@artic_wind like you I dread this thread I pray that something good eventually comes down the pike, but also so afraid that one of these days Jason's going to have some bad news for us - scary!!

Jason, have you had any other donations in answer to your request for help. If you'll send me the link again, I can probably (easily) drop the same amount in for you.

I know, my worst fear is that one of the seizures is going to be the last. I had to take a job in Chicago that pays more, but the down side is that I am not there with him, and it just keeps getting more expensive! I love him to death and he is the sweetest pup, so I hate that he has to deal with his on top of his leg issues. I think it was just a greedy breeder that didn't do the necessary tests. Al, I PM's you the link that i set up on the gofundme account I had set up for him.

I wish one of these days I can update this thread with something positive...However that's not the case today.

He had a series of seizures on July 15th, and the vet increased his dosage to 1,000mg 3x a day. So, as has been the case, we went 2 weeks without any seizures.

Last night, however was by far the worst he has had. He had 3 in a row between 5:30 and 6:00. The first was the worst, and the other two were a little more mild. Then, this morning he had another one.

I spoke to the vet, who consulted with another vet, and he wants to increase the dosage to 1,500mg. However, he said this is by far the highest dosage he has had to prescribe. He also said if we want to go this route, we can get an MRI and CAT scan done, or we can continue working with him. Those will cost thousands, and thousands I do not have. What he said did concern me, because it could be a brain tumor causing the seizures, which when I think about it, makes sense. It could have been small back in November 2013 when this started, and then has been growing since he has been having seizures almost every 2-4 weeks since last October.

We will be in contact with him weekly to see how he is doing. I am afraid that he is right, and he does have a brain tumor. I signed up for pet insurance, but it's a gamble to see if they would even pay out since the underlying cause of the seizures could have been the tumor all along. But I have to take the chance.

I really don't know what to do, and what to think, I am pretty numb right now thinking that this could be the end soon.

This is absolutely terrible... My heart is breaking for you. I hope the insurance works and you are able to get this taken care of.

I'm so sorry Jason. Are you on the Epil-K9 list serve? If not, you should be. There are a bunch of people who have dogs with very difficult to control seizures, and they know of resources to help people financially. Have you contacted the Wally Foundation at all? I know they do financial assistance, and there are some others out there too.

Meridith , wouldn't the blood tests have turned up a possible tumor? I remember when my first husky to seizure went in, the dr did the blood tests and came back and said he had good news, that the blood tests didn't turn up a tumor., or something to that effect.

I am not sure, but when Yukon had the initial blood test, the vet said that they were checking for toxins, but this is the first time they even mentioned the word tumor.

blueeyedghost wrote:

I'm so sorry Jason.  Are you on the Epil-K9 list serve?  If not, you should be.  There are a bunch of people who have dogs with very difficult to control seizures, and they know of resources to help people financially.  Have you contacted the Wally Foundation at all?  I know they do financial assistance, and there are some others out there too.

THanks, I will check them out.

I was on the Epil-K9 list, but I found it very difficult to follow, but I also am a member of the Epilepsy Canine Network forum and got some good advice on there too.

Yes, toxins are another thing tested for and yet another is one to determine if organs are functioning properly, the initial tests, check for about 6 different thing if I remember correctly. When there is cancer/tumor, it shows up in the blood usually I believe. I think the CT scan is a good idea but I also know they are very expensive.

I know you can find tumor markers in blood, but I don't know how accurate the tests are. I've always been under the impression that the only sure way to find a tumor is through imagery.

Also they did the test when he first started having seizures in Nov. 2013. He went 7 months without another one, and only since October have the seizures increased in frequency. the last two were clusters of 3-4 seizures on July 15th and again last night/this morning

not sure what food you are feeding or if your feeding raw but i have read that some peoples dog can be sensitive to preservatives in the dry dog food and have seizures. I'm not sure if its from build up of toxins in the body, not sure if that's the case for you. they make home made food and many say that it dose help clear them up or reduce the frequency of them. it sounds far fetched but its worth a try.  
here are some links if your willing to try.

turmeric is also good for dogs here's the article http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.ca/2012/11/turmeric-and-curcumin-good-for-your.html

here's a good place to find a book of recipes and advice http://www.k9instinct.com/

a good article on coconut oil benefits
http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/02/coconut-oil-is-good-for-your-dogs.html

jschrader wrote:

Also they did the test when he first started having seizures in Nov. 2013.  He went 7 months without another one, and only since October have the seizures increased in frequency.  the last two were clusters of 3-4 seizures on July 15th and again last night/this morning

Besides Yukons initial seizure, has he ever been to the vet because of another seizure? Or has it only been for checking pheno levels and things of that nature? I know when both Blitz and Malukhai went in because I didn't feel something was right after a subsequent seizure, the vets always did additional blood tests. I'm also kinda wondering why, if they're checking Yukons blood for pheno levels and stuff, why they wouldn't just check it for the other things at the same time. I would think at the very least they would be checking if the liver and other organs are still functioning properly.

