Kronos and seizures

[mcarrel]

So this morning Kronos had what appeared to be a cluster of seizures. He was drooling, panting lost control of his bladder and stumbeled around, was completely disoriented after. Of course I rushed him to the emergency vet and all of his bloodwork was perfect all organ function good. With clean blood work , it's more than likely a brain tumor, of course this can't be diagnosed without a 3500 mri. Considering he's a DDB and the high rate of cancer , tumors I was expecting a diagnosis like this sooner rather than later. My Kronos is the world to me I would do the mri but , as I was asking questions of the vet it seemed like while she wasnt suggesting I do anti-seizure meds or the mri she didn't seem to have much confidence that even if we did the mri and diagnosed the tumor as a sure thing ,that a positive prognosis would be the outcome. They have put him on steroids and anti seizure meds for the time being (next two weeks)
Does anyone have experience with this I am at a total loss

 

[marke]

So this morning Kronos had what appeared to be a cluster of seizures. He was drooling, panting lost control of his bladder and stumbeled around, was completely disoriented after. Of course I rushed him to the emergency vet and all of his bloodwork was perfect all organ function good. With clean blood work , it's more than likely a brain tumor, of course this can't be diagnosed without a 3500 mri. Considering he's a DDB and the high rate of cancer , tumors I was expecting a diagnosis like this sooner rather than later. My Kronos is the world to me I would do the mri but , as I was asking questions of the vet it seemed like while she wasnt suggesting I do anti-seizure meds or the mri she didn't seem to have much confidence that even if we did the mri and diagnosed the tumor as a sure thing ,that a positive prognosis would be the outcome. They have put him on steroids and anti seizure meds for the time being (next two weeks)
Does anyone have experience with this I am at a total loss

been there a few times , how old is the dogue ? epilepsy has been in the breed as long as I've been around ........ linebred on , and inbred on . that I know as a fact , it's in everybody's pedigrees........... I've seen young dogs have a seizure or two and then go the rest of their lives without ever having another ....... every seizure I've seen ended up being idiopathic , if low doses of phenobarbital control it , i'd go that direction ...I've never seen one be a brain tumor , the vet should probably be able to detect a brain tumor on an x-ray ... you'll want to make sure he's going to have more seizures, and often enough to treat , before you treat him ........ what information would you get from an mri that would be useful ? a tumor ? I doubt it's a brain tumor , and I've never actually known a dog to have brain surgery , I guess they maybe give radiation or chemo a try , I doubt that would be very successful , from my experiences it never is ............. more than likely they'll possibly find a lesion , myself i'd guess only because they have to find something . they'd treat that with anti-seizure drugs ....... I personally wouldn't even consider an mri for a seizure ....... unless the dog has had repeated seizures , it's been my experience , you want to make sure he's going to have more before you treat him for anything ....... unless there are symptoms beyond a seizure , I don't really get the steroids ?

 

[mcarrel]

Thanks for answering he is 5 1/2 He has never had a seizure before. This started at 5am and he has best I can tell 3 so far today. The vet said it could be late onset epilepsy but given his age probably not. I do know that epilepsy is common in DDb. The steroids are to control inflamation temporarily I am at a loss I have never dealt with this. you are also correct even if there is s definitive diagnosis of a tumor there is really no good long term prognosis even with radiation and surgery

 

[marke]

I had a dog started having seizures at 4-5yrs ..... anything's possible , but from what I've seen in the breed ,id say your dog has a much better chance of epilepsy onset at 5yrs than a brain tumor ...... good luck ........ the dog I had with the late onset epilepsy lived to 10yrs on low doses of phenobarbital ..........

 

[Nik]

One other possibility is back or disc issues. These can cause seizures also.

My dog Cerberus had some seizures in his latter years. In his case it ended up being a slipped disc/ back issue. We were quoted a ridiculous amount for exploratory surgery with a poor prognosis for a senior dog. So we ended up going to a highly recommended local dog chiropractor. After one visit with the chiropractor Cerberus was clearly feeling a ton better, less pain, moving easier.... After two it was like he was a puppy again. It only took 2 visits at $75 each and he was great for the remaining years of his life. No more seizures...

 

[DennasMom]

This forum amazes me each and every day - for example - the wealth of info in just the few posts above!

I have very, very limited experience with seizures (our bulldogX had some issues, but never enough even for a vet check).
So, take this for what it's worth... I tend to go back to 'food as medicine' whenever possible... I do like medications when there is a firm diagnosis. But I think a foundation in good nutrition can prevent a lot of ills, and may also help the body cure problems from the inside out (versus meds which I would consider to be more 'outside-in').

I found this page: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/healthydiet.html
If you're not already feeding a grain-free diet, that would be the first thing I would do... get rid of grains.
I certainly hope this was a one-time convergence of nature/nurture cross-firing and you never see another seizure again!!

