OT: Doggy Seisures

Exremely off-topic... At 5am Friday morning I was awaken to see the most frightening thing I've ever witnessed in my life. My 5yo Male Golden, Dakota, was having a full-blown epileptic seizure. I won't even try to describe what went on as it's just too damned scary. The whole thing lasted about 2 minutes. It felt like an hour. I had no idea what the hell was going on, and no idea what to do. So, I just held on to him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. After it was over, he was groggy for about 5 minutes, and was then completely normal. With the exception of an annoying, re-occuring right-ear infection, and a couple of food alergy issues, he's been in perfect health. To the best of my knowledge, this was his first, though he's alone at home with the other Golden, Comet, during the day so if it occured then I wouldn't know about it. He went to the vet that morning, and other than his typical ear problem, he was totally fine. They did a full set of blood tests, and the results came back today perfectly normal. At this time, there is no explanation as to why it happened. Worse yet, I was told they usually never do find out why it happens, and can't predict if it ever will happen again. Even worse, I'm told this isn't entirely unusual, especially in Goldens, Shepards, Labs, and other large-breed dogs. The ONLY comfort I got out of the vet visit is that I was assured he never felt a thing. They wrote him a prescription for Valiums Suppositories (which are proving impossible to get filled) to keep around if it ever happens again. Apparantly, Valium can stop a seizure in it's tracks. I'm told that it doesn't get super-serious unless the seizures last more than 5 minutes. Right...... 5 minutes of seeing that, and _I_ will have to sit on one of those Valiums!!! Anyone else ever had to deal with this ? Larry

Hi Larry, I am actually a compounding pharmacist and make custom made prescriptions for epileptic dogs all the time, usually potassium bromide for maintenance therapy. We make valium suppositories occasionally. They are not available otherwise and must be compounded. You need to look for a compounding pharmacy, a regular retail store will not usually have the time or knowledge to make them. Try www.iacprx.org and click "find a compounding pharmacist" and you can search by zip code. Good luck. Eric On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 23:46:39 -0400, "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Exremely off-topic... > >At 5am Friday morning I was awaken to see the most frightening thing I've >ever witnessed in my life. > >My 5yo Male Golden, Dakota, was having a full-blown epileptic seizure. I >won't even try to describe what went on as it's just too damned scary. > >The whole thing lasted about 2 minutes. It felt like an hour. I had no >idea what the hell was going on, and no idea what to do. So, I just held on >to him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. > >After it was over, he was groggy for about 5 minutes, and was then >completely normal. > >With the exception of an annoying, re-occuring right-ear infection, and a >couple of food alergy issues, he's been in perfect health. > >To the best of my knowledge, this was his first, though he's alone at home >with the other Golden, Comet, during the day so if it occured then I >wouldn't know about it. > >He went to the vet that morning, and other than his typical ear problem, he >was totally fine. They did a full set of blood tests, and the results came >back today perfectly normal. > >At this time, there is no explanation as to why it happened. Worse yet, I >was told they usually never do find out why it happens, and can't predict if >it ever will happen again. > >Even worse, I'm told this isn't entirely unusual, especially in Goldens, >Shepards, Labs, and other large-breed dogs. > >The ONLY comfort I got out of the vet visit is that I was assured he never >felt a thing. > >They wrote him a prescription for Valiums Suppositories (which are proving >impossible to get filled) to keep around if it ever happens again. >Apparantly, Valium can stop a seizure in it's tracks. > >I'm told that it doesn't get super-serious unless the seizures last more >than 5 minutes. Right...... 5 minutes of seeing that, and _I_ will have to >sit on one of those Valiums!!! > >Anyone else ever had to deal with this ? > >Larry >

Hi Larry, First, sorry about the bad english. Epileptic seizures are not at all uncommon with dogs. And believe the vet, just as with humans, they are not known to be dangerous as such. And as with humans, the risks are that the situation does not correct itself in few minutes, and that the unconciousness may cause problems. More often with people than dogs. Dogs don't drive the car that often. Also, at least with people, it may be, that as many as 20-40% of the population go through at least one seizure during their lifetime. Often it's so mild that it goes unnoticed and never happens again. Of course, if its that big, the risks should be acknowledged. At least here in Finland, the dogs most often are placed on permanent (light) medication, so that the risk of new seizures drops significantly. I don't know the current practises in US, but there are drugs that can be used for that. Disclaimer: I'm NOT a doctor, a vet or otherwise a professional. I only know both people and dogs that have had epileptic seizures. I might be plain wrong. But the vet definitely had it right, no person or a dog remembers anything from the time of reduced conciousness, and it definitely looks a lot worse than it actually is. And if you've read this far, please, help any person (or a dog) with an epileptic seizure by making sure the person (or a dog) does not hurt himself. Even if it doesn't look pretty. But do not use force. You might cause more damage than any seizure. This is a condition that can affect anyone. Br, Markku

