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  1. #1
    Puppy PepandRuger's Avatar
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    New to the forum but had some questions for my senior lab and sudden seizures...long reading

    Hello everyone,
    I found this forum while googling info about some symptoms my ol' guy is having. I posted a hello in the welcome wagon forum.
    My senior sweetie is a chocolate lab that is 13.5 yrs. old. He has been in pretty great shape for his age...still wanting to go on daily walks despite needing to be helped into the truck, wanting to be anywhere we are, greets me like he hasn't seen me in days even if it has been a 5 min potty break in the yard (hehehe, love those lab welcomes). He is currently on daily fish oil, and glucosamine supplements.

    Past history on going...he has a Synovial fluid tumor on his hind leg that we have been treating with rimadyl for pain and inflammation due to his age and the remedy being an amputation...which is not recommended at his age. The tumor has been there for over 2 years and has stayed in the same place all this time. We have blood work every 6 months as recommended to check his liver...due to his age it is about quality of life...has had adequan shots also for a pinched nerve on his spine from a bone spur that has been a huge help over the years.

    The reason for this wordy post is much more recent. About 2 weeks ago he started having seizures right after eating breakfast and dinner. He would have one to two a day for a couple days and then nothing for a few days. I took him to the vet thinking it was related to liver or kidneys due to rimadyl. Had blood work up and the results were the same as 5 weeks prior...everything looked good...one elevated point for the liver, but the same. At this point, the vet mentioned a brain tumor but could not be certain. He was placed on phenobarbital 2x a day to squash the seizures. They have stopped up to this point, but he is having serious side effects that seem almost worse I hate saying that because it is very heartbreaking to see him flop over and have a full blown seizure with the muscle spasms and the vomiting. I would move things out of the way to make sure he did not get any injuries.

    Current side effects from the phenobarbital are weakness in the hind legs so much so that he can't get out of bed with out falling over. He constantly stumbles over, does the splits with his hind legs when he falls and has hit his chin a few times taking a tumble. I have put slip resistant rugs all over the place to help with traction. He walks into things that he knew was there just yesterday, walks over to a spot and stares at it for awhile.
    Called the vet and was told to wait it out for a couple weeks and it will even it out.

    What if he gets injured when he slips and does the splits and breaks a leg????

    I apologize for the long post...but would love to know that there is hope and not making the wrong choice for our ol' boy. He has been fine up to this point and then these seizures took us by surprise and then the rapid down hill over the last week is breaking my heart.

    Any advice?
    Thank you for your help

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  2. #2
    Senior Dog
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    Hello....I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the board.

    I am so sorry to hear about your senior boy...it is so difficult to watch our dogs age....very difficult.

    I honestly do not have any advice other than trust your Vet and take his advice.

    I do know that many times, seizures in elderly pets can be caused by a brain tumor.

    Only good thoughts for your boy.

    Hopefully, others can chime in for you that have more experience with seizures.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog
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    Very sorry this is happening! Our senior boy, Mulder, who will be 16 in May started having seizures around the time he turned 14. His are milder than your boy's (still grand mal, but they only last about 30 seconds and he comes out of them quickly and while he does release his bladder during them, he has never vomited). He tends to get them about once a month give or take. At first, we also thought brain tumor, as that is the most common cause in dogs this age, but since his haven't progressed in more than 18 months (if anything they have gotten milder) we are pretty sure it's not that, although we haven't done any imaging studies to confirm or deny. His blood work also looked good. Our best guess (although unconfirmed) is that he may have had a small stroke at some point which left a tiny lesion that is causing the seizures.

    At this point we are not medicating him, but we have discussed the possibility with our vet in the eventuality that they get worse and he said he would not put him on phenobarbital as he felt it was too rough on the liver for a dog this age, especially one who is already on rimadyl (for arthritis). Instead, there is a new med (I believe it was called Keppra) that is more expensive, but much easier on the dogs, that our vet would put him on if necessary. If I were you I would look into it. As I said though, at this point, Mulder's are mild enough that he felt the meds would do more damage to him than the seizures are.

    Best of luck with your boy ... I know how scary it can be to see them seize.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  4. #4
    Puppy PepandRuger's Avatar
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    Thank you both for the compassion. I will talk to the vet again regarding the medicine...we want quality of life during the golden years we have left with him...this seems brutal...yet every morning he gets up...(of course with the stumbling, back legs not wanting to cooperate) with that puppy dog look for breakfast. He will then proceed to follow the kiddos around to see if they have any crumbs he can help clean up

    Last night was a first for us...he woke up this morning with hard dry stool on his bed. Have never experienced this!

  5. #5
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by PepandRuger View Post
    Last night was a first for us...he woke up this morning with hard dry stool on his bed. Have never experienced this!
    Welcome to the world of senior dogs! Pooping in their sleep is pretty common when they reach advanced ages. Although Mulder is the first one we’ve had do it, many of my friends have experienced it with their seniors. As long as they stay hard and mostly dry it really isn’t a problem for us - we are careful about his diet so as to keep them firm.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  6. #6
    Best Friend Retriever Snowco Labradors's Avatar
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    Loosing stool in their sleep or when they are walking thru the house or laying down and awake is sometimes attributed to slight dementia. The brain is not getting the signal that they need to go. Ask your vet about Anipryl if the stool issues continue.

    As for seizures - I have no experience but pray you can find the right meds to prevent them (getting him off the pheno).

    Maybe consult a holistic vet?

  7. #7
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowco Labradors View Post
    Loosing stool in their sleep or when they are walking thru the house or laying down and awake is sometimes attributed to slight dementia. The brain is not getting the signal that they need to go.
    It can be that, but the not getting the signal is also often due to nerve damage in the spine from arthritis, rather than a problem with the brain itself. We think that’s what it is with Mulder - he just doesn’t have as much sensation back there in general as he used to, and when he does occasionally poop while he is awake it’s pretty obvious he has no ideas it’s happening, but he can still hold his bladder for hours upon end if he needs to, so it’s not like he’s forgotten his housetraining. It’s such a minor inconvenience to us that we have never thought about medicating him for it.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  8. #8
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Have no experience with seizures. Our Melody did have lower spinal arthritis and had difficulty getting up. We had her on Tramadol instead of Rimadyl.

    So, so sorry your sweet senior is going through this.

    Sending lab board mojo - very powerful stuff. Hugs to you.

  9. #9
    Senior Dog
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    Rimadyl can cause seizures....I'd discuss this aspect with the vet.

  10. #10
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by SunDance View Post
    Rimadyl can cause seizures....I'd discuss this aspect with the vet.
    That’s very unlikely if the dog has been on it for several years without problems and liver values are normal. Doesn’t hurt to ask, but that’s what we were told in Mulder’s case.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

    Hidden Content

 



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