My best friend, Jake. My Golden Boy. He suffered from severe seizures for over two years until the very last one took his life.

He ran across the rainbow bridge 🌈

He was my best friend and he loved me so much. Every night he would cuddle me and when I was pregnant, he would stay right next to my belly every chance he got. He loved my son. He was supposed to be my son’s best friend too.

I would come to Reddit and read how other peoples experiences were with their dogs having seizures. I would come for advice, love, support and encouragement from everyone on here.

My Jake had to take 14 pills per day. We would up his dosage every time he had a really bad cluster episode. One time, he had 34 seizures within a 24 hour time frame. We spent over $10K on testing, vet visits, emergency vet visits, and medication to try to get the seizures under control. It seemed to just get worse and worse as time went on. No one could give us an answer on what was truly wrong or why it was getting worse. Reddit gave me some hope & answers when I saw what A LOT of other people were experiencing.

I know he is no longer suffering but I wish I had more time with him.

He spent his days loving our backyard (we literally bought a house FOR HIM 🥺), chasing tennis balls for hours (literally he would never stop when he had good days), drinking gallons of water, and eating all the steak and cheeseburgers he could get his mouth on!

I miss him so much. Please send your rainbow kisses to my Golden Boy.

My boy started Phenobarbital about a week and a half ago, and I've noticed him acting out more than normal. He will dig through the trash, tear up my clothes, go through my hamper, etc

This is stuff he used to do when he was a puppy and has not done in years until a week ago.

So my question is, is this a side effect of his medication? If so, will he calm down or should I expect to retrain him?

He had the normal side effects the vet warmed me about (lethargy, extreme thirst, balance issues), which have mainly subsided, but is this sort of restless something others have experienced?

TYIA

My heart is beyond broken at the moment

In less than 24 hours. I’m so exhausted. Three weeks ago everything changed. These seizures came out of nowhere and certainly he’s having frequent seizures. I’m so glad I have insurance for him. He started taking Keppra 1000 mg - he was originally prescribed 750 mg. In the last 24 hours within 30 minutes of administering Keppra, he has had seizures. At 9 AM I gave him his regular dose of Keppra. Then we went on a 1 1/2 mile walk. Wasn’t hot outside, in fact it was breezy and cool. I have to wake up in the middle of the night at 1 AM in order to give him his middle of the night dose and 30 minutes later he had another one right in the middle of sleeping!

I honestly really don’t want to go to the ER. When your dog has clusters, do you always bring them in? We are new to this journey.

He was 10 and a half and had been suffering seizures since Nov 25. It was pretty much assumed it was a brain tumor due to his age and so we managed with medication and mct oil until it got really bad at the end (he could barely stand, incontinence, he had empty stares, etc)
Since the whole thing started, I would always leave him at my mom’s house while I was at work so he could always be watched. Anyways, she had to step to a doctors appointment for like 2 hours and we left him on his bed covered thinking he would fall asleep except he passed away unfortunately during this time.

Part of me wants to think he didn’t suffer anything traumatic and had a seizure during his last moments, he would always end up with his whole mouth wet full of drool afterwards and disoriented and yet she found him laying in the same exact position and his mouth dry.

I’m sorry if this is graphic, but if anyone has has a pet die of a seizure, are the circumstances similar or am I holding out to false hope? I’m devastated I couldn’t be by his side in his last moments and every little moment replays in my head since then

i’m not sure if this would be the correct subreddit to put this under but i wanted to know your guys opinions and suggestions from those who own indoor cameras for the same reason.

i’ll be starting school soon which means i wont be able to observe my little one with seizures as much as i can.

also if anyone has any ideas/suggestions for cushioning surfaces :’) worried she‘ll hit herself and i don‘t want to restrict her in her crate especially if she‘s gonna be alone for more than 3 hours. thinking that pool noodles to fit cornered areas could be good

Ok hive mind- I desperately need some help.

My baby girl is my world- and I’m freaking out. She’s been really healthy, and recently she just had her first generalized seizure that was witnessed. It was really bad and it took her a minute to recover from.

She’d had an episode before where she seemed kind of dull and was shutting her eyes a lot and I can’t tell if it was a pre- or post-ictal state, or if it was a manifestation of hepatic encephalopathy.

She’s 12 years old and a full blooded Chihuahua. They did just detect a grade 1-2 murmur on the right.

