Just got back from seeing Max. He seemed to be in good spirits. He was happy to see us. He's still getting IVF for hydration. The phenobarb was started @ midnight; it was a loading dose which the vet explained was a high dose. He started pills today at noon. No more valium, that was given last night to help him settle after the seizure. He ate some of his food, I hope he keeps it down.

The next step is to do a BAT tomorrow before the phenobarb can affect the levels. I asked the vet about the liver shunt. He said that yes, he is too old for the congenital form, but he can have the acquired type..MVD? I will ask for a referral to the neurologist.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I'm going to try to nap.

You are doing great with caring for him. You are taking all the right steps. I think the hardest part is not knowing a diagnosis. Hang in there. We are all here for you.

Lesley,

I was so happy to hear he was in good spirits today. Continuing prayers for little Max.

Dana

Sending prayers and well wishes.

So glad Max was happy to see you and that he is becoming stable.
I still doubt liver shunt, but good to do BATs. I did not suspect shunt at all in my Teddy but we did the BATs first also. The neurologist will have wanted all other causes to be ruled out first. I am praying Max just has epilepsy.

As an aside, I am pretty sure that the use of valium and derivatives of diazepam in dogs with liver shunt and/or MVD can cause elevations of BATs as these dogs have trouble metabolizing this class of drugs. The fact that he had valium might throw off the BAT - I would ask about this to make sure that the BAT test will be reliable when conducted.

How old was Manolo when he was diagnosed?

Ok, I'll add this question to my list.

Cathy, you have been a tremendous help. Thank you

UPDATE:

I went to visit Max at 5pm and stayed about an hour. I got him to eat and drink....he was doing very well. Still in good spirits. Not long after I left, the nightshift vet that admitted him last night called after doing her rounds and said that she thought Max should go home. I could hear him whining and crying in the background; she said that she would prefer that he be at home resting where he wouldn't be so anxious and his brain activity needs to be at a low right now. She thought that he would be better off if he was comfortable and resting. I expressed my concern about the chances of a seizure occurring tonight. She explained that because he got a "higher" loading dose IV, that his levels should be ok and that the chances of that happening were slim. She sent us home with a dose of Valium just in case he has an episode tonight. He is sleeping in his favorite spot at the moment. I notice that he is a bit wobbly on his feet though.

I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what the hec happened. The events in the past I thought were anxiety or at least behavior brought on my anxiety. Dog park, dog festival last week, etc. What was different about yesterday...he was sleeping when they started. I bought CET chews because I heard they were so good..I look at the ingredients and there its plainly says ROSEMARY extract! I gave him one about 1 hour prior to the first seizure. I'm not suggesting that they caused his seizures because he had them prior to yesterday, but I believe he was prone to seizures and the chew just triggered the clusters yesterday.

Thank you everyone for all of the prayers and well wishes. Keep them coming....

My Prayers will continue for Max. I know it must be so hard to not know where this is all coming from. I was so touched that the night vet felt Max would be best to stay at his loving home to comfort him. I hope & pray that he has a restful night with you & that you both get some much needed rest. My thoughts are with you.

I'm so glad he is home with you now. He'll be happy and calm there. I wish I could help you, but I can't. Please know that I'm thinking of you and Max and sending you my very best wishes.

Thanks...BTW, I'm not sure if I told you already, Lily got her dress and it fits!

Prayers for Max. I have a feeling that while he may have a restful night, his mom may not. It is always so worrisome when they are ill.

He did well through the night. I kept waking up to check on him though. I"m waiting for the vet's office to open now

Hope Max is doing better today and will be checking for an update. I know you know YT'ers are praying for Max and that there are some answers and hope out there for him. Try not to worry so. Thinking of you and Max...........

I'm glad he slept well last night. I knew you wouldn't sleep. I hope today goes well.

Sending prayers for Max. I'm glad he has you to take such good care of him. :)

Bonny

Glad he had a quiet night. I'll be looking for your updates.

Hope all goes well at the vet today. :)

You guys are so awesome. Thank you for the support. We are back from the vet, BAT and thyroid panel done. We go back at 10:30 for the post feed lab draw. I'll hopefully take a nap then. I am exhausted!

I was supposed to work tonight but thank goodness that I have understanding managers and I'll work Sat. night instead. I can't bear to leave him tonight. My daughter and probably my Dad would stay here with the pups but there's nothing like his momma!

How's Max tonight?

He is resting now. He's still unsteady on his feet. Did Teddy have that problem while he was getting used to the meds?

I'm glad he's resting well. I hope you are getting some much needed sleep.

Thanks, and yes, going to bed now. *yawn*

Teddy is not on phenobarbital - he is on a different anticonvulsant drug called Zonisamide and only showed some lethargy when starting the drug the first day.

My Max is on phenobarbital and I'll say that he was fairly out of it for the first few days. The first day he slept the entire day. By day 2 he was wobbling around and by day 3 he started getting back to normal. Give it some time for him to get used to the meds. How is he doing this morning?

I'm just seeing this!

Sending good vibes and prayers Max's way!

Thanks Brit...

This morning Max is still wobbly and groggy especially after the meds. What do you do for Max's increased appetite?

How old was Max when he was diagnosed? Do you know what triggered his seizures?

Max is almost 11 months old. I brought him home from the breeder when he was 11 weeks. 3 days later he started having focal/head bobbing seizures. These seizures would occur all day long, about every 20 minutes and last from 2-8 seconds. We did all tests possible to rule out everything possible including blood work, BATS, MRI, Spinal Tap and probably even more. He went to LSU vet school and was finally diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy.

I completely forgot about the increased appetite and increased water consumption! I never really increased Max's food but I gave him some carrots, green beans, Gerber Puffs, Cheerios and very low calorie/fat foods. The increased appetite was enormous but a very common side effect.

It'll take some time for your Max to regulate on the meds. Every time I had to increase my boy's meds (he grew really fast!) there were a few days of grogginess from the higher dosage.

What's the next step for you guys? How is he doing?

I've since found some more things with Rosemary. Lily's shampoo has rosemary ( I don't use it on Max), treats for teeth cleaning ( I ran out of those which is why I bought the CET chews which also have rosemary), and their dental spray, Petzlife, has rosemary oil. I am so upset by this. I feel like I've been poisoning Max.

We should have the result from the BAT later today. We did a thyroid panel too, I can't remember if the vet said those results take 1 or 2 weeks. I guess if the BAT is normal the next step is the neurologist. He's currently on 15mg of Phenobarb twice per day