★★★★☆
When she has a seizure we use rescue remedy spray and put a cold wet towel on her back and neck area, both things really help, you can rub the rescue remedy in their ears if you can't get it in their mouths.
Avoid Heartworm Meds and Seizures
My German Shepherd mix had three grand mal seizures in one month, and I am still on the look out for a good cure. If he follows his pattern the next will be due this week. I used Bachs RR right after the seizure and fed him some kibbles to shorten the post-ictal phase with great success. I have changed his diet to Nature's Choice and am looking into alternatives.
Yesterday, I was under the impression he was getting a seizure, and in lieu of something better, I gave him a treat with four drops of Bachs RR. He slept through the night without troubles. We shall see, I guess.
EC: RR= Bach's Rescue Remedy
Dietary Changes
★★★★☆
We have changed his diet to a gluten-free one. That is working fabulously. We have seen great results so far for both the epilepsy and his allergies. We are not feeding dry kibble, nor are we doing a raw diet. He could not handle the raw diet at all so after a little more digging, I found an awesome food alternative from The Skye's The Limit in Canada. Their food Canine Life comes in several formulas and they can also custom-tailor it if the dog is allergic to any of the ingredients. This food comes in a pre-mix and you make them into muffins. All healthy ingredients and you can make a variety for the dog by changing up the ingredients you add.
We have also been using a product called Xango Mangosteen Juice. It can be used for people as well and is meant for helpling inflammation. He is getting 1 ounce twice a day. We are at the point where we are able to wean Parker off of the Pheno! We have also seen improvement with his always inflamed paws due to his allergies. When they are really bad we use Xango's Pericarp oil topically for his paws when allergies are really bad.
Along with the juice supplement, Parker gets chiropractic alignments every 2-3 months by a veterinarian certified in animal spinal manipulation. This has been an amazing investment for him.
I have also been told that adding vitamin B will help too, but I just heard about this so I have not tried it yet.
Hope this helps someone out there!
Honey
★★★★★
Coconut Oil
He had another grand mal this last Feb. This is where the nightmare really began. He seemed really different after his seizure (I inject him with valium during his seizures to keep him from going status), 4 days after his last seizure when I got home form work he seemed "off", then began panting for no reason, and only wanted to be literally on me (seemed afraid of touching the floor, couch, etc... ). I brought him to emergency and they put him on an IV of valium. He seemed better and then 2 days after that all of the weird symptoms started again. It has been going on like this ever since. I have been having to inject him (per vet's direction) almost weekly due to the constant walking, panting, staring up, etc... The vet believes these weird behaviors are pre-seizural. I don't know what to believe or think. I worry in my heart that it may be a brain tumor and not epilepsy but the vets (consulted 2 different ones) feel that is unlikely. They also say that we would be treating the symptoms of a brain tumor with the same drugs that we are treating him with now (they have added potassium bromide to the increased pheno). Neither seems to feel that radiation or chemo is really a good option if he did have a tumor. I feel like I may be watching my sweet little boy slowly start to die from whatever has been causing these horrific seizures.
I work full time and live alone which terrifies me and limits what I can do. And I don't even know if what I am doing is the best thing I can be doing for him. I'm afraid to take him off the meds (not home enough to monitor the effects) and I'm afraid the meds could possibly be doing him harm or nothing at all. I stopped his heartworm meds last month.
If someone could tell me where to get a good coconut oil I would happy to try that. Also, can I use the oil with the meds he's on? Any advice would be very appreciated and if anyone else's dog has had similar experiences I would love to hear how you handled them. I worry that I may be reading into behaviors that aren't actually abnormal (the panting for no reason, constant walking/not laying or sitting down for more than a minute, etc...).
Sorry for the long post and thank you.
Rescue Remedy
My dog, a GS about 85 lbs, has been having extreme nervous episodes where she shakes, etc. I have found that Rescue Remedy calms her down immediately. It can be found in local health food stores. Hope this helps
Ocular Compression
Ocular Compression
★★★★★
I would like to pass on to you a remedy that I read on the internet for the 'post-ictal' phase... That's the stumbling around phase where they seem to be blind at first and stumble into furniture and try to walk through walls. (At a hundred pounds, that's a lot of damage! ) The minute he goes into his cluster seizures (which occur with the full moon) I gently press on one of his eyes for 8 seconds on, 8 seconds off for maybe 4-5 cycles. At first the eye will be darting around, but it quickly settles. This releases the amino acid GABA into the brain along the optic nerve.
The results are simply amazing! No more stumbling!
