Why is my dog having seizures after surgery and anesthesia?

In my experience it is not common, although possible, to have seizures after anesthesia and surgery. However there are many diseases that can cause seizures. Many of them are unrelated to surgery and could be coincidentally be causing your dogs's seizures. Some medications are such as ketamine, acepromazine,and related compounds are known to contribute to seizure potential. It is possible, but fairly rare, that something related to the surgery, anesthesia, or medications precipitated the seizures. You should keep looking into these things with your vet and consider referal to a veterinary neurologist if you and/or your vet are still concerned.

So I am very unsure as to what you mean by "chewing gum attacks" but I will try to address the rest of your question as best I can. In terms of seizures post-surgically, I have read and seen occasionally animal that after being exposed in to inhalant anesthetic have seizure activity. Whether or not it was due to the anesthetic, or because something was already wrong with the brain and the anesthetic triggered it, is not very clear. To obtain more information on a possible cause, you would need to obtain a diagnostic MRI by a neurologist at a specialty hospital. They would be able to assure you there is no structural issue that is the cause of the seizures. As far as the phenobarb dosing, your veterinarian should be taking blood in order to check and see if the levels are actually therapeutic.or not. He can adjust the levels accordingly, or potentially add in a second drug if needed. I can very much relate to how stress seizures are for the dog and the owner as I have an epileptic dog myself! It can be scary! However, I promise, with appropriate medication, as long as the seizures are kept under control and to a minimum, dogs can lead relatively normal lives. Hope this makes sense.

I am sorry to hear about Barney. A seizure shortly after the surgery can be related to either recent anaesthesia (and for example some degree of brain injury from the anaesthetics) or to the surgery (for example a blood clot could travel from the surgical site to the brain and produce seizures). Anaesthetic-related seizures often will get better by itself, and in many instances after 4-5 days the dogs are back to normal. Blood clot is often a more serious complication and only MRI or CT can given the answer of the extend of the damage to the brain.

Wow, I’m so sorry this happened. The seizure was likely nothing related to the surgery itself. It’s possible it was a delayed reaction from the anesthesia but three days later seems suspicious. He most likely had an underlying condition that predisposed him to seizures which nobody could have predicted. I’m very, very sorry this happened. My condolences.

Sedation/anesthesia can cause seizures but only in animals that would have been prone to seizures anyway. There would have been no way for your vet to know that before giving it to her. Seizures for three days now post-op is not normal or a good sign. You need to consult more with your vet and if they don't seem to be helping get a second opinion elsewhere. Unfortunately, seizures in cats, especially starting at her age, does not carry a good prognosis. I suggest you refer to this link about seizures in cats to educate yourself and then speak to your vet about how to proceed. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/seizures-and-epilepsy-in-cats )

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Camilla! Disorientation, anxiety, panting and not acting normal are normal post seizure. This period can last up to 24 hours. Sometimes the recovery period can be different after each seizure. We can not prescribe medications with out examining Camila. If your Vet has prescribed valium for Camila then I would follow the instructions they provided. There is no interaction with valium, phenobarbital and potassium bromide. If they didn't you will have to get the dosing from them. As long as she isn't having any more seizures I would hold off on any additional medications right now and let her recover. If she has 2-3 seizures in a 24 hour period she needs to be seen by a Vet. I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would need to ask a bunch more questions and would be happy to do a consultation if you’d like but let me give you a few ideas. 1) be sure it’s not heart- Fainting spells can look a lot like seizures. Consider a cardiology consult to make sure it’s not that. They’ll do an EKG and ultrasound of the heart to make sure nothing is amiss. 2) weird fungal diseases- I’m from Arizona, land of valley fever - a fungal disease that can - and often does- cause seizures. Other fungi like Blastomycosis and Histoplasmosis can do similar things. If Bella has traveled out of Texas- even for just a day or two- these are considerations. 3) Bella is simply an atypical epileptic and needs more/different medication. Just like in people, it can sometimes take some time to find the right combination of drugs to get the seizures controlled. 4) weird drug interactions- double check especially about any anti-anxiety or behavior modification medications and pain medications. 5) hypothyroidism, tick fever, other weird stuff. If you’ve done an MRI, you may have already consulted with a neurologist. If not? That would be the next step along with the cardiologist visit. Best of luck to you and Bella!