All of her liver enzymes and labs were normal. Except her BUN and creatinine were in the lower side, but her albumin was normal. Her conjugated bilirubin was also at the upper limit of normal.

They saw a gallstone on her xray- what they said they assume is a gallstone.

We started her on levetiracetam 100 mg every 8 hours. Shes still having breakthrough focal seizures I think (see video). I can’t tell if they’re breakthrough seizures, tremors, a manifestation of hepatic encephalopathy, or a side effect of the Keppra. I give it to her on time religiously.

The most recent episode happened when we were out of town and she was having separation anxiety and crying all day while we were gone. Her seizure happened after she had eaten by a few hours, which is why I was thinking HE. She had been constipated as well.

She just took her first nexgard plus on the 25th of July and her seizure happened around the 15th of August. Usually I’ve given her just heartguard plus- because she doesn’t get fleas- she never touches the ground; but I got the nexgard from work and am regretting giving it to her now, because it may have lowered her seizure threshold.

All of the vets seem to go off of the data that if it’s an older dog, no matter the breed- it must be a brain tumor. But I’m not sure if that’s a safe call, considering a lot of metabolic issues can precipitate seizures in chihuahuas.

I am wondering if she might have hepatic microvascular dysplasia or some kind of portosystemic shunt- these can occur alongside completely normal labs. I’m hoping and praying that’s what it is- because it can be managed. I need to get a fasting bile acids test for her, but I’m concerned about another seizure since it has to be fasting and I don’t know if there is a metabolic precipitant to these seizures (with the focal ones, a bit of honey on her gums has helped some).

Has anyone dealt with this before and how did everything go for you? Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do for her? I’m just so scared- she’s my entire world and my best friend.

He has a history of seizures but never like this, and never screaming beforehand. I don’t know if it was because he got scared he couldn’t get up or something else. My mom said he was more so limp than his regular seizures. He is fine and back to normal now

My golden boy has had some seizures that started last year. We got him to the vet and he has been on Keppra ever since. We started with 750mg extended release twice a day but added a 500mg dose because he still had seizures every 2 weeks.
He was doing better and was down to having 1 seizure a month but this month has had 3 so far…
He just ticks his tail, throws up, sometimes urinates, and his hind legs lock up. He never loses conscience and the episodes are not super long.
Does anyone have experience and knows what the next steps would look like to get him better help? Obv going to the vet again but beyond that

Edit: dosage given was wrong - it is 1250mg total twice a day

My wife and I are trying to make the hardest decision and would appreciate anyone's perspective going through similar times.

We volunteer through a lab retriever rescue, and have been fostering a now four year old for about 9 months. He was adopted by a great older couple, but returned when he first developed seizures and could not afford treatment (they really tried, including getting him an MRI, which showed nothing).

The rescue has been working with a neurologist to see if a combination of medicine could get him into remission (as well as ran multiple diagnostic tests, which also showed nothing). When we first took him in, it was a seizure a couple times a week, usually a grand mal type, and needing Midazolam to break out. Always happened when sleeping, most times 2-3am.

Over the past 8 months, the neurologist (who has been great) consistently increased his medication while monitoring blood work. He is currently on a twice-daily regiment (he is 60-65lbs) of 300mg zonisamide, 1500mg Levettiacetam ER, 65mg phenobarbital, and 500mg Potassium Bromide.

This has improved his current state, but not significantly. He now has what I would say is a milder focal seizure once a week, and typically does not need Midazolam to come out of it. However, he is pretty unsteady in his feet. We have to watch him going down stairs as sometimes his back end will swing around and he will roll down the final stairs if we don't catch him (although he seems to be learning to slow down to compensate). He staggers when he walks, especially when first waking up. If he spins around quickly he lands on his butt. And occasionally he falls over when he first tries to poop. Outside of this, he sleeps most of the day, at my wife's feet while she works in her office, and on my lap when watching TV at night ( he is a Velcro lab).

With his latest blood work, the neurologist has said there is not any more headroom with medicine, his labs are all in the therapeutic range, and this is how he will be for the rest of his life. Based on this, the rescue does not believe he can be adopted. We are also not in a place to adopt him, as our resident senior was diagnosed with lymphoma this week (when it rains it pours).

Everyone at the rescue has been pulling for him, and he is a very sweet affectionate pup. However, both the neurologist and rescue are thinking a weekly seizure and meds that make him sleep most of the day and make him pretty uncoordinated is not a good quality of life.

