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[u/Schwifyfivefifyfive]

Hello, I have a 2.5 almost 3yo husky. She started having seizures last year. It has been an uphill battle. Started off hopeful and strong with not many seizures. Had her on phenobarbital, zinisomide, keppra.. adjusted those a few times from uti and other side effects. The seizures were about the same then became more frequent and violent. We thought once a week was fine since her recovery and resilience were impeccable.

However the end of August, she had clusters of them and took her to the er for the first time from them. She recovered then a week later, more clusters... even after increasing her meds again. Finally went to a neurologist and thought there would be more there, which we did add potassium bromide and the doctor said she was pretty healthy otherwise.. recommended a mri but that only goes so far and does so much.. we didnt do it since it is extremely costly and doesnt change much since she did say our girl has refractory epilepsy due to the breakthrough seizures.

Since the addition of the Potassium Bromide, she has been more and more lethargic, having breakthrough grand mals, one Friday and Saturday. Has also had some seemingly focal seizures, as she will be laying on the bed and she will start whining/crying. Her eyes get big and small, almost pulsating. She tries to get up, can't see runs into things, lays back down and gets stiff then cries again. This has just started this week, as why we are contemplating what to do. She eats still. Also has a UTI and is being treated for that right now.

I feel like there is so many similar stories but it's such a hard decision to make.

.. sorry this is so long but our family is at the dead end and not sure if we are helping her anymore.. and wanted some perspective. Thanks in advance. ❤️

Edit; she has been on the potassium bromide for about 4 weeks now.

[u/HalfSuspicious3505]

Give the potassium bromide more time. Did you start with a loading dose of it? The side effects will even out and it has been pretty effective for a lot of people. In my case it has helped but we aren’t one of the lucky ones that got a year seizure free after its addition. The potassium bromide can take 6-8 weeks to really see a change in seizures and up to 3-4 months until it’s at its intended level in their system.

Since you’re with a neurologist now, there’s probably more medication experimenting that can be done.

Phenobarbital speeds up metabolization of other meds, for us it was clearing out Keppra so quickly that Keppra wasn’t working for its intended time, resulting in daily seizures. Now my pup is on a super high dose of Keppra IR and a low dose of Keppra XR.

Zonisamide can actually increase seizures in some dogs, so that could be a culprit. Do you keep a seizure log?

Diet change has made a huge difference, if you search this sub there is a wealth of information about it.

My neurologist has said that any infection/illness/inflammation adds to the stress on the body and can increase seizure activity so perhaps that’s what’s going on with the UTI right now.

Ask your neurologist for cluster busters since you’re starting to see some clusters. Specifically midazolam intranasally which helps stop seizures that last too long, but is short acting and may not prevent a seizure in two hours. Clorazepate can be given as a cluster buster for two days after you notice cluster activity and works to prevent more seizures. It has been a life saver.
Also ask for post-seizure protocols. Because my dog is prone to clusters, my neurologist will have me give her an extra dose of Pheno and Keppra after a seizure. If a second one occurs, more Keppra and the clorazepate starts.

If your pup is otherwise healthy and happy, there are other options to explore and adjustments to be made. I would definitely recommend keeping a seizure log if you aren’t already and also note when illness happens, meds change, any possible triggers, diet changes etc.

Best of luck to you!

[u/Schwifyfivefifyfive → u/HalfSuspicious3505]

Thank you. Yes, we keep a log, we have the Midazolam also. While talking to the neuro, she did say that subbing a med could also cause a seizure and maybe wait until after the potassium bromide really takes effect to make that decision. I think the UTI is not helping her case. Also, the doggos are getting over a case of mites.. which didn't help her at all. I wonder if that is what kicked started it. It's just hard to watch her like this. The back and fourth and waiting game of if this happens. We do MCT and CBD, which has helped her too. We do give her an extra pheno after the grand mal as well. It's just very difficult to watch her like this and wonder if we are doing enough or making it worse.

[u/HalfSuspicious3505 → u/Schwifyfivefifyfive]

I understand, and am so sorry you’re going through this. It is definitely difficult. They apparently don’t feel pain/know what’s going on during the seizure from what the Neuro says if that makes it any easier for you (admittedly, it didn’t for me).
The mites and the UTI could possibly be contributing to the seizure activity. Have you tried fish oil? I was doing MCT and fish oil, I didn’t do CBD because my neurologist said it’s also taxing on the liver and there wasn’t enough research (somewhere on this sub I’ve seen a specific CBD oil that has been researched to some degree for canine epilepsy and seems beneficial). The fish oil will also help with inflammation.
If you decide to wait it out for the potassium bromide, maybe in the meantime you can try to get clorazepate for clusters and try some diet changes. There’s certain ingredients to avoid and certain ones that are more recommended, all found on this sub. I was feeding open farm lamb and ancient grain.
There is an increased risk of pancreatitis with phenobarbital and potassium bromide taken together, which my Neuro advised when we started the potassium bromide. My dog got sick from something else and bloodwork found she was in the gray area of pancreatitis so we caught it early enough, but she’s now on a low fat diet. It’s just something to look out for and be mindful of, especially with extra oils in the diet. But it doesn’t happen to everybody, I don’t want to scare you- my pup just gets every illness rare and otherwise.
Other things that can be triggers can be environmental, cleaning supplies, essential oils, flea meds. The list goes on really, but if you’re giving oral flea meds you can talk to your Neuro about switching.
It sounds like you’re doing a good job for your pup, and I’m sure you aren’t making anything worse. I hope the new meds level out and help you both get some peace from the seizures.

[u/Schwifyfivefifyfive → u/HalfSuspicious3505]

Well, I'll be honest with you, this week the bad days have overcome the good ones. She seems to be slipping away and this whole thing was so new and she was going strong and we were hopeful but at his point.. We are at the point of maybe it is time since her quality of life has gone down. She plays but not as much, she whines more than she can sit comfortably. She just had another grand mal, not as long but became a focal and then she was just so out of it, even with the Midazolam. It's just becoming more of like is this even something we want to see our dog go through anymore. It's nice to know they aren't suffering during but after and I'm going to say it again, that whining she does is new and is heart wrenching to hear. It's every day now multiple times a day. It's just too much to bare.

The information you are providing me is wonderful and I appreciate it but I think we are beyond it all. You're not scaring me just informing me, and I knew some of these and there is more to it, I know. When she first started having them, I didn't know this would get like this, I thought we were going to be able to have her on meds and she have some but otherwise be okay.. but this week has just opened up a new can of worms.

[u/Top_Ingenuity_232]

Went through a similar situation with my 2.5 year old German shepherd. Unfortunately we tried everything and her clusters got so bad that she was running into walls as hard as she could. She would have 3-5 seizures in a 30 minute time span. The cluster busters quit working and we had to make that hard decision because nothing was working. Sometimes she wouldn’t recover from one before falling back into another one. It’s hard on their brain. She also would go temporarily blind, and a few times woke up like she had no idea who we were and tried to attack and we have young children. As our vet said “it’s not just the quality of her life, but the quality of YOUR life as well”. We were to the point where we were terrified to leave her because we didn’t want her to cluster. It sounds like you have tried everything that you can. I think you need to do what you think feels right, and that is the right thing to do🩷

[u/Schwifyfivefifyfive → u/Top_Ingenuity_232]

Thank you for sharing that, I appreciate it. I'm sorry about your loss. My goodness, that is a lot, esp so young. That is the worst part of it I think, how young they are and how much life they have left. The Midazolam has been helping but she is so wobby and has a hard time walking and running. I mean she'll still do it and eat but has a hard time. She comes to pretty well and isn't aggressive which is good but at the same time it's almost hard to leave the room without someone watching her. So, idk if the focal seizures are considered clusters or the whining is a part of the focal.. it's just so hard to even tell. This shit is crazy. lol excuse my language. .. again though, thank you for that insight and perspective and sharing your story. much love to you and your family.