seizures, phenobarbital, very low energy cant stand up

stevens9

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Hi Everyone i hate to introduce myself to the forum this way but im desperate for any relatable information.

My Frenchie Kane has just turned 4 years old, he started a few months back having focal seizures which have now progressed into full fall on the ground wed himself seizures. his first seizure was a little over 3 weeks ago. he then had another within 2 days. my Wife and I took him to the vet where they prescribed Kappa for a week and Phenobarbital for as long as it takes.
The seizures continued. the longest stretch without one being 48 hours so far. Since Kane has been on the Phenobarbital he sleeps for most of the day, cannot walk very far without falling over and appearing drunk. and doesnt want to eat. he also has difficulty going to the bathroom outside because he cant hold himself up long enough to do so.

He was having tremors and panting/attempting to walk around a lot before i put him on cbd oil a week ago. the tremors and panting have stopped but the drunkenness and seizures are still constantly happening.

One vet said this could be epilepsy or a brain tumor. the other vet (who has his own frenchie) seems to think its epilepsy but we need to give the drugs more time to work.we did blood work last week and checked Kanes Phenobarbital levels and he has a mid level of phenobarbital in his system. the vet said since we we weren't seeing it make a difference in the amount of seizures we should slightly up the dose. with doing this for 3 days kane would not eat and not move. he couldn't move to go to the bathroom so he would just go wherever he was sitting. sometimes we had him outside at the right time. sometimes not.

Im basically looking to see if anyone has used phenobarbital for seizures before and at what point do the seizures slow down and does your dog begin to act like your dog again.

also any other insight and opinions would be helpfull.
thankyou very much
Ryan

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Honeys Owners

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Sorry to hear - he's a real cutie ! My dog doesn't have seizures, but from what I've read in a vet manual, if the level of phenobarb is therapeutic and he's still having seizures you should add on potassium bromide 20-30mg/kg every 24 hr, and titrate dose to levels. If the seizures become well controlled you can try titrating him off phenobarbital. Or other add ons to phenobarb besides the bromide include zonisamide, gabapentin, clorazepate,felbamate,pregabalin .

More natural measures include the CBD as you've already done, and frankincense essential oil a couple drops twice a day to base of neck or between paws. And a ketogenic diet , eg. 2-4 oz coconut oil and an egg to 1 pound frozen raw meal, good read on this at Darwins raw food site https://www.darwinspet.com/resources/nutrition/raw-pet-food-diets/how-to-convert-darwins-beef-into-ketogenic-diet/

And it would probably be a good idea to get him off flea and tick medications and just use an essential oil spray daily, and no more vaccinations besides rabies vaccinations every 3 yr.
 

Honeys Owners

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I'm mentioning natural therapy if you can, because the two main pharmacological therapies ( phenobarb and bromide ) have lots of potential side effects, I'm copying this from a vet manual:

POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS
Phenobarbital-induced hepatotoxicity :
Minimized by avoiding serum concentrations <35 mcg/mL
Evidence of hepatotoxicity: increases in bile acid concentrations; proportionally larger increases of ALT compared to
alkaline phosphatase; icterus, weight loss, ascites if very severe and advanced
Potentially reversible if phenobarbital is stopped early enough
Phenobarbital rarely causes hematologic abnormalities, including neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia; the drug must
be stopped if these abnormalities occur.

Bromide increases the risk of pancreatitis and may be associated with megaesophagus.
 

stevens9

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Sorry to hear - he's a real cutie ! My dog doesn't have seizures, but from what I've read in a vet manual, if the level of phenobarb is therapeutic and he's still having seizures you should add on potassium bromide 20-30mg/kg every 24 hr, and titrate dose to levels. If the seizures become well controlled you can try titrating him off phenobarbital. Or other add ons to phenobarb besides the bromide include zonisamide, gabapentin, clorazepate,felbamate,pregabalin .

More natural measures include the CBD as you've already done, and frankincense essential oil a couple drops twice a day to base of neck or between paws. And a ketogenic diet , eg. 2-4 oz coconut oil and an egg to 1 pound frozen raw meal, good read on this at Darwins raw food site https://www.darwinspet.com/resources/nutrition/raw-pet-food-diets/how-to-convert-darwins-beef-into-ketogenic-diet/

And it would probably be a good idea to get him off flea and tick medications and just use an essential oil spray daily, and no more vaccinations besides rabies vaccinations every 3 yr.


thankyou for chiming in so quickly.
i forgot to type in he is on the potassium bromide aswell. has been for 2 weeks.(2ml, twice a day) (so many things have happened in a short time i was bound to forget something)

as far as the possible complications go do you think my dog could be experiencing anemia based on what iv described with his current energy level and inability to do most things?
neither Vet seems to be too worried about his current state. acting as if it was normal for the drug to have this affect on him.
also im in Milton Ontario. so not too far from you.
thanks
Ryan
 

Honeys Owners

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thankyou for chiming in so quickly.
i forgot to type in he is on the potassium bromide aswell. has been for 2 weeks.(2ml, twice a day) (so many things have happened in a short time i was bound to forget something)

as far as the possible complications go do you think my dog could be experiencing anemia based on what iv described with his current energy level and inability to do most things?
neither Vet seems to be too worried about his current state. acting as if it was normal for the drug to have this affect on him.
also im in Milton Ontario. so not too far from you.
thanks
Ryan

Howdy neighbour ! Phenobarb is a very potent sedative, so very normal for him to have no energy. If he had liver issues you'd see yellow eyes, pale stools and dark urine.

Try to get him on a frozen raw food diet- I get mine delivered from back2raw.ca

Some good places to buy frankincense:
https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/products/essential-oils/frankincense-carterii-essential-oil.html

https://www.saje.com/ca/product/frankincense-FRANCA01.html
 

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