Back to Being Boris

Life has returned to normal in the last few days.  At least, the new definition of normal.  Boris is once again his old self.  He seems to have adapted to the twice daily drug doses with litttle or no apparent changes in behavior.  He does tend to have a "sleepy" spell a few hours after each dose, but nothing all that dramatic.  

We are now 10 days without an episode and 10 days on the phenobarbitol

Life has changed more for me.  I now have to stay on top of the drug dispensing twice daily, around 8 am and 8 pm, give or take an hour or so.  I also have to carry a spare dose with us when we go anywhere, just in case there is another episode. 

Also, I have started cooking for Boris - the lucky dog!   Last Sunday, I made a big crock pot of chicken with assorted veggies, which I mix in with a small amount of his dry food.  He gobbles it up like never before, always loooking for more.  Of course, one side effect of phenobarb is increased appetite.  

On the very remote chance that a possible contributing factor of the episodes might be related to something in dried foods, I thought I would give this a try for a while.  Not certain this will do any good, since his kibble is already a high-quality, no grain, natural variety; but it can't hurt to give it a try for a while.   It all depends on whether I can keep up with this.  He has gone through most of the batch in 5 days, and thats still stretched out with the kibble.

I had considered a raw diet or BARF (Biologically Acceptable Raw Foods), but this is even more committing, requiring lots more preparation and making deals with butchers.  Some online sites claim this has helped dogs with seizures, but there is no conclusive evidence at this point.

Yesterday, I put him into doggie day care for the day.  I was relieved to find out that the day care does accept dogs with seizure history and the staff is trained to handle any episodes.  I don't take him there often, but its nice to have that as an option when needed.

Boris Update 11/14

The past 2 days have brought remarkable improvements to Boris' overall progress.

On Sunday, he was back to fetching (and returning) a ball with almost his usual level of energy.  He also seemed to have regained most of his coordination, only occasionally stumbling when making fast direction changes.  He is responding to commands as well and back to doing all of his tricks, even the weave!

Today, he was back to the usual bundle of energy when I returned home about 6:00 pm.  He played fetch with the neighbor's kids with his normal obsessive zeal (and the big hanging tongue) and is back to wanting to play frisbee.  I am a little hesitant to play frisbee until I feel his coordination is better - I am concerned that if he jumps and lands badly, he could get hurt.

Even around the house, he seems back to normal, though at times he does appear to be lethargic.  But that is the definitely phenobarbitol and that is what the drug does - it's a sedative.  When he is playing fetch, he seems to overcome the lethargic effects of the drugs and is his usual bundle of energy; however, when he is more relaxed, the effects are noticeable.  That is most likely the way things will be while he is on the drug.

Probably the most noticeable of the remaining changes is that he is pretty mellow when we go on walks,  Instead of running ahead about 20 yards as he used to do, he usually stays right next to me and after a while starts lagging behind. 

It has now been just over a week since the first episode occurred.

Boris Update 11/12/2011

Boris came home on Thursday afternoon and now has been home for just under 2 days. This is after almost 48 hours in various clinics/hospitals and subjected to mind-numbing drugs.

For most of Thursday afternoon/evening, he was still ataxic (clumsy/uncordinated), almost appearing to be drunk. His gaze was distant and he apeared to be still suffering from partial vision loss due to the seizures and drugs. It was difficult to tell whether he recognized me or any of our canine or human neighbors, but he was constantly checking everything out, always sniffing around.

Thursday night was event free, but rough on me because it was my first night "on watch". Even though he was 48 hours without an episode, I was still nervous and watchful. Since he usually cries when in a crate, I slept on the sofa and had him lying on a rug next to me. However, he was not very sleepy that night and paced most of the evening. To keep him from straying too far, I had him leashed, holding on to the other end while I "slept". I did not get much sleep that night.

Friday I worked from home and kept an eye on him. As the day went on, he seemed to slowly regain his coordination and his sight seemed to be fully restored. He even started showing a lot more awareness of his surroundings and reacting to things he saw. He saw some kids running down the street and he immediately perked up and attempted to follow them in a slow but clumsy trot.

Although he is starting to seem almost like a normal dog, he still showed no signs of being Boris. By that, I mean, obedient, head-tilting, frisbee-catching, ball-chasing, trick performing, knows not to go into the street, and prancing-gaited Boris. He doesn't respond to any commands and still has a somewhat vacant gaze in his eyes. He shows no recognition of a frisbee, ball or toy. When he walks, he sort of drags his toenails on the ground. But he is still adapting to the drugs and recovering from the trauma.

