Epilepsy Health

My 16-year-old Border Collie, Arisha, experienced a seizure today. It was short, but it scared her badly. She saw her fall onto her side. It only lasted about 30-seconds. It happened right after she woke up. By the time I got her to the vet, she was fine. She has never had a seizure before. I know Border Collies are prone to epilepsy and the veterinarian said that at her age she will not likely respond to medication. She seemed really confused on our way to the vet. By the time we got there, she was fine. This is the one and only seizure she has ever had. I'm very scared that she might have another. The veterinarian said it is likely idiopathic epilepsy. Apparently it is common in several breeds. She explained to me that it is genetic and several genes must be switched on in order for a dog to have this condition (I may not be repeating this correctly). I was also told that it's recessive, which means both her parents had to carry the gene for it. It was a very long time go that we got her from a sheep farm and I don't remember her parents at all. The vet said this is the oldest she has ever seen epilepsy manifest. Before Arisha the oldest dog with epilepsy she saw was only 5. She has only had the one short seizure. She took blood to rule out hypoglycemia and it wasn't that. I was told that because of her age there may be some sort of metabolic or intracranial disease going on. She came home with me today, thankfully. I was told not to let her swim, which is hard because I have a pond on my property that most of my dogs love to swim in daily (I am planning on having it fenced off soon). The vet gave her an anti-epileptic prescription medicine. Unfortunately, it's going to make her fat so she advised me to cut back on her food before she starts to gain weight. She has an appointment in two weeks to have her blood chemistry done. The drug she is on is called phenobarbital. They want to make sure that the levels in her blood are stable or something. unfortunately, the blood test done today picked up a very slight decrease in kidney function, but the vet isn't worried about this, as it is normal for older dogs. I'm switching her diet to Blue Buffalo healthy weight formula and a prescription canned kidney food that I will be mixing together for her (to keep her lean and to help her kidneys). I know I can't control genetics, but I'm very upset that Arisha now has epilepsy. As long as the medication and food helps her, than I will be happy. The vet also gave me prescription treats for Arisha that are low sodium and she really loves them.

I would love any advice/suggestions. Have you had a Border Collie with epilepsy? What worked and what didn't work?

Malka had a epileptic dog she be be best person to seek advise from

My beloved Pereg had idiopathic epilepsy, starting when she was 2 years and three months old. Unfortunately hers was uncontrollable and I had to make the very hard decision to release her after four years.

. A 16 year old dog can not have idiopathic epilepsy but would have secondary epilepsy, usually caused by a trauma or brain tumour. Genetics have nothing to do with secondary epilepsy at that age, nor can Phenobarbital do much to help her. And no vet should prescribe Phenobarbital after just one very minor seizure.

In addition, blood tests to rule out hypothyroidism, have to have a full panel done which has to be done by a specialist and usually takes about five days, not just a basic test done by a vet who, from the sound of it, does not know much about canine epilepsy.

Perhaps you need to take your dog to a vet who actually does know about canine epilepsy. Yes, certain breeds, Border Collies being one, who have a tendency to develop epilepsy, but there is no known gene which causes it. It requires a trigger which has nothing to do with any known genetic fact. And as I said, at that age it can not be idiopathic epilepsy but must be secondary epilepsy, caused by head trauma or a brain tumour.

My Pereg was a mutt of no known origin. She has never had a head trauma or brain tumour. She just had idiopathic epilepsy. Epilepsy of no known origin.

Many years ago I had a Cavalier bitch which had a short seizure at the age of six. My vet at that time diagnosed epilepsy, but said that it was a late onset, and suggested that we waited to see if it happened again before giving her any medication. At that time a GSD friend was in contact with a well known geneticist, who also said that this was not likely to be the hereditary form of the disease, and that this attack would be secondary to some other cause. My girl lived to 14, which is a good age for a CKCS, and died of pneumonia due to Kennel cough. She never had a second fit, but did go on to develop a pancreatic enzyme deficiency.

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what happened during the 'seizure'? You say she fell onto her side, but did she stiffen or shake? Was she responsive to you during it?

