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Niko's Seizure Thread

33K views 306 replies 88 participants last post by  dax0402 
#1 ·
I will make this quick. I am a wreck and need my DT friends to support him.

At 7pm Niko was mouthing and drooling I thought he swallowed something he shouldn't have and it was stuck. I took him outside and watched him he seemed fine with the exception of the mouthing and drooling.

Brought him back in, he was on his rug by the door, I sat with him looked in his mouth etc. Nothing. The mouthing got worse, I called my husband over and Niko started to shake stiffen and made a couple of horrible sounds.

I can not explain this to you any clearer than I thought he was dying. We all witnessed this terrifying event. May 11 yr old is not doing so well, it was very traumatizing for her...traumatizing for all of us.

We took him immediately to the vet who witnessed another seizure at approximately 8pm . They did what they had to to stabilize him, watched him a bit and sent us to emergency.

As we pulled into the parking lot at approximately.... I don't know what the hell time, god love him, he had another one. We saw it coming the mouthing and drooling again. My baby, he looked like he was dying, my daughter ran in to get help. They took him away and immediately took care of him, meds IV etc.

3 in less than 3 hours. I lost track of time.

He is there now blood work will be done to see if there is any issue physically. They are calling it Grand Mal "Cluster" seizures unknown etiology.

My Himmy, please pool all your get well thoughts to him.

We are very emotional right now. I have no concrete answers yet. I just had to come here and write this down. I love him. I am a mess, I can't, i just can't wrap my head around this.

Cathy
 
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#55 ·
Just checking in on your family and Niko. You guys are on my mind and heart all day.

Sending lots of love and hugs to you all.
 
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#57 ·
I want you all to know your concern for my Himmy is overwhelming and very good therapy for me. Thanks to all of you for your support and information. I sincerely mean this.

Well, here we are day 3.

Last night he had 2 pre-ictal or maybe petite mal seizures? Today only 1...so far.

NO Grand Mal so the phenobarbital must be working, he has had 3 doses. I will give it to him at 7am and 7pm to be sure I am here to do so. I was told it would be normal if he had another couple of seizures but if they last for a long time or close together, rush him back.

I am afraid of the damage this medicine will cause to his kidneys....this is an evil trade off.

I know that 4 grand mal in such a short time is NOT GOOD. What has this done to him?

He is just a shell of himