Max Just Had an "Episode" - Possibly Seizure

[Tcarnagie]

I am thinking the heat had more to do with it than the food. If he was hot from the walk and then got into a cold pool that will shock the system since the drastic temp drop. If he was even slightly dehydrated and in the heat that can also create problems. Glad you took him to the vet and they are on top of it. Hope he continues to do better.

[lillymae]

This sounds more like heat stroke to me as I used to work in a vet office in Southern California and have seen this Many times.

[ladyjane]

Actually, it could be a heat stroke. But...the pup does have a seizure disorder. I would call the vet and simply ask his thoughts.

[ladyjane]

Did you happen to notice if Max felt hot to the touch? A pup with a high temperature radiates a lot of heat.
My Cookie runs like a mad woman in the summer and I have to watch her very carefully because she has been overcome by it. They feel hot...and the insides of their ears are extremely hot to the touch (which is a great way to tell if a pup has a fever btw).
I am sure your vet took Max's temp .. I also don't know about the glucose being elevated and IF that would happen with a heat stroke.

[kjc]

My comments about the food... I want to clarify that I was not meaning you did anything to the food, I meant that from delivery to the store and how the employees handle it, foods can be affected.

How hot was the temperature outside today?

I agree that it very possibly could have been heat stroke.

[lillymae]

Heat stroke has the same symptoms in any dog, whether the dog has a seizure disorder or not and can also cause a seizure in dogs with no seizure disorder. Also it can cause lifelong seizures as fluid can & often does build in the brain to help to protect the overheated brain then causing scaring which can cause life long seizures. Also you should never put a dog into Cold water if you suspect heat stroke, it should be tepid water as the Cold water can cause severe and very painful muscle spasm.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Did you happen to notice if Max felt hot to the touch? A pup with a high temperature radiates a lot of heat.
My Cookie runs like a mad woman in the summer and I have to watch her very carefully because she has been overcome by it. They feel hot...and the insides of their ears are extremely hot to the touch (which is a great way to tell if a pup has a fever btw).
I am sure your vet took Max's temp .. I also don't know about the glucose being elevated and IF that would happen with a heat stroke.

I'm just seeing this now and I was also thinking that it might have been the heat. Pebbles runs like a fool too and we have needed to cool her down last summer. By no means am I trying to discredit the seizure issue but I have seen Pebbles get the same way. But like LJ is saying she was very hot to the touch when it happened.

Hopefully, this was just an isolated incident since he seems back to normal now.

[ladyjane]

I said that triggers for seizures do not cause seizures in dogs that don't have epilepsy. The bottom line: Max has been diagnosed with epilepsy so that cannot be ignored in the picture here.

I did NOT say that a dog without epilepsy would not seize from a heat stroke.

[AllDogBoots]

I dont know if Max felt hot as I didn't know what to check for at the time. Max gets hot quickly but we were only outside for 10 minutes at the most. He was walking calmly the whole time. But definitely no more walks in the afternoons.

The vet said to be very careful walking him in the heat. His temperature was normal when we got there. She didn't dismiss anything and noted that Max had an "episode" in his records. It's not clearly defined but she has the same mindset as LadyJane in believing he had a seizure because he's epileptic. But yes there may have been triggers. Losing bowl control makes me think seizure.

Edit to add: it was 90 degrees with about 95% humidity. I also didn't know anything was wrong until he got in the pool.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

I said that triggers for seizures do not cause seizures in dogs that don't have epilepsy. The bottom line: Max has been diagnosed with epilepsy so that cannot be ignored in the picture here.

I did NOT say that a dog without epilepsy would not seize from a heat stroke.

I'm not sure if maybe you took my post out of context so just want you to know that in no way was I trying to argue or contradict with you post.
Just want to make that clear. I was simply giving facts on heat stroke as I do understand that this dog has a seizure disorder however I do believe that this was heat stroke.
A seizure can not be ruled out but could have deff been brought on by heat stroke, as you know.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by AllDogBoots

I dont know if Max felt hot as I didn't know what to check for at the time. Max gets hot quickly but we were only outside for 10 minutes at the most. He was walking calmly the whole time. But definitely no more walks in the afternoons.

The vet said to be very careful walking him in the heat. His temperature was normal when we got there. She didn't dismiss anything and noted that Max had an "episode" in his records. It's not clearly defined but she has the same mindset as LadyJane in believing he had a seizure because he's epileptic. But yes there may have been triggers. Losing bowl control makes me think seizure.

Edit to add: it was 90 degrees with about 95% humidity. I also didn't know anything was wrong until he got in the pool.

My guess is that it was a seizure. It does not sound like he did enough to really bring on a heat stroke. It takes more than just a walk.

Cookie runs like a maniac...the first time she overheated, she stopped running and laid down in the grass panting like crazy. I picked her up and she was burning hot. I felt terrible that I let her go that far....she was running and I was sitting there not thinking anything of it. When I got her in the house, her temp was 105. I now have to stop her when she is running out there on hot days because she will not stop on her own.

[kjc]

Yes, loss of bowel control and vomiting can come from a seizure, whether it's a seizure from epilepsy or a seizure from heat stroke.

I was just hoping it wasn't from his epilepsy bc you said you were going to talk to LSU about taking him off his meds to see if he had grown out of them. If the seizure was from the heat stroke, then he may have grown out of them, as this would mean the seizure wasn't attributed to his epilepsy, and you could proceed with your plans to take him off the meds.

Maybe talk to both your vet and LSU further for sure about the heat stoke being a possibility in this instance, so maybe you can proceed with the plans to get Max off the meds?

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by AllDogBoots

I dont know if Max felt hot as I didn't know what to check for at the time. Max gets hot quickly but we were only outside for 10 minutes at the most. He was walking calmly the whole time. But definitely no more walks in the afternoons.

The vet said to be very careful walking him in the heat. His temperature was normal when we got there. She didn't dismiss anything and noted that Max had an "episode" in his records. It's not clearly defined but she has the same mindset as LadyJane in believing he had a seizure because he's epileptic. But yes there may have been triggers. Losing bowl control makes me think seizure.

Edit to add: it was 90 degrees with about 95% humidity. I also didn't know anything was wrong until he got in the pool.

Karen,
I'm sorry Max is having problems. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers that he will be ok.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by kjc

Yes, loss of bowel control and vomiting can come from a seizure, whether it's a seizure from epilepsy or a seizure from heat stroke.

I was just hoping it wasn't from his epilepsy bc you said you were going to talk to LSU about taking him off his meds to see if he had grown out of them. If the seizure was from the heat stroke, then he may have grown out of them, as this would mean the seizure wasn't attributed to his epilepsy, and you could proceed with your plans to take him off the meds.

Maybe talk to both your vet and LSU further for sure about the heat stoke being a possibility in this instance, so maybe you can proceed with the plans to get Max off the meds?

I cannot imagine any vet even considering taking him off of his meds now. He just had a seizure.....they are not going to know for sure why he had it. So....more than likely they will say to watch him for a longer period of time. This is definitely not a time to even consider med withdrawal imho.

[AllDogBoots]

Originally Posted by kjc

Yes, loss of bowel control and vomiting can come from a seizure, whether it's a seizure from epilepsy or a seizure from heat stroke.

I was just hoping it wasn't from his epilepsy bc you said you were going to talk to LSU about taking him off his meds to see if he had grown out of them. If the seizure was from the heat stroke, then he may have grown out of them, as this would mean the seizure wasn't attributed to his epilepsy, and you could proceed with your plans to take him off the meds.

Maybe talk to both your vet and LSU further for sure about the heat stoke being a possibility in this instance, so maybe you can proceed with the plans to get Max off the meds?

Right now I'm much more comfortable keeping him on the meds. It's a very low dose for his body weight. If he can go seizure free for X amount of time (which I haven't yet defined), I will then consider weaning him off the meds. Not now, though.