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.

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!!!