Epilepsia canina. Tratamiento y... ¿Efectos secundarios? 😱

I had a terrible time during the first few seizures because I suffered as much as she did. I didn't know what was wrong with her. And you think she's going to die?

Hi, I'm Carlos, a clinical veterinarian at Small Animals. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. Today we're going to talk to Rokio, who is Nika's owner. You already know Nika because she's appeared in some of our videos. We met her at the hunting dog event and she immediately came to me so I could pet her and scratch her all the time. Naa was rescued when she was very little, and just like us, she probably stole Rocio's heart too, which is why she ended up adopting her and giving her a home. Believe it or not, Nick has epilepsy. And who would have thought she was so calm and happy, jumping around the park and playing with all the dogs she met. Hey, the fly that shows us that with some simple care, any dog with epilepsy can have a completely normal life, just like Naa. First of all, I want to tell you what epilepsy is. Epilepsy is a typical disease in dogs that has seizures as a symptom. But a seizure is not always due to epilepsy. Cool, right? When we have ruled out all other diseases that can cause seizures in the animal, that is when we talk about idiopathic epilepsy, because we really can't know where it comes from. Rokia works as a collaborator at the Dosta Mestizus Protection association, and since she knew that we had a channel and that we were looking for animals to tell their story, she told us that she had a couple of kittens who were in foster care living with her at home. Jackie and Soba. When we went to her house, we met Nika again. And we also met Ander, who had just had surgery on his leg. Thanks to that, the topic of Nick suffering from epilepsy came up. So we decided to meet with her to do an interview and have her tell us about her experience living with an animal that suffers from epilepsy and how it may or may not affect their life. What she told us is something that is really quite interesting for any owner who has a pet that has just been diagnosed with epilepsy. And you can surely learn a lot from her. Hello, Rokio.

Hello.

The first thing I have to ask you is, how did you find out that Nika was epileptic?

Well, the truth is that she gave us a real scare. I saw her as if she was Choking. Her legs went really stiff. Her ribcage, let's say, was really compressed. Tension, tension, tension. He also drooled a lot and the foam at the mouth was quite impressive. And I honestly thought he had taken a pill. There was biology. I don't know that he had been poisoned and was dying and what's wrong with you? I did the unthinkable and put my whole hand in his mouth.

We often see the same thing in TV series where they say, oh, oh, don't swallow your tongue. That's a myth that you've been told since you were little, because no one, not a person, not an animal, can swallow their tongue. If an animal is having a seizure, you can't put your hand in its mouth to try to pull its tongue out for several simple reasons. The first is because it's not conscious and it could bite so hard that it could hurt your finger. In fact, it could really hurt your finger. And the second is because if you stick its tongue out and suddenly the animal closes its mouth tightly because of the seizures, you're going to hurt its tongue. So it's best not to try to put your hand in her mouth or anything like that.

Luckily I reacted quickly, but someone else might be in shock and not know how to react. Anyway, we rushed her to the vet. When she got to the vet, she was as happy as could be and said, this looks like an epileptic seizure. What you should do is go to the vet, whether it's the first time it's happened to her or if it happens frequently, because what we usually find is that the seizures tend to recur and that after the first episode more tend to happen there. They'll be able to control it much more and prevent it from happening again. She doesn't lose consciousness when she has the seizure because she might get up and of course her legs are stiff and she can't control herself, so she falls.

In Nika's case, what we have is epilepsy, with seizures that are called partial, in which the animal does not lose complete consciousness, is a little disoriented, and only one part of its body moves uncontrollably. It is very common that if the seizures caused by your dog's epilepsy are total, that is, your dog completely loses consciousness. It will also pee and poop on itself. Don't worry, it's normal.

If you are awake, she will come to you and you will notice that she is starting to walk a little. Strangely, you will notice very dilated pupils and she will say, the first time. You may not realize it, but she already says she is going to have a seizure. Dog Dogs with epilepsy, if yours has just been diagnosed, you may not know it yet. Notice that they are going to have a seizure and have a phase at the beginning in which they act a little strange and often seek you out. If you are suddenly at home and your dog starts having a seizure, what should you do?

Either I try to put her on top of me, or I lay her down on the floor or on her bed and pet her. That's it. That's it. I don't know if that helps, but hey, at least it calms her down. The first thing I will always recommend is to stay calm, be quiet, because epilepsy is not going to kill your dog. And don't panic. If you start to get upset, it can make your dog much more disoriented, and in the end the problem will be recorded. If you see that your dog is having a seizure, what you have to do is lay her down in a more or less soft place. That way you will prevent her from collapsing and hurting herself. One very important thing you have to do is hold its head to prevent it from hitting the ground violently, because that could cause a very serious problem when the seizures have passed. What I recommend is that you calm your pet down and stay by its side, because it will feel disoriented and you won't be able to see very well where it is. If you are close by, it will most likely also help it know that it is at home and that it is protected by you.

And then it will relax and it is time to wait. There is no other way. But in the end, it is just a matter of being patient and getting through the bad time. And that's it. As you can see, Rokio does it very well because she is also calm when she has a seizure, and she is calm with it. And until you diagnosed epilepsy, did the vet recommend that you do more tests? Yes, because there is another disease that has symptoms very similar to epilepsy, which is hepatic necrosis. So first they did a complete analysis, because of course, in my case it wasn't the normal picture of epilepsy. Because he doesn't pee or poop, he doesn't lose consciousness. So my vet said, I'm not going to beat around the bush telling you it's epilepsy. It's better for a specialist to see him. The truth is that as soon as I showed him the video, the neurologist said, Epilepsy. Do an MRI just in case. But it looks like that luckily everything came back fine and he diagnosed him with idiopathic epilepsy.

