Yorkie having seizures

[jsargent]

my yorkie Prancer is almost 11 years old we didnt know this but he has been having seizures for a while we just thought he was having muscle cramps and would just rub his hind legs to get him to relax well 3 days ago he had a bad seizure he tensed up like he was going to have a cramp and i went to rub his back legs he yelped and then became uncontious and was not breathing his tongue was hanging out of his mouth I immediatley began mouth to snout CPR he came to after a few min. we rushed him to the vet while we were there we took him out to walk he had another siezure then he didnt go completley out that time the vet gave him a shot of Diazepam and he pulled on through it pretty good, they have started him on Phenabarbitol twice a day it is 16.2 mg pill that i split in half they also gave me a diazepam shot to bring home with me incase i need it. that happend Thursday and he has seemed fine just a little more tired then usual we are not letting him over do it his breathing has been a little elevated also since then but Saturday night around 9 he had another small seizure we didnt think it was bad enough to give him a shot we just held him close and talked him through it I gave him his half of phenabarbitol then he was not supose to take it until 9:30 but i figured 30 min early would not hurt he was breathing pretty rapid for about 20 min after then finally settled down . My question is does it take phenabarbitol a while to work and should i expect anymore siezures until it does? I dont think i could go through one like i did when he went out cold. any advise would be greatley appreciated .

[Maximo]

Welcome to YorkieTalk. I am sorry that Prancer is having seizures. My understanding is that the pheno or any anti-seizure med may need to be adjusted if seizures continue, and that there is no guarantee that it will stop the seizures completely.

I highly recommend following up with your vet regularly. Document all episodes in detail to share with your vet. Discuss when to give the medication, if 30 minutes early is okay. If you can, see a neurologist.

[Sammy Mommy]

My Sammy had seizures, starting when he was young. The vet put him on phenobarbital (1/2 tab twice a day). When that wasn't controlling the seizures that much the vet also gave him KBR (1 capsule once a day) and that did the trick. My Sammy was seizure free for about 8 or 9 years and he lived a happy life to age 13. Ask your vet if you can try KBR. Good Luck!

[jsargent]

thanks guys, I am going to call my vet in the morning and follow up with him next weekend, Prancer also suffers from Lymphantasia and i dont think i spelled that right but he is on a high dose of pred also for that along with flagyl its a protien loosing disease he does not absorb protien like he should and his liver enzymes stay elevated due to that illness. He has been doing well with that though its these siezures that have me worried sick.

[Rhetts_mama]

Yes, phenobarb takes a while to reach a steady state in the blood stream. Even after it does, you may still experience seizures until you find the correct dosage for him. Sometimes breakthrough seizures will occur even then.

For future reference, if a medication is due at 9, it's perfectly ok to give the dose a half hour early or a half hour later.

Good luck.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Welcome to YorkieTalk. I am sorry that Prancer is having seizures. My understanding is that the pheno or any anti-seizure med may need to be adjusted if seizures continue, and that there is no guarantee that it will stop the seizures completely.

I highly recommend following up with your vet regularly. Document all episodes in detail to share with your vet. Discuss when to give the medication, if 30 minutes early is okay. If you can, see a neurologist.

I agree. Also, if your vet has not done so, I would ask for routine labs to be done to rule out any other medical issues.

Welcome to YT.

[jsargent]

I spoke to my vet yesterday and asked if we could up his dose of the phenabarbitol the mg of the pill is 16.2 mg I was giving him 1/2 of that in the am and 1/2 in the pm the vet said it was ok to give him 1/2 am , 1/2 at lunch and 1/2 pm so a total of 24.3 mg a day, Im guessing that is like a loading dose to get it good in his system. does anybody have any advise on the times i should give them I was thinking 6:00 am 2:00 pm and 10:00 pm or 5:00 am 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm I work so I have to come home at lunch time to give him his lunch time dose just need some advise on the times and does any body know if that my be way too much for a 6-7 lb yorkie his weight varies due to the other illness he has . We were just worried about the phenabarbitol not getting in his system good and wanting to do a loading dose . Thanks guys

