| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 12:06:01
Hi all,
10 months ago my beautiful Ozzie was diagnosed with epilepsy after having a massive seizure at home, at the time Ozzies 2 brothers that we keep in contact with had also been diagnosed and we were all told that it was most likely that all the pups from that litter (8 in total) would also suffer from epilepsy to some degree. Kane and Axle have had numerous seizures and both are now on oral phenobarbital to control the fitting. Since Ozzies massive seizure last July there had not been any further seizures until last night when he either suffered a very mild fit or I managed to halt it with distraction before it turned into something nasty like last time.
I've rang my vet this morning to ask if it's possible to stop a full blown seizure from happening with distraction as longterm medication on phenobarbital would be a last resort as I've already been told by the vet that the side effects can be worse than the seizures themselves in some cases, I'm still waiting for him to call back but it's surgical day today so he will be operating until at least dinnertime.
Sorry for rambling on but I am a very worried mum right now 
My gorgeous boy.
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| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| serena_08 |
Posted - 03/04/2012 : 19:14:06
@Mamma
He could be innocent, fleas can get into your home via us humans :/ |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 03/04/2012 : 13:22:42
he's beautiful! hope he's ok, my nannas old spanial used to fit occasionaly and his were made worse by stress, if a storm was coming the poor little guy would hide under the dining room table and end up having a fit. he never required medication although i think they used to sedate him on bonfire night to try and reduce his stress levels!
@ mamma animals definalty come first you give that friend what for!! fleas are a nightmare at the best of times let alone if you've got a pet thats allergic. how does your friend know for definate that his dog hasn't got fleas? our spanners frontlined and she still manages to pick up fleas it drives me crazy!!! |
| smart bunny |
Posted - 03/04/2012 : 10:07:08
Aww he's a handsome chappie, sorry to hear about his problems, and I hope he is OK :) |
| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 20:05:54
Thank you Serena 08 and most definitely not pointless and thank you Red123, it really helps hearing from someone who's been/going through it with their babies, thankfully Ozzie was back to his normal self after about 2 hours yesterday unlike last time mind it didn't stop me from sleeping with one ear firmly open listening for the slightest sound. The vet said that the reason distraction is unlikely to work is because by the time the first symptoms are showing the fit has already started.
Once again thank you both. |
| Red123 |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 19:28:39
Our collie x BoB has fits and has done so since he was 2 years old he is now 10 years old this october. His fits have stayed more or less the same regarding intensity and duration with just the occasional one lasting for like 10 minutes or so. He does not have medication and strangely always has a fit in March and September these are always the worst ones and any during the year are usually mild in comparison. He has leaned to cope with the fits quite well now and I can pick up on when a fit is approaching. He becomes very clingy, well more than normal, and tries to sit on my lap the whole time. He no longer gets stressed by a fit and will lay on the floor with me sitting by his side until it finishes. Distaction has never worked with BoB, and we find that we have to make sure there are no distractions as he comes out of the fit or he will go back into it. My mother owns his brother, who also developed fits, and he seems to have out grown the fits not having had one for several years now. I know it can be very stressful for an owner having to watch there pet fit, but I do believe they actually cope with it better than us owners.  |
| serena_08 |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 19:21:42
I have an epileptic dog so I know how you feel :( although circumstances are slightly different, mine was a 9 week old rescued Staffy whose original owner threw him at the floor so he has neurological trauma and it caused the epilepsy. He didn't have an episode til he was 2, I panicked like mad and within the hour he was at the vets (at this point we didn't know about the violence beforehand) and he was given phenobarb too. We were told that nothing can really be done to stop the episode but just keeping him calm afterwards. If he has a seizure now (for example) I have to give him a pill a day for a week to narrow the chances of another, as like you said the tablets potentially cause more damage, liver damage I believe. He has to go for a checkup after the 'fit' just to make sure he is okay, but since the phenobarb he has had 1 episode, he is now 4 :) It DOES get easier to deal with when it happens. I hope you all recover somewhat from this :) Pooch will be fine :)
Sorry for the long/pointless post! |
| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 18:19:08
Thanks scottishbluebird. |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 17:21:48
Hope both are going to be ok xxx |
| Mamma |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 17:04:39
I will keep my fingers crossed that Ozzie doesnt fit alot for you! Yeah hubby said he doesnt like offending people which is why he cant say no. But I can  As I pointed out to him, the cats end up stuck in the bedroom when he brings her over cos they just don like her. Its unfair for Elvis to be stressed or re-catch the fleas (if it was indeed the dog that brought them in.) and I would rather he was healthy and happy than offend someone who, personally - gets on my tata's lol.