Friday night was much bettter. I slept on ths sofa and he remained by my side all night (unleashed). He got up twice, so I took him outside, but he settled back down afterwards.

Saturday morning showed even more progress. He is clearly more aware of people, dogs, cars, planes, and always getting distracted by sites and sounds. Even after the morning dosage of the drugs, he did not seem to have a big crash back into clumsiness or drowsiness. But he is still moderately clumsy. I have to walk him on leash, because he tends to wander and no longer understands that the street is off limits.

Some of the promising baby steps toward recovery...

1) at the park, he chased a ball when it was thrown (but did nothing when he got to it - did not know what to do next)

2) when he saw his old girlfriend Lacey, he seemed to get a little more energetic and tried to play (but too clumsy)

3) he seems to have better energy and focus of his surroundings

4) a few times, he tilted his head when I spoke to him (head tilt = Boris trademark!)

5) found some cat poo and ate it (contrary to all my commands)

With that, I am feeling a bit more optimistic about the potential for recovery. I must admit that I have been very pessimistic, but I am now a little more optimistic. However, I will not be completely convinced (about full recovery) until I see him chase down a frisbee again and running behind me as I ride my mountain bike.

Boris Update 11/10/2011

Just spoke to the neurologist...

Boris has had no episodes since the medication was started on Tuesday evening, so at least the condition appears to be "somewhat" under control now. She made it clear that he will most likely have more episodes in the future - its more about "when" than "if". The medication only helps to manage the condition, it does not cure it. It could be days, weeks, months, or years. No telling.

The events of the past days have been extremely hard on him, he is suffering from some degree of blindness (difficult to determine the extent) which is most likely due to the last seizure he had on Tues afternoon (it was a bad one). The Dr thinks he should eventually recover from that. He is also very groggy from the drugs so he is looking kind of drunk when he walks around.

Over the past evening, they had to sedate him a twice because he was crying and agitated in the crate. The Dr thinks its partially because he is responding to other dogs who were making noise, but he has never liked being in a crate. Again, its hard to tell.

Since the episodes appear under control, she has cleared him to come home this afternoon if I am ready to take him. I need to make sure that he is confined to areas that will be not present potential harm should he experience another episode. It could be just a crate, or a cleared room with no sharp edges or hard objects to run into. Still need to figure this out since all my floors are hard tile. If at all possibly, I do not want to confine him to a crate, but that will be inevitable at times.

As far as medication goes, he is now on a schedule of regular phenobarb tablets, to be administered 2 or 3 times a day. The Dr warns that it could take approx 10 - 14 days for him to adjust to this level of medication, so it could be some time before he gets beyond the grogginess and disorientation. I am still a bit fearful that this horrible experience may have permanently altered his personality, but only time will tell. I am trying to stay positive, but its been difficult.

On the positive side, the Dr says that dogs suffering from this affliction can resume and live a normal life while on these drugs. So, hopefully, once Boris adapts to the drugs, he will be back to running, fetching, chasing frisbees, playing with his canine and human friends, and even joining me on climbing trips. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Started the phenobarb

I just got home from the pet hospital where Boris is spending the night.  I saw him, but he was in a heavily sedated state.  The vet started him on the phenobarbitol this evening and the loading dose that was used pretty much knocked him out.
I was hoping to avoid putting him on this drug, but due to the frequency and severity of his episodes, this was the only recourse to get things under control immediately.  Usually, once a dog starts on phenobarb, he will be on it for life.
Tonight he is staying in a different clinic from last night, since this one was opened earlier and I could transfer him there sooner.  This actually might work out well, because the associated day clinic has a neurologist on staff.  In the morning, he will be transferred (on paper, no moving) to the day clinic and the neurologist will check on him.

Dealing with the episodes (Trying to)

A lot has happened in the last day and a half.  Since the first episode (I try not to use the "s" word), Boris has had 5 more in a 32-hour period.  Most of the subsequent episodes have been about 4 hours apart.  All have been equally harsh (grand mal), but fortunately brief (less than a minute).

Yesterday, I took Boris to 2 veterinarians.  First, the one right outside my neighborhood, a traditional vet.  Then later, to a holistic vet that he has visited before.  Yes, that means 2 big bills. 

The first vet recommended putting him on meds as soon as the blood tests come back (today) and made it clear that, once on the meds, he would be on them for life!

The second vet also recommended meds, but also recommends several natural supplements that will attempt to naturally treat the condition and lessen the dependence on drugs.  In his opinion, Boris might NOT have to be on meds for life.  Before leaving, he gave Boris a shot of Valium (helps to calm the dog and reduce the possibility of an episode) plus I got a collection of homeopathic pills and drops to administer.

