troika06 Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Hi Everyone I have two huskies and one of them is very helathy and not having any problems with him My other one is epileptic and has cluster fits about once a month although his last set of fits were 17 days since his previous lot. We are very worried as our insurance has nearly run out for this condition and will soon be spending out on his medication and blood levels and other treatment. The specialist wanted to add yet another medication and it just so happened that i saw a magnetic dog collar for epileptic dogs on the internet and thought i would give this a try before spending out on more treatment. I just wondered if anyone had heard of this and if so have the results been positive. We are really hoping that it will work as we dont no what else to do as our normal vet said it might be kinder to have him put to sleep. Any advise on these collars or epilepsy in general would be great. Thank you all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 oh hugs, that's so sad I've never had an epileptic dog so can't really offer much advice but there are a few people here who can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbb23 Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Sorry dont anything on epilepsy in Dogs. Grey sends big Husky hugs & kisses to Shadow :60: Hope someone is able to offer some advice. -x- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 We also own an Epileptic Sibe. He was diagnosed after his second siezure around a year ago (I didnt witness the first one, only had my husbands account of what had happened, but was clear the second time that he was having siezures) He has single fits lasting 2-3 minutes, around 4-6 weeks apart and is not currently medicated, though this is under constant review should anything change. Our vets current opinion is that the side effects of medication far outweigh the risks associated with infrequent singular and comparatively mild fits. He is insured, and cost of initial tests were covered by that. Should he need medication, our insurance covers the condition up to 4000 per year till he reaches 10 yrs (Hes currently 3.5yrs old) The condition can be hereditory, so you may have been asked about any affected relatives and it is recommnded that an Epileptic dog should NOT be bred from. You don't say how old your dog is, but in an otherwise healthy dog, recommending the dog be PTS sounds rather extreme to me! The only way it has affected our boys life is that he is no longer run at race events. Though his fits have never been associated with working in harness, the risk of him going into a seizure on the trail is a risk we are not prepared to take for his and our safety. He is quite content with his little training runs alongside one of our retired from competition older dogs in a more managable situation. The only other consideration we have had to take into account is that should we go and race overseas, he would not be able to travel with us in the absence of constant supervision and available veterinary treatment whilst travelling should he go into 'status' (a condition of constant fitting). Other than that, he leads a normal life. We are aware his condition could escalate as he ages, and have been warned it may well shorten his life. There are several different medications available to treat epilepsy, and your vet should be trying each one, and combinations if necessary, at varying sliding-scale doses to try and achieve suitable seizure control. Blood tests are a must as some medications can be damaging to the liver and renal system (this is the risk our vet is currently offsetting against our boys present seizure pattern). Your vet should also consider referring you on to a specialist in the condition. One thing I would pass on is related to diet. The general consesus is to remove as far as possible all artificial addatives in food. We feed primarily raw (nothing artificial in that) and we also occasionally use a complete kibble free from colours and preservatives (40% chicken, rice, various other suppliments and no crap!). Two other feedstuffs mentioned to me are Tesco basic dog meal and tinned butchers tripe. Are you UK based? The breed historian of the SHCGB is very knowledgable in epilepsy in Huskies and could be a great source of help. Shes owned epileptic sibes herself and is aware of some 'problem' bloodlines in the breed in general. Hope that helps? feel free to ask if theres anything else I could share, and good luck in getting a satifactory outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Thinking on here, you don't need to be a SHCGB member to post on the 'sibeworld' section of the clubs bulliten board :cool: Heres a link: http://www.siberianhuskyclub.com/hcboard/ Go on and ask, because Im pretty sure you will recieve some useful info and advice there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Lyn, fantastic answer and link, added to rep. Sorry to hear about your boy, husky hugs to him x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 hugs 2 u and shadow im afraid i cant help hope everything is ok tho and that u get what u need sorted n get the advice and help you need (which i know u will off here ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troika06 Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thanks for all your replys and encouragement Shadow is 4 years old and is insured upto 7,000 per condition but unfortunatly has nearly run out due to two mri scans and spinal taps and all his other treatment. We do now get his medication from the internet which is a lot cheaper. Shadow is on the sensitivity diet dry and wet as he suffers with tummy trouble also we get this from the internet too which works out a lot cheeper but still expensive with all the other treatment he is on. