seizures

Archived Message seizures

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by April

I have a 3-yr-old female Maltese. Last weekend, she became stiff and her front paws shook. Her eyes were glazed over. This lasted only for a few minutes, and she was very lethargic afterwards. Could this have been a petite mal seziure?

DISCUSSION:

Consult your vet about this. A source book I have has this to say:..."There are two kinds of convulsive attacks, just as there are with humans--petit mal seizures and grand mal seizures. In neither type is the dog in any danger of choking on her tongue, which is a problem for people during grand mal seizures. 'Petit mal' seizures are brief, and usally affect only a part of the dog's body. There may be a twitching spasm of a leg or some other muscle system for 30 to 60 seconds. Usually, the rear legs are affected. After the convulsion passes, the dog may be weak for a couple of minutes, and then she'll be back to normal. No treatment is necessary for petit mal seizures unless they begin to last longer and come more frequently. A dog may have an epileptic attack as often as every day or more, every week, or very rarely. 'Grand mal' seizures completely incapacitate the dog and send the entire body into convulsions. Usually the attack will be preceded by a small signal that a seizure is beginning. The dog may twitch or stare off blankly or snap at the air. After this, the dog will collapse--front and back legs paddling, throwing her head from side to side, salivating, sometimes vomiting, and losing bowel control. The seizure usually lasts from two to five minutes. When this happens, leave the dog alone. Place the animal on something soft, if necessary, and keep her away from ledges, stairs, and places where she could suffer a fall or bump her head. There's very little danger of the dog injuring someone who's trying to move her, although a person may be inadvertently bitten if he's accidentally caught in a jaw spasm. It's best just to isolate the dog in a safe place and leave her alone until the convulsions pass. When this happens, the dog will snap back to consciousness quickly, after a brief period of confusion. A third and radical condition is an outgrowth of the grand mal seizure known as 'status epilepticus'. In such a case, the dog does not stop convulsing. If a seizure goes on for 10 to 20 minutes, the dog should be taken immediately to your veterinarian for sedation. Anticonvulsant drugs aren't a cure for epilepsy, but they are a contro, and usually a reliable one. However, canine epilepsy tends to grow worse over time and a dog with severe epilepsy may require so much of the drug that she is sedated 24 hours a day." Just some things to sooth your curiousity, things to look for, until you can consult your vet about this. Hope this helped. I can only imagine this was scary for you to watch, I would have been scared, but I would have suspected the same as you and then backed it up with my vet. If it's not any trouble, please share what you find out about this too.
-Vicki

April, I had a silky terrier who had seizures and they were much as you describe. We treated him for years for epilepsy with doses of phenobarb. He too began this behavior as a pup--only about 6 mo old. When he was about 10, and I had moved, the new veterinarian said it wasn't epilepsy. So I never knew what the problem really was. But the symptoms Higs had were what you are describing. His eyeballs even shook. The first time it happened I was so frightened. I thought he was dying because he got stiff as a board, but once it passed he was fine. In our case, the seizures began as short, infrequent interludes. Over time, he was "out" longer and the seizures came more frequently--often in clusters of 2 or 3 in the same day or over a period of several days. Then he might not have one for months and we'd do it again--this, in spite of the phenobarb. Take your baby to the vet for a complete exam, including neurology. Higgens, by the way, lived quite a long life--he was 14 when he died. So this shouldn't be a worry. I think the seizures look worse to us than they "feel" to the dog (of course, I can't be sure). Higgens would know they were coming and would find me and climb into my lap to be held through the seizure. Also, after most of them, he had to go outside immediately because he would need to pee and to poop and often threw up. I know this sounds awful, but it is the way things went with us. However, I do want to assure you that in between seizures, Higs was "normal," and, as I said, he lived to be 14. Hope this helps. I would head directly for the vet if I were you. There may be better diagnostics and medication now than were available for Higgens. Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions. I can't promise to have answers, but I did have lots of experience getting Higs through the rough spots.
-cathy brown

If it is a seizure, and your vet puts your dog on medication, be sure to ask your vet about extra protection for the dogs teeth. Some of the seizure medications cause problems with teeth, and they do not always consider this.
-Marsha A.

Just to add something to what Marsha said--if the vet wants to put your pup on medication it is very important to consider the options and the possible side affects carefully. My sister has epilepsy and from our experience there are no medications for this problem that don't have annoying or sometimes revolting side affects. One of my very best friend's had a Peek that had seizures for many years and lived to be 18. Give your little darling kisses from my Cloud and Clancy.
-Carina

Just a response to what Carina said. It is true there is no medication that will help the gums. I have epilepsy and have not had any problems with my gums. I was told as soon as I was diagnosed that I would have to take care of my teeth. I sometimes massage my gums. If your pet will allow you to do so you may try to that.
-Mary Tudor