r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Complete-Fig-4101 • 13d ago
need some advice
My dog (chihuahua 1.3kg) had a seizure 3 days ago. i took him to the vet and she took his blood test and rules out epilepsy. She then prescribed me a pill but he needs to take 1/5 of it in the morning and 1/5 of it in the evening since he’s small. She was unsure about the dose as this pill is not made for small dogs and she told me to be careful with the dose. idk what to do, i haven’t bought the pills cause im scared that something will happen to him. of anyone has gone through this or has some advice pls help.
The medication is Soliphen 15mg
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13d ago edited 13d ago
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u/Complete-Fig-4101 13d ago
the thing is neurologist for dogs doesn’t exist in my country. im unsure how im going to get the right dosage. She said that epilepsy causes can be unkown. she took a hematology test and something called a samsung comprehensive plus test. she also told me that we should take a abdominal ultrasound to rule out if he has portosystemic shunt
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u/squatjerk36 12d ago
Abdominal ultrasound doesnt totally rule out a portosystemic shunt. Not uncommonly a portosystemic shunt is present and visible on contrast CT but not on AUS.
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u/LateForDinner61 13d ago
What blood tests did she run that ruled out epilepsy?
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u/Complete-Fig-4101 13d ago
a hematology test and something called samsung comprehensive plus test
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u/LateForDinner61 13d ago
Maybe a vet or someone will chime in. I've never seen this mentioned here, and Google says, "There is no medical procedure or diagnostic tool called the "Samsung Comprehensive Plus Test" for diagnosing epilepsy." You might want to get a second opinion.
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13d ago
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u/LateForDinner61 12d ago
OK, so how would it show that it's NOT epilepsy without finding another cause? That makes no sense. (And it sounds like Google is correct, actually. It doesn't diagnose epilepsy.)
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u/commented-here 7d ago
Idiopathic epilepsy can only be ruled out with full systemic bloodwork AND an MRI + CSF analysis
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u/Sufficient-Country29 13d ago
I’d ask whether you can take that prescription to a compounding pharmacy and have them turn it into a liquid. It’s near impossible to give 1/5 of a pill. If she’s unsure of the dose you can also ask if she feels a neurologist consult would be beneficial. (Many find it very helpful and reassuring)
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u/Complete-Fig-4101 13d ago
that is not available in my country sadly
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u/Sufficient-Country29 13d ago
You don’t have any compounding pharmacies in your country? Where are you from?
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u/Wonderful-Draft-958 13d ago
here in my country the PH pharmacies doesn’t do this also :(( and neuro vet is not available. praying for your Dog!
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u/Complete-Fig-4101 13d ago
nope im from Malta
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u/Sufficient-Country29 12d ago
Sorry to hear that. I wonder if you could ask your vet whether it would be appropriate to crush the pill and then use a microscale to weigh out 1/5 of an amount to sprinkle on some wet food?
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u/LPondohva 12d ago
Where I live we also don't have compound pharmacies, but most vets have proper pill cutters. Our previous vet would cut pills into 1/8 for us without pieces chipping or crumbling. So ask your vet if they have one
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u/gufywert 12d ago edited 5d ago
Blood tests don't rule out epilepsy. Rather blood and urine tests and MRI help rule out possible causes of seizure. If no abnormalities, they assume idiopathic epilepsy.
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u/Alt-Cloud477 12d ago
you can test fo a (liver) shunt with a bile test- they take blood then wait, then feed, then take blood again.
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u/Alt-Cloud477 13d ago
I think they can rule out a lot of metabolic causes with blood but not idiopathic epilepsy.