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Originally Posted by Magneticgal  I did take her to a neuro vet. He said we could do the MRI but did not think it was necessary. I may at some point consider it if she were to have other symptoms. Thanks:-) |
I actually was given very similar advice for our dog. However, because my dog was younger when he had the first seizure (9 mos old), it was preferable to have all of the testing done including MRI and spinal tap so that is what we did. It would have been an equally acceptable course of action to NOT do testing, given our dog's clinical picture and overall examination. So I hear what you are saying on this issue. We had a very small chance of discovering anything in our dog by doing the testing but we wanted to be able to give all pertinent information to Teddy's breeder regarding his condition as well as to be able to treat him appropriately in the unlikely event that he had something else.
It is true though that epilepsy is only diagnosed after all other causes of seizures are ruled out -- both medical and neurological. It is the difference between a diagnosis and a presumptive diagnosis.
I was faced with a similar choice when my other dog was 6 years old and she had some liver issues show up and we opted to NOT do exploratory surgery OR a liver biopsy. We opted to just treat her as a presumptive case of liver disease, and 5 years later with a well managed situation, I made the right choice for her.
I think you should ask about zonisamide -- not because I think it is a better drug than Keppra or another but because the dosing will work with your work schedule better. You have options. Zonisamide has worked very well at the minimum dosage for our dog now for a year. Keppra was the second choice of our neurologist if Zonisamide did not work.
Good luck with your Lex.