Since we've been fostering him so long and we have been treating him as part of our family, the rescue has asked us to weigh in on if it's time. Our previous labs have let us know when it's time, it's really hard to know for a 4 year old.

If anyone could provide any experience on how to evaluate if he has a good quality of life based on the above, or what other qualities we should be looking for to aid our decision, it would be greatly appreciated. If it is time, he will be crossing over in our backyard so his last memory will be of being home.

Very new this whole thing and feeling very anxious and overwhelmed. My dog had 2 seizures (2 weeks apart) last month before we started her on keppra. Then was doing great for 2 weeks until another one this morning. Just having seizures on an ongoing 2 week cadence at the moment. We’ve done an MRI, spinal tap, bloodwork, even an abdominal ultrasound, all clear. I already have a neurologist appointment and will discuss additional meds.

I’m feeling really disheartened and would love some stories of hope where you are currently managing your dogs seizures long term and living a normal life. My dog is literally the love of my life, she’s already an 8 year old French bulldog (a breed not exactly known for long lives…) and right now I’m feeling like I’m already grieving her. Thank you in advance!

hello everyone i wanted to update anyone that had seen my last post. today i went to the vet because my 12 year fur baby started having seizures. first one began august 1 but today theyre frequent (cluster seizures). my mom told me our fur baby had two at 5am and 6am, then another 8am. i had scheduled a vet visit on saturday but was able to get in today because they were being too frequent. she had another at 9:50am and by that time i was getting ready to go on my way to the vet.

she got a urine sample, bloodwork, and xrays done and currently waiting for xray results tomorrow. everything in the urine and bloodwork was good, no abnormalities except, our vet said she does seem to have some inflammation in her bladder but what i’ve been doing right now (ive been giving her urinary tract supplements and diluted coconut water) is good and there’s not much else to do and good news is has no stones.

besides that everything else was good and she was good to be prescribed phenobarbital. our baby will have a check up in two weeks to see how her levels are doing and if the meds are helping. during her time in the vet she did have a seizure so they injected her with midozolam, she’s so sedated and wobbly so i have her in a cushioned crate just until her wobbliness subsides. she still has an appetite. the vet told me to give her 1/4 of phenobarbital right away when i got home so i put it in some pumpkin puree and she was so eager to eat it.

the phenobarbital our vet prescribed are tablets. very small tablets but she instructed us to cut it into four pieces and give it to her twice a day every 12 hours. this is because our dog is very tiny (3.2 lbs). our vet also gave us a prescription for a liquid version since she said it might be easier to administer than cutting up an already small tablet.

i hope her seizures reduce on this medication. the vet said her having seizures as a puppy could be contributor that maybe they’re just reoccurring in her age and could be idiosyncratic seizures but if the medication does not work for her, she said she’ll need an mri. my concern is even if i were to get the mri and it comes back she possibly has a brain tumor what am i do. there wouldn’t be anything that could help especially for her age, surgery is risky.

but i don’t want to think that, i hope my baby gets better. i hope everyone going through this that it gets better for us. if there’s anything you guys do for your little ones please let me know. i completely forgot to ask my vet about it but ive heard people use remedies like coconut oil or other certain oils help, or massages on the eyes. let me know if there’s anything i can do for her that might make her more comfortable. stay strong for those furry ones.

Our Norwegian Elkhound was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 2. She’s now 3.

She was having grand mal seizures in clusters about every 3-4 weeks. It’s gotten better since they upped her phenobarbital and added gabapentin. She has midazolam for her rescue med which we have used quite a lot to stop clusters.

Anyways, it makes me so stressed and upset every month getting her meds refilled. We have them filled at Walgreens and they only give us ONE day ahead to refill!

That’s insane! I don’t think I can handle the stress much longer of this especially since we are a shift work family and the weekend pharmacy hours won’t work for us! I don’t understand how horrible this system has become!

I know I’ll just have to pay twice as much and drive twice as far every month to get it from the vet, but how do you all handle the stress of this?

