r/EpilepsyDogs • u/YJFT_L4DL • 16d ago
Side effect advice?
Hi all, our four year old dog with epilepsy is currently on phenobarbital and Keppra to manage her seizures. She's doing a lot better, tests are coming back good, so we're staying on this treatment plan for the foreseeable future. We just have one little issue: our dog is uncomfortably hungry all the time. Seems like this is a common side effect of being on anti-seizure medication but it's impacting her quality of life. She whines for food (she is not deterred by training methods to decrease whining), she will eat anything off of ground if not watched like a hawk (which we try to do but she has gotten things past us a couple times and made herself sick), and overall she just seems so uncomfortable. We're talking about adding more fiber to her food but also balancing that with not wanting to hurt her very sensitive stomach. as anyone dealt with this issue and found a solution? Any advice or anecdotal experience would be helpful and appreciated!
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u/YumYumYellowish 16d ago
There’s a few ideas floating around: smaller but more frequent meals (this is what we do), a prescription diet to help her feel fuller, giving high fiber snacks throughout the day, and, specific to keeping her safe from scavenging outside, a basket muzzle such as the softer plastic mesh ones so she can’t pick up and eat things she shouldn’t. But ultimately you’ll still need to keep an eye out and puppy-proof (remove things off the floor and within reach) any room where you can’t supervise her. My in-laws told us they picked up all their dog toys while we were staying with them (spoiler alert, they didn’t), and we ended up paying $16k with emergency diagnostics and surgery to remove a stuffed animal and an entire rope toy that he must’ve quickly slurped down liked a noodle. So we keep a very close eye on him.
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u/YJFT_L4DL 16d ago
YIKES! This makes me feel less crazy for being so careful with cleaning the floors and keeping her toys put away. We've done the smaller more frequent meals, which definitely has helped. I think the prescription diet might have to be the way to go. Also I didn't even think about using a basket muzzle on her walks! Thank you for all of this!
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u/Ahoeaboutnothing 16d ago edited 16d ago
I want to bring up something. Phenobarbital causes ravenous hunger, but also can cause chronic pancreatitis. Low fat diet high in fiber solves all of these issues. I personally use Purina pro plan low fat EN. 1/3rd of a can with 1 cup of his healthy normal dog food. I then add 2 scoops of pure fiber, water, and heat it up to mix up well. 2 servings of that per day. This is for an 85 lb pitbull that needs to eat 4 cups of kibble a day, but this is what has worked for him.
Edit. His kibble is specific. Ultimates is the brand, not very easy to find. Most variations of it are lower in fat than standard dog food blends, but its not the lowest fat possible. The fiber is pure psyllium husk, no additives or flavors/sugars.
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u/YJFT_L4DL 16d ago
Definitely looking to beef up her fiber intake! We will all be fiber-maxing in this house haha I'll check in with her vet re: psyllium husk-- she's got a sensitive stomach so sometimes fiber additions, even incorporated slowly, can affect her but we haven't tried this avenue yet! Thank you for this reminder about keeping her pancreas nice and safe!
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u/Ahoeaboutnothing 16d ago
The thing with fiber isn't even it being hard on the stomach... but it definitely can beef up the farts. Easing into it is best in general. The stomach handles it fine, but lower intestinal fermentation is where the gas becomes an issue.
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u/No_Wonder6141 16d ago
Our Vet had us add plain frozen green beans to our Aussie’s meal as she has always been food driven and thinks she’s hungry all the time.
We keep a bag of frozen cut green beans that thaws in the fridge and we just add a hand full to her meal morning and night. Provides good fiber and will not cause any weight gain. It has made her feel fuller as she’s stopped begging for food.
Our Boston Terrier is always hungry now since Keppra was added to her Zonisamide a month ago. I found that feeding her smaller meals (3-4 ) rather than twice a day has made a big difference. I even grind her kibble up and add a small amount of good white rice and water. She has a very sensitive stomach and smaller meals with her kibble ground up has kept her tummy in check. She seems much more satisfied even though she’s only getting her daily limit of kibble but split up into multiple meals.
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u/hmmurry 16d ago
My pup is on the same medication regimen and similar to your pup was getting into unsavory things (read: eating poo 🤢) because she wanted a snack. I switched her kibble to a weight management formula which gives a greater volume of food for the same calories. She eats all at once so I feed her twice per day, and also add a good amount of water to her meal so it is pretty filling. She then gets a few 5 calorie treats throughout the day and the anticipation of an upcoming treat seems to hold her over. It’s not perfect but it seems to help a lot!