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Beau
Oct 6, 2012 21:08:48 GMT
Post by Admin on Oct 6, 2012 21:08:48 GMT
Beau is such an adorable looking young man with such a playful, active personality that it's hard to believe he has a medical problem. However Beau has epilepsy. At just under 3 years of age, this condition will need lifelong medication and monitoring to enable him to live a normal life. Beau has been in foster care in Sheffield since the end of December 2010 having been signed over by his owners who wanted the best for him, being unable to cope with the distress they felt witnessing his seizures. We have been working closely with the vet to establish a drug regime that works for Beau, but this has not always gone to plan, with several unexplained clusters of fits causing a disruption in the usually easily managed pattern. When these clusters cannot be brought back under control with rectal diazepam it means admission to the vets for further medication and monitoring. In January 2012 Beau had a further setback when he seriously damaged his knee joint, tearing the cruciate and crudial ligaments and displacing the kneecap. He received surgery, and spent many long weeks recovering strength slowly, starting on complete crate rest, moving on to gentle walks and then longer walks. He has been left with a permanent limp, although the joint itself is stable, and may suffer arthtrits in later life. Beau remains a Lifetime foster Dog under the care of the rescue, with his medical needs met from our wonderful supporters and donators. Every penny is so important for these dogs and really does make a difference for them, and we are very grateful for every donation or offer of support.
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Beau
Apr 1, 2013 22:40:40 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Apr 1, 2013 22:40:40 GMT
Beau has now been with us over 2 years, which have flown by! He is a real character, and can alternate from immensely puppylike silly behaviour, to quite headstrong true terrier tenacity. He is funny, amusing and has the sort of personality you can't help but love...even when he's misbehaving. People who meet him are always amazed at his real size. From the photos, it's assumed he's a Yorkie size, but we believe he may be Lakeland X (possibly Airdale) and actually weighs 20kg. He's a big solid chunk In the last year Beau has had a couple of spells of cluster seizures, but has been fortunate that now we understand his pattern and the usual course of his seizures, these can be managed quite easily at home, and we've avoided any vet hospital admissions. His seizures can be quite scary to witness if you're not used to them, but once you get accustomed to what happens and how he behaves afterwards, it's just a case of monitoring, and always being prepared. Beau is a real outdoor dog, come rain, shine, mud or snow, as these photos show: After a game in the mud! Snow trousers! But he also does sweet and innocent extremely well! Beau's medication costs around £50 a month, which is purchased via an online company to keep the costs down. He has a combination of 3 drugs (Epiphen, Libromide and Gabapentin) at different dosages. But he's worth it don't you think? XX
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Beau
Jul 29, 2014 11:16:30 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Jul 29, 2014 11:16:30 GMT
Please could you all keep Beau in your thoughts today. He is in the vets while they try and stabilise his epilepsy. At the moment we think the heat is having an impact on his usual pattern and type of seizure, leading to him having a cluster yesterday which took the form of an ongoing wave with peaks and troughs, but no total break. Rectal Diazepam finally broke the wave. This morning the same pattern began, but 2 tubes of Diazepam failed to break the pattern completely so we headed to the vet for advice. Whilst there he was was clearly not completely out of the seizure state, so an injection was given to try and break the cycle, but after a few minutes he began a further cluster which did not subside despite all the tricks we usually find effective and subsequently entered 'status'. His blood pressure dropped to such a point no veins were viable. This is the first time he has ever reached that stage, so it was very worrying for everyone, myself and Catherine (his vet) included He is being kept in on a drip while they work to get him back to a calm level and he'll hopefully be home later today. As soon as I hear anything I'll let you know. XX
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Beau
Jul 29, 2014 19:05:59 GMT
via mobile
Post by charitybob on Jul 29, 2014 19:05:59 GMT
Oh goodness I've only just seen this.