★★★★★
I researched websites and found that Lecithin is a good supplement for seizures. He gets a daily dose of 1200 MG (He is 45 lbs). He has been weened off the phenobarbital so he wouldn't have withdrawal symptoms. Now if he has a seizure it is very mild and only last a short amount of time. That is when I give him Belladonna (bought from homeopathy site) and it stops them almost immediately.
Coconut Oil
I am adding to my list as he use to have one every 3 months, but the last 2 months he has had three to six in a row where he had to go to vet, so I am still working on it trying to help him.
You might check into these. I know the vet select seizure has helped for several years, expensive yes, but he's my kid.
Dietary Changes
check the ingred. on van patten's dry food, and buffalo blue for a comparison.
Heartworm Meds and Seizures
Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Coconut Oil
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
We feed our lab raw chicken legs (not cooked because the bones splinter and are dangerous for them to eat), one in the morning and one in the evening as well as other raw or cooked meats. We also feed her many different foods that we eat... Raw carrots, cauliflower, green beans, cottage cheese, boiled or raw eggs, pastas, rices, breads, baked or mashed potatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables that are not toxic to dogs. We mainly avoid leftover dishes that have too many spices or onions and such. I keep a list inside a cabinet door in the kitchen to remind me on what she can eat. As a result, we have a very healthy, happy lab. It's a little more work and maybe a little more expensive, but we no longer have the stress of watching a family member suffer. Plus, she is at a healthy weight because dog food can be very fattening. I urge you to not put your dog down or feel like you have to spend so much money on vet bills and meds, unless it is necessary. Most likely, it is caused by something that they are ingesting, so please look at that first. I hope that this helps.
★★★★★
They had seizures for several years until we found out that fish oil would stop them. Within a few weeks of giving them fish oil daily the seizures became so mild that the pups would just shake. Eventually they stopped completely. My pups lived to 14 and 15 years old. They never got another vaccination after they were one!
Another, very important factor is vaccine damage. Vaccines can cause encephalytis (sorry if not spelt correctly) swelling of the brain, this can lead to seizures. If it were my dog I would give no more vaccines, flea or tick treatments. They can all affect the brain.
Hope this helps.
Coconut Oil
Avoid Heartworm Meds and Seizures
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
About 15 years ago my husky/Shepard mix began having seizures and a trip to the vet diagnosed epilepsy and drugs to slow him down (he was having about 3 episodes a day). I didn't want him slow, he was a great dog. At the time the internet was pretty much forums so I started searching for the cause of his affliction. I came across others who recommended a dietary change to something more natural than the Science Diet "poison" I was feeding him. I don't quite remember what brand came next but it reduced the seizures to about 3 a week. Another change reduced them to about 3 a month until the final brand "Natures Balance", eliminated them entirely. He lived a long and relatively healthy life to the ripe old age of 14. I believe he could have gone longer had my ex wife continued to give him filtered water that removed the chlorine and especially the fluoride from the drinking water. She's a believer that our great medical community knows it all and that I'm a kook... That may be true but my best friend helped save me as much as I did him. RIP Rascal 03/27/2009
Coconut Oil
Heartworm Meds and Seizures
Coconut Oil
Avoid Food With Rosemary
I was researching today about canine seizures because my girlfriend's 13-year old dog just experienced her first seizure. It was one day after ingesting a heartworm pill. So now their dog will never receive that drug again.
I have stopped all vaccinations except rabies because it's the law. But I'm seriously thinking about stopping that too. I read an article from an Veterinarian Immunologist who stated that the initial immunization lasts for life. Repeating every year weakens the immune system. It's no different than our childhood immunizations. We received our shots once and that was it.
Even heartworm pills are scarying me. I was researching to see if there was a mercury preservative in heartworm. I've read that a mercury preservative in vaccines was the cause of autism in children. While doing the search I stumbled upon this site...
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/Plant-induced_seizures.htm
It is so informative and talks about a case study whereby plants do cause seizures in people and in canines. Rosemary was listed, as was a bunch of others.
As for heartworm preventative, I'm now searching for an alternative. I cringe knowing that I have been feeding my dogs poision. Heartworm is from mosquitos and it's not every mosquito that carries the disease. So for now if they are outdoors in the evening, I use a safe mosquito repellant.
Get a Tick Panel
If I had a dog with seizures- I would rule this issue out. Testd codes are IDEXX 37161 or Antech SA330.
We do know these diseases can cause brain damage, deafness and aggression besides renal failure.