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by jsargent

I spoke to my vet yesterday and asked if we could up his dose of the phenabarbitol the mg of the pill is 16.2 mg I was giving him 1/2 of that in the am and 1/2 in the pm the vet said it was ok to give him 1/2 am , 1/2 at lunch and 1/2 pm so a total of 24.3 mg a day, Im guessing that is like a loading dose to get it good in his system. does anybody have any advise on the times i should give them I was thinking 6:00 am 2:00 pm and 10:00 pm or 5:00 am 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm I work so I have to come home at lunch time to give him his lunch time dose just need some advise on the times and does any body know if that my be way too much for a 6-7 lb yorkie his weight varies due to the other illness he has . We were just worried about the phenabarbitol not getting in his system good and wanting to do a loading dose . Thanks guys

Do not increase the pheno dose unless this really was a specific order from your vet. Don't guess about "loading doses." Discuss this with your vet. No one here can safely advise you on the use of this medication.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Do not increase the pheno dose unless this really was a specific order from your vet. Don't guess about "loading doses." Discuss this with your vet. No one here can safely advise you on the use of this medication.

Definitely don't look for dosage advice online. Only a vet who has seen and examined your pup should give such advice.

[jsargent]

giving the phenabarbitol 3 times a day seems to be doing well he has had no more siezures just a little less active and a little bit slower, We have an appointment saturday to see his vet so I will update everybody then, right now he is just getting spoiled rotten especialy me coming home for lunch everyday.

[ladyjane]

Glad that Prancer is doing well. Thanks for the update!

[Lyric]

My Yorkie, who will be 16 in a few months, had a couple of grand mal seizures (first time ever having seizures) back in late September. The vet started him on phenobarbitol at the time. But it took at least six weeks for him to start getting better. He still was having seizures, and he became even more blind and deaf and less aware of his surroundings. At times he did not even seem to know us, and we thought we were losing him. In fact, I took him back to the vet twice, because his quality of life was so poor, fully expecting her to say that he should be put to sleep, but she kept encouraging us to wait a full six weeks for the phenobarbitol to take full effect and for the side effects (constant pacing in circles, etc.) to go away or get better. Well, three months from the date he started the phenobarbitol, he is almost totally back to normal now. For a dog his age who weathered a major health problem, he is doing great. He actually enjoyed Christmas so much this year, even opening his presents (although he still can't see well--he can see a lot better than he could when he was fighting the seizures and effects of the med) under the Christmas tree. We are so thrilled to have our little guy back. His personality has come back, too. I know he won't live forever and I know the seizures could come back anytime, but I'm so glad we hung in there for a couple of months instead of giving up on him.

[MandiesMom]

Originally Posted by Lyric

My Yorkie, who will be 16 in a few months, had a couple of grand mal seizures (first time ever having seizures) back in late September. The vet started him on phenobarbitol at the time. But it took at least six weeks for him to start getting better. He still was having seizures, and he became even more blind and deaf and less aware of his surroundings. At times he did not even seem to know us, and we thought we were losing him. In fact, I took him back to the vet twice, because his quality of life was so poor, fully expecting her to say that he should be put to sleep, but she kept encouraging us to wait a full six weeks for the phenobarbitol to take full effect and for the side effects (constant pacing in circles, etc.) to go away or get better. Well, three months from the date he started the phenobarbitol, he is almost totally back to normal now. For a dog his age who weathered a major health problem, he is doing great. He actually enjoyed Christmas so much this year, even opening his presents (although he still can't see well--he can see a lot better than he could when he was fighting the seizures and effects of the med) under the Christmas tree. We are so thrilled to have our little guy back. His personality has come back, too. I know he won't live forever and I know the seizures could come back anytime, but I'm so glad we hung in there for a couple of months instead of giving up on him.

That's such a great story! Just put a smile in my heart reading it

[Lyric]

Thank you SO much, Mandie's Mom! And Happy New Year!