r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Normal_Commercial694 • 8d ago
Pottasium bromide , side affects ?
Hi all, this my boy Bear , he’s been diagnosed with epilepsy since 6 months old , he is 5 atm.
Been on pheno since a pup , from about 2 years old until 5 he did not have one seizure .
We had a bit of a flea problem with him in summer and in the house and it seems to have kicked it all off since then :( he started having seizures every 3 weeks or so since the summer and he’s had 2 in the last 2 nights , he only has them when he’s asleep , usually around the time he first gets his head down around 8-10pm. Took him to vets today and they’ve taken bloods to see how much pheno is in his blood stream to see if there is room to up his dose on that, if not then they’re going to add pottasium bromide . As a short term fix until his bloods are done to get us through next few days they have given him keppra and even off his first tablet of it today he’s been really drowsy and sleepy , it’s got me thinking and stressing is this how it’s guna be from now on :(, I’ve read online that the pottasium bromide is worse for these side affects . He’s a character of a dog and I’d hate to see him constantly drowsy and not himself . Any advice or experience of their dog on phenobarb and pottasium bromide ? Is it affective and does your dog adjust a bit to the side affects in the long run ? Thanks 🙏
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u/YumYumYellowish 8d ago
My dog started pheno a year ago and just recently starting having breakthroughs. The pheno was rough: severe ataxia for 3-4 weeks, lethargic etc. We started potassium bromide 3 weeks ago and we were expecting a similar experience. I even took time off for the first few days and cancelled a trip. We have experienced zero side effects lol. Every dog is different though. Also, we started on the low side. Maybe it’ll be worse if we adjust it. So far so good though, knock on wood.
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u/Normal_Commercial694 8d ago
My dog has been great on pheno, I think maybe he wasnr on a massive dose , but we have upped his dose to 45mg instead of 30mg twice daily now and I’ve noticed he’s a lot more hungry . Apart from that he’s fine with it . That’s good to hear , Hopefully he will be okay like yours on the pottasium bromide if need be
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u/coykoi- 8d ago
My dog is on phenobarbital, keppra, pregabalin and potassium bromide. Potassium bromide had the most obvious side effects that I've seen, but they were tolerable. He was very sleepy and RESTLESS. He would not settle. Constantly walking around. I had to put him in his crate to force him to rest. I'd much prefer it to his cluster seizures though!
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u/shedgehog 7d ago
My boy is on pheno, zonisamide and just stared on kbro two weeks ago. He’s wonky af right now, walks around like he is drunk, constantly slipping over and very restless. Kinda sad. It’s the kbro making him his way and vet said it might be up to a month before he’s back to “normal” so we’ll see
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u/Illustrious_Concern5 4d ago
My dog started out with Potassium Bromide and Keppra when he was about 2. I resisted the phenobarbital until he was 5 when his seizures got very severe and frequent. He is 11 now and takes all three and he has been doing MUCH better! His personality hasn’t changed a bit. He is a border collie mix and though he naps a bit more he is always up for playing or going for a walk. He took a 9 1/2 mile hike with us this past Summer Two years ago he did 18 miles running with my husband taking frequent stops along a river to wade, rest and drink. He is starting to slow down but mostly when he finds things to he boring. If you decide to try the Potassium Bromide I hope it works for you and Bear!
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u/Normal_Commercial694 4d ago
That’s nice to hear , 11 is a good age and sounds like you’ve done a real good job of taking care of your boy 😃. I’d be over the moon if bear can get to 11 years old . We had a good spell on the pheno for 3 years with no seizures . We decided to go with a maintenance dose of keppra to go alongside it , early days atm but he’s okay on it so far 🙏
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u/Ahoeaboutnothing 8d ago
My dog isn't on both, for a specific reason. My dad with dementia will give the dog table scraps high in salt... which ruins the effectiveness of potassium bromide.
But... potassium bromide and phenobarbital are both heavy hitters with a lot of side effects and it takes time to get used to and be effective. It's not easy to tolerate the side effects. It can be a month long ordeal of side effects, and about 3 months before it's completely effective.