he had occasionally, our new vet at the time, we felt was very helpful he didnt think if it were only occasionally that there was any point in putting him on daily meds, he would have a fit, where he would collapse foam at the mouth and his eyes would be vacant, his body would shake, then he would be off his legs and unco-ordinated for a while, at this time we just had to make sure he was safe and somewhere where he couldnt hurt himself. he would be a bit off for the next 24 hours sleeping mainly, then would be back to normal.

I have to say when i read your post about your dog, i to didnt think it sounded like epilepsy, i wonder if he has had a stroke or something else.

or a reaction to something, had he had any medication or treatment for anything prior to the fit.

Maybe get a 2nd opinion, IMO maybe an eagerness to overcome the problem some vets jump in far to quickly with medication, without accessing the situation properly.

I hope your dog is soon well again :luck:

 

[clairej810]

BUT as Karen has said fits & seizures can be caused by all number of things

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

I've been called many things before but never Karen!! Although my parents vicar did call me Helen for about 10 years!! (w00t)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

so sorry, where the hell did i get Karen from

Hope i haven't offended, put it down to a senior moment :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

No -definitely not offended! I thought it was quite amusing (w00t) :teehee: