Canine Seizures

[RockerNJ]

We took our 7 year old dog(breed unknown, she is an adoption that came in from Puerto Rico) to the vet at 3:00PM on Monday to have her nails trimmed and she had a seizure, presumably due to the stress of the situation.  This was the first time she has ever had a seizure.  Then she had another on Tuesday morning at around 9:00AM, then another on Tuesday night at around 7:30PM, then another on Wednesday morning at about 7:00AM.

We took her to the vet on Tuesday morning after her 2nd seizure for blood work to check for possible causes.  The blood work came back Wednesday afternoon and the vet told us that her blood chemistry looked fine.  He prescribed 60mg Phenobarbital 2X daily(the dog is approx 52 lbs, so the dosage seems appropriate), though I came to find out my wife has only been giving her 30mg 2X daily.  Regardless, the dog has not had another seizure since starting the medication.

I was not around to witness her first two seizures, but I did witness the third and fourth.  She exhibited no pre-ictal signs at all, then she seized for about 2-3 minutes, falling over and exhibiting running in place, loss of control to salivary, bladder, and bowels, as well as one eye going "lazy".  Post-ictal phase was also mild.  Got up, walked over to us to get cleaned off, then paced a bit sniffing, then just went about her business like nothing happened.

From everything I've read online, recurring seizures are generally cause by epilepsy (more typical to have diagnosed this in ages 1-5), lymes disease(blood test negative), hypoglycemia(blood test negative), distemper(vaccinated, so this would be extremely rare), liver problems(blood test negative), or a brain tumor(too expensive to diagnose).

Our vet stated that the first seizure was most certainly brought on by stress, but the following three were not related to the first.  I cant help but wonder if the following three seizures COULD in fact just be some sort of residual effect of the first one.  The odds of her developing some sort of seizure disorder at the exact moment of taking her to the vet for a nail trimming seems a little far fetched.

I really dont want her on the Phenobarbital, as it's a pretty destructive drug, as well as it's definitely already altered the dogs mood and energy levels and given her an increased appetite and thirst.

Any thoughts, or recommendations?

[RockerNJ]

Is it possible that her subsequent seizures after the first episode at the vet are just aftereffects of the first?  And that she may not need to remain medicated?

[Jaybay]

Since your dog was a rescue dog, you have no idea if she had seizures before you brought her into your life.  In fact, seizures are big reason for people to give up their dogs.  They don't understand the process and/ or can't afford the regular medication (although phenobarb is inexpensive).  It's a shame because seizures are usually well controlled with phenobarb.  

Please try not to worry about the medication.  It's safe and does a great job with seizures - usually with little to no side effects.  If your dog can get along fine with a lower than prescribed dose, great!  Still, don't be surprised if another seizure pops up in a few weeks.  With the meds on board, it shouldn't be as bad (length of time and incontinence) as what you intially witnessed.

Our neighbor's dog developed seizures around age 2 - he was also a rescue dog.  While he's required higher doses of phenobarb over the past 7 years, he's down to one double-header about every 2 months.  He has a wonderful life in spite of the occasional episode, and the meds haven't slowed him down at all.

One thing you must be aware of when you have a dog with epilepsy is water.  Never leave her unattended near a pool, pond, lake or body of running water.  If a seizure occurs, you need to be right there to pull her out.  Other than that, she can participate in any activity.

Keep a journal of seizure events that also lists possible triggers.  My vet had a patient with a history of seizures and the client discovered that their doorbell triggered them.  Once they disconnected the doorbell there were no more seizures.  You never know!