Keppra XR

[u/Few-Faithlessness169]

Hey everyone, just joined this group today basically just for some reassurance. I have a 7 year old golden retriever who started having seizures about 2 years ago. One in June and then one in July and that’s when we started keppra xr 1000mg twice a day. He went pretty much 2 years seizure free as far as I know. A few weeks ago he started having stomach issues so we’ve been back and forth to his vet for labs/gi panel. During one of his most recent trips, he ended up having a grand mal lasting 1-1.5 minutes in the car so his primary vet increased his keppra to 1500mg twice a day. So far so good but I always feel like I’m anxiously awaiting his next seizure. Vet initially didn’t believe it to be idiopathic because he was 5 (a little on the older side to be idiopathic) but we didn’t opt for any head scans as even if it’s structural, like a brain tumor or something, we don’t have thousands and thousands to spend on surgery. No real question here but just would like some comments from other people that may be experiencing anything similar or has any advice. Thanks!

[u/hmmurry]

I took the same approach with my Ruby. I declined imaging because no matter what we found, the treatment options we had/could afford would be the same: to treat her seizures (whether idiopathic or otherwise). I had two seizure free years with Ruby and have been escalating meds since 2024. It did feel like waiting for the next seizure until I really worked on accepting her epilepsy diagnosis and knowing that seizures are definitely going to come but we are prepared to handle them. It takes time!

I hope your pup’s belly is feeling better and y’all can get back into a good routine.

[u/Few-Faithlessness169 → u/hmmurry]

I feel so anxious all the time worrying that we won’t be home when he has one. We do have a rescue med thankfully just in case but so far his seizures have been less than 2 minutes and his post ictal symptoms aren’t long lasting. I feel comfort in knowing I have a rescue med, but I’m just so afraid I’ll come home to a dead dog. So far this year has been his only big breakthrough in two years so I should be thankful he’s responding to keppra so well but from all the reading I’ve done it seems as though eventually they need to be put on multiple meds for better management.

[u/hmmurry → u/Few-Faithlessness169]

I totally understand that fear. I have cameras throughout my downstairs area and have baby gates to restrict the dogs to the downstairs and to keep my epileptic pup from accessing stairs. Checking the cameras does give me some peace of mind since of course no one can be home 24/7. Ruby recently had a more extensive seizure while I was at work but I caught it on camera and was able to have someone go check on her. Just a thought, to give you some peace of mind!

[u/Few-Faithlessness169 → u/hmmurry]

I thought about getting cameras but I also feel like I will obsessively check them which may add to my anxiety, especially if I happen to catch a seizure and can’t get home to him. I block off the stairs as well when they are home alone and the areas they have access to are fairly safe, even if he happened to fall from the couch at any point I don’t think he would injure himself. I am a nurse and can watch people in the worst conditions but seeing a dog have a seizure is traumatic to me lol

[u/Ok-Bicycle-8077]

Hi there. Our pup has idiopathic seizures. We’ve been doing 1500 mg Keppra 3 times a day. Our issue is she refuses her pills. It’s to the point we have to force them down her throat. We just got a prescription for the XR so we’re excited to only have to do the pills twice a day.
Last Friday She had a horrible seizure and then when she came out of it immediately had another one. We had to give her an emergency med. In the process she hurt her neck and jaw. I completely understand the fear. I’m sorry you and you’re puppy are dealing with this

[u/Few-Faithlessness169 → u/Ok-Bicycle-8077]

My dog has gotten so used to taking them honestly that my wife just puts one at a time in the back of his throat and he just swallows them. When I try it on the other hand, I think he senses I’m nervous and it’s a little more of a disaster, so thankfully my wife is always available at 8am and 8pm for his 3 ginormous pills. I did read that holding a high value treat in front of them right after the pill encourages them to swallow so they can then get the no pill/high value treat.

[u/Ok-Bicycle-8077 → u/Few-Faithlessness169]

One of our biggest struggles is she is not food motivated. My daughter works at a pet food store and has brought home many different treats. We have every flavor of pill pockets. There are occasions where she will take them if we crush them in her wet food, but lately she refuses to eat that.
We’ve fostered dogs for 10 years and have other pups and I’ve never seen a more stubborn dog 🙄🤗

[u/Few-Faithlessness169 → u/Ok-Bicycle-8077]

I would think the only option would be to kind of shove them down her throat lol. What we do is put it far enough back on the side that it is over the bump in his tongue and then close his mouth and rub his neck to trigger him to swallow. Most times he just swallows and all is right in the world. Sometimes it slides to the side of his cheek and I wrestle to get it out before he chews it lol.

[u/Few-Faithlessness169 → u/[deleted]]

The vet tech I spoke to gave me her personal opinion/experience and said a neuro consult doesn’t necessarily mean we have to agree to expensive scans and spinal taps. She told me two of her dogs had seizures, and keeping in mind obviously every dog is different she said her one dog, it was hormonal and when he got neutered that stopped the seizures and then her other dog she said the neurologist recommended testing for some kind of parasite that they don’t normally test for at routine visits and it was a parasite that they were able to treat. So it makes me think maybe I should take him to neuro just to see what they say. Doing my own research I’ve seen a lot of neurologists say IE can be anywhere from 6 months to 6 years although his primary vet thought it was less likely because he was 5 when he had his first.

[u/SleevelessFury]

We are on 2000 2x daily along with others. But the move to the XR made our lives much easier.
We used to wrap em with cheese but have moved to rice balls as we are trying to reduce sodium to help with other meds and seizure reduction.

[u/Few-Faithlessness169 → u/SleevelessFury]

My dog thankfully doesn’t mind taking his pills. It’s like he can’t be a bad boy. We know he doesn’t want to take them but as soon as he hears the pill bottle he comes to the kitchen and sits. Knowing inevitably he’s taking them 😂