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 11:53:18 GMT, Markku <[email hidden]> wrote: >Epileptic seizures are not at all uncommon with dogs. And believe the >vet, just as with humans, they are not known to be dangerous as such. A friend of mine was epileptic. Three months ago she got a major seizure and didn't survive it. She was 26 years old. Seizures -can- be very dangerous :(( Andre

Andre Warringa wrote:

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> > On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 11:53:18 GMT, Markku <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >Epileptic seizures are not at all uncommon with dogs. And believe the > >vet, just as with humans, they are not known to be dangerous as such. > > A friend of mine was epileptic. Three months ago she got a major > seizure and didn't survive it. She was 26 years old. > Seizures -can- be very dangerous :(( > > Andre

I fully agree, they can be, but what I was trying to say was that seizures, as far as I know, do not cause damage to the brain, while the seizure is happening, unless it doesn't correct itself in few minutes. So there's no reason to be afraid for changes after the seizure. But the bigger seizures, that do not end in few minutes, can very well kill. This is the biggest reason to start a maintenance medication as soon as the first seizure has been diagnosed, and not wait for the first major one. Also, the unconciousness can cause death while driving, for example. Br, Markku

Wow, thanks! The big problem seems to be the un-shippability of the prescription. The damned things melt, which I guess is a good thing considering the application method :) -Larry "Kristin and Eric Brewer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Hi Larry, > I am actually a compounding pharmacist and make custom made > prescriptions for epileptic dogs all the time, usually potassium > bromide for maintenance therapy. We make valium suppositories > occasionally. They are not available otherwise and must be > compounded. You need to look for a compounding pharmacy, a regular > retail store will not usually have the time or knowledge to make them. > Try www.iacprx.org and click "find a compounding pharmacist" and you > can search by zip code. Good luck. > Eric > > On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 23:46:39 -0400, "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >Exremely off-topic... > > > >At 5am Friday morning I was awaken to see the most frightening thing I've > >ever witnessed in my life. > > > >My 5yo Male Golden, Dakota, was having a full-blown epileptic seizure. I > >won't even try to describe what went on as it's just too damned scary. > > > >The whole thing lasted about 2 minutes. It felt like an hour. I had no > >idea what the hell was going on, and no idea what to do. So, I just held

on

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> >to him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. > > > >After it was over, he was groggy for about 5 minutes, and was then > >completely normal. > > > >With the exception of an annoying, re-occuring right-ear infection, and a > >couple of food alergy issues, he's been in perfect health. > > > >To the best of my knowledge, this was his first, though he's alone at

home > >with the other Golden, Comet, during the day so if it occured then I > >wouldn't know about it. > > > >He went to the vet that morning, and other than his typical ear problem,he > >was totally fine. They did a full set of blood tests, and the resultscame > >back today perfectly normal. > > > >At this time, there is no explanation as to why it happened. Worse yet,I > >was told they usually never do find out why it happens, and can't predictif > >it ever will happen again. > > > >Even worse, I'm told this isn't entirely unusual, especially in Goldens, > >Shepards, Labs, and other large-breed dogs. > > > >The ONLY comfort I got out of the vet visit is that I was assured henever > >felt a thing. > > > >They wrote him a prescription for Valiums Suppositories (which areproving > >impossible to get filled) to keep around if it ever happens again. > >Apparantly, Valium can stop a seizure in it's tracks. > > > >I'm told that it doesn't get super-serious unless the seizures last more > >than 5 minutes. Right...... 5 minutes of seeing that, and _I_ will haveto

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> >sit on one of those Valiums!!! > > > >Anyone else ever had to deal with this ? > > > >Larry > > > >

Br, Thanks for the info :) So far, no re-occurances that I know of. Now that I've SEEN one and I know what the heck it is, hopefully it won't be so bad on _me_ the next time :) -Larry "Markku" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Hi Larry, > > First, sorry about the bad english. > > Epileptic seizures are not at all uncommon with dogs. And believe the > vet, just as with humans, they are not known to be dangerous as such. > And as with humans, the risks are that the situation does not correct > itself in few minutes, and that the unconciousness may cause problems. > More often with people than dogs. Dogs don't drive the car that often. > > Also, at least with people, it may be, that as many as 20-40% of the > population go through at least one seizure during their lifetime. > Often it's so mild that it goes unnoticed and never happens again. Of > course, if its that big, the risks should be acknowledged. > > At least here in Finland, the dogs most often are placed on permanent > (light) medication, so that the risk of new seizures drops > significantly. I don't know the current practises in US, but there > are drugs that can be used for that. > > Disclaimer: I'm NOT a doctor, a vet or otherwise a professional. I only > know both people and dogs that have had epileptic seizures. I might > be plain wrong. > > But the vet definitely had it right, no person or a dog remembers > anything from the time of reduced conciousness, and it definitely > looks a lot worse than it actually is. > > And if you've read this far, please, help any person (or a dog) with > an epileptic seizure by making sure the person (or a dog) does not hurt > himself. Even if it doesn't look pretty. But do not use force. You might > cause more damage than any seizure. This is a condition that can affect > anyone. > > Br, > Markku >

The base I use melts at body temperature. At room temperature, they do soften and tend to stick together a little, but I would think that putting an ice pack in with them would be fine. The real problem that we've run into is lack of stability data. Testing would be cost prohibitive, so we use a conservative expiration date of 2 months. Any other questions, I'd be happy to try and help. Eric On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 13:44:41 -0400, "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Wow, thanks! > >The big problem seems to be the un-shippability of the prescription. The >damned things melt, which I guess is a good thing considering the >application method :) > >-Larry > >"Kristin and Eric Brewer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> Hi Larry, >> I am actually a compounding pharmacist and make custom made >> prescriptions for epileptic dogs all the time, usually potassium >> bromide for maintenance therapy. We make valium suppositories >> occasionally. They are not available otherwise and must be >> compounded. You need to look for a compounding pharmacy, a regular >> retail store will not usually have the time or knowledge to make them. >> Try www.iacprx.org and click "find a compounding pharmacist" and you >> can search by zip code. Good luck. >> Eric >> >> On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 23:46:39 -0400, "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote: >> >> >Exremely off-topic... >> > >> >At 5am Friday morning I was awaken to see the most frightening thing I've >> >ever witnessed in my life. >> > >> >My 5yo Male Golden, Dakota, was having a full-blown epileptic seizure. I >> >won't even try to describe what went on as it's just too damned scary. >> > >> >The whole thing lasted about 2 minutes. It felt like an hour. I had no >> >idea what the hell was going on, and no idea what to do. So, I just held >on >> >to him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. >> > >> >After it was over, he was groggy for about 5 minutes, and was then >> >completely normal. >> > >> >With the exception of an annoying, re-occuring right-ear infection, and a >> >couple of food alergy issues, he's been in perfect health. >> > >> >To the best of my knowledge, this was his first, though he's alone at >home >> >with the other Golden, Comet, during the day so if it occured then I >> >wouldn't know about it. >> > >> >He went to the vet that morning, and other than his typical ear problem, >he >> >was totally fine. They did a full set of blood tests, and the results >came >> >back today perfectly normal. >> > >> >At this time, there is no explanation as to why it happened. Worse yet, >I >> >was told they usually never do find out why it happens, and can't predict >if >> >it ever will happen again. >> > >> >Even worse, I'm told this isn't entirely unusual, especially in Goldens, >> >Shepards, Labs, and other large-breed dogs. >> > >> >The ONLY comfort I got out of the vet visit is that I was assured he >never >> >felt a thing. >> > >> >They wrote him a prescription for Valiums Suppositories (which are >proving >> >impossible to get filled) to keep around if it ever happens again. >> >Apparantly, Valium can stop a seizure in it's tracks. >> > >> >I'm told that it doesn't get super-serious unless the seizures last more >> >than 5 minutes. Right...... 5 minutes of seeing that, and _I_ will have >to >> >sit on one of those Valiums!!! >> > >> >Anyone else ever had to deal with this ? >> > >> >Larry >> > >> >> >