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| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 16:52:59
Ah Mamma so good news and bad news for you, so now it's time to put your foot down and ban your hubbies friends dog from visiting or hand them the vet bill and hopefully the hernia won't get any bigger and it will be one less thing for you to worry about, mind with our furry and scaley families no sooner is one problem sorted when another 2 or 3 pop up to take its place. |
| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 16:42:46
Update.
David the vet has just called and we've had a long chat about last night and he said it's more likely that Ozzie has had a very mild seizure with the symptoms leading up to and following the actual fit which is a relief after his last seizure which was massive and lasted for 8 or 9 minutes which was very upsetting to see and extremely frightening for Ozzie, I don't think I've ever felt so completely helpless in all my life. The outcome is that as long as he doesn't start fitting much more frequently and the fits stay very mild he won't need to go onto medication as once they start taking it it's then lifelong, fingers crossed we don't have to go there. I have got to start keeping a diary of when he fits so that he can be assessed on a regular basis.
David also said that there is no reason why a fit couldn't be stopped from progressing by diversion but it is very unlikely.
kdlang, at least my mind has been put at rest now that I know that if he fits again it doesn't mean he's going to have another one like last July, since that one happened I made some alterations and he now has his own room in an alcove in the lounge which is padded to his shoulder height so that he can't physically injure himself if he has a fit when I'm not there, when I am there the training gate (door) is left open so he can hop in and out as he wants to, obviously he goes in there to sleep at night.
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| Mamma |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 15:49:45
urrrgh... well its a long long story. Basically my cats are house cats. Still get flea-ed wormed etc. But anyhoo... hubbys friend has a black lab and brings it round from time to time (thats a whole other story hahaha the dog is a flippin menace and i begrudge having it in my house... the cats are petrified of her too). Anyway, the cats caught fleas a couple months back. No other outside animal has been in my house, but hubbys friend refuses to accept theres the possibility they came from his dog.
Elvis has flea allergies we kept his sores clean etc. But he became OCD with grooming and now throws up constantly. The throwing up has caused a hernia
The vets were pleased with the way we have been cleaning his skin etc, but gave him a steroid injection and a course of steroid pills which should hopefully finish clearing his skin. Hopefully this will stop him grooming and throwing up.
They gonna keep an eye on his hernia, its not hurting him and from 1st inspection it doesnt seem like any guts are tangled in it etc. If it gets bigger in size over the next couple of months though they want to operate. My poor wee soul lol.
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| kdlang |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 15:17:31
Oh how worrying for you Jane. I guess it would be much better if his seizures could be halted with distractions rather than having to medicate him. What would happen if he was alone though. |
| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 14:17:06
Kez, thank you. |
| ozziesmum |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 14:14:44
ScalySituation, thank you.
Casta, all three of our vets have said the whole litter of 8 will have it to some degree.
Mamma, thank you and fingers crossed for you and Elvis please let us know how you get on |
| Kez |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 14:12:40
Aww, bless poor Ozzie and his siblings. Hope you get on ok once you've spoken to the Vet. Will be thinking of you x
Mamma, hope puss gets on ok too x |
| Mamma |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 13:17:41
oh bless him no wonder you are worried. Im taking Elvis (my bubba boy cat) to the vets today to get a lump in his stomach checked out Im dreading it xx |
| Casta |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 13:04:02
thats a shame. is there history of it in the family? |
| ScalySituation |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 12:07:30
poor baby x
hope you get something sorted |
