Anyone out there with an epileptic dog?

heldel00

We rescued a lovely little male bichon from local pound. Discovered soon after that he had epilepsy. We have spent quite a bit of money trying to find a level of meds that suited him. Then they went and fecking discontinued a tablet that he was on so fitting started again.
Vet upped the phenobarb and he is now on 90mg a day (two tabs in morn and one in evening) but, after 4.5 months he has now started fitting again.
Just wondering if anyone out there has epileptic dog and what daily mg they take? 90mg seems like a lot for a little dog but maybe he needs an extra tab?
I know people are unable to give specific advice and will just tell me to go to the vet but between the monthly meds and the very regular vet visits the bills are all starting to add up. I know it is all part and parcel of being a dog owner but a lot of expense that i was not expecting.

Long story short - what kind of dog have you and how many mg are they on a day?

VonVix

Have you gotten a second opinion from a different vet on the matter? I get the impression you have hit a brick wall with your current vet.

Ms2011

I've Rottweiler on 90mg, 1.5 tablets twice a day. She's been on that dose since she was diagnosed 5 years ago. She would still have a fit on average once a month, our vet said that completely stopping the fits will never happen but a 75% reduction is considered having the condition under control.

irishlady29

heldel00 wrote:

We rescued a lovely little male bichon from local pound. Discovered soon after that he had epilepsy. We have spent quite a bit of money trying to find a level of meds that suited him. Then they went and fecking discontinued a tablet that he was on so fitting started again. Vet upped the phenobarb and he is now on 90mg a day (two tabs in morn and one in evening) but, after 4.5 months he has now started fitting again. Just wondering if anyone out there has epileptic dog and what daily mg they take? 90mg seems like a lot for a little dog but maybe he needs an extra tab? I know people are unable to give specific advice and will just tell me to go to the vet but between the monthly meds and the very regular vet visits the bills are all starting to add up. I know it is all part and parcel of being a dog owner but a lot of expense that i was not expecting.

heldel00 wrote:

Long story short - what kind of dog have you and how many mg are they on a day?

Look into raw feeding. I know somebody whose 2 rottweilers were having monthly seizures even though they were on medication for them.
She switched them to raw diet. One never had a fit and came off medication. The 2nd, went longer without them and when she did they weren't as bad, up until then, she was having multiple fits every 3 weeks.
Might be worth considering.

kathleen37

I don't think you can tag people here, but in case you can; @the heathen

Look through this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=102482418

Not a dog, but I have a cat with epilepsy. She would grand mal seizure every two weeks. Since she's been on the cbd oil, seizures have nearly come to a stop all together.

I don't know if anyone has stopped or reduced the phenobarbital dose - in my case, I didn't want the cat on it as we could cope with one seizure every two weeks, but hopefully someone will be able to advise

As recommended by the heathen, I get the cmd oil from www.hempture.ie

I have to say, I wouldn't have believed it, if I hadn't seen it for myself.

Whatever you decide for your pup, good luck. It's so rotten seeing them seize.

Ms Doubtfire1

Had one years ago, a dutch shepherd of near 45 kg.
Phenobarb 3 times a day 100 mg towards the end.
have you excluded all other possible causes?
Also, many discontinued tables are still sold under another name - whats the active ingredient?

heldel00

Epilease was the name of the drug. I'm not sure what the active ingredient was. It was discontinued very shortly after we got him and vet tried hard to source it or a generic or an equilavent.
I'll defintely look into the oil. Thank you for that. I'd do anything at this stage. We always have him so groomed and perfect looking and then when he has a fit he loses bladder control and ends up fitting in a puddle of pee!

Ms Doubtfire1

heldel00 wrote: »

Epilease was the name of the drug. I'm not sure what the active ingredient was. It was discontinued very shortly after we got him and vet tried hard to source it or a generic or an equilavent.
I'll defintely look into the oil. Thank you for that. I'd do anything at this stage. We always have him so groomed and perfect looking and then when he has a fit he loses bladder control and ends up fitting in a puddle of pee!

Epilease is still available across the border.The generic replacment is Genitrix KBR.
Active ingredient: Potassium bromide

heldel00

Oh god I'll really have to investigate again. The vet contacted the company in UK and her local rep but they said it was gone off the market.
Few phone calls to be made me thinks

Ms Doubtfire1

All you really need to know is the ingredient. I'm familiar with Potassium bromide, it doesn't work on all cases (didn't in mine) but every dog is different.if it was working fine before it should work again.Surprised your vet doesn't know to ask for the active ingredient...mine always does. good luck.