All my thoughts are with you both hugs xxxxx
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Beau
Jul 30, 2014 8:01:36 GMT
via mobile
Post by janiceldr on Jul 30, 2014 8:01:36 GMT
How's Beau today? I've been thinking if you both & hoping he starts to recover. X
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Beau
Jul 30, 2014 9:09:28 GMT
via mobile
Post by mollymoo on Jul 30, 2014 9:09:28 GMT
How's Beau today? I've been thinking if you both & hoping he starts to recover. X Same here! Hope he's on the mend xx
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Beau
Jul 30, 2014 15:58:57 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Jul 30, 2014 15:58:57 GMT
Thanks everyone,apologies for the late update it's been impossible to get back to the computer for any length of time, so here goes... I had a call from the vet at around 2.45 yesterday to say they'd had Beau under a general anaesthetic for a couple of hours, had brought him round successfully with no recurrence of seizures. They would have liked to keep him a further couple of hours to monitor, but he was becoming distressed and vocal in a kennel so they felt it would be more sensible to let him come home as he risked working himself into a state. Seanna (the young lady who lives with us) and I went straight over for him, and whilst he was up and about, quite active, he was still quite 'distant' and not wholly aware in terms of recognising us, but he'd just had a general anaesthetic so of course we were expecting this. He was clearly happy to be out of the vets, and was calm and relaxed all the way home. I don't usually crate Beau whilst he's having seizure episodes, but had bought a bigger crate down from the loft and padded it out with a huge cushion, and pillows around the sides, giving him a safe, quiet space away from the other dogs if needed, and the opportunity to segregate should it be needed (the others react differently when he has a seizure so it's also a safety aspect). For an hour he was fine, pottering, laying in his crate, then pottering again. He'd already had a snack on leaving the vet (he's always ravenous after seizures and despite the GA it was essential to get his blood sugars back up) and he then had a light meal. On finishing his meal he immediately went into a seizure. This was not expected, by either myself or the vet - the expectation was that the pattern had been broken and we were back on track. I phoned the vet for advice and discussion about what to do if this was the start of another episode, and Catherine was as disappointed as we were, but we agreed on an action plan, following the usual pattern of treatment at home, or return to the vet if I felt the pattern or type of seizure was in any way abnormal or prolonged. For the remainder of the evening all was going well and although quite agitated and pacing a lot, there were no fits for several hours, so it felt positive - until just before midnight when he had 2 seizures in quick succession I'd been keeping Sam updated by text and I think the disappointment and worry was tangible in our shared messages. For the next few hours Beau was very agitated, pacing, whining, unsettled and giving all the indications of being on the edge of a seizure, but not actually breaking into it. I have found that massage works really well for him so we had several periods of him laid on or beside me, massaging his legs and back to reduce muscle tension, talking gently to soothe him and he'd had brief periods of rest before jumping up and pacing again. At just after 4am he had 2 further seizures, both strong ones, the first with reasonable recovery, the second he was slower to come round from, so at this point I gave Rectal Diazepam as he was panting heavily, disorientated and pacing in a very agitated manner, bumping into things and showing signs of panic (this behaviour after seizures is quite normal for him, but was showing a progression towards the more severe end of the scale and poorer recovery). There were no further seizures after this, but for the next few hours Beau was very vocal, barking randomly, howling at times (despite being stroked, held or having direct company and awareness of that). Eventually by 6am he was exhausted and drifted into a fitful sleep, repeatedly waking, pacing, then settling again. As everyone had had a disturbed night (dogs and people included) I had no plans on sticking to routine and left everyone to sleep as long as they chose. The postie coming at 10 woke the dogs, and I gave Beau his morning meds. He was up and pacing again, so went out for a wee, although was a tad disorientated in the garden so I had to follow him round and keep him focused (my neighbour's builders had a shock up on the scaffolding - the sight of me in long T-shirt, knickers and flip flops - no time to dress in these situations!! ). Once back indoors Beau was very panty and stressy and spent another hour or so whining, barking, wandering aimlessly and was quite twitchy. He would settle briefly beside me on the sofa, or on the floor with my hand stroking him, but then jump up and start pacing again. I'd put a cool wet towel around his neck and another over his back, and