At what age did Yukons seizures begin?

Artic_Wind wrote:

jschrader wrote:

Also they did the test when he first started having seizures in Nov. 2013.  He went 7 months without another one, and only since October have the seizures increased in frequency.  the last two were clusters of 3-4 seizures on July 15th and again last night/this morning

Besides Yukons initial seizure, has he ever been to the vet because of another seizure? Or has it only been for checking pheno levels and things of that nature? I know when both Blitz and Malukhai went in because I didn't feel something was right after a subsequent seizure, the vets always did additional blood tests. I'm also kinda wondering why, if they're checking Yukons blood for pheno levels and stuff, why they wouldn't just check it for the other things at the same time. I would think at the very least they would be checking if the liver and other organs are still functioning properly.

At what age did Yukons seizures begin?

Yeah, when he had a cluster of them back last October I took him in and they did blood tests. This is around the same time that I switched vets because the other one was too far and I didn't feel like I was getting the best treatment. Plus this vet took Care Credit and it was getting expensive.

Yukon's seizures started in November 2013. He remained free of seizures until July 2014, and he had another. And then starting in October he would have them every 2-6 weeks

RedFlashFire05 wrote:

not sure what food you are feeding or if your feeding raw but i have read that some peoples dog can be sensitive to preservatives in the dry dog food and have seizures. I'm not sure if its from build up of toxins in the body, not sure if that's the case for you. they make home made food and many say that it dose help clear them up or reduce the frequency of them. it sounds far fetched but its worth a try.  
here are some links if your willing to try.

turmeric is also good for dogs here's the article http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.ca/2012/11/turmeric-and-curcumin-good-for-your.html

here's a good place to find a book of recipes and advice http://www.k9instinct.com/

a good article on coconut oil benefits
http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/02/coconut-oil-is-good-for-your-dogs.html

He is on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. I Have had him on the same food since I had him at 8 weeks old.

For right now I have decided to keep with the current treatment. I got some advice from the Canine Epilepsy Network forum and I am asking the vet about Keppra ER and other meds that we might be able to add.

It is just not financially possible for me to take him to a neurologist. I did apply to one of those programs and I signed up for insurance, so we will take it one day at a time.

jschrader wrote:

Artic_Wind wrote:

jschrader wrote:

Also they did the test when he first started having seizures in Nov. 2013.  He went 7 months without another one, and only since October have the seizures increased in frequency.  the last two were clusters of 3-4 seizures on July 15th and again last night/this morning

Besides Yukons initial seizure, has he ever been to the vet because of another seizure? Or has it only been for checking pheno levels and things of that nature? I know when both Blitz and Malukhai went in because I didn't feel something was right after a subsequent seizure, the vets always did additional blood tests. I'm also kinda wondering why, if they're checking Yukons blood for pheno levels and stuff, why they wouldn't just check it for the other things at the same time. I would think at the very least they would be checking if the liver and other organs are still functioning properly.

At what age did Yukons seizures begin?

Yeah, when he had a cluster of them back last October I took him in and they did blood tests.  This is around the same time that I switched vets because the other one was too far and I didn't feel like I was getting the best treatment.  Plus this vet took Care Credit and it was getting expensive.  

Yukon's seizures started in November 2013.  He remained free of seizures until July 2014, and he had another.  And then starting in October he would have them every 2-6 weeks

