Pua had her first gran mal on May 5, 1996 and her second one on October 31, 1996.

After she had her second one and it became obvious that the first one wasn't a fluke I decided to take a proactive approach to her epilepsy.

A good first step is to join a canine epilepsy email list.

Through the group I found a recommended neurologist, I took Pua to him, and he determined that her epilepsy was idiopathic (no known origin)...in all actuality, this neurologist wasn't very helpful, I felt that he viewed Pua's epilepsy as very mild which in his mind equated to not very important.

I then turned to the list again and started listening...

The list suggested a low protein diet. They also suggested reading Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn so I bought the book and started reading it.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about treating their dog naturally for any ailment.

Pitcairn suggests a diet low in meat protein and to stay away from liver and kidney as these are the "sieves" for the body, many bad things are filtered through them and in turn are passed onto the dog.

So I switched Pua from her then diet of Nutro's Natural Choice Lamb and Rice to Natural Life Vegetarian. I later switched to Innova's Reduced Calorie California Natural because it came highly recommended. Pua has done well on this food, but now I am considering the switch to a homemade diet. The following webpage has some very interesting info about homemade diets:

http://www.naturaldogfood.com/

I had Pua on a homemade diet for about five months, but it didn't change her seizure pattern, so I switched her back to CA Natural. I would have liked to keep her on the homemade but I just didn't have the time to keep it up...

Here are the other things I changed/added to Pua's lifestyle:

1.   I no longer use any type of harsh chemicals in the house. Everything I buy is all natural non caustic. I try to use plain water as much as possible. Anything with pine oil in it is avoided as it is very toxic to our animals.

2.   I do not use any sort of flea dip, spray, collar or bomb. All of these items can lower your dogs seizure threshold (for more information on seizure thresholds please read Alicia's very well written article).

3.   I stay away from any foods (be them human or dog) that contains chemical preservatives. The most common ones are Ethoxyquin, BHT/BHA, and Potassium Sorbate which is found in many human foods.

4.   I am cautious about vaccinations and make sure that my vet uses only high quality vaccines.

5.   I am aware of commonly used drugs that are bad for epileptics, one that is known to be problematic for epis is ACE promazine which is an anesthetic. MAKE SURE your vet never gives it to your epi dog.

6.   I switched to Interceptor for heartworm instead of Heartguard...some feel that Heartguard lowers the seizure threshold. Heartguard Plus is supposed to be especially bad for epis.

7.   I don't chemically treat my yard at all. This includes pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers.

8.   I switched Pua to multiple feedings. She seemed to have seizures when she hadn't eaten for a while, so I tried the multiple feedings and it seemed to help.

9.   Pua takes 1/2 teaspoon of liquid Vitamin B complex every other day. Vitamin B is important to nerve tissue.

10.  Pua also gets custom flower essences from Sharon Calahan/Anaflora Flower Essence Therapy for Animals She takes them for both her epilepsy and her sensitivity to the moon phases.

 

Pua hasn't had a gran mal since Oct. 1996, but she has focal seizures about once a month. They are almost always very mild. I continue to keep a diary of all the episodes hoping that one day I can find the cause of her epilepsy, but until then I keep my mind open to new therapies and try to help anyone who needs assistance in fighting the epilepsy demon.

This page is dedicated to Jeri, Kurvenal and her other furbabies, who have been so much help to me over the past two years. Her friendship and knowledge has made living with this terrible disease easier. Thanks Jeri... 

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Please feel free to email me with any questions/comments...wendi@schips-r-it.com

 
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