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Nelly
Nelly is 1 1/2 yrs. old and since she was about 1 year old she has been having seizures approximately once a month. Our vet diagnosed hypothyroidism and put her on medication to stabilize her thyroid, in the hopes that this would prevent further seizures. Although her thyroid level is now stabilized, Nelly continues to have periodic seizures. Our vet has given us the option of putting Nelly on anti-seizure medication, but we don't want to do so because the medication causes long-term liver damage. A friend of ours recommended that we try some homeopathic options, specifically Grape Seed Extract. We have been giving it to Nelly, but the seizures have continued. Does anyone have any other recommendations for us to try?

DISCUSSION:

cathy brown
I have a friend who had a dog that was half "chiwawa" (I don't know how to spell that) and half mini-poodle. It, too had seizures. She took it to an acupuncturist and that seemed to do the trick. I had a silky terrier who had them and the acupuncture did nothing. But, it could be worth a try. My Higgens was on phenobarb for the seizures for years. I think we started him on it was he was about 5 (although he had seizures, the vet wanted to wait until there were so many we had to medicate him) until he died at 14. For a long time the vet thought it was epilepsy, but when he was older and I changed vets, that one said it wasn't epilepsy (but had no other diagnosis), so who knows. At any rate, whatever was causing the seizures in my friend's dog was helped by the acupuncture. Many "mainstream" vets are now trained in acupuncture, so you might check to see what yours says.

Harold Frueh
My sister's Winston passed away after suffering many seizures in a week time span. Seizures could be sign of End Stage Liver Disease , which turned out to be Winston's problem. Mention this disease to your Vet, some are not fimliar with this. It is a Liver Shunt problem. Also, make sure that Nelly's heart is ok after suffering these seizures. Good Luck and please do not hesitate to contact me about this. My wife and I have had our Chelsea tested for this after she suffered a seizure last year .

Ruth
I had a black poodle with champion bloodlines purchased in Germany and she began having siezures about once a month when she turned about five. It's a horrible thing to watch. I tried everything and took her everywhere but nobody could figure out what was wrong. She was extremely active and healthy and is still alive and doing well at eleven years old.