Well - it's about time for a health update. As you may recall, I had some seizures that started back in August. I had quite a bit of health testing and the best guess is Epilepsy. Epilepsy seems to be the diagnosis of choice if there are no other causes for a seizure - no toxins, metabolic changes, or head trauma. It's a bit unusual as there does not seem to be any traces of epilepsy in my family tree - but these things happen.
The drug of choice for epilepsy is phenobarbitol. It's a good news, bad news kind of drug. The good news - it usually works well, and is inexpensive. The bad news - it can be hard on your liver, it initially often has side effects, and it must be taken consistently twice daily. Initially I was put on a high dosage - although considered to be an appropriate amount for my weight. I had side effects within days - I couldn't control which way my rear legs were going. My human was MORTIFIED and immediately requested a reduction in dosage. Which the Vet reluctantly agreed to do -as she said the side effects would wear off. The only problem after the reduction- the dosage was now SO low - that I was at a barely therapeutic level according to blood tests. And because I was at such a low level - it was CRITICAL that I get the dose exactly at 7AM and 7 PM each day. On two occasions, my human was late in giving me my meds - once because she was detained getting home from an errand and once because she simply forgot the time! She was playing with us, took us for walks - was home with us - and just FORGOT. On both occasions, I ended up having seizures in the middle of the night. My human was devastated - and frankly, couldn't even share this info as she KNEW it was her fault. BUT - we seem to have remedied the problem. First, she now has two alarms programmed in her phone at 7 AM and 7 PM. They go off every day. In fact, when the alarm goes off, I head for the kitchen where I have figured out that I will be getting my pill - in a dollop of peanut butter. Second, we have increased my dosage gradually - not to the original level - but to a level in between. And I have had no side effects. My human spoke with the pharmacist when she picked up my prescription, and he said that the effects of the medication will last longer now - so IF I am late in getting a pill, the likelihood of having a seizure will be less.
There are other medications for epilepsy, and my human and her Vet will be looking at those. New options are always coming out - and my human wants to use what is safest for me - with the least amount of side effects. For now, we want to get these things under control - and paws crossed - so far so good.
Another side effect of the drug though, is hunger. My human isn't certain that has changed - let's face it - I'm a PON and I'm ALWAYS hungry. My energy level is the same - I will retrieve until I am ready to collapse and in the past week, I have started to chase Elroy when we go out for a run. And vice versa. I'm am really starting to warm up to him. At least that's what I want my human to think. Truth be told - this whole "ignoring" thing is a big ploy by the two of us. We wanted my human to think we weren't chums - so that she wouldn't know that we are actually working together. It's brilliant, really. When my human sits down for dinner, it's Elroy's job to go and scratch at the door. Or chew the carpet. Or grab something off the counter. Then when my human goes to stop him, it's my opportunity to move in for her meal. You should see how QUICKLY I can move when she steps away from her food. And Elroy benefits too - as he usually gets something for a "trade." And all this time, she thought I didn't like him....
So things here are under control. Well - as "under control " as anything gets in THIS house!
Have a good one.
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