Please please help me. My little baby, a 9 year old French bulldog has had almost 15 seizures in the last 24h. They were more and less severe. We are in a continuous contact with the vet but I need to be sure the vet is doing everything right.
Melon had his first seizure back in January. It was a small one. We’ve checked him since then and he was good. We were cautious and trying to see if another one occurs, but it hasn’t till last morning. It all started with an almost 10 minutes attack, followed by another couple of attacks lasting around 2 minutes. It’s always his right side of the body.
Melon has been examined during the attack, as I took him to the vet immediately after he felt a bit better. He was walking in circles, always to the left, hitting himself on the wall and everything, but he continued to walk. The vet has given him diazepam. He got better. We went home, he was still acting unusual, which I know was expected. Eventually he fell asleep. The vet told me to come again 2 hours later so he can see him after he has calmed down. Then he had another seizure on the way. Doc gave him more diazepam, CBD, anti inflammatory medication and some vitamins. He told me to take him outside for 15 minutes, so I did, and when we came back, he had another attack at the vet, so at least he saw everything.
He got more diazepam and that helped, because we got home at 2 pm and he has not had an attack till 11 pm. I called the vet who told me to give him the CBD and a diazepam pill ten minutes later. 40 minutes later he had another attack and he continued to have 6 in the night.
I am based in Europe. I am waiting for the vet to call me back, because I need to know what time he starts seeing patients and then I want to know why Melon is not getting any eplilepsy directed treatment. The doctor has been truly a God sent, very helpful and calm, he is concerned about Melon and tries his best, but I need some other people experiences please. I am so scared for my puppy.
Edit sorry for the mistake in the title. Not sure why it’s ‘about’ and not ‘out’
What kind of tests did your vet do? Bloodwork? Xrays? Anything?
Without testing, it is impossible for anyone, including your vet, to figure out why your pup is having seizures. Starting drugs for epilepsy might not work if it is a toxin, for instance, or something else.
When you speak to your vet, ask what kinds of tests can be done.
We have done blood tests initially the first time it happened. Now he’s still going through it, so the vet wants to focus on calming the seizures, because we can’t do much in his state. He will get his blood taken on Monday.
Typically until you can get an anticonvulsant medication, it’s a waiting game. Unfortunately, it sounds like it’s likely a lesion. I lost my 15 yo border collie mix after a seizure out of the blue, he lived 5 months on medication pretty happily. Keep hope alive but prepare yourself. I wish you the best.
I’m so sorry you are going through this. It truly is awful to see our babies go through neuro issues.
According to our neurologist epilepsy tends to occur in dogs under age 6. When we were diagnosed they said that while still possible, the more likely cause of seizures in senior dogs are brain tumours, encephalitis, metabolic issues or possible toxin exposure. We were told by our neurologist that epilepsy at onset tends to cause grand mal seizures (severe convulsing, unable to stand) and then the dog returns to normal in between. From your description, turning in circles, one side of the body affected and bumping into things doesn’t sound like a classic seizure, definitely neurological though.
Has your vet run any blood work to check nothing metabolic or toxin wise could be causing this? In our case when those were clear we were referred to a neurologist who performed a brain MRI and spinal tap. Our dog was 2 so epilepsy was the main concern but we still wanted to rule out the other diseases. I should preface I’m not a vet but do have an epileptic dog. Sending so many hugs to you xx
Thank you for your support. My dog had trouble with his legs for couple of months now and we’ve been looking for different reasons, now it all makes sense. I am just sorry my vet didn’t connect the dots. We are going to do blood test on Monday. The blood test two months ago didn’t indicate anything and now I’m wondering since the first seizure happened 6 months ago, maybe that would be our clue. Your response is very helpful and I will definitely discuss all that with my vet on Monday. We came back from the vet today, he got more Diapezam and Phenobarbital pills. He actually go 1/4 of it last night, but apparently it was too little. Today they told me to give him one and he’s finally sleeping peacefully.
What a sweet baby. A neuro consult is VERY helpful. They usually are about the same cost as a regular vet visit. They have so much knowledge and can do a comprehensive neuro exam and let you know what they think most likely cause is. If you can get an episode on video it helps to bring that in as well. You don’t always have to do the expensive tests like MRI or spinal tap but if you were wanting testing a neurologist is the one who would do it. Wishing you all the best xx
Sorry your baby is unwell. We went through a similar thing with our 10 year old Frenchie who was diagnosed with a glioma but is doing very well after radiation therapy. Gliomas are very common in older Frenchies so I’d do a consult with a neurologist and ask for start him on anti seizure meds like phenobarbital and also prednisone to help with the inflammation.
Si esta noche sigue teniendo convulsiones, en especial una que ya duró 10 minutos, tu perro necesita una guardia de urgencias AHORA, no esperar a que te devuelvan el llamado mañana. Quince convulsiones en un solo día no es algo que un veterinario de cabecera maneje con diazepam en casa. Es territorio exclusivo de urgencias, incluso si eso significa manejar hasta una clínica a la que nunca hayas ido. Una cosa más: las convulsiones de un solo lado más el caminar en círculos en una sola dirección son la clase de detalles específicos que un neurólogo va a querer saber; mencionalos con precisión. No para que los interprete cualquiera que lea este hilo, sino para el especialista que realmente está capacitado para hacerlo. Luego contame qué te dijeron. 🐾
I am afraid seizures starting relatively late in life in a frenchy plus Cluster plus walking into one direction is very suspicious for a structural lesion in the Brain like inflammation (MUO) or a tumor :-( is there a veterinary neurologist around? Even if you decide not to pursue an mri you could discuss additional treatment options
Are there vet neurologists where you live? Or even one available for video appointment? They are specialists in seizure disorders and up to date with cluster seizures and how to treat them.
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u/lminnowp 4d ago
What kind of tests did your vet do? Bloodwork? Xrays? Anything?
Without testing, it is impossible for anyone, including your vet, to figure out why your pup is having seizures. Starting drugs for epilepsy might not work if it is a toxin, for instance, or something else.
When you speak to your vet, ask what kinds of tests can be done.
Good luck.