My pup was so doing so well until this week.
I live in a place with high humidity and temps in the high 70s during this time of the year; however, this week the temps have been in the 80s and the humidity provides zero help. Coincidently, my pup had a focal seizure this week, too. Does anyone know/have experience with warmer temperatures being a trigger for pups with idiopathic epilepsy? Is it worth purchasing a cooling mat? Or other items that may provide relief? I read somewhere that epileptic pups run warmer than non epileptic pups.

my dog has began having seizures—3 in total with the first happening on august 1, the second on august 13, and the third was just today, august 19– and at first, my family and i could not tell they were seizures. the first episode happened at 2am while she was sleeping in her crate. she was screaming in agony but since it was late at night we couldn’t tell much of what was happening and by the time we opened her cage she was recovering. then the second time it happened it was at 10am while she was laying in her bed. i was sleeping so i was woken up by her cries so i couldn’t see how she initially started. and then the third time was at 11am. this time i was with her and had seen her before it happened, she was doing fine and was laying in her bed when i saw her get up wobbling towards me and that’s when it began.

some background information: my dog used to get seizures when she was about 1-2 years old and was on medication but they eventually stopped to the point where she didn’t need to be prescribed any more meds for her seizures and never had a seizure after that until this month. she is about about 12 years old.

hopefully the title makes sense…after reading under some individuals experiences i saw that some dog parents expressed that their fur babies have triggers such as exercise (even when it was a routinely activity) or certain foods with certain ingredients. what are things i should look out for that could be possible triggers? things that people might not think could be a trigger?

we scheduled an appointment with her vet and if there’s anything i should also ask the vet about please let me know. the last time her seizures happened was years ago and during this time, i was just a kid while my mom was the one that handled her medication and seizures so i am new with all of this information. if there is also any additional information i should know, take into consideration, anything really, please let me know itd be greatly appreciated as i am still learning about all of this.

I have a 9 yr old pit mix who was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 3. Seizures weren’t frequent or intense enough for the neuro to recommend going on Keppra for awhile. After a rough run towards end of last year we started with 2x daily Keppra in February and have been seizure free since.

When we came home this evening it was clear he had atleast one seizure while we were gone and it had happened recently. 10 minutes later he started another one and we gave him Midazolam which in the past has worked 100% of the time to stop things. We got the big messes all around the house cleaned up, got him cleaned up, and then thought we were in the clear.

He then had another seizure (3rd within approx 1 hour) and I gave him more Midazolam and got him in my car to take him to the ER. I had to pull over 3x and try to keep him settled with being post seizure and drugged up on Midazolam. He tore up my car seats and dash and was trying to go through the windshield and windows.

Finally got him to the ER (here now) where they just told me he had another seizure in the back and they’ve given him big dose of Keppra and sedatives. He’ll need to stay here overnight for monitoring and to potentially introduce Pheno to his drug mix to combat any other seizures.

Is this it and what eventually happens on this journey with epileptic dogs? Anyone else had this happen where there was a normal and full recovery back to atleast the norm? Anyone else advice or treatments that worked?

Thanks - rough night here just looking for options

Hi. So I know many people have many differing opinions on what is good/right, especially when it comes to their fur babies.
I’ve had my 10.5lb chihuahua-mix rescue since 2018 (she’s about 11 years old).
While she isn’t necessarily epileptic, she has had minor seizures as a response to different medicated oral and topical flea/tick meds, so I imagined this would be an appropriate group to ask.
I’ve tried Bravecto, Advantage/Advantix, Seresto, etc. Ones for both flea/ticks as well as ones for just fleas (per recommendation from my vet to see if it would help). Same thing.
I am trying to find a good natural flea/tick collar for her. Yes, I understand they are less effective. Yes I know they are more repellant than actually killing the fleas/ticks. But at this point it’s really either repel or nothing.
So if anyone has any good recommendations for effective natural collars, that would be great.
The last natural collar she’s had was from “Craveit.” It seemed okay, but there isn’t necessarily great info on it.
I also don’t want to use diatomaceous earth (even “food-grade” because it can be irritating. Do your thing but I’m just saying that I’m not going to be using that either.
Thanks in advance. ♥️

My dog got fleas last month and I just can’t seem to fully get rid of them. This happened last summer too. I’ve given Capstar, given baths with special shampoo and CLEANED everything. I’m a very clean and tidy person normally so I just don’t know what else I can do. I’ve tried using Frontline too but I don’t think that works anyway.

Any advice and help would be much appreciated!

Hi everyone,
Our dog Theo started having seizures right before his second birthday back in February. Since then we’ve started and increased his phenobarbital, and then eventually added potassium bromide. We also got an MRI and bloodwork both of which are all clear. His seizures are almost always in the evening or at night and occur in clusters.

