hello, i know this has already been discussed before, but i would like to know after how many days one is supposed to see the side effects of ephipan pills? my dog is crossbred from chiuawa and pug, he had his first epileptic fit on 11th June this year, i was scared and panicked for never have in all my life saw such a thing, i ve had dogs since i was 8 yrs old..so had quite a few, thought he had a stroke, took him around 10 min to come around and afterwards it was like he did not even realize who i was, he pooped as well during the fit, i had not even realized that until the smell finally hit my nose, nd realized my shirt was all with poop for i had picked him up. the next day took him to d vet and said it was an epileptic fit, told me he ll wait before giving him medication, and only if he got another 2 fits till the end of this year. last friday i took him for his yearly booster, saturday he had a fit again, nd when all this passed he was distant, he preferred to stay in the terrace rather than with me,  i was all the time picking him up and bringing him inside and as soon as he was inside he d go rushing through the flap dog outside again, i felt so helpless and it was so painful to see him in that condition, monday he had a petit mal, which lasted only maybe a minute, took him again to the vet last tuesday, the vet ran some blood tests and all was fine, but put him on medication, ephiphan pills, half a dose every day for now, he told me about the side effects, that he could be quite, tired etc etc... today is the second day i gave him d med,  so far no such signs... nd even though usually he tires me out for he is hyper active i m scared the pills will change him... i d rather get crazy with him always on d go then seeing such a change in him. so i asking you after how many days did your dog started acting quiet? thanks a lot

Epiphen / phenobarbitone can make dogs a little dozy or slightly spaced-out until the minimum dosage needed to control the fits is established; it's a bit hit-and-miss for the first few weeks, but when you get the right dose the dog will be his normal self regarding his behaviour.

and after how many days does this happen? its d second day and so far he s super hyper

and thanks for the reply :)

I would speak to the vet as he needs to be calm hence the medication, as has been already said dogs reactions will vary, normally the dose given is too high and needs reducing but sounds like your dog isn't getting enough,how much were you told to give and how often, maybe with your small breed the vet has been overly cautious in the recommended dose, they should be able to tell you over the phone what to increase it to avoiding taking a trip to the vets.

I am surprised that the vet gave him vacs with the recent history of a seizure as they can mess with the dogs system, making it harder to figure out the trigger.

What was he doing each time the seizure happened? Sometimes it is triggered by some activity, have you changed his diet recently, could he have banged his head,could he have eaten something poisonous to have started suddenly having these seizures? Is the vet going to investigate further, blood tests etc.?

My Mum's dachsie Penny has seizures following surgery for a Liver Shunt at 8 months old, it is thought that her blood got so toxic it caused brain damage, hers are triggered by getting over excited so we try to keep her calm, they happen rarely and vary in length, she isn't on medication for them as they dont happen very often,she has only once passed urine during one, she is very quiet for about 12 hrs afterwards but is back to her normal self the next day, she was 9yrs old last month.

Just keep calm,talk to him quietly,keep him cool[the body heat can rise very high,laying him on a damp/wet towel or laying one over him may help if the weather is hot] in a darkened room till he returns to normal

I hope the vet can get the dose right for you and it does control them.

hi, so far he s still very much active, at times getting wobbly from his hind legs, he got his first fit when i was playing with him with the ball, he started barking and i went to check out what was it that he was barking at, i did not even realize he pooped, when i saw him trying to walk but loosing balance i picked him up, i thought he had swallowed something, but could not imagine what, since i m extra cautious about these things, i was crying and panicked, i thought he was going to die on me, then the smell hit my nose...and its then that i realized what he did, 12 days later he had another fit, same as the first one, but since i had taken him to the vet and knew what was happening i kept calm, even though the episode was heartbreaking, especially when he came around, he kept on staying away from me, then the day after he was himself again, two days later he had a mild fit, but no after effects, the day after i took him again to the vet, he put him on med since the period from a fit to another was quite short.  the pills however seem to have no sedative effects on him, apart that at times he walks funny, but it does not seem to bother him.  i ll update soon, next friday have to give him his first shot for d sandfly...so i ll update what the vet tells me. thanks for the reply

Sorry about your little dog. There's lots of info here that might be helpful. Hope he does well on his medication.

I would also talk to the vet about giving any more vaccinations atm