My dog just had her first seizure

[zbarry]

What do I do? I will call the vet first thing in the morning. She is 7 years old this has never happened before. I am hoping it will never happen again. I just tried to look up if it is a problem with DDB. But didn't find anything. What's odd is she had acl surgery on the 31st. So the vets done blood work within the last month that came back clean. Idk I'm freaking out!

 

[musicdeb]

I'm so sorry. Yes, call the vet. How long did the seizure last? There are a few members who have pups who have seizures. Hopefully, they will chime in this morning.

Again, I'm so sorry. Please keep us posted.

 

[angelbears]

I'm so sorry, it can be very scary. Unfortunately, a lot of the times there is no clear diagnosis of what is causing them. It often can be controlled with meds.

Good luck.

 

[zbarry]

I really don't know how long it lasted. We were sleeping and she was on my bed she woke me up. I thought it was a dream, but when I saw her body I knew it wasn't. I turned on the light I didn't think to time it. Once she was done convulsing she sat there with her mouth clinched, I touched her and she growled. But I really believe she wasn't done yet. Once she was done she wouldn't stop licking me. I just assume its late for her being 7 to get epilepsy now, hoping... It was so scary. I can't go back to sleep I'm worried it will happen again.

 

[musicdeb]

Poor girl... Are you on east coast? What time does your vet open? I'm with ya...it's heart wrenching.

 

[cinnamon roll]

I am so sorry, our last rottie developed seizures at the age of 6. We never did find out the reason that he had them. We did put him on meds and he was fine once on the meds.
You are right she probably wasn't done when she growled.

I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep either. Please keep us posted on what happens. Big hugs to both of you.

 

[angelbears]

Hopefully, she won't have another one. If she does have another one before you can get her to the vet please be careful. Do not put your face where you could get bit. They can't control themselves nor do they know what they are doing. When they come out of a seizure they can be disoriented for up to 10 minutes, I had one that was blind for a few minutes after having one.

 

[zbarry]

I'm in Colorado, so its early still. Only 4:30.
Honestly she was looking around like she couldn't see, so that did come to mind. I just talked to her since she could hear me. The growl though was odd. Anytime I touched or talked to her she would growl. But I'm wondering it that was her only way of talking to me? Idk. Also I assume the vet wont see her unless it happens again? Idk what they will do anyway because they wouldn't call it epilepsy unless it happened again and frequently right?

 

[cinnamon roll]

In my experience the vet didn't do anything until the second seizure. That is when we brought him in and they ran some tests and then started him on meds.

In all honesty if it happens again I would not touch her until you know that she "back". I know it is hard cause it is your baby but it could be a recipe for disaster since she is not fully aware of what is happening. Just try talking to her until you know that she is coherent again.

 

[zbarry]

Ok. Thank you.

 

[angelbears]

I'm not trying to scare you but it can be other things such as a tumor. I would go ahead and get her to a vet.

I found that singing to mine seemed to help. I have had 3 that have had seizures. Once I learned the patterns of their seizures and I was sure that I wouldn't get hurt I also found that getting my body on them seemed to help. I had a 100+ pound GSD, I could tell when she was about to have a seizure, I would get her in the hall, when the seizure had lessened to the point that I could lay my chest on hers I would and try to help her come out of it calmly. If I didn't she would get to her feet as soon as she could very disoriented and blind and run wildly around the house, running into walls, furniture, ect.

 

[zbarry]

ok. As a kid we would always touch and talk to our dog. So that's naturally what I did this am. The growl wasnt her normal growl, more like a grunt I guess. I hope its not a tumor, damn.

 

[Smokeycat]

I know it's been a few weeks since her surgery but is she still on any meds from it? I know Kryten was on his pain killers for close to 3 months following his surgery for elbow dysplasia and Tramadol caused personality changes in him. Seizures are also a possible side effect. It looks like they can also be a side effect of Rimadyl. Personally I would ask about the possibility of the seizures being caused by her meds, even if she's no longer taking them.
Also if you don't mind my asking, what surgery did she have?

 

[Mario]

I've had a few dogs have them - our pound puppy mutt used to just freeze while standing & tremor & drool. His were never really major.
Our black lab used to have them - when she was young starting around 7 or so it would be like once a year, as she aged it increased. By the time she was 11 they were occurring a couple of times a week. She would loose control of her bowls & pee and poop at the end so not only was she terrified but making a nasty mess too. Sometimes she would come out of them for a short time, so I would quickly get her outside then cuddle her head for the second wave. I am trying to remember but I think the vet always said to call if they were longer than 10 minutes long.
My IL's yellow started having them & she was put on meds, but it was a struggle to find the right dose for her I think.

 

[fizzed]

I really hope it does not happen again and like Smokeycat would not rule out this being a side effect of some medication.
Hugs to your DDB

 

[cinnamon roll]

ACL surgery.

I know it's been a few weeks since her surgery but is she still on any meds from it? I know Kryten was on his pain killers for close to 3 months following his surgery for elbow dysplasia and Tramadol caused personality changes in him. Seizures are also a possible side effect. It looks like they can also be a side effect of Rimadyl. Personally I would ask about the possibility of the seizures being caused by her meds, even if she's no longer taking them.
Also if you don't mind my asking, what surgery did she have?

 

[Smokeycat]

ACL surgery.

There is more than one type of ACL surgery.

 

[Milton Meathead]

I work with a child neurologist and we see kids all the time who have seizures of all types. Likely, your vet will not do anything until he/she has had 2 to 3 seizures and usually you can tell what kind of epilepsy it is just by the description of the seizure...there are different types of medication for different types of seizures so hopefully, your vet will know what is the right medication and if he/she does not then you would hope that they have a contact who they can consult with to get the help choosing the right medication. Epilepsy is usually hereditary and it sounds like your dog had a generalized type seizure which involves both sides of the brain...(not typically associated with tumors or such)..It is the partial seizures which you would want to MRI for any type of brain abnormality as the seizures originate from one area of the brain only. Anyway...I hope this was a one off and it is quite possible it may be but you can never tell with seizures...you will just have to wait and see...I would document it for sure and as long as your dog is fine, I would not worry about even taking him/her to the vet as they will only run blood again and tell you to monitor anyway. If she has a second seizure, then I would take her to the vet. Good luck with all this

 

[zbarry]

So she had TPLO survey. She stopped taking meds last Monday. But she was on them fro two weeks prior to surget and two weeks after. So I'm wondering if it is medicine related. I called the vet and made an appointment but the said they won't do anything until she has had more. So I hate to take her in when they will just tell me to monitor anyway. Thank you all for your replies. Its helping a lot!

 

[Boxergirl]

I'm so sorry this happened. My first boxer, Greta, had seizures. Over time I knew her so well that I could get her to a safe place before she had one. I aslo learned her triggers. Flashing lights and Sympathy for the Devil by the Stones. That last was really odd, but it happened five times to only that song so we never chanced it again. Another big one for her was Ivermectin. Her seizure activity would get really bad after I gave her Heartguard and was much better when we switched to Interceptor.

Wishing you lots of luck and hopefully this was a one time thing.