the fan was on. These can help, although today is milder and not overly warm, but he was getting hot by becoming stressed. After a while he jumped up on the sofa with me by choice, so I pulled him to lay on top of me and began massaging again, and he fell into a much deeper sleep this time, a calm sleep with no twitching or whining. And we both then dozed off for 3 hours together. When he woke this time he was more 'Beau-like' and has now had a good garden wander with clarity, is more focused and responding to his name and other words fully. He is currently laid in his 2nd crate by my desk with the door open snoozing while I type, and hopefully this is now the climb back to 'normality'. It's been an incredibly worrying time, and it has meant some very serious discussions with the vet about what this means for the future.When Beau came to me over 3 years ago his fits averaged 1-2 every 2-3 weeks. Over time and close monitoring they were seen to increase in frequency and severity, building to cluster seizures. Despite heavy medication he still has breakthrough clusters, and whilst these can be several months apart his medication cocktail has now reached the limit of what can be effective or prescribed - we have jiggled and mixed drugs, increased dosages and combined quantities and gone as far as we can in terms of controlling the seizures, and there is really nothing further in terms of medication that can be given unless something new comes on the market. His form of epilepsy has mutated through all these, and is still progressing. This leaves us with possible scenarios, the possibility of a slow growing tumour for example. Or the chance that the epilepsy itself is causing brain damage, and the resulting brain damage is causing epilepsy - a vicious circle. Whilst an MRI 'might' tell us if there is a tumour or other physical cause, the outcome would sadly be the same, ie: there is nothing that can be done. And so the costs of this outweigh the need to know (in my opinion and the vets). I prefer to believe 'my boy' has years ahead of him and deal with whatever comes along, than be told that's not necessarily the case. However, this turn of events has meant a realistic discussion about what may be happening now. It is still possible that this episode was triggered by the excessive temperatures we've been experiencing, and is an anomaly. On the other hand, it is also possible this is another mutation and progression of his condition and we are going to see his seizures be less responsive to treatment, resulting in increased admissions for stabilising by complete anaesthesia - itself a risk - further brain damage, and strain on his heart from every event. This is now something we are very aware of and will be considering the risks of should there be further similar episodes...Beau's quality of life will always be first priority. I apologise for the length of this update, but I know some of you have known Beau as long as I have, some of you have met him and are as much a part of his journey, and as doglovers, even those of you who have only known him a short time will understand how difficult a time this has been. Sometimes it helps to get the details down, to put it into print...and make sense of it by sharing it with people who understand. Thank you all for the many messages of love and support, both here, on Facebook and privately. They are very, very much appreciated. Clare XXX Those of you who know me will know, I hate the 'money side' of rescue, and asking for pennies. But I am very grateful that Beau has the rescue to support him. Without TLDR he would already be dead and would never have had the last 3 years of fun and enjoyment. The admission, anaesthetic, and care given yesterday, and the additional diazepam to replace that used and ensure I have adequate here should it be needed, has created a bill of £317.18. If you are able to spare a little towards this, it would be very much appreciated. Making a Donation:PAYPALYou can use the orange Donate button on the forum homepage or Log into your own Paypal account and choose the 'send money' option. Choose the option for 'I'm sending money to family or friends'. Our Paypal address is donations@littledogrescue.co.uk If you send this under the 'friends and family' option there are no fees to you or us and we receive the full donation. Please ensure that you mark your payment 'Beau' to enable us to track it. If possible, please also post here or message Sam via the forum with the unique transaction code so that Sam knows payment has been made and she will confirm receipt for you. BANK TRANSFERSantander The Little Dog Rescue Sort Code: 09 01 27 Account No: 41377019 Please message Sam to let her know to expect this payment if you would like a confirmed receipt. CHEQUECheques should be made out to The Little Dog Rescue and posted to The Little Dog Rescue, 59 High Street, Sutton on Trent, Newark, Notts, NG23 6QA. Please include your forum username, or name and email address if you would like a confirmed receipt. Thank you XX
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Post by charitybob on Jul 30, 2014 17:08:50 GMT
Awhh bless you both what a stressful 24hrs.