I, here's the thing, and I don't kno why I didn't catch it before, my dogs that had seizures were text book idiopathic epileptics, from the age they began seizuring g to the symptomatic progression of the seizures, with Yukon I see the opposite which leads me to believe yuk one seizures stem more from his environment or medical reasons...which tells me that if you were able to pinpoint the cause/get a diagnosis, the meds you are buyi g and he is taking could be for his treatment instead of just managing his seuzures...with my dogs all I could do is manage the seizures because there was no known cause, in my opinion Yukon has the possibility of being treated (I'm not a dr though, I'm just going by what I e learned and my own experiences) if I were you, I would put as much effort I to getting as much financial aid as you can and get Yukon to a neurologist, I honestly think this is crucial for Yukon. Cluster seizures are no joke, they are very serious and ultimately are what took my dogs lives. You don't want to experience that. I''ll give you an example of what I mean, in text book idiopathic epilepsy, the dogs start out seizuring quite often, as much as every two weeks/several tines a month, then they decline as they get older, clustering usually happens in the latter part of the ur lives, Yukon we t an entire year after his very first seizure! That just doesn't normally happen with idiopathic epilepsy.

you can try adding coconut oil to the food it helps detoxify their body's, i add it to Leo and Joey's food every day. Leo get 1 tsp which helps quite a bit, he use to get lethargic and very uncomfortable after taking his heart worm med before i started the coconut oil. then when i stated the coconut oil he did pee a lot for a few days, but the next time i gave him his heart worm med i notice that  he was not very lethargic and hot after taking it; almost like he was never on it. it has also helped Joey's arthritis.

I contacted a neurologist to see if they can give me a rough estimate for a consultation. However, from what I am researching, the chances of him having a brain tumor is pretty low (although I realize anything is possible and I am not a doctor). Most of the time, it occurs in dogs age 5 and older, and Yukon started just over 1 year of age. He has had several blood tests that have all came back fine, and even a thyroid test that came back normal.

I apologize for all my typos in my previous post (that's why I normally don't post during the day...my phones keypad is just too small! And the auto correct that is never correct doesn't help either)

I highly doubt tumor as well, although like you said, it is possible. I'm leaning more towards environmental or medical reasons. Examples of environment are things like allergies (guess that's medical too huh) or even the Smart Meters the electric company installs on our houses. I know from my dogs there were series of blood tests, the initial ones that tested for about 6 things, like toxins and organ function, but there are additional blood tests that can be done that are above and beyond that. I wanna say there's like 3 sets of *series* of blood tests (there could be more). The first series is almost a given each time the dog is brought in after a seizure episode, the other blood tests are more specialized. It is of course more money being spent but for the time being its not as expensive as a neurologist (which really is the ideal way to go but of course things like cost can prevent that from happening)

I am a newbie on this forum and found this entry about Yukon having a seizure while falling asleep. You might want to ask your vet if valproic acid also called Depakote, which is an anti-convulsiant medication is an option. I was diagnosed with a seizure disorder as a teen and have been taking it for 26 years. It seems all seizure meds have different side effects. Hope Yukon gets better.

I have been keeping a log of all of his seizures and they seem to be all over the place. Last week he had 3 more seizures, but since then the Dr. switched him over to Keppra Extended Release, so we are hoping that this works better for him.

And i have to say, that Sam's club is soo much cheaper! I can get 60 pills for $10, which has been a huge savings

Today was a bad day. I was on my way to work and got a call that he had a seizure. I expected it, since its been 2 weeks since his last, but was hopeful that the Keppra Extended Release would work better for him.

Then, he had another, and another until he had 6 in a row. I took the next train back home, but he had stopped the seizures after about 45 minutes. There was very small breaks in between them.

I called the vet, and unless we can't get him out of the seizure there really isn't a point to go in. He may have to change up the meds, because we are on 1500MG of Keppra 3x a day plus 50mg of the pheno.

I am afraid that it is worse than epilepsy and they are just going to get worse. I tried preparing myself that today might be the day this takes him. Right now he is just tired and laying down, hasn't really moved much since I got him. I can imagine 6 seizures took alot out of him.

I am also going to try the Canna Companion thing Meridith suggested. I didn't want to add that in before because I was hopeful adding Keppra was going to keep these seizures from occurring so frequently.

Jason

Don't give up hope! Lyra went through a bad time with multiple seizures before we found the right cocktail of drugs and doses. If you haven't already, I encourage you to seek out a neurologist with experience with huskies. I remember Lyra's doctor telling us that huskies were always difficult to treat, and that multiple medications was pretty much the norm. All that being said, I know how difficult it is. More than once I really thought we were losing Lyra. Sounds like you are there now.

Kevin

Jason, there is so much love and heartache in this that I don't know how you stand it. I can't imagine the feeling of knowing that he was having seizures and not only isn't there anything you can do but not being there has got to be taking a toll on you as well.
To all the gods that be, I raise my voice in the prayer that things get better soon.