Hi,

For those of you who know about bella's problems you will know how distraught i am right now, bella had a fit last night and today has been quite well considering last night, sadly this afternoon she had another, my vet has sedated her and she is home with epiphen to start in the morning, he was honest with me and said things are looking very bad and that we may be approaching the end, we have to try this medication along with her heart meds and water tablets too and see if this controls the fits.
I know it can take time for the meds to get into her system and for her to improve but anyone with a dog on this drug or another seizure drug or experience i would be greatful of your experiences and any advice. I have never been through fits with any dog before and am finding it all very upsetting, especially when she has heart failure and now 3 legs too, it is all so much for her, but when she is bright she seems really happy then it is such a sudden turn in a matter of minutes. :(

Any advice greatfully recieved

Thinking about you and Bella,so sorry she is not very well,no experience of fits so cant give you any advice.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}

So very sorry Mandy.  You have had a really hard time of it.

{{{{  HUGS  }}}}

Hi Mandy

my dog didn't go through what Bella has so no advice really but my experience:-

In July 96 my 5 year old dog had a fit. We'd just got back from a show & it had been a long hot journey home so I thought it might be connected to heatstroke. Over the next few days he had more fits. Some were worse than others & he was very disorientated afterwards, circling, crying, trying to run then crashing into things. I couldn't comfort him as he wasn't aware of me, (I think their sight can go temporarily) I just had to stand back, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. My (then) vet got me a referal to see a specialist & they took him somewhere else for an MRI scan. It was important to know the cause as he had been used at stud, & we had his 5 week old pups at home. The MRI showed a tumour behind the sinus, apparently rare, it was benign but still growing & even if it was operated on (tricky & at great expense) would've grown back, possibly giving him only a few months extra. Most of the fits were early morning before he woke up but some were during the day & he would even have minor ones still standing. A lot of the time he would take himself off under a bush, I guess he had the equivalent of a major headache. I was warned that he might turn on me, but he was always an absolute gentleman with me & the other dogs which made it even worse. The vet seemed out of his depth with this condition & although he was started on Phenbarbitone he gave my dog other medication. To be fair I think I was just impatient for something, anything to work for him. I wrote in another thread it took 2 TERRIBLE weeks for the meds to kick in during which time he was staggering around & could barely walk but then miraculously he was back to 'normal' (albeit for a short time) until the fits broke through again as the tumour grew.

I knew he was on borrowed time, I just couldn't bear the thought of him suffering, it was making me feel really ill, so just after his birthday in September he was PTS after a very difficult day. A terrible waste of a beautiful dog. I kept a diary of the number & duration of fits/meds etc & what he was like the rest of the time & it still upsets me to read it. Like you I felt totally helpless and numb. The only thing that kept me going was having his pups to go on with. I kept a dog & a bitch, they lived til 9 & 12 & his last daughter died in December at 13 so he left a great legacy.

Its horrible to feel so helpless when our dogs are ill. I do feel for you, & will be thinking of you both.

I am so sorry that Bella and you are having such a difficult time xxxx

So sorry to hear Bella not well.

Ellis is on 60mg of Epiphen twice a day along with KBR to control his fitting, however, he still fits around every 5 weeks and we never really get him to go longer than this between fits.

When he first started the drugs he would be a little sleepy, but this would only last a couple of weeks whilst he got used to them.  Otherwise he has no other side effects.

His blood is tested every 3 months to ensure everything is okay with him.

Sorry, probably not much help, but he has been on them for over 3 years now and he's as fit as any other dog.

Thank you that is encouraging.
Bella has been put onto 60mg twice a day too. The complication for her is that she is also in heart failure so its a vicious circle at the moment as the weak heart is causing her fits and the fits put more stress on her heart :(

Add to that, she has recently had a front leg amputation which also increases the workload on her heart so we have to give it a couple of weeks for the meds to really get into her system and then hope that the combination of meds can give her a quality of life for a while longer, we just have to take it a day at a time.

My vet is so wonderful, he is doing everything he can and after her fit on friday night, he called me on saturday morning to say he wanted to start her on epiphen and brought them to my house saturday afternoon!  He is one of a kind :)

Me again Mandy. :) 15 year old Rufus with the heart has occasional fits -once every two months or so. They tend to be pretty bad but we've never put him on medication due to them being so infrequent. Then there is 6 year old Simba the Golden who has been on Epiphen and KBR for 3 years or so now (I lose track of when what started!). He had bad fits every 6 days, has not had any since he started on the medication except for when he was neutered as he fitted badly when put under GA. He's doing really well.
Fingers crossed for Bella.

Thanks Marianne, can i ask what is KBR?

Potassium Bromide. It's actually not prescription. It's what my original vet suggested together with the Epiphen and we've kept to what he said as it's working so well.
http://www.vet-medic.com/pd_Genitrix+KBR+325mg+x+100_GENI2.htm

cant put into words, am totally devastated.......decided to let my bella go this morning, have posted her pic on rainbow bridge.........am completely numb.
I am so sorry Bella, i am just so sorry for everything x

Mandy you did your best ,she is at peace now RIP Bella x

Mandy I am crying myself at this outcome.

So very, very sorry......

Mandy. You did everything you could for your girl. The final act was one that showed how much you loved her.
Give yourself time to grieve, try to remember the good times with her. God Bless. Thinking of you. x

i have followed this thread and others and i am so so sorry for you,i cant imagine what you are going through my lovely,i think you have been so brave and kind and loving to your dog to let her go,it must have been the hardest moment ever.
take care
x

I am so sorry for your loss, Bella was lucky to have such a wonderful caring owner such as you who did all she could for her beautiful girl. My thoughts are with you.