I can fully understand your situation and the emotions whilst these episodes are happening xx massive hugs to you all. And thank goodness that you have had support throughout the longest of the hours.
I have sent a small donation ref charitbob via bank transfer for beau.
You guys were there for svety and haru when we needed you and I had no contingency funds put by for them. I wish I could do more but every penny counts.
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Beau
Jul 30, 2014 18:35:12 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Jul 30, 2014 18:35:12 GMT
Thank you Carol, it's really appreciated and very kind of you XX
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Beau
Jul 30, 2014 19:09:21 GMT
Post by jaks1973 on Jul 30, 2014 19:09:21 GMT
fingers crossed for him hes so gorgeous.x
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Beau
Jul 30, 2014 19:24:33 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Jul 30, 2014 19:24:33 GMT
This is a video I took in the early hours of this morning (to show the vet next time we're there). Beau doesn't usually become vocal except when he's well and happy, so all new oddities I try to capture for reference. This was after the 2 seizures at midnight, in the agitated and distressed period before the further 2 at 4am. He'd pushed the dog bed out of the corner and (as he often does) gone into the most confined space. You can just see a paw in bottom left of the screen. Louie (my GSD x) stays close by whenever he's worried about a situation, yet is deeply worried by Beau's fits and hides behind me when they're happening. But he and Beau have a very close relationship, sharing grooming and mutual ear cleaning. vid800.photobucket.com/albums/yy287/Girlytrude/Beau/WP_20140730_0011.mp4And with his 'poorly bandage'. they had to IV him using his back leg as the veins in his front leg had disappeared when his blood pressure dropped: XX
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Post by charitybob on Jul 30, 2014 20:09:45 GMT
Bless him x yes I'm exactly the same with svety and Terry and note any alterations of mood actions anything to help offset or clues to triggers.
Even with humans the cause pattern and duration can be different and not always predictable.
All we can do is trust our instincts in these situations.
He is however in the very best of hands in your care and I know no one else could more. Or love him more.
And as for the other no thanks needed when a furby needs help I will always try to chip in xx
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Post by Sam on Jul 30, 2014 20:19:41 GMT
Carol, your donation has been received into the bank. Thank you so much xxx
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Post by mollymoo on Jul 30, 2014 20:38:08 GMT
Sending healing vibes to Beau and I hope that you manage to get some rest Clare. Have sent a small donation for Beau via paypal just wish it could have been more x
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Post by Sam on Jul 30, 2014 21:41:53 GMT
Thank you x your donation has been received x
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Post by lornaandrea on Jul 30, 2014 21:49:36 GMT
Clare,
So sorry to read this. Fingers crossed that it is all just down to the heat. At any rate he is definitely in the right place.
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Post by Girlytrude on Jul 30, 2014 22:30:28 GMT
Thank you ladies. I'm just about to log off for the night and hit the sofa for Beau cuddles. Hopefully we'll both get some sleep tonight. XX
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Post by Girlytrude on Jul 31, 2014 12:19:50 GMT
The good news is that Beau is more himself today. He slept better last night with a few spells of wakefulness, but more his normal pattern (he rarely sleeps solidly all night), and was back to peeing on the kitchen floor (that's a good sign, so I'm happy! Lol). And this morning his jaw was looser, so he took his tablets easily (that's been a real struggle the last few days as his jaw was very tight and he was refusing balls of cheese, rolls of ham etc without a bit of a fight - he's not silly and knows the tricks for getting pills down. Usually when he's well I can just pop them in and he swallows them straight down brilliantly, but when things aren't right he fights them every which way, spits them out or bites them and then drops them in the water dish...he's a canny one! He's had a reasonable romp in the garden (a gentle play without letting him get too over excited) and I'll see how he seems later today and we'll try a gentle walk but not straying too far from the house. I'm feeling more hopeful that we're out of this episode and heading into the calm spell again XX
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Beau
Jul 31, 2014 15:20:48 GMT
via mobile
Post by charitybob on Jul 31, 2014 15:20:48 GMT
Thank goodness xx
Really good news
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Post by Girlytrude on Jul 31, 2014 18:15:43 GMT
Definitely. I think the 'on edge' I'm feeling won't ease just yet, but it's a step in the right direction. Then it will be a case of seeing what happens the next time. Was this just the heat, or something else? Time will tell. However, just to ensure every little bit of sympathy is milked for what it's worth, Beau does like to get his money's worth. For 2 days I've been finding spots of blood on the laminate, and then today on the concrete outside. I've checked all of them over and over, no cut paws, no obvious signs of bleeding. Even checked teeth and mouths in case it was dripping - but it seemed to be more of a trodden print than a droplet. Finally today I was able to track fresh spots directly to the culprit...Beau! So, up on my lap like a baby, on his back, legs in the air and a toe by toe search. As he is so hairy I missed it before - a nail completely snapped off I'm guessing it happened in the throws of one of his early seizures. The inner fleshy part is exposed, so it's been bathed, bunged with flour and he has a girly pink sock on for now. I don't really want to stress him with a vet visit if I can avoid it at such a delicate balance of 'wellness', so will keep a check on it and if it looks like it needs seeing to, I'll take him in. Fortunately his epilepsy meds have a pain killing impact as well, so he doesn't appear to be in pain with it bless him. It never rains eh XX
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Beau
Jul 31, 2014 18:45:50 GMT
via mobile
jill likes this
Post by charitybob on Jul 31, 2014 18:45:50 GMT
Haha yep I know that feeling well xxx Svety has been a little quiet today and so has milked the cuddles all day hahaha x
Understandably we become so tuned into their little ways with something like this.
But hey ho I'm always up for doggy cuddles xxxx :-)
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Post by Girlytrude on Aug 1, 2014 14:55:11 GMT
Being in rescue can be a heartbreaking and distressing experience. We hear so much of the negative side of humanity. The neglect and dumping of dogs. The abuse and cruelty. We witness the injury and suffering of dogs either at the hands of humans or the result of illness and disease. But every once in a while there is a moment that brings you to tears for another reason. A reminder that there is genuine kindness, generosity and love in the world, and it restores your faith in people and their love for animals. Having been warned there is a predicted further heatwave, I've been worried about the possible impact on Beau. So this morning I'd been looking at possible ways of counteracting that, and a cooling mat was an obvious solution. It was something suggested by Catherine our vet, and I know has proved very effective for other dog owners. Being mindful of the vet bill already incurred, and not wanting to ask the rescue for more funds for Beau which would potentially detract from the needs of another dog such as Dolly and her cruciate operation, but being on benefits myself, I plucked up the courage to do something I have never done before...and made a very cheeky phone call to a company I found online. The result of that call, and a lovely chat with the owner of that company, a gentleman named Adrian, has resulted in a cooling mat winging its way in the post to Beau completely free of charge with the compliments of InnerWolf.co.uk Inner Wolf are the UK leaders in Outdoor Gear for Dogs...and in my book they are now the leaders in compassion and kindness. I'll take a photo of Beau enjoying his cooling mat when it arrives to show you all In the meantime please take a moment to check out Inner Wolf.
Fantastic range of items of every kind for dogs from small to giant!
Thank you Adrian and the Inner Wolf team XX
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2014 17:49:42 GMT
How lovely of them.
