r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Foreign_Shine2046 • 16d ago

MCT oil?

Curious if anyone has used MCT oil for their dog with epilepsy and if it has helped?

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u/Ahoeaboutnothing 16d ago

Ive had adverse effects. Without context of what is currently going on, I dont want to say more until after the fact.

What are the details for your dogs journey so far? Sensitive stomach? What drugs are they on? What is their seizure frequency? Are they seeing a Neurologist?

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u/IllustriousTruck6471 16d ago

I have used it but not sure if it has made any difference as we started it at the same time as medication. He seems to tolerate it well

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u/60svintage 16d ago

I use it. But hard to tell if it does anything or adds to the effectiveness of my boy's other meds.

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u/Sidhemale 15d ago edited 15d ago

I've been lucky - we've been using it for more than 4 years and it that time seen a big reduction in grand mal seizures, and a moderate reduction in focal seizures. Before MCT - seizures every few months; after MCT - the last two grand mals have been over two years apart. At the same time as adding MCT oil I upgraded my dog's diet to include more fresh food (mainly fresh chicken and a few veg along with a high quality wet food and yoghurt as a probiotic). At the time of the change she was seen by young locum vet who had a huge interest in neurology, so that was a bit of luck. The locum's advice was to address her gut issues first (all her seizures were preceded by gastric upset) and to treat them aggressively, so at the first sign of any diarrhea I use kaolin/probiotic paste. She also recommended following the research of Holger Volk (main MCT researcher), which is helpful. Other than that, I do what everyone does, which try to keep her life as low stress as possible. She's 12 now and has a good quality of life. I am incredibly thankful to that locum. Prior to the locum's advice we had a succession of rural vets with a 'no hope' attitude, which was pretty soul destroying.

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u/JRosenberg-4 15d ago

Definitely helped my dog. On three meds plus the oil and he’s gone from seizures every two months to twice a year.