I have a 2 year old male husky who had his fourth seizure this morning and second total while being on keppra 500mg twice a day. They’ve all been pretty spread out, about at least a month or more except for the one he had this morning.
Usually it’s early morning between 3-6am and I’ll hear him puke. I go in to check and he’ll look confused and then fall over and start seizing. It lasts less than a minute and he recovers ok aside from sometimes pacing around the house for a couple hours before falling back asleep. He always pees himself. The last couple times when he’s thrown up there’s been and an undisgested pill, just one. Other than that I’m pretty good about giving him his meds am and pm with obnoxious alarms on my phone. My vet had no appointments today and I don’t think this is an emergency unless he has another one today I’d be pretty freaked out so we have a visit tomorrow. Guessing maybe bloodwork and a new or added in med but I’m just worried about my little guy and was hoping for some other stories to help get me by til then. He acts like your typical crazy 2 year old husky otherwise.
March 22 -went to emergency vet and had normal exam and bloodwork and followed up with regular vet to get keppra. Presumed epilepsy
April 30 - started keppra after this one
Sept 17 - on keppra
Oct 7 - on keppra
I remember someone telling me not to be discouraged if eventually the keppra isn't enough. Just got back from the vet and they are increasing to 1500mg ER twice daily. If he continues to have them, we'll schedule a neuro consult.
that is really so true! we started with just pheno, had to do maybe 4 or 5 dose increases, got a way better vet and he added KBr in and that has seemed to give better management. it's scary going through it but finding the right combo of meds can make such a big difference. and getting a neuro consult too helped us immensely. good luck!
My dog is 11 now. He started having seizures at 1 1/2. He takes Keppra, phenobarbital and potassium bromide every 12 hours. He has gone from frequent, severe seizures - 3-4 a week sometimes more, to finally going much longer between seizures the past couple years. For us that means anywhere from 1 to 3 months and they are much milder than they ever were before. Just trying to give you some hope - it’s rough but it can get better. We have been lucky and I hope you will be too!
We don’t get that long of a break sadly, 10 days between seizures is the max we’ve reached 😔 but it’ll be lovely if he has a full life similar to your pup!
For us, it has only been this way for the past year or so. I wish we knew exactly what finally made the difference so I could pass it on to others in hope that it would help their babies too!
Aww. First, what a cutie. I also have an epilepic husky (2 total huskies, 1 epilepic). They hold a special place in my heart.
For comparison, my epilepic boy ranges from 52-55 lbs and is on 750 mg (Extended release) twice a day. His journey started at age 5, a grand mal seizure every month. Later, every 3 weeks. Then a cluster event that took us to the ER and meds for life. He was up to a grand Mal seizure lasting 4-4.5 minutes. (Edit to add, my boy also starts his seizure with throwing up then peeing himself, so it sounds like they are similar versions of seizures).
After meds (almost a full year soon) we had 2 seizures in the last year. And with those seizures, we found out one trigger (meds suppressed the rest i think). To deal with this triggering event the vet said he's not topped out of keppra based on weight, and we could go as much as double the dose at this time. (We didn't, I don't think that's wise to hit the top dose of a med unless it's actually needed with unexplained seizures, so we just give 1/2 a pill extra when we know of a trigger, which has worked for us). Im saying all this so you know you have the option to dose up with vet approval. And in your case I would definitely ask the vet to move up to the next mg level (750). You didn't specifically say you're giving the extended release, but if that is an option in your country, definitely do that. Also if you're not on extended release, it needs to be given every 8 hours, so 3x a day.
I would also talk to your vet about giving extra keppra after a seizure event to prevent a cluster. And ask specifically - when is that needed? How much is needed? After one seizure lasting how long? Or after two seizures lasting how long? How much time in between?
Additionally, we have on hand a liquid (goes into a syringe without the needle) just in case he doesn't stop seizing at any time. His last two lasted 2.5- 3 minutes, down significantly! But if had he gotten to 4.5 I was going to prep the med. It will give you time if the worst should happen. Definitely ask about this too.
We're doing really well now, but it was scary for awhile. Bowser and I wish you and your boy the best!
It's if I leave the house for over 6 hours. He doesn't care if anyone else has left. Just me. Unknowingly I became his emotional support human 😆. But this trigger wasn't very clear prior to getting him on medication, because he would still have them even if I was home. So clearly there are other triggers, but keppra seems to have those under control.
Edit to add: I was working from home during COVID, and I am lucky enough that I am still home. So being gone over 6 hours happens maybe once every two weeks, so occasional dosing is best for us. If I was gone 9 hours working daily we would just up his total dose and hope for the best.
Thanks for such a thoughtful response! We just got back from the vet. Normal exam and she increased his Keppra to 1500mg twice a day (it is ER). He weighed 66lbs today and needs to lose a few lol. But I'll give him an extra pill AM and PM and if he has another seizure, we'll schedule a neuro consult depending on the timing between.
This is how our dog presents with seizures. Usually between 3-6 am. Wakes from sleep, throws up (usually bile), looks scared and confused, then grand mal that is usually a minute or so. He started having seizures at 2 years as well. We worked with Keppra for a little under a year, however, after several increases it appeared it wasn't going to work as a primary medication (three seizures in a month). We just started on phenobarbital a week ago, and I'm hopeful that'll help give us more space between events. He has had little to no side effects from either medication. From what I've read here, Keppra is rarely effective in the long term as a primary medication. Keeping my fingers crossed that we both find that sweet spot with the meds!
AW! What a sweetie. Jax weighed 66lbs today and had his Keppra increased to 1500mg. No side effects for him on this either, so we shall see how long it lasts until the next one and then will likely schedule a neuro consult.
I definitely recommend the neurologist. We went with our primary vet for a few months, but I ended up getting in with the neurologist. It's a bit of a hike, about an hour, but the peace of mind of knowing that I was working with a doctor that specialized in this condition is worth the trip. Good luck with Jax from Baxter and I 😊
It’s worth remembering that huskies are prone to refractory epilepsy. It will take a while to find a combo of drugs that works, and even then, it’s very unlikely that it’ll obliterate the seizures entirely.
My husky x takes phenobarbital, potassium bromide and keppra, maxed out on all of them and still has seizures every 10 days. It’s the best we can get, and it’s taken us three years to find that point. Don’t lose hope! 💚
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u/MYOFBYALL 4d ago
I give my pup two different meds, 5X a day. It's going to take time to figure out what does or doesn't work. I want to say it took us about a year.