Quote:
Originally Posted by drawlins27  I'm so sorry to hear things are getting worse. An average seizure only lasts about 2 minutes. 20 minutes is a really long time for a seizure to last and VERY dangerous, brain damage will begin to occur after about 30 min.
Did your vet talk to you about keeping a log and timing the seizures? You need to seek immediate medical help anytime a seizure is longer than 10 or 15 min, occurs one right after the other (cluster seizures), or occurs more than 2 a day. You also need to be aware that during a seizure her body temp could spike so you may need to cool her down. I also recommend asking your vet for a dose of rectal valium to keep on hand. You would administer this anytime she has a seizure for more than 10 min or in clusters. It would help to bring her out of it and prevent brain damage.
Idiopathic epilepsy (unknown cause) is the most common cause of seizures in dogs but when a dog over 5 yrs old starts to have seizures, there is usually an underlying cause that must be addressed.
I know that you are doing the best you can with her and she is very lucky to have a mommy like you to take care of her. |
You are so knowledgable...thank you for posting. I knew MOST of the things you said, but NOT all. My vet did tell me that if it went any over 15 minutes or if she went in and out (cluster) more than twice to get her to a vet ASAP, which is where I was headed when they happened to call today.
They also did tell me to write on my calender when, how long, and how intense the seizures were, so I will definitely be doing that. I didn't know about the body temp., but they did say it is SOOO hard on them (I imagine like us running a marathon) so that makes sense. I will keep it in mind. And lastly, I will ask about getting a dose of rectal valium in case this happens again.
Today's seizure was (obviously) cluster seizures, and the vet said they are extremely dangerous to a dog. Also, with regard to the "reason" she's having them, it is still unknown because she is a rescue with NO history at all...but hopefully after today they may have a better understanding.
And finally I just wanted to say that...what if I would have been working today? I am a court reporter (and to keep it short) ...I am gone some days all day (rarely) and usually gone 2-4 hrs a day and then home the rest. So now I am going to be SO paranoid about leaving her home alone that she will have a horrible seizure