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Beau
Aug 4, 2014 22:59:36 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Aug 4, 2014 22:59:36 GMT
Beau has been much more 'himself' today, the first day I've actually felt I could relax and not be watching him constantly. He's been running in the garden, barking and enticing play with the other dogs, and much 'chirpier' generally. for several days after his final seizure there was still a 'damping down' of the Beau spirit, which was concerning. It was hard to say if it was a lingering 'seizure state', a kind of mild brewing of a fit, waiting for something to trigger off. Or whether we were going to be left with a permanently 'reduced' return to the old Beau due to permanent brain damage. Thankfully today has felt much more normal and I've felt much less like a clucky Mother Hen On one of the epi-dog groups I belong to, several alternative medications have been suggested. Most of these are not available in the UK or are not licenced for animal use. However, after a discussion with Catherine, it has been agreed to try Beau for one month on Keppra, in addition to his current medication. It's a drug that can be increased for brief periods during increased seizure episodes, and then decreased again, and has a good record of effectiveness. So we will be monitoring its impact on Beau and both positive and negative effects He will be starting this on Wednesday XX
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Beau
Aug 5, 2014 0:38:00 GMT
Post by charitybob on Aug 5, 2014 0:38:00 GMT
I don't know if human epilepsy is similar to human types with regards to medication although the brands are the same and many of the post ictal responses do a pear quite similar. I speak from experiencing both svety and Terrys and cairio presentations. So dog and human types. Keppra if it can be tolerated is one of the best treatments around and in humans can be used in variable doses to successfully treat hard to control epilepsy in humans. It can be suplimented in humans with gabapentin as a secondary medicine and clobazum as a dampen down drug on top. In humans lavraterin can also be used along side.
So I would say that a trial period of keppra is a good idea given beaus history. Fingers and puds crossed he tolerates it well.
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Beau
Aug 5, 2014 2:58:15 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Aug 5, 2014 2:58:15 GMT
Thanks Carol. Useful to hear from someone who knows about Keppra from a human point of view. I've heard from lots of people in the USA and Canada using it for their dogs. Beau is already on Gabapentin, Epiphen and Libromide, so quite a cocktail, and he's reached the top end of dosage and 'tweaking' really with those. We've known for some time that Beau has the worst form of epilepsy, and that his appears to 'mutate' or be progressive, so every new twist is another round of playing with the meds and seeing where that takes us. I'm hearing good things about Keppra and Catherine certainly sounded positive about giving it a go, so fingers crossed XX
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Beau
Aug 5, 2014 6:37:01 GMT
Post by charitybob on Aug 5, 2014 6:37:01 GMT
I hope so too for beaus sake and improved quality of life.
Terrys epilepsy also mutates because it stems from a severe head injury. Surgery is not an option for Terry either because of this.
One of the main drawbacks òf keppra in humans is increased mood swings especially in peeple suffering from depression . But it is considered a gold standard treatment for humans if as say tolerated.
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Post by charitybob on Aug 5, 2014 6:46:27 GMT
Oh and I also meant to say Terry has been on keppra for eight years now and we with a odd tweek here and there have stayed clear of the constant four to eight a day seizures.
Now we tweek if goes over seven vacant moments or three partials a month or I'm worried about him.
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Beau
Aug 5, 2014 9:41:06 GMT
Post by charitybob on Aug 5, 2014 9:41:06 GMT
One other thing don't as I say enough about similarities between human effective treatment against dog treatment apart from
Always trying to medicate at the same time each day if possible
Always stick with the same brand of medication different manufacturers can have miner differences in the compersition of each tablet and this can be a factor in poor seizure control. This is epilepsy society advice and indeed if Terry has a generic pill instead of the actual normal one his seizures increase dramatically. Hydration is also a important factor Terry from the outset of his seizures was told to drink at least two litres of water everyday.
Finally the cooling mat is a fantastic addition because dogs don't cool as easily as humans and Terry has to keep cool.
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Beau
Aug 5, 2014 11:19:36 GMT
Post by Girlytrude on Aug 5, 2014 11:19:36 GMT
Beau drinks a lot, it's one of the things I don't restrict at all, even though I know he'll then wee indoors at night if I'm not awake to catch him in time to let him out.
Interesting that you mention the effects of generic/brand changes. We order online and this has been with one specific company for some time now as they've proved reliable and efficient, but prior to that it did change around a bit depending on availability and reliability, and I noticed differences in the medications being sent and did wonder if that had an impact in any way. I'll watch out for that in the future now. XX
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