3 January 2006
This year really didn't get a very happy start.
This morning, I woke to the feeling that Roope was lying in a weird position under our blanket, and I heard him panting loudly. I got up to see what was going on, and realized that Roope had another seizure. Roope started crawling towards the edge of the bed and wanted to get down. I picked him up and lifted him to the floor, sitting down next to him. I scratched him and talked to him. The seizure seemed to pass, and Roope needed to go out. However, after a while, Roope dropped to the ground. I lifted him up and carried him into the house. There we sat, wondering what would happen. Roope was shaking and trembling. When this seizure finally passed, we went out again. This time, Roope ran around the parking lot from one car to another, as if wanting to go somewhere. "Please, open the door", his eyes seemed to say. I wonder whether it was the stomach flu in December that triggered the seizure (during the flu, Roope threw up the pills), or the noisy and flashy New Year's Eve.
22 November 2005
Roope had an epilepsy seizure today. I had just started wondering where Roope was, when I found him in another room. He was trembling and panting. He tried to come to me, but his hind legs didn't carry his weight. He could only crawl. I sat next to him, scratching him and talking to him, trying to calm him down. Fortunately, the seizure didn't last long. After the seizure had passed, Roope was in a hurry to get out. However, outdoors Roope got another seizure, and I had to carry him home. For the rest of the evening, Roope was really tired. We decided to increase the medicine dosage to one tablet in the morning and in the evening. We'll see how that works.
8 March 2005
I received the results of Roope’s blood test. The liver values were normal. The medicine content of the blood was 14, while the therapeutic level is 15 to 45. Now the dosage is 3/4 pills in the morning and 3/4 pills in the evening. Cutting the pills is quite a challenge...Even when using the fancy gadget designed for the purpose!
December 2004
Roope's brother, Joonas, was diagnosed with epilepsy. He is also medicated with Barbivet.
10 November 2004
Roope had a very slight fit. We are changing the dosage according to the vet's orders: one tablet in the morning, half a tablet in the evening.
October 2004
Roope's father, Mikki, was also diagnosed with epilepsy. He receives medication now, and we hope it works!
4 January 2004
Today brought the first seizure after we started medication. The seizure began
when we were still outside. This one seemed easier than the previous.
Nevertheless, Roope was tired the rest of the day and being outside wasn't
that nice either.
11 October 2003
Roope is clearly more energetic. He even left food in his cup...
9 October 2003
One side effect of the drug is tiredness. Roope's back legs stagger and it
seems like he's not in complete control of them. I asked our vet and he gave
me the permission to cut the dosage in half, to 2 mg/kg. Another side effect
is increased appetite. Roope could have eaten anything we would have given
him. Even dried food.
Seizure 3 October 2003
We had hoped that Roope's operation would've ended these seizures. Another
reason could be the stress caused by the operation to the dog. This time the
seizure was very long. A couple of times it seemed that the seizure was about
to end, only to begin again. At first, only Roope's head was shaking. Then he
started convulsing, which wrung his head to the other side; even his legs
cramped. Roope was panting a lot. Luckily I was able to reach the vet on call
who prescribed Barbivet™ to him.
The next seizure came on Wednesday, 3 September 2003. We had just walked in from our morning walk. Roope went under the bed and had a seizure similar to the others. It lasted for a couple of minutes, and then Roope wanted out. We were just about done when he had another seizure. This time his back legs didn't give in, but his head was shaking and legs cramping. However, he was very eager to go out. After the seizure had ended we went out and Roope behaved normally - he was his own, alert himself :)
On Wednesday morning (9 July) Roope had a "seizure." He couldn't move for 10 minutes. Poor boy was shaking and panting. After the seizure ended its hold he returned back to normal and wanted out. At this stage Roope was diagnosed with epilepsy. If he has more seizures, he will get medication.
Winter 2003
We woke up to a strange noise. I went to see what was going on, and saw Roope
"crawling" on the floor, because his back legs couldn't carry him. He was
also panting a lot. I sat next to Roope on the floor, scratching him and
talking to him. He had also peed on the floor. After the seizure ended, Roope
went to the door, waiting to get out. Just after I had put my clothes on, he
crashed again. The seizure was similar to the first one. The seizures lasted
about twenty minutes. After we got out, Roope was back to normal.
Epilepsy
Here is some information on epilepsy. Parts of this were e-mailed to me by
Tarja Jokinen.
The word epilepsy refers to epileptic symptoms. Actually what it means is a number of symptoms rather than one disease.
Epileptic seizures may be caused by metabolic diseases (liver or kidney disease or low blood sugar), cranial changes (head trauma, tumours, inflammatory changes in brains) or it may be idiopathic, hereditary epilepsy. Usually epilepsy is identified by ruling out other diseases. Blood tests will be used to make sure there are no other diseases that could cause seizures. A general clinical and neurological examination will also be done.
There are different types of epilepsy seizures: generalized or partial. In partial seizures only the dog's head is shaking. In generalized seizures can be one where the dog is laying down and paddling with his limbs.