Since writing a post last week about Gidget having seizures, I’ve heard from so many who understand what it is like to have a dog with epilepsy.
I try to remind myself of all the lessons I’m learning, though challenging at times. And I also want to celebrate in the goodness that comes from this too.
I shared on my Facebook page yesterday that Saturday was 30 days since Gidget had her last seizure. I’m optimistically hopeful we are on the right path with the combination of the Chinese herbs and Potassium Bromide drug that is helping her stay seizure free so far.
I understand this can change at any time — there are no guarantees. Epilepsy is a tricky one to figure out and deal with. But I have hope and that goes a long way.
We did have to adjust Gidget’s meds as she was pretty out of it and it was bothersome to see some of the side effects.
But almost a week later, most of them have for the most part, have gone away. The only challenge right now is the ataxia (weakening of the hind legs). She still can’t walk.
And this is when you count your blessings. And I’m thankful to still have Frankie’s wheelchair from Eddie’s Wheels that I bought in 2006, which became Joie’s for a short time, and is now perfect for Gidget.
In the mornings I buckle her in and she works on navigating from the living room to the kitchen to get to her breakfast. We hear lots of clanks and thumps as she learns to navigate around the furniture and get past walls. But when there is food involved, well, she’d fly in that wheelchair just to get to it!
So she is trying hard and I smile with a grateful heart that she has that perseverance that only a dog can have! Doxie power! Full speed ahead!
If it ends up that her being able to walk on her own again does not return, and I’ve heard from others that this can be the case, I’ll take that. I can work with that, and Gidget is showing me that she can too.
And the biggest reminder of all is that each day is precious. To be grateful for all of it and to remember to celebrate the good days.
Just as I never imagined I’d have a dachshund with disc disease (IVDD)and needed a wheelchair to maneuver around like happened with Frankie, I didn’t imagine my third doxie Gidget, who also has disc disease, would also develop seizures.
I’m writing this post today to share what I’ve learned so far about seizures in hopes it will help someone else.
Gidget’s seizures began in January 2015. Just out of the blue, lying on the sofa with her around 9pm one night. I thought she was choking. I’d never witnessed a dog having a seizure before, but something told me that is what it was. It didn’t last long, only about two minutes (though it felt like forever).
After a call to an emergency animal clinic that is 45-minutes from my home, I was told to call my local vet in the morning unless she had another one overnight. Then I would need to bring her in.
From what I knew, she hadn’t had a seizure before this. I’ve since learned, this is how seizures can be. Oftentimes there is no known cause. Some believe they are born with this and at some point they just start having seizures.
Typically, treatment with drugs isn’t done until a dog has more than one seizure per month. And so it went with Gidget with her having one about every 6-8 weeks. Until the end of last November when she had four seizures, that were ten days apart.
Before that, in April 2015 she’d had two in one month. After much research, I opted to take her to Dr. Andrea Lanphear in Madison, about two hours away, who practices Western and Chinese medicine.
I’d read and heard from others about success they’d had with treating with Chinese herbs. Dr. Karen Becker, also a proponent of using herbs, was a deciding factor for me also. If herbs don’t work, adding in a drug at the lowest effective dose often can help dogs to no longer have seizures or diminish the frequency.
I also had a few readings done with my animal communicator, Dawn to try and understand why this was happening and how I could best support Gidget. From those readings, I added in massage for Gidget and working with a grounding stone with her– working to understand how energy works in the body and a way in helping support Gidget.
I’ll be honest, it was a tough year worrying if I was doing the right things for her and worrying if she was going to have a seizure that she couldn’t come out of. Added worry was that if it happened overnight or on a weekend, the emergency clinic was 45-minutes away.
I’m not against medication. But I think working with alternative treatments is a viable option first in some cases. And it’s always my wish to try and understand the whole picture because each dog is different.
Also, because of Gidget’s already compromised situation with having disc disease and not being able to walk at one point in her life, I felt I needed to weigh everything out very carefully.
A side effect to many of the drugs is ataxia (weakening of the hind legs), liver damage, increased hunger and thirst, along with a few others.
At this point I had done all I knew to do. This included, which was a personal piece, was working on myself. I had to come to an acceptance that this is what I was dealt with Gidget and I had to learn to deal with it. And at the core of it, I realized how I was afraid Gidget could die. I didn’t know if I was ready for that.
But I also don’t know if that is going to happen anytime soon. She could very well live a long time yet. The thing is, I finally knew in my heart one day that I was going to be okay with all of this. It isn’t up to me how this is going to play out. I realized I had to give her the gift of whatever is in her highest good, I will accept.
I also knew this was about standing up for what I believe in. While I’m not adverse to drugs, I wanted to be sure I’d researched and tried other viable options first, like I mentioned. But I also knew that my local vet may not agree with me on this. I was nervous about what he might say.
But after Gidget had the four seizures so close together I knew I had to find another way to hopefully diminish or help her with fewer seizures. So just last week after seeing our local vet, we added in Potassium Bromide. After reading about all the different seizure medications, side effects, and cost, I felt comfortable with this choice.
There are no guarantees with this drug or any other one for that matter and we are still adjusting it to hopefully lessen her side effects – she does have ataxia and can’t walk right now, some tremors, and some restlessness in the evenings. But with a new adjustment to the drug, we hope these will go away soon.
And while it may be too early to get my hopes up, I’m certainly optimistic we may be on the right path. It’s been 26 days since her last seizure–time will tell.
But I’ve learned a lot along the way. A lot about seizures and even more about myself. I’ve stood in what I believe in even though it wasn’t easy. I’ve also done everything I know from a deep place of love in what I feel is in the best interest of Gidget.
And I know the path she walks isn’t really up to me–I remind myself often to surrender to a higher power. Her journey here on this earth is already planned out. Each of us has lesson’s to learn. But I will do whatever I can to make her time here with me as good as it can possibly be.
I want to share that I’ve also found a wonderful support group, just like I did when Frankie was diagnosed with IVDD and Dodgerslist organization — but this time this is a resource for dogs with seizures.
I share that link below, along with a link to Dr. Andrea Lanphear and Anshen Veterinary Acupuncture , Animal Communicator Dawn Brunke, and a few others in hopes that should you be walking this path or will in the future, this will help you too.
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Resources
Canine-Epilepsy.com (this is the group with a helpful listserve to talk via email with others)
