Another Seizure

Chewie just had another seizure. A little less than a minute long. If I had to esimate the number of seizures he has had that I've witnessed since the end of October, I'd say probably about eight or so, about five since he started medication. It doesn't sound like a lot but two things to consider:

1. He is on phenobarbitol (15 mg twice daily) for the seizures so should be having about 2 per month if the medicine is working properly.

2. Watching him have seizures is so upsetting and it takes so much energy to remain calm, keep a soothing voice and to comfort him while he is seizing.

His pheno dose may be a little low but I'm trying to monitor him closely to see what next steps should be.

He is also on prednisone, a powerful steroid that is meant to help reduce the swelling in his brain - either from a tumor or other degeneration. While the prednisone definitely keeps him pain free, it has all sorts of other side effects from bad to worse.

Bad side effects of prednisone

1. He became voraciously hungry to the point of sheer insanity. He paced the floor constantly searching for food. The minute I'd give him anything to eat, he'd scarf it down so quickly that he would get bloated with gas. He was stealing food from his Chihuahua brothers Ernie and Pancho. He was the Food Monster.

2. He became so thirsty that he began peeing everywhere throughout the house. I finally had to get him doggie diapers (I'll detail these in another post).

Worse side effects of prednisone

1. He has started to lose muscle strength so his legs give out from under him or when he is on the floor, his legs slide in all directions until he is splayed out on the floor and unable to get up. This will only get worse over time.

2. He may begin to lose his hair which is a sign that the prednisone is really poisoning his system.

3. He will probably experience liver problems over the long term but I can counteract this a little with milk thistle. More on this later.

He was prescribed 1/2 a prednisone table (5 mg) two times a day. The vet said I can moderate this by keeping an eye on him. If he exhibits symptoms of the tumor (shaking his head, turning to the right and walking in circles, falling over), then I can give the full dosage. If he is doing well, I can cut back.

I try to give him just 1/2 a prednisone daily and only increase the dosage when his bad symptoms reappear. It is a balancing act and I don't know if I'm always doing the right thing. But he doesn't seem to be suffering.

Regarding the seizures, the vet assures me that he does not suffer through them in pain - that he is not aware of what is happening. He is exhausted afterward - they are compared to running a marathon with all of his body on high alert and high stress. But after, he won't know what just happened, he just feels utterly exhausted.

He is now sleeping soundly, snoring, after this latest seizure and he does that after each one.

The danger of seizures is that if the duration is too long - maybe around 5 minutes - his brain could literally cook in his head because of the temperature rise during the seizure. He could die from a seizure. But right now, the last under a minute and seem to be smaller ones. He doesn't always fall over when he has them. He can be sitting and just start to shake his head and start gagging and acting like something sticky is on his tongue that he is trying to get off.

Now it is a little harder to tell if the seizure is big or little because he has been laying down a lot more now and has them while prone. Still, the gesticulating he has done with each seizure remains consistent.