 

[glen]

I agree with dennasmum a good diet can help a great deal, my sister has labradors he started to have seizures at 6, the vet suggested a change to grain free and some good fresh meat, within a month he had stopped his seizures hes now 14,

 

[Honeymybeautifulgirl]

Hi. New here. Just want to post my heartbreaking experience with my beautiful Honey.
I only have one child. In 2009 she was to graduate hs and move away to college. Depression set in for the first time in my life bcs my home would be empty. My husband is gone for work 75% of the week. My husband bought me a puppy mastiff. My Honey. The 2 of us have been inseparable for 9 yrs 7 mos. On July 20, 2017 at 1:45 am my husband and I hear thumping sounds in the living room. That was her first seizure. Most heartbreaking thing I've experienced. I was helpless while she had 2 more within the next 5 hrs. Took her to the vet that morning. He ran blood work. Ruled EVERYTHING out. All organs great. Only thing he could think of was phenobarbital 2x a day. My girl was never the same. So she had one more that evening. But for the next 3 days she was confused. Howling whinging pacing around all night. She had a bad July and was herself again for a month. She had a few more on Sept 19. Took her back to vet. He said we could MRI $3500 but he was more than sure it was neurological. He gave me tramadol to help her sleep at night and continued her on PB. She had A GREAT GREAT FILL SEIZURE FREE OCTOBER and early Nov. Back to her old self. Middle of November she was peeing all over all day and night. Pacing all night. Had a few seizures and after each one she was very confused. Deaf. Bumping into things. Getting suck in corners. Upped her PB. didn't help. The seizures were getting frying her brain. She couldn't walk on Saturday morning. We'd help her up and she would walk in circles and fall down. On Sunday she couldn't walk even with help. It was killing me to see my girl like that. I slept on the floor with her Friday and Saturday night. Saturday about 330 am. She kissed me so much. She was exhausted. She was tired. She was ready. She didn't deserve that. Honey went to heaven on Now 27, 2017.
The pain of losing her is unbearable. She left a hole in my heart. There's an emptiness in my life. I MISS HER SO MUCH. EVERYDAY.
Nobody to rush home to after work. Nobody taking up my entire side of the bed. No snoring. No drooling and mopping constantly. I miss her smell. I miss the weight of her body in my foot again my legs. Nobody sleeping in my new sofa. I miss you Honey girl. Momma loves you SO MUCH.

 

[Boxergirl]

Hi. New here. Just want to post my heartbreaking experience with my beautiful Honey.
I only have one child. In 2009 she was to graduate hs and move away to college. Depression set in for the first time in my life bcs my home would be empty. My husband is gone for work 75% of the week. My husband bought me a puppy mastiff. My Honey. The 2 of us have been inseparable for 9 yrs 7 mos. On July 20, 2017 at 1:45 am my husband and I hear thumping sounds in the living room. That was her first seizure. Most heartbreaking thing I've experienced. I was helpless while she had 2 more within the next 5 hrs. Took her to the vet that morning. He ran blood work. Ruled EVERYTHING out. All organs great. Only thing he could think of was phenobarbital 2x a day. My girl was never the same. So she had one more that evening. But for the next 3 days she was confused. Howling whinging pacing around all night. She had a bad July and was herself again for a month. She had a few more on Sept 19. Took her back to vet. He said we could MRI $3500 but he was more than sure it was neurological. He gave me tramadol to help her sleep at night and continued her on PB. She had A GREAT GREAT FILL SEIZURE FREE OCTOBER and early Nov. Back to her old self. Middle of November she was peeing all over all day and night. Pacing all night. Had a few seizures and after each one she was very confused. Deaf. Bumping into things. Getting suck in corners. Upped her PB. didn't help. The seizures were getting frying her brain. She couldn't walk on Saturday morning. We'd help her up and she would walk in circles and fall down. On Sunday she couldn't walk even with help. It was killing me to see my girl like that. I slept on the floor with her Friday and Saturday night. Saturday about 330 am. She kissed me so much. She was exhausted. She was tired. She was ready. She didn't deserve that. Honey went to heaven on Now 27, 2017.
The pain of losing her is unbearable. She left a hole in my heart. There's an emptiness in my life. I MISS HER SO MUCH. EVERYDAY.
Nobody to rush home to after work. Nobody taking up my entire side of the bed. No snoring. No drooling and mopping constantly. I miss her smell. I miss the weight of her body in my foot again my legs. Nobody sleeping in my new sofa. I miss you Honey girl. Momma loves you SO MUCH.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. It's devastating to lose them so suddenly. Grief is very personal and everyone handles it in their own way. If after some time has passed you are still experiencing such a deep grief, please consider seeking help. I lost one of my boys suddenly and I now know that I could have used help dealing with it. Please consider making an intro post and telling us about your girl. We'd love to hear about her whenever you're ready and you'll find a lot of support from our members. Sometimes it helps to share them.

 

[marke]

heartbreaking news , they're lives are too short ..... i know the feeling too well ..... if practical , my advice is get another pup or dog and make it as lucky as kronos was for his 10yrs .......