Usually a vet (or doctor for that matter) will wait to see if the dog (or person) goes on to have another seizure before looking at medicating because there are many things that can cause a seizure to happen - for example over-heating, over excitement etc.

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.

My main veterinarian has diagnosed her with idiopathic epilepsy. She did not have any seizures after being put on this medication. I got a second opinion and the second veterinarian diagnosed her with Secondary Epilepsy, merely because of her age. Blood was run and known toxins were ruled out. This veterinarian told me to discontinue the medication. She had a distemper test run, just to be sure, but it was negative and she is up to date on all vaccinations. Her blood sugar levels were run again and were normal. However, certain types of epilepsy, such as Benign Familial Juvenile Epilepsy (as seen in the Lagotto Romangolo) have been discovered to be 100% genetic and DNA tests are even available for them. Even this second veterinarian told me that epilepsy is common in Border Collies and is genetic within the breed. Both veterinarians have told me this and I've read a lot about it online. I even had her thiamine levels run and it came back normal. The vet did a CT scan and found no signs of trauma. A tumor was also ruled out. We had her blood sugars run again to make sure they were staying within normal range and they never went too high or low. The vet went ahead and checked her thyroid levels, even though it is rare for thyroid problems to cause seizures, and there was no sign of thyroid disease.

Unfortunately, after she was taken off the medication she had another seizure. I contacted both veterinarians and my main veterinarian told me that I should not have discontinued the medication and the secondary veterinarian told me to re-start the medication. The veterinarians are not in agreement if this is genetic or not, but both have told me that Border Collies and some other breeds are genetically prone to epilepsy. I've been told she is at the far end of the Border Collie lifespan, but she is doing very well for her age. She is now back on the phenobarbital and has not had another seizure.

I appreciate the article, Azz. No underlying condition could be found even after a battery of tests. I plan on keeping her on the phenobarbital, as it is what has stopped the seizures. Thank you very much!

I do absolutely everything I can for my dogs, money is no object, they are all very healthy and live to ripe old ages, so please don't get on me for what my veterinarian has said.

The seizure was right after she woke up, she started licking her lips, she tried to get up on her legs but was in a kneeling position, she then fell over shaking, the other dogs were sniffing her, I was freaked out but I just patted her back end and tried to calm her. The second seizure was much more severe; she tried to get up from her bed, she looked absolutely terrified, she was drooling like mad, she just kept looking around the room, she held one back leg up, tried to get up but started to shake, was stiff and in a half-sit half-laying position, slowly fell backward, eyes were very wide, shaking was not as bad as the first seizure, she raised a front paw, was looking like she was trying to get up but just kept rocking, her back leg came towards her front legs, tongue kept poking in and out, eventually rolled all the way onto her backside, kept her head and neck real stiff and tried to hold her head up, head kept going to the side, finally managed to right herself onto her bed, panted heavily, laid her head back down, then started wagging her tail, picked her head up and looked around the room, was able to get up, staggered over to me, sat down next to me, then got back up, I pet her to keep her calm, rubbed her shoulders, rubbed her neck, then she went over to see one of the other dogs, checked on another of her sisters, then another, went around to almost all the other dogs and checked on them. She was not responsive during either seizure. Both veterinarians are now agreeing to keep her on the phenobarbital and see if that stops them completely (second seizure happened less than 24 hours after stopping medication).

Hypothyroidism is a very common cause of seizures and only by doing a full panel of thyroid checks, which have to be done by a specialist laboratory, not the basic thyroid test by a general vet, can any vet state whether a dog has a thyroid problem or not.

If you are in the US I would suggest that you get one of your vets to send a blood sample to Dr Jean Dodds at Hemopet http://www.hemopet.org/contact-hemopet.html

I wish you the best of luck with your dog.

With the second seizure, it does appear that the meds are needed. Everything crossed for your girl to have more and more happy times with you. It's so distressing to see them so obviously confused and out of it and not being able to do anything about it at the time.

Good luck and <hugs> to your girlie x