Puppy seizures: How often can I give diazepam with phenobarbital?

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!

No. Phenobarbital needs to maintain specific blood levels and the half life of the medication is 12 hours. That’s why it is dosed at that interval. You must also be careful not to over dose the medication. If you have having trouble with control of Tootsie’s seizures, I recommend to call your veterinarian. There are other medications that can be given in combination with or in substitution for phenobarbital. Follow the instructions on the label with this medication. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Yes, I would agree with the second Vet and recommend to inject Diazepam only in case of seizure. It does not make pharmacologically and therapeutic sense to give Diazepam daily. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I have never heard this either. Perhaps there is some concern about administering the diazepam intravenously after storage in a syringe, but to administer rectally is of no concern at all. I routinely send home syringes of diazepam for this specific purpose, & often the owner does not need to use them for months. I do request any not used in 12 months be returned & replaced, but otherwise have had no problems with potency. The medication will work as expected.

She is having cluster of seizures that ideally should be treated by your veterinarian at the clinic/hospital. What you are seeing now is most likely ''a post ictal' phase, that means the signs (pacing, restless, seems blind and so on) in the period of time after the seizure episode. These signs could last even 24hours. The major concern is that she could go into another cluster of seizure episode and have severe secondary effect from it. I would strongly advised to have her treated at the clinic until she is completely out from these acute episodes. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Based on the history, a toxicity seems less likely and a primary disease of the brain more likely. If the seizures are not well controlled on phenobarbital it may be that she needs a higher dose. You should discuss phenobarbital levels with your veterinarian. If the levels are in therapeutic range, a second anticonvulsant such as levetiracitam should be considered. Furthermore, you may consider following up with a veterinary neurologist to discuss diagnostics including an MRI of the brain.

Phenobarbital therapy in dogs is begun at 2 to 4 mg/kg twice daily. So for a 33kg dog that would mean 66 to 132 mg twice a day. We always try to start low and increase if needed but he was essentially really underdosed in the beginning with taking 30mg twice a day. He is now on a more appropriate dose. Sedation is normal when therapy is initiated but once the dog's body gets used to the drug (after about 2 weeks) he should become more like himself. If you are really worried, you can ask the vet to run a phenobarbital level blood test to see if his dosing is too high and it can be adjusted accordingly. Please be aware that dogs will never be completely seizure free even while on anti-seizure medication. Breakthrough seizures are common but they should be pretty infrequent. If he continues to seizure or does not do well on the phenobarbital there are other medication options so please work closely with your vet.