Idiopathic epilepsy is diagnosed by ruling out other possible diseases that cause seizures.

Such as?

Such as what? For example, a brain tumor or, for example, some diseases that have to do with the liver. So if your dog is having seizures and your vet tells you that you need to do tests, please listen to them. Because even if you think it's very clear that it's epilepsy, it may not be. Well, once you've gone to your vet and they've done the tests and diagnosed him with epilepsy, you'll probably want to know if there's a cure. Epilepsy, unfortunately, has no cure. It's a chronic disease that your dog will have to live with for the rest of his life. What it does have is a treatment. And the treatment is what eliminates the seizures. And it's very important that you keep this in mind. The treatment is what makes the seizures spaced out.

When did you start taking the medication?

Weed been having seizures for a year, every two months, then a month. And the last time? Well, when we decided to take him to a specialist, he was already giving it every 15 days.

And it was like we said, this can't be like this. The reason why we don't start with the treatment from the first day is because the treatment has side effects. What the vet has to do is weigh the pros and cons of treating the animal. That's why if they end up having a lot of seizures, the logical and normal thing to do is to start treating them from that moment on, because there are treatments that are actually quite harmful to the liver. So we're assessing whether it was worth it or not. But of course, it was already very common and something had to be done, and we decided to take the risk. But don't worry too much about the treatment, because if your dog has it, it's because it needs it. Your vet will do the necessary tests to keep it within limits that are considered safe. And why am I telling you all this? Lately we've been receiving a lot of comments on social media from people who question the vaccines that their vet has recommended or the treatment that their vet is going to give their dog. I want you to be aware that we have spent many years studying to find out what is best for your pet. It is true that vaccines can sometimes have adverse reactions, but that only happens to a specific animal, not to all animals. And if we administer them. It is because we know they are effective. So pay more attention to what your vet tells you, because we will always do what is best for your pet.

And currently Nika has seizures very frequently or not?

Well, the truth is that since she started taking the medication, her seizures have gone down quite a bit, and now she has had her last one. It had been three months since her last seizure and she hasn't had another one yet. So it seems that the medication and continuing to take it this way are having an effect.

But apart from the medicines that your vet is going to prescribe, there are also things you can do to help your dog have better health. In this case, there are foods that will help the nervous system to be healthier, such as foods rich in oily fish, which have omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and compounds called DHA, which are very beneficial for the health of the nervous system. These types of nutrients, apart from being found in fresh fish, can also be found in feed made with oily fish or in nutritional supplements that can be given to animals in the form of pills. Because in the end, nutrition is also very important for maintaining the health of the entire animal. Well, and once you know that she has epilepsy and that she is already under treatment, what normal care should you give a dog with epilepsy?

Well, in Nika's case, the basics. She can really lead a normal life, man. Always being careful that if you see that she is going to have a seizure, be careful so that she does not hurt herself. She is a dog like any other, who is not going to spend all day having seizures or anything. I give her her pill in the morning and her pill in the afternoon and at night. Apart from that, she already has routine tests to monitor the level of the medication. And then of course, a test once a year is also recommended.

And with all that, you have her perfectly under control.

Yes, yes. Let's go if you're going to see her later.

I think she's already looking at us. She just needs some popcorn.

Nika. Hello, Nika. Hey. Oh.

Oh. Well, Dot. What's up? What's up, my pretty girl?

Let's go. And she's still acting crazy. Oh, be careful with the microphone.

Don't worry, this microphone is already seasoned.

In a thousand battles. Are you staying or are you leaving? And with all this we're talking about, do you think epilepsy limits Nika's life?

In Nika's case, precisely not. Because as you can see, luckily she has her seizures very occasionally right now, and they usually happen at home. Never give her away. When she's very calm, even when she's sleeping, she's as happy and content as she was the first day, and she's.

Going about her normal life.

Finally, the last thing I want you to know is that an animal with epilepsy can have a perfectly normal life. As you've seen Nika jumping around half mad in the park, any animal with epilepsy can walk with you, go outside and play. The most important thing of all is that you keep her under control and that you always follow the instructions your vet gives you, such as spraying her with fluids and doing regular tests to see if the medication is working properly. And based on your experience, do you have any advice that you'd like to give to people whose dogs have just been diagnosed with epilepsy? Is there anything that you wish they had told you at the beginning? Well, the truth is that they informed me. Well, and clearly it's really about being patient and relaxing. It's okay that even if you think your dog is suffering, well, it's not. There's nothing you can do except wait and not get anxious, because that anxiety can also be transmitted to the dog and it can get more nervous. Just relax and that's it. Wait for the seizure to pass and then take the medication. Never forget it, because the medication is essential. For this reason, you have to know that the medication that the vet is going to recommend to you can't be without it. Just because you start giving it to her and see that she no longer has seizures, I don't know. In a month you can stop giving her the pill. If you forget or stop giving it, it's most likely that she'll start having seizures with the same frequency as when you started giving her the treatment.

Well, now that you know she has epilepsy and that you have.