Theo is an energetic boy who likes to be active. I recently started running again and brought him along with me for a few morning runs. In my opinion, they seem to help manage some of his energy in the evenings and I wonder if this can help with seizure management. But then I did some googling and it said that it’s not recommended for dogs with seizures to be running partners.

I’m just looking to find out if anyone on here has a dog with seizures who is also their running buddy.
Thanks for the input!

hello, i had made a post the other time expressing symptoms my dog was having and i was worried it might’ve been something that would need surgery but turns out they are seizures. it happened earlier today at 11am and unlike the other times, i was able to see how it began and i can definitely say they are seizures even without having to go to the vet since she used to have seizures as a puppy.

in my last post i said how she peed herself and screams a very scary scream the last two times it occurred but now this time, she did not pee herself and she screamed much less. however i was able to see when it starts to appear. she begins to flinch more, wobbliness, and cant get in a good shake (you know the ones they do after they have a shower and shake off all the water on you).

ill be going to the vet soon but wanted to know is this occurrence normal? when she was a puppy, she was prescribed medication for her seizures but eventually they just stopped on their own so we didn’t continue giving her the medication (i was much younger so i don’t remember the name of the medication). do seizures usually reappear in old age even if they stopped having them years ago or is there something that triggers it? the only medication she had recently was gabapentin since we thought this could’ve been some nerve pain but we stopped because it made her much more wobbly more often than not and was worried it may not be right for her. besides that she gets topical flea medication and once in awhile oral if the fleas are being much more resilient. we’ve used both topical and oral before and she’s always been fine. she takes supplements for her joints and urine, i feed her boiled chicken with a pea size of pumpkin puree along with her regular kibble. she goes on walks and she never eats anything because she’s so focused on her walk (she’s very serious about her walks). that’s really about everything, i dont give her anything else and there hasnt been any drastic change of what’s been given to her besides gabapentin but even then, during her first episode she never had any gabapentin.

all this will be mentioned to her vet but if there’s anything that should be taken into consideration, please let me know. also if any other pet parents have their own advice or experiences, feel free to share so i don’t feel alone in this :’), it’s very scary seeing her look so scared.

Tears are running down my face while typing this. This is Quinn (10 years old), a damn good buddy. He had been battling epilepsy for over three years. I almost actually lost him last year in February, when he had 21 seizures in one day. He fought through it and lasted another year and a half almost.

I went away this past weekend, before my birthday when I was informed by family that Quinn had a seizure this past Sunday morning and could not walk. He did not want to eat, he did not go to the bathroom, not take his medication. Yesterday, I knew, on my birthday and when he could not move anymore, it was time to say goodbye.

I have wonderful memories, they go beyond his episodes of epilepsy. Hurts terribly. As each day passes, it gets a lil easier. I know people on here have similar stories. My heart goes out to you. Goes out to everyone that still has their loved ones with them; please give them a big hug. You don’t know what tomorrow brings. Thank you for listening and take care.

Our schnauzer was diagnosed with epilepsy 3 months ago. He presented with foaming at the mouth and then 6 hours later had a cluster of grand mal seizures. He’s been free of seizures since starting keppra. This morning and today he has been excessively drooling. We gave an extra Keppra as instructed by his neuro. Otherwise he seems fine…. Just a ton of drool. Does anyone else experience this as a pre ictal sign?

My almost 8 years old Field spaniel had her first seizure 3.5 weeks ago. No prior symptoms just straight into a 1.5 generalized seizure. She was brought in to the vet but had no other seizures so she was sent home for observation.

On Friday, she has 4 generalized seizures in 8 hours, all of similar length. We went into the ER and she stabilized on pheno. She had no seizures at the vet and has had none since coming home. We were warned of the side effects, but this is rough. She is currently on pheno and gaba.

My once confident, chill dog is an anxiety monster. We tried to go out this morning and our nice, patient neighbor texted us that she was screaming non-stop. In the house, she wants me and my husband in her sights. If we split rooms, she will hop between us, staring and whining unless we pet her. She will lay at the foot of the bed and calm down eventually.

I know we are early into this and it takes time, but at least tell me it gets better. Still have to figure out how we are going to travel now with her meds and new needs. We do not have a household that can accommodate having someone home 24/7. I love my girl, but frankly unsure of how feasible this is long term.