LoganLVR
Boxer Buddy
We have been going through some rough times with our youngest boxer, Memphis, for quite a few weeks and we thought we would see if anyone would have any insight for us. Memphis is about 8 months old now. Memphis first had one seizure and nothing came of it. We called the emergency vet since it was 3 in the morning and they chalked it up to maybe he got ahold of something he shouldn't have and got it out of his system. Two weeks later he had cluster seizures, so severe that we took him to the emergengy vet and speciality clinic where they took several doses of valium and phenobarb to calm him down. I believe he had something like 13 in an hour or so. They wanted to keep him for observation. Over the next several days, he had more seizures, both full and and just focal ones. We had him tested for everything they could, liver and blood tests, spinal tap, and everything came back normal. Test after test wouldn't give us any answers and all we could do was go in and lay with our little boy and pray. The breeder gave no answers about history, was actually more concerned about having to give us our money back I think, which tells us alot of that. They concluded that it must be epilepsy, even though it is rare in boxers so young, since everything else came back normal. He was put on 1 phenobarb in the morning and 1 in the evening. When we first got Memphis home from staying at the emergency vet for 3 nights/4 days, he would not stop pacing. He paced for about 6-7 hours straight. So, we got him a little valium after another day of this to help him be able to settle down. Over the next couple of weeks, Memphis was sick with awful diarrhea and drooled constantly, and had very heavy panting. We have figured that he was traumatized and took some time to get him back to being comfortable. He slowly got better and more like himself, although never has really gotten back to how he was. About 2 weeks after we got him home, he had another bout of cluster seizures, a couple of full and then a couple of focal ones in the next couple of hours. These were nothing compared to the last round, and we were hopeful the medicine was starting to work. About 2 weeks after that, Memphis had another awful round of seizures - about 8 in an hour, and we took him back into the emergency vet. All they wanted to do was keep him there. We did not want him to have to go back through the trauma of staying there so we had him weighed and he had gained 7 lbs (the phenobarb supposedly makes their appetite very high at first), so we were able to increase his dosage of phenobarb to 2 in the morning and 2 at night. We were hopeful this was just the weight issue and he needed a little more. This went well for about 2 1/2 weeks, and then Memphis had another strong bout of cluster seizures - about 9 in an hour and a half. We gave him a phenobarb after his first one and he was able to go back to sleep that night. Our vet then raised his phenobarb dosage to 6/day and added 3 potassium bromide also. So our baby is now at 9 pills per day and has not had any seizures for 2 weeks and 2 days. We are very hopeful, but Memphis also has been experiencing other side effects that we wanted to know if anyone had any input on. He was fully potty trained and could go hours without going outside to potty before all of this. Now, usually the most he can go without peeing is 45 minutes, and sometimes it seems like he doesn't realize it until right when he has to go and can't hold it. I don't know if the meds have relaxed him this much or if there is any other reason? Also, sometimes he will cry and we don't know why. We are worried he may be in pain and we don't know? And sometimes, he will have bad days where he will drool badly. And he can't seem to get enough water to drink. How do we know if he is having more seizures or other effects that may be masked by the large dosage of meds he is now on. Also, it seems that everytime after he has seizures, he forgets what we have trained him on before for awhile and is more aggressive toward our older boxer, Logan, who is now 2 1/2 years old. How do we know if this is affecting his brain each time more and more?
He is the sweetest little boy who loves to give kisses and is fearless and full of energy when he doesn't have to go through all these symptoms and crap. Should we be worried about his quality of life at this point? How do you know what to do? Our vet can only tell us to give it more time, which we really want to do. But she also doesn't see everything he has to go through. How can he sustain taking this much meds over a long period of time - he is only 8 months old. I guess we don't want to be selfish and make him go through more than he should have to because we want him to be with us and his older sister. I know this post is really long and I'm not sure anyone will have any answers for us. We have been feeling pretty helpless. We love our little boy very much. Thank you for listening.
Jamin, Holly, Logan, and Memphis
He is the sweetest little boy who loves to give kisses and is fearless and full of energy when he doesn't have to go through all these symptoms and crap. Should we be worried about his quality of life at this point? How do you know what to do? Our vet can only tell us to give it more time, which we really want to do. But she also doesn't see everything he has to go through. How can he sustain taking this much meds over a long period of time - he is only 8 months old. I guess we don't want to be selfish and make him go through more than he should have to because we want him to be with us and his older sister. I know this post is really long and I'm not sure anyone will have any answers for us. We have been feeling pretty helpless. We love our little boy very much. Thank you for listening.
Jamin, Holly, Logan, and Memphis
