my boyfriend is the owner/companion of Timber - a 92% timberwolf, 8% malamute, 140lb baby. however, this beautiful and gentle creature is aflicted with a terrible seizure disorder that seems to be getting worse. i'm here in hopes that someone may know of some information that i haven't been able to find elsewhere on the net.
Timer is currently on Phenobarbital. he is on what i understand to be the highest dosage (he recieves 3 tablets, at 64.8mg each, twice a day).
in the past few months, timber has had an affliction every month, resulting in cluster seizures over a period of two days. from what i have been told, this is very unlike the pattern of the past. he use to go a few months in between outbreaks - once even going 8 months in between. but like i said, every month for the past three, he has had an episode.
these seizures are in fact cluster seizures... multiple seizures in a short period of time, with regained consciousness in between. saturday, for example, he had 6 seizures within 35 minutes.
the tell tale sign that he is about to have a seizure is his "blind walk" - where it appears that his body gets stuck in second gear, fast walking through the house, but his vision is gone and he crashes head first into things. this in and of itself is almost more scary then the actual seizure to follow.
the individual seizures usually last 1-3 minutes, and afterward, more blindness follows along with apparent dizziness and disorientation which may last a few minutes. if he doesn't go into another seizure, then for the next 20 minutes he'll be very pacey, with extremely diminished motor control. basically, he'll trip over himself and have near misses with the doorways and other objects.
basically i am here looking for any information someone can provide me about other treatments/medication. it is determined that it is in fact epilepsy and not some other medical mishap - he's had it since he was young (he's four or five now).
i've read about EpiPlus... a supposed natural suppliment that is suppose to help with seizures. anyone with any experience with this? can it be used in combination with his prescribed medication?
how about Diazepam rectally inserted during a cluster seizure? i've read that this can help stop them...?
and finally, i've researched and found that 50-90% of all epileptics suffer from low blood sugar and that seizures can be triggered by this. a suggestion of honey dissolved in the mouth at the sign of seizures was mentioned.
i've found mentioned another medication called Primidone, but found little info on it. and he was already on Potassim Bromide, but had to be removed due to very bad side effects. any other medications that anyone knows of?
my last pondering is the idea that timber is in fact a hybrid. all the info i've found was in coorelation to "dogs". does his being a wolf mean anything as far as treatment, predisposition to seizures, or the like?
sorry for such a long post, but any help or info is greatly appreciated.
-ashley
