Seizures Post Vaccinations

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Just want us not to lose sight of the fact that phenobarb really annoys the liver, hence the liver values are off, and it can also cause severe lipidemia and high cholesterol, not to mention all the wobbly, confused, dopey behavior.

Aspen's sodium and potassium are perfectly normal; curious what indications of Addison's warrant testing. (I had a cat with Addison's, so my inquiring mind wants to know!)

 

[LindaR]

Just want us not to lose sight of the fact that phenobarb really annoys the liver, hence the liver values are off, and it can also cause severe lipidemia and high cholesterol, not to mention all the wobbly, confused, dopey behavior.

Aspen's sodium and potassium are perfectly normal; curious what indications of Addison's warrant testing. (I had a cat with Addison's, so my inquiring mind wants to know!)

About once a year she will stop eating and drinking, gets lethargic and mopes for several days. It’s usually around her heat. I’ve taken her in to get checked out and they give her antibiotics. She is also about 15 lbs overweight. But, I had her on Farmers Dog, mixed with raw kibble and getting too many cookies (that has stopped!). She has also been inactive due to my foot surgeries over past year. Also, in January 24, she was diagnosed with pyometra and given antibiotics, then put on Metabolic diet to lose weight so that they could spay her. At the time she was 69.5 lbs. She hasn’t had any pyometra symptoms since then. In early September when I took her back to vet she was acting lethargic, not eating or drinking. They tested for pyometra which came back negative. They prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. She was at 76.5 lbs. they put her back on Metabolic diet which I strictly followed for the past several weeks. She lost 2.1 lbs. now switching her to Badlands Ranch beef raw diet with beef liver supplement treats. She has had a few carrots in the past few days. That’s where we are led to today’s chapter. I hope this explanation helps.

 

[LindaR]

Apologies for being a bit verbose here… Also, a few things at yesterdays late afternoon appointment with Dr Riley…. Aspen was very nervous, shivering and panting, not sure why she was back at the vets office for the third day in a row. I almost feel like she felt traumatized. I begged the doctor to pay a house visit instead but to no avail I took her in due to the doctors insistence to recheck her. She noticed inflammation around her rear right ankle. I could only attribute it to Aspen jumping down off my bed in the middle of the night or possibly when my husband was trying to pick her up and get her out of truck where she slipped down to the door step foot rail. I put ice packs on it in 20 minute intervals last night and early this morning. I also wiped very little frankincenses oil on the bed covers near her. I did only give her just under one 60mg phenoB last night. This morning just before 5 am she needed to go outside (recognized by her panting) but was disoriented and a bit wobbly so I carried her out. She walked in the yard and came back where I picked her back up to bring inside. She stood up on side of bed to be lifted the rest of the way. She jumped down on her own about an hour later to follow me and is walking, a bit wobbly but better than yesterday. She is sleeping in her floor bed now, light snore.

 

[LindaR]

Midday update. Aspen is moving very slow, definitely more wobbly than this morning pre-meds and dragging her rear paws when walking. They slide out from underneath her when walking. She stops often and sways. If she looks sideways she loses her balance and falls to her butt. I've moved her and I back to bed to work where she is at my side and not up moving around. As shown in the picture, she is sedated with no energy.

 

[LindaR]

Dr Riley, Parkway Animal Hospital responded to cut the Phenobarbital down again to .5 tablet twice a day. Aspen is beginning to get her feet back under her now 11 hours after this mornings dose.

She slept all day…. Wondering if the seizures were in fact due to all of the vaccines, what is the time period to be cautious for no longer worrying about the seizures? What is a good indicator or what can I do to reduce probability of recurrence while weaning off of phenobarbital? Is Taurine 500mg twice a day the next best step for monitoring stabilization?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Here's one similar human case of high cholesterol after covid vaccination:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S193328742100218X

cut the Phenobarbital down again to .5 tablet twice a day. Aspen is beginning to get her feet back under her now 11 hours after this mornings dose.

Great!

what is the time period to be cautious for no longer worrying about the seizures?

Hmm. They can last anywhere from days to years. It depends on the individual.

What is a good indicator or what can I do to reduce probability of recurrence while weaning off of phenobarbital?

BEAM and other early warning signs.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Give the taurine regardless, it works at a cellular level to improve neural function, but it will not itself stop seizures.

Just work with your vet as you are doing, to reduce the dosage. Hopefully there's a happy medium between too sedated and return of seizures. There are other options for meds as well, but let's take one step at a time. This was a big deal and needs to be handled gently and without haste.

 

[Dr. Christina]

And again, just to remind you, the very best would be to set your appointment with a homeopathic veterinarian, since that can help, even if a diagnosis has not been reached yet.
Dr. Christina

 

[LindaR]

Good afternoon - Thank you so much, Dr Christina . I have an appointment scheduled with Dr Jeff for Friday afternoon. His soonest availability as of last Saturday.

 

[LindaR]

Phenobarbital 60mg .5 2x/d began PM 9/24/24, Badlands Beef 1c x2/d with 1tsp ea Vimergy Barley Grass Juice Powder and Vimergy Spirolina; midday 2 carrots and Badlands Beef Liver snacks. Will add 500mg Taurine x2/d 9/26/24.