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkyries Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 i'm sorry to hear about shadow i hope you get the help you need for him, great advice Lyn rep added xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I understand that Shadow is now 4, but you don't say how old Shadow was when the seizures started. If they just started recently with no previous history, then, as I understand it his condition is not epilepsy. True epilepsy manifests itself at a very young age, not in older dogs. You may be dealing with a medical condition such as an undiagnosed tumor or some type of brain injury. Brain damage can be caused by seizures as well. You don't say what meds he is on ...... but Pheno and Valium are the two most common, most effective in most cases and are actually fairly inexpensive, at least here. All of our expenses were out of pocket ... no insurance on any of the 17 current or 5 north of the Bridge kids. The comment by the vet is a bit extreme in my opinion .... it might be time to look for a new one. Our Tasha ( http://www.dogster.com/dogs/600762) started having seizures the day after we rescued her. No previous history, however, she was in the pound long enough that they should have shown up prior to us getting her. She was obviously a very abused little girl who was an estimated 4 years old when we got her. Her seizures were the cluster type (first batch lasted 36 hours - 16 seizures before we got them under control) which would occur about every 3 months. Each time she had a batch her personality would change for the better. Ultimately, we did have to have her PTS as with the last batch the seizures were much more severe and she appeared to be in pain afterward. It was our decision, not the vet's though she agreed. Tasha was with us for 15 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Beg to differ Phil. Age of onset is mentioned: 1.5 yrs old. Typical age of onset for hereditory epilepsy is between 1-3 yrs old (our boy was just turned 2) MRI was clear. That would have picked up on any tumour advanced enough to cause fits, and progression of the disease would have been far quicker had a tumour been the cause. As in humans, the condition is often diagnosed in the presence of all other tests being clear (which in both this our our case, they were) Other 'human' tests such as EEG's, isotope scans and trigger tests are nigh-on impossible to perfom on dogs. sorry to hear about your personal experience, but Shadows case history sounds more typical of escalating epilepsy that is not under proper control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troika06 Posted August 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 I understand that Shadow is now 4, but you don't say how old Shadow was when the seizures started. If they just started recently with no previous history, then, as I understand it his condition is not epilepsy. True epilepsy manifests itself at a very young age, not in older dogs. You may be dealing with a medical condition such as an undiagnosed tumor or some type of brain injury. Brain damage can be caused by seizures as well. You don't say what meds he is on ...... but Pheno and Valium are the two most common, most effective in most cases and are actually fairly inexpensive, at least here. All of our expenses were out of pocket ... no insurance on any of the 17 current or 5 north of the Bridge kids. The comment by the vet is a bit extreme in my opinion .... it might be time to look for a new one. Our Tasha ( http://www.dogster.com/dogs/600762) started having seizures the day after we rescued her. No previous history, however, she was in the pound long enough that they should have shown up prior to us getting her. She was obviously a very abused little girl who was an estimated 4 years old when we got her. Her seizures were the cluster type (first batch lasted 36 hours - 16 seizures before we got them under control) which would occur about every 3 months. Each time she had a batch her personality would change for the better. Ultimately, we did have to have her PTS as with the last batch the seizures were much more severe and she appeared to be in pain afterward. It was our decision, not the vet's though she agreed. Tasha was with us for 15 months. Shadow was a year and a half when he started having fits and was seen by a specialist and given an mri scan and spinal tap which all the results where clear. Shadow is on phenobarab and potassium bromide and we use rectul diazipam during the cluster fits. Im sorry to hear about Tasha. It is so distressing having a dog with epilepsy and you just want them to be ok we dont think he is suffering just seems to be exhausted afterwards and confused. Thanks for your advise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troika06 Posted August 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 Beg to differ Phil. Age of onset is mentioned: 1.5 yrs old. Typical age of onset for hereditory epilepsy is between 1-3 yrs old (our boy was just turned 2) MRI was clear. That would have picked up on any tumour advanced enough to cause fits, and progression of the disease would have been far quicker had a tumour been the cause. As in humans, the condition is often diagnosed in the presence of all other tests being clear (which in both this our our case, they were) Other 'human' tests such as EEG's, isotope scans and trigger tests are nigh-on impossible to perfom on dogs. sorry to hear about your personal experience, but Shadows case history sounds more typical of escalating epilepsy that is not under proper control. Thanks Lyn I think we need to go back to the specialist and try something different perhaps its so expensive though but hopefully it will get shadow back on track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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