Sad and lost for my baby boy
I have a 4 year old Newfie who has his first seizure 14 months ago (right before he turned 3). I feel so sad and lost in what to do. I’m writing to vent and maybe hear others stories (i read posts on here a lot that have helped through this so far).
My dog started on pheno, added Pregabalin, then added zonisamide. Then tapered off pheno and pregab. Added keppra extended release a month ago to his zonisamide.
He has always had single event grand mals and today had his first cluster. We do have rescue meds.
We had to take off pheno because it wasn’t working and he was a totally different dog. He was eating literally everything (metal, paper, clothes) and just wasn’t himself. Since he’s been off pheno, he’s been back to his normal self and it’s been so wonderful.
But in the past 14 months, we had one 45 day period of being seizure free. Otherwise, it’s been about 1x a week/every 10 days.
I’m so scared to start potassium bromide given how sensitive he was to the pheno (I understand they are different and work differently). It feels like that’s the last option for us to try. He’s maxed on keppra and zonisamide, we do work closely with neurologists and have been since the beginning.
I’m also pregnant with my first and so worried I won’t be able to manage everything, my husband is a firefighter and the seizures seem to happen when he’s at work.
I love my dog so much and my heart breaks for him every time he has one.
Any kind words or words of advice/encouragement would be appreciated.