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.

A Good Day and Night

I am so happy and grateful to report that there have not been anymore seizures since yesterday at 5:21 am. Brady had a great day yesterday. He looked good, his eyes were bright and alert and from all indications he felt very good. We played fetch with his tennis ball for a really long time; he didn't want to quit but I made him take a break and then later went for another round of fetch. He even got to go for a ride to the pharmacy to pick up his new dose of medicine.

Per Dr. Katherman's instructions, I increased his Zonisamide dose by 50mg starting with last night's evening dose. So he will be getting 250mg of Zonisamide in the morning and 250mg in the evening for a daily total of 500mg. Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide doses will remain the same.

Praying that things will continue to go well and that we will have a long seizure free stretch!

Seizure Monster rears its ugly head again!

At 5:21am Brady had another seizure which makes two seizures in 23 hours. It was pretty much the same as the one he had at 6:41am yesterday morning. He didn't lose bladder control and again it was a little shorter in duration than past ones lasting about a minute or so. I inserted the valium suppository at 5:24am once the convulsing had stopped and he was lying there calmly as he does before he regains consciousness and is aware of anything. By 5:25am he was up and on his feet. At 5:30am I gave him some rescue remedy on a small piece of bread along with two-thirds of a cup of dog food. At 5:35am I gave him all of his meds. Brady recovered quickly, although this time he was a bit wobbly and unsteady on his feet at first but that improved in a matter of 20 minutes or so.

I called Dr. Katherman and fortunately was able to speak with her right away. She is increasing his Zonisamide by 50 mg twice per day. The intention is to see some obvious control over his seizures and there is room to increase the dosage according to his latest blood work. Hopefully, the Zonisamide will be more effective at an increased dose since it is now obvious that the initial dose that he started on isn't doing the trick.

I am thankful that Brady has recovered from both of the seizures quickly and seems to be doing fine. I am also thankful that as hard as it may be to see this, both Jeff and I are handling things a little better each time. But I must say, I really despise this ugly seizure monster and want it to go away!!!

Making Tracks to Defeat Canine Epilepsy

Please Mark your Calendars: PURPLE DAY is March 26, 2010

Please wear purple on March 26th!

To support Epilepsy Awareness Globally for canines and humans!

Same Disease Different Species

Toby's Foundation is partnering with www.purpleday.org


Can you and your dog help by wearing purple on March
26th to increase epilepsy awareness for canines and humans and show
your support for this worldwide initiative?

We are representing canine epilepsy in this effort
though we want to show our support for both humans and canines affected
by this disease.

Wearing something purple is a simple way for you to
reach out and help so please wear purple on March 26, 2010. Purple is
the international color for Epilepsy!

For more info please visit us at
www.tobysfoundation.org/whatsnew.htm
and click on Purple Day.

Many people do not realize that dogs suffer from this
disease.
At the American Epilepsy Society conference Dr. Ned Patterson
tells people "Same Disease Different Species"
By joining together we can help increase epilepsy awareness worldwide for
people and their pets with epilepsy.

