My dog's epileptic seizures aren't controlled by medication. What now?

There are different seizure medications and some work better than others for different individuals. I would recommend discussing different medication options with your veterinarian for Tyson. Some of the more common medications are phenobarbital, KBr, and zonisamide. Some dogs also require a combination of medications. Also, if recent blood work has not been done it should to make sure nothing has significantly changed.

They have several different medications that are good to control seizures and most are very economical. He will need to be seen by your vet for blood work to make sure there is no metabolic or neurological problem causing the seizures that can be fixed. this will also check to make sure he can safely take the medicines. From there your vet can prescribe phenobarbital, zonisamide or potassium bromide for control.

In the vast majority of cases seizures are not curable. They can only be managed. Even with good management they will typically have a "breakthrough" seizure every once in a while. If the medication is not working well to control the seizures (ie: he is continueing to have too many) then speak to your vet. They may just need to adjust his dosage. We use that same medication to treat seizures all the time in the U.S. and it typically works very well but adjustment of the dosage is often needed especially right after you start the treatment.

I'm very sorry to hear that your dog has epilepsy! If he has severe or frequent seizures, then he definitely does need to be on prescription medication to help control them. Legally, we cannot prescribe medication for any pet without first doing an in-person exam, so this is not something that can be done over the internet. So I'm afraid there's really no alternative except to take him to a veterinarian in your area to be seen, so he can be started on medication to help control the seizures. There is no reason that this should need to be a particularly expensive visit - most vets are very willing to work within the budget you have, as long as you let them know that you have financial constraints. If you don't think you can afford even the cost of the office visit +/- some basic lab work (which may be recommended prior to starting on meds), you could try calling your local shelter or humane society to see if they have any resources available to help pet owners in your position.

I'm so sorry about your dog. I know this is a very scary time. There are multiple causes of seizures. I'm not sure how old your dog is, but in dogs under 5 years old who are completely normal in between seizure episodes, epilepsy is the primary cause of seizures. In older dogs it could be inflammation, a brain tumor, and infection or problems with the organs (particularly the liver). I always recommend blood work first to look for any problems there. If the blood work is normal, the next step is to evaluate the brain by doing an MRI. If blood work has not been done, I would highly recommend it. If problems are found in the blood work, then you should treat that. If everything is normal in the blood work, I would recommend starting seizure medication. Some dogs will have seizures very infrequently like your dog started out. Those dogs don't usually need medication. But when they become more frequent and are clustering (multiple in a 24 hours period) then I would definitely recommend medication at this point. There are multiple different seizure medications to choose from, so talk to your veterinarian about that. Many times the seizures will be manageable with medications, but it takes consistent medication multiple times per day and blood rechecks for the drug levels. Honestly, some dogs will be very difficult or impossible to control and will continue to have seizures despite being on multiple medications. So to answer your question, yes, there is something you can do to help your pet and based on the number of seizures he is now having, he needs to be put on medication. I hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. I recommend contacting his veterinarian. He will likely need to start another medication to control his seizures. Phenobarbital, potassium bromide and zonisamide are common choices. However, your veterinarian will know his medical history and which would be the best choice. Being able to have his seizures better controlled will improve his quality of life. I hope this information helps!

I'm sorry to hear this is happening to Oscar. You may want to ask about a referral to a specialist who may better be able to manage Oscar. You may also ask about weaning off of one of those medications. You may also ask about Zonisamide. There is a diet which may also help made by Purina ProPlan called Neuro Care (it probably won;t make or break but it can't help). I hope this helps.