Seizures/Epilepsy My almost 9 year old dachshund Riley is epileptic. For five years, we did not know he was epileptic because his seizures always happened in the middle of the night. He would wake up suddenly, start thrashing around and once he ran into a table, almost knocking it over. When I caught him, he looked like he was blind. It would not happen often but always in the middle of the night. We told our vet about it but they never told us it could have been a seizure. We always assumed it was night terrors. I thought something would freak him out during the middle of the night, like the sprinklers starting around the same time or something. When he was 6 years old, a few days before Xmas and 2 months after we lost our first dachshund Kodi to heart failure, he started this thrashing in the middle of the day. We usually got him to calm down within a few minutes but this time, he would stop and then start all over again. My husband and I immediately brought him to the emergency vet. He started the shaking and thrashing immediately in the waiting room and they rushed him off into the back. The doctor came out within 15 minutes and told us that Riley was having multiple seizures but that they gave him valium and stabilized him. If we didnt bring him in he probably would have died. All the pieces started to fit together and we realized that he was having seizures since he was 2 years old. They put him on Potassium Bromide twice daily and he did not have another seizure for 8 months. Unfortunately, he became allergic to the Potassium Bromide 8 months later and developed hives so bad that he lost all his hair on his face. His eyes and muzzle swelled to gigantic proportions. He had sores that were so bad they would bleed and his eyes would swell shut with puss. I would have to gently clean them open three times during the late evening, because he would wake up scared that he couldnt see. He was immediately taken off Potassium Bromide and put on Phenobarbital. Today, he has scars around his eyes and nose. Most of his hair did grow back. He has scar tissue around his eyes so now they are perpetually tearing. Unfortunately, he still has seizures even with the Phenobarbital. I originally would give him his dose with his meals and he was still suffering a seizure once a week. I started giving it to him every twelve hours, once at 8am and the second at 8pm. He now has a seizure once every few months. Hes still my handsome boy even with the scars. We went through a lot together during his allergic ordeal. Many vet visits and loss of sleep but I would do anything for him! I have become quite the pro at calming him down when he does have a seizure. He comes to me immediately when he is going to have one. In the beginning I would freak out and I think that prolonged his seizures. Now I am very calm, I hold him to my chest and soothingly talk to him and tell him hes a strong boy. He comes out of it within a minute. I tell him, Welcome back from Seizureville! and hold him a few more minutes and then he is ready to continue whatever he was doing before his seizure. I hope Riley will be with us many more years and I hope this story will help anyone who has a dachshund who suffers from seizures. Posted by SassyDoxies - March 13, 2009 at 1:51 pm

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