Brady's seizure clock re-starts

I'm sad to report that Brady's seizure clock had to be re-set this morning. At 6:41am, our sweet boy had a seizure. Of course, we've have hoped and prayed that he wouldn't have any further seizures, but we must be realistic and as hard as it may be, we must deal with them as they come. It has been 41 days since the last seizure, one day short of making it 6 weeks. Although I consider this seizure a grand mal it seemed to be less violent and less severe than those of the past. There was no loss of bladder control which is a positive since normally he does lose bladder control. There were other positives as well, it was of shorter duration, approximately 1.5 minutes, 2 minutes at the most of actual seizure activity, the convulsions weren't as violent as usual. The teeth gnashing occurred but also seemed less severe. There was plenty of drool but not an enormous amount as in the past. Since the seizure took place on our bed, I sort of laid over his body and held him close to the bed. Once the seizing stopped I picked him up and laid him on his bed on the floor so that once he came around there would be no chance of falling off the bed. The post ictal phase was much better than usual, there was almost no pacing and he seemed calmer and not as anxious as in the past. Also he didn't seem very ravenous at all, although I did give him two-thirds of a cup of dog food, and normally he is literally starving. The seizure happened only 4 minutes before he was due his medication. He recovered quickly and was on his feet by 6:46am, so all said and done it was 5 minutes total (from the minute the seizure began until he was on his feet again) as opposed to the usual 7-8 minutes. At 6:46am I inserted the rectal valium and at 6:48am gave him all of his medication plus quite a few drops of rescue remedy on a small piece of bread. Over all it was more toned down than the others. He wasn't wobbly or uncoordinated when he got up and walked around. His balance was good and he was able to walk down the stairs on his own.

At that point he was just fine and we went about our normal activity. We didn't get to go on our normal morning walk because it was pouring rain, but he would have been fine to go had it not been raining. Needless to say I have been watching him like a hawk since and am so thankful that I am able to do so.

I spoke with his neurologist on the phone and she recommends that we don't do anything different at the moment with the Zonisamide. There is room to move up to a higher dose if needed but it hasn't been long enough to say for sure if we need to. Also his Potassium Bromide dosage was just changed at the end of October and every time the dose is changed for that drug, it takes another 4 months to reach a steady state. It should be at a steady state by the end of February. Dr. Katherman is looking for better control of his seizures than only going 6 weeks between seizures, but said it will take some time to see a good trend. She is looking for that trend to happen over a period of time. So for now we will leave all meds at their current dose and pray that no seizures come again for a long while or never again would be a dream come true. Hopefully this time we will see much more time pass on his seizure clock and of course we will continue to pray that we will never have to re-set that clock and that he can become seizure free forever.

We put this all in God's hands long ago and will continue to do so. I will never forget what someone who lives with an epileptic dog told me recently and that is: God only gives these special needs dogs to those people who can handle it. I believe that applies to all special needs, not just epilepsy, and not just dogs, but all pets and people for that matter. Reminding myself of that statement truly helps me through the rough spots when life is not always smooth sailing. I am thankful that Brady belongs to us, that he is our dog to take good care of, and that we are able to do all we can do to help him through this dreaded disease. At times it feels devastating but then I quickly remember that we must be strong in order to help him when he needs it most.

Blood work results are in---Great news!

I spoke with Dr. Katherman, Brady's neurologist, today and the results are finally in. His Zonisamide levels are in the therapeutic range where we want them to be. Therefore, the Zonisamide will remain at the current dose as will the Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide. When he has been seizure free for 8 weeks, we will have a further discussion on his medication. But first of all, we have to be sure that without a doubt his seizures are under control. Brady continues to do well and is adjusting to the cocktail of drugs that he takes. He has just recently gotten back to his ball playing and is able to run and catch the ball as if he never missed a beat. That was something he really missed for awhile because he was just too uncoordinated to run and chase a ball without the risk of injury. He would literally tumble over and want to keep playing. Going up and down the stairs and jumping on the bed are now much easier tasks for him than when he was first trying to adjust to the combo of meds. There were some nights especially when we would carry him up or down the stairs because he was so unsteady on his feet and would so easily lose his balance. There were times when he would be so weak in the rear that he's rear end would just collapse. We feared that he'd fall if left to navigate the stairs on his own. We are so thankful that he is adjusting to the meds and that he can do his everyday normal routine again because for one, playing ball is on the top of his priority list. It's wonderful to see the sparkle back in his eyes again too! For the most part he is as agile and coordinated as before. When he is just rising from being asleep or is tired, he may be a little clumsy, but hey, that's okay!

Thank you God for leading us to Dr. Katherman and thank you Dr. Katherman for being such a competent, knowledgeable neurology vet. Please let the medications continue to do their job!