Behavior: AM pre-meds, less clumsy, curious, mid-day: falling, confused/disoriented, extremely slow, sleeping, no energy. Evening pre-med: less clumsy, playful (picked up stuffed animal for its bath time. Light snoring and snorkeling when sleeping. Out to potty on her own several times. Stool hard and round, light in color. No panting unless exertion during yard walk about for potty breaks.
Energy: no energy midday, hard to get her to move at all but wants to be near (underneath me)
Appetite: ravenous, lots of water throughout day
Mood: curious and slightly playful pre-meds - picks up head and sits up from time to time; disoriented, clumsy and tired mid-day. Calm all the time. Stormy yesterday , she moved from behind me on floor to up underneath me wanting to be nuzzled.

Dr Riley Parkway Animal Hospital wants to keep on .5 Phenobarbital for 2w at current dose and re-check, additional bloodwork at that time.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

You may want to discuss the excessive sedation with your vet if you haven't expressed your concern, but best to work with them to manage the level. As Dr Jeff said earlier, the sedation will diminish as her body adjusts to it.

 

[LindaR]

What is an early warning sign of a seizure?
What is the standard for the thyroid?
Are ice packs (covered) with a towel okay to lay under, over paws in 20 min intervals at night? I’ve been doing this the past several days. She doesn’t seem to mind.
I added 1/4 tsp of milk thistle to her food today. How long should I continue?
Should I keep giving her spirolina sprinkled on food? If so, how much and for how long?

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

There is a "pro-dromal" phase of seizures as mentioned in my article (previously linked).

Not sure what you mean by "standard" for thyroid. The standard blood level is determined by the lab and will be on the laboratory report for that test.

Not sure why you are doing the ice packs. She is on a high dose of phenobarbital so preventing seizures that way isn't really warranted.

What is the milk thistle you are using (how much active ingredient)? The dose I use is 5-10 mg/kg of silymarin. At her weight that is about 34 kg.

Spirulina is fine, 1/8 tsp a day would be plenty if she tolerates that much. It's highly concentrated. Remember that it's really, really, really green and will dye anything it comes in contact with including clothes, skin, floors, rugs, sinks...

I would caution you not to add (or subtract) too many things at once. You won't know which things are or are not working if you throw a whole bunch of stuff in the mix. It's best to just change one thing every week or two.

 

[LindaR]

There is a "pro-dromal" phase of seizures as mentioned in my article (previously linked).
- okay wasn’t sure if I should watch for twitching, or breathing changes.

Not sure what you mean by "standard" for thyroid. The standard blood level is determined by the lab and will be on the laboratory report for that test.
@DrJeff mentioned during our call today to ask you. Not sure if I captured the right question to convey.

Not sure why you are doing the ice packs. She is on a high dose of phenobarbital so preventing seizures that way isn't really warranted.
Ice packs were for inflammation on her ankle earlier this week. Phenobarbital 60mg - taking .25 tablet x2/d now.

What is the milk thistle you are using (how much active ingredient)? The dose I use is 5-10 mg/kg of silymarin. At her weight that is about 34 kg.
Attached pictures, Herbsmith Milk Thistle for Cats and Dogs. Organic Milk Thistle Seed (1/4 tsp) - 550mg

Spirulina is fine, 1/8 tsp a day would be plenty if she tolerates that much. It's highly concentrated. Remember that it's really, really, really green and will dye anything it comes in contact with including clothes, skin, floors, rugs, sinks...
. Yes it does…. I use the Spirolina myself.

I would caution you not to add (or subtract) too many things at once. You won't know which things are or are not working if you throw a whole bunch of stuff in the mix. It's best to just change one thing every week or two.

Ohhhh.. I was afraid of that. Should I eliminate any of the following adds to her food for now?
Organic blueberries
Barley Grass Juice Powder
Spirulina Powder
Taurine
Milk Thistle

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

If she wasn't on them all before, I'd pause the blueberries (carbs/sugar) and the Barley Grass. The others are probably okay and won't hurt anything.

 

[RaquelP]

Hi Linda!
I’m brand new here, i just joined today! My baby girl is going through seizures and was put on phenobarbital too. I’d recommend looking into medical medium Anthony Williams articles via Facebook for dogs/pets. He heals people, however, much of it is similar with our beloved animal family members. I just posted a thread for my sweet girl. I really hope you can find the answers/healing needed for your situation too! And hopefully (although each situation is uniquely different!) we can maybe learn a bigger or two from eachother. I’m wishing you and your beautiful dog the BEST and wanted to say hi and that I understand wanting answers to help our sweet babies.

 

[RaquelP]

Hi Linda!
I’m brand new here, i just joined today! My baby girl is going through seizures and was put on phenobarbital too. I’d recommend looking into medical medium Anthony Williams articles via Facebook for dogs/pets. He heals people, however, much of it is similar with our beloved animal family members. I just posted a thread for my sweet girl. I really hope you can find the answers/healing needed for your situation too! And hopefully (although each situation is uniquely different!) we can maybe learn a bigger or two from eachother. I’m wishing you and your beautiful dog the BEST and wanted to say hi and that I understand wanting answers to help our sweet babies.

Nugget* bigger=typo