Help and Advice Needed for Rhodesion Ridgeback who has severe epilepsey?

My sisters dog has epilpsey and it is getting worse although it is on medication.She is very distressed and upset as today he has had 2 fits and was in them for over 5minutes each time.the medication he is on is EPIPHEN 60MG TWICE A DAY.


IS THERE ANYTHING THING ELSE SHE CAN DO FOR HIM TO GIVE HIM A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE?Help and Advice Needed for Rhodesion Ridgeback who has severe epilepsey?
Epiphen is the brand name for a drug called phenobarbitone. The first thing to do is to check the blood levels of the phenobarbitone. Those will be different from one dog to another. Several possibilities:





. Insufficient levels: increase the dose and re-check the blood levels in 3 weeks.


. Adequate level: another drug called potassium bromide can be added to the treatment.





If that fails, then it is not impossible that the dog suffers from another condition than epilepsy (brain tumour for example, those are potentially treatable as well but that may become very expensive and mostly insured animals get access to that kind of treatment).





Good luckHelp and Advice Needed for Rhodesion Ridgeback who has severe epilepsey?
dorwest herbs are very good for homeopathic remedies, you could try their website where you can post a quastion and they will respond, it would appear that your vet is stabilizing the siezures with the medication...
My brothers dog had phenobarbital and potassium bromide for her epilepsy, they worked for most of the time but she had cluster fits where she would have up to 30 fits over a weekend. It was very distressing for us and her, but fortunately it didn't happen too often. Ask your vet for different medication if you don't think the current one is working well. Our vet always insisted that the dog didn't know when she was going to have a fit bit I disagree, because sometimes she would be starting to fit but still be walking around in distress. Eventually she had to be put down because of extensive liver damage, and she was only 5 years old. Her fits were usually a minute or so in length, the 5 minute fits your sisters dog has are bordering on dangerous, they may be causing brain damage each time the dog fits. You really need to discuss this in detail with your vet, but whatever decision she makes must be hers, don't let the vet push her into something she doesn't want to do.


I wish the dog and you both all the best, I know what you're going through and I know how heartbreaking it is.
Not sure about the choice of medication - I've linked to a number of websites that can offer other treatment suggestions. Suggest you find a vet that specializes in CSD.





I'm not sure what your feeding, but I have an Akita with CSD (Canine Siezure Disorder) and he has done much better since I switched him off kibble and to a natural diet. If you can't or don't wish to feed raw, at least make sure you are feeding a super premium kibble with NO PRESERVATIVES. Don't just buy whatever the vet sells as they may have a financial interest in selling their stocked foods..





In any event - you can try giving the dog Bach's Rescue Remedy after a siezure - it helps dogs and humans recover from the trauma of a siezure much more quickly. If diet change and medication do not relieve the symptoms and the animal is seizing as regularly as you suggest, the kindest thing might be to put him down. Long duration siezures are very hard on an animal, phisiologically, as is medication. Many anit-convulsive drugs lead to severe liver damage in canines. I assume that, since you are medicating, that your vet has ruled out other causes of the siezures such as brain tumor, etc. Try exploring these websites to learn more about CSD.





http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_seizure_disorder.html


http://n.webring.com/hub?ring=canineepilepsywe


http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm


http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Graves.html


http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/epilepsy.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_feeding


http://www.hayhouse.com.au/authorbio.php?id=139
Hi,type Epilepsy in dogs in yahoo search.There is loads of web sites.Good Luck to your friends Dog.
You can try another vet , but the humane thing to do is have it put down.


It's hard to do, but it's harder for the dog, because it can't tell you how bad it feels you can only guess.


There could be other things that bring the siezures on, like certain foods or even lights, or brain tumors.


I know this isn't much help, but I know how hard it is to have a sick pet , and have had to put down a few over the years. It hurts.