Appointment with Neurologist

Today Brady went for a visit with Dr. Katherman. He had blood drawn to check Zonisamide and Potassium Bromide levels. Brady is doing really well at this time and all of his current medication will remain the same for now. All of his ataxia has disappeared after the reduction of Phenobarbital on 2/16. He is once again steady on his feet, well-balanced and coordinated. Thankfully, he isn't a 'little drunk sailor' any longer. He can jump on the bed and travel up and down the stairs without losing his balance, stumbling, or falling. At this point, you really can't even tell that he is on medication as there are no noticeable side affects. We can't wait for the yard to dry out so that he can get back to his ball playing. I will post the results of his blood work once they are in. At the doctor's office, his stats were good, temperature normal, his weight is 40.5 lbs.

Things are looking good and we are praying that he will have continued success and seizure control. We are so very thankful that at the present time we are smooth sailing! Thank you God! Thanks to everyone who always asks about Brady and also for your continued prayers and concerns. It really means the world to us to know that others care.

Amazing improvement

There has been an amazing improvement in Brady's ataxia since reducing his phenobarbital dose on Tuesday night (2/16/10). His balance is back, he can go up and down the stairs without any problems, no more signs of being wobbly or staggering. He is even jumping up on the bed and making it up there without any problem. This is an incredibly fast improvement! He is alert and his eyes are bright!
All we can say is wow!

We are so thankful to see Brady back to his 'ole self ' again and are praying that the reduction in the dose of phenobarbital won't make a difference in his seizure control. I feel that Dr. Katherman wouldn't have made the recommendation if she thought otherwise. The Zonisamide was increased in January (1/26/10) and the Potassium Bromide hasn't been changed since the latter part of October ('09) so we should still have plenty of drugs on board to keep control over the monsters. That is our hope and our prayer.

Things are looking good! Dear God please let things continue to go well! Thank You for watching over us all and Brady especially, and for keeping us under Your loving care.

Update on Brady and how things are going

We have been waiting for Brady's ataxia to improve, but unfortunately, we haven't seen much of a change in his balance or coordination. I spoke with Dr. Katherman today concerning Brady's continued wobbliness and unsteadiness on his feet. The weakness appears to be in all four legs. Yesterday morning he fell down the last three steps going downstairs and that really prompted me to call her. Also he now has to wear booties on his front paws during our morning walks due to his toenails dragging on the pavement and wearing down to the point of where they bleed. :(

Her recommendation is to decrease his phenobarbital from 97.2mg twice a day to 64.8mg twice a day. We want to gain significant seizure control, but we also want him to be able to walk and function properly without the fear of him falling down and injuring himself.

Brady is scheduled to see Dr. Katherman on Thursday, February 25th to check the trough level of Zonisamide and to check a Potassium Bromide level. Those results will tell us if the Zonisamide was increased too much on January 26. The Potassium Bromide will be at a steady state by then since he has been on the increased dose of that medicine for 4 months. Remember everytime you increase Potassium Bromide it will take 4 months for it to reach a steady state. KBr was increased to 600mg at the end of October. (2ml three times a day)

Those blood draws will give us insight on where the levels are with those two drugs. As of today Brady has been 3 weeks seizure free and we continue to pray that it will remain that way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Just a few of the many things I love about dogs…

A dog loves you even when you leave your clothes on the floor.

A dog limits her time in the bathroom to a quick drink.

A dog never expects you to phone.

A dog will not get mad if you forget her birthday.

A dog does not care about the previous dogs in your life.

A dog does not get mad at you if you pet another dog.

The later you are, the happier a dog is to see you.

A dog does not shop.

And, a dog never expects flowers on Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day dog lovers!"

Signs of Ataxia

Things are going well, however, once again Brady has become ataxic. His dose of Zonisamide was increased on the night of January 26th and he showed no signs of unsteadiness or wobbliness at all for the first several days of being on the increased dose. Becoming uncoordinated and being dubbed 'our little drunk sailor' once again began approximately on February 2nd. I am hoping that as before once his body adjusts to the increase in medication he will return to normal and will have his coordination back and be steady on his feet. I will hold off on calling Dr. Katherman a while longer and give him more time to see if the adjustment period makes a difference for him. When he first started on Zonisamide in December the adjustment period took about two weeks and after that all signs of ataxia had disappeared. I'm sure his body has to adjust to having more of the drug in his system. I believe that this will resolve itself as before and the silver lining is that there have not been anymore seizures. Thank God!

Beneficial Vitamins and Supplements

Canine Seizure Remedies - Vitamins and Supplements


Daily doses of vitamins and supplements that are beneficial to the nervous system should be fed to an epileptic dog.

Vitamin B1

Vitamin B1 is essential for helping brain function.

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids (fish oil, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, or borage oil) can reduce inflammation and degeneration of brain tissue.

Dimethyglycine (DMG)

DMG is a compound that is produced naturally in both humans and animals. It forms an intricate part of animal and human metabolism. It also has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-fugal properties. In animals, DMG also has anti-seizure effects.

Here is a natural product of DMG: Vetri-Science Vetri-DMG Liquid

Amino acids

The amino acids L-taurine and L-tyrosine can increase the resistance to seizures. The amino acid L-tryptohpan can soothe the brain and is therefore beneficial for dogs with seizures.

God's Love

Thank You God for the overwhelming comfort I feel from knowing You are there.

Happy Update

I'm posting a happy update for a happy dog and his happy family! Brady is doing great! So far things are really going well and he is tolerating the increased dose of Zonisamide well. He did have a bout with an upset tummy for a couple of days which thankfully a bland diet seems to have taken care of. His neurologist says that it would not have been a side-effect of the drug increase since Zonisamide doesn't cause digestive upset which is good news! Tonight he is going back on his regular food so we are keeping our fingers crossed that his tummy will not be upset again. We are chalking it up to just one of those things....where sometimes tummies get upset without any explanation.