By the end of the day, I was mentally drained and even feeling somewhat physically exhausted.  I realized that it would have been further taxing to try to keep Boris through the night, both watching for the next episode and trying to get a little rest.  So, I checked him into a local animal emergency room.  Its only about 10 minutes away and the cost was about that of a luxury hotel room, but it was worth it for the peace of mind and the rest that I got.  ( Last night, he had 2 episodes while in the ER).

Today I took a sick day, which I needed (feeling pretty sick right now).  When I picked him up this morning, he seemed to be in fairly normal spirits, albeit a little subdued and distant.  He was ok, but definitely not himself.  Understandable, since he has been through a lot.   Once we got home, he became energized by his toys and got back into his usual obsessive fetch mode.  Suddenly, he seemed to have excessive energy, so I took him on a long walk and then to the park and just let him run around and check things out. He seemed almost back to normal. 

After a while, his disposition changed, he laid down in the grass and just rested.  It sook a bit of prodding to get him to stand up and walk home with me and I had to almost pull him some of the way. Instead of walking ahead of me as usual, he trailed behind at a slow pace.  Very NOT Boris.

I decided to take him back to the vet so that he would be under observation for the afternoon.  Also, I needed to get to a pharmacy to pick up the first set of meds, in case I decided to move forward with them.  I have left Boris in the car a couple times since this all started, but now I am getting nervous about leaving him alone at this early stage.

So there he currently rests, while I debate the pros and cons of medicating for the eposides and which doctor (and approach) to go with.

Boris Seizure #2

It happened again, not more than 14 hours after the first episode.  This one did not seem as violent as the first and seemed to subside sooner, but it was still a horrifying site to see and not be able to do anything.
Boris was in the other room and I heard a strange noise.  I rushed in to see him standing, but very stiff and his body contorted.  He had just urinated on the floor and his mouth was foaming.  I laid him down on his side and spoke softly to him to try to comfort him.  Once again, he seemed to stop breathing for a brief period, then his body relaxed and he started breathing again.  The worst was over in less than a minute.  After that, he was looking around, but very disoriented for another 5 minutes.  After that, he was up and walking around, and seemed to be OK, but tired.  

I am recording these episodes to keep a running history.

Boris suffers a Seizure

This evening, around 8pm, Boris was in the den playing with a toy in usual manner of dropping it on my lap for me to throw. He was as energetic as ever and wanting to play. In the midst of this, I got up to go into the kitchen to get something. From the kitchen, I heard an unfamiliar thumping/thudding sound - definitely not characteristic of Boris at play.

When I looked back into the den, something did not look right. Boris was stumbling around the room, jerking his head, and making a funny kind of noise. There appears to be a little foam forming around his lips. It looked like he was choking. I thought that he swallowed a piece fromt one of his plush toys. I had never seen this before and was not certain to do. I approached him to try to help, but the symptoms appeared to worsen. As the seconds passed he became more agitated and began to thrash violently.

Still thinking he was choking, I panicked and my only thought was to try a heimlich-like maneuver to dislodge whatever it was. I tried a few times, but everything just got worse. At this point, his body was severely convulsing with all four legs thrashing, he was foaming profusely at the mouth, and appeared to have completely stopped breathing. I was "yelling" at him in an attempt to "comfort" him (in my state of panic) and I tried to perform chest compressions to get him breathing (if that is even possible on a dog).

After what seemed to be several minutes (but was probably less than a minute), his body began to relax and he began to breathe again, panting heavily and just laying there on my lap in a stupor. After another couple of minutes, he lifted his head and looked up at me, but his eyes seemed hollow and distant. He was still pretty disoriented.

A few minutes later, he was able to stand and started to walk around tentatively, seemingly shaking off the fog from the episode that he had just endured. He still seemed a little confused, so I put him on leash and slowly walked around with him, inside the house, then outside for some cool fresh air. This seemed to help him shake it off. About 10-15 minutes latet, he seemed good again, but looked a little tired. I geave him some food, then took him for an evening walk and he seemed back to his usual self.

Later, I did some online research on dog seizures. Based on what he experienced, it seems to me that he suffered a grand mal seizure.
Here is one of many references to grand mal seizures in dogs:
http://www.essortment.com/causes-seizures-dogs-23156.html

At this point, I am not certain what to do but to wait and watch. I have a call into the vet, but I am not certain what can be done at this point. He just had a full checkup ($$$) and was pronounced in good health.

In hindsight, I learned that everything I did during the episode was wrong. Everything I read indicates that there is not much to be done other than to protect the dog from injury and let him ride out the seizure until the symptoms subside. Hopefully, I will never have to be tested on that again!