Avoid Heartworm Meds and Seizures
EC: VCO = virgin coconut oil
Avoid Food With Rosemary
★★★★★
My dog had his first seizure at age 7 and had another one about one year later. Both were unexpected and the vet could not figure it out. After the dog food poisonings I wanted to find an all natural dog food. That dog food caused a seizure in my dog but at the time I did not connect the two. My vet did not either. It wasn't until my Dad stopped by and took some of the food home to try on his dog. Within 3-hours his dog had a seizure. Then I knew to look at food consumption as the cause. I searched the internet all day and finally found something alarming.
The internet stated that there has been an upward swing in dogs and cats both getting seizures. If you look at pet products today, there has been an over whelming amount of ALL NATURAL products and many of them contain ROSEMARY.
I checked the label on that expensive dog food and there it was... ROSEMARY. I then racked my brain to figure out why my dog had a seizure the year before. I then remembered that I was on this kick of eating Triscuits with the Olive Oil and Rosemary flavor. I remember giving my dog a few crackers.
When looking back on both seizures that my dog had, there was the same 3-hour window from when the dog consumed food to having the seizure.
I read every single label including people food before I give anything to my dogs. Neither my dog nor my Dad's dog has had a seizure since we both started reading labels. It's been over a year now. And for the record, the two black labs are not related to each other so it wasn't genetics.
This is the first full moon that Lari hasn't had a seizure. He has been taking virgin coconut oil since the first of June. I found the dosage on a website that sells it, and they recommended 1 tsp per 10 lbs. I have been giving Lari 3 to 4 tsp. since it does speed up the metabolism and he is on Phenobarbital. It's so hard to know what to do!
He is also on a chicken, veggie, fruit, raw bone diet. I have also added tomato paste, mixed with an egg, oatmeal spinach or whatever i have available. He was always swiping potatoes and tomatoes so i googled and found they are both a good sources of magnesium, which a previous poster had recommended. Heck, i'll try anything and everything!
He's had no problem with loose stools, weight loss or anything else noticeable.
Coconut Oil
Honey
★★★★★
It works for people too - I have a friend that has a friend with epileptic seizures, I told her about the honey and they were at the store purchasing honey when she had a seizure, they opened the honey and gave her some. She came out of it almost immediately and was amazed.
Magnesium
Coconut Oil
It is so very scary, and we hurried to our vet for help. It seems like the typical treatment is put them on meds until they no longer work and then kiss them good-bye. This is obviously not an acceptable treatment. Lari is on 2 phen/morning and night. and still experiencing seizures, on the moon cycles. He has been enjoying his coconut oil 1 tsp/per 10 lbs, and our fingers are crossed that it will help.
Please, let me know if you have had results with this treatment, or any other remedy would be much appreciated!!!!!!!
We love Lari!!! Thank you :)
Magnesium
Thank you for your help.
EC: Perhaps some useful info in the the advice section of the Vaccination Side Effects page: https://www.earthclinic.com/pets/vaccination_side_effects.html#ADVICE
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
One day I took her to the feed store/pet supply store for some advice on the rash she had just developed. While we were there, she had 3 seizures. The very nice and concerned lady that was helping me, suggested I put her on a dog for called "Diamond". The one with no artificial additives or grains. I believe it was the chicken and rice recipe. She suspected "Treet" (my Rottie) had food allergies. Since I've been giving Treet the Diamond dog food, her rash has disappeared, but to my surprise, so has her seizures.
I didn't realize or attribute the disappearance of the seizures to the dog food until tonight. I was reading another comment from one of your reader's and they said that they feed their dog the same brand dog food (Diamond) because it does not contain and additive called "BTD or BTH" (they weren't sure of the exact name of the additive) because the additive causes seizures. I'm going to have to agree with that person. Treet hasn't had a seizure in about 2 months now.
The only thing that I've changed was her dog food. I feel confident it was the dog food that made the seizures disappear. It's a very scary thing to watch your baby go through that and you can't do anything to help. I am so very happy and relieved that she doesn't have them any more. Now I have to work on her constant ear infections. I'm going to try the Apple Cider Vinegar, Alcohol and Water mixture I read about. I'll keep you posted.
Dietary Changes
★☆☆☆☆
I have been feeding her Diamond Dog food for over a year now. I switched to that brand when we got our puppy boxer because it was comparable to Science Diet, but cheaper in price. So, she gets the Adult formula. Reading through these postings, I see some of you have said it helps because of the absence of BHT or whatever is in a lot of dog foods, but for my dog the food additive must not be the problem. Still trying to figure out what is causing her seizures. I'm going to try the coconut oil and see if that helps her.
It is heart breaking to see her go through it and sometimes they last for so long or she will have clusters with little breaks in between.... maybe a minute or less where it looks like she is coming back around and then starts to shake really bad again. All I can do is pet her and tell its okay and she is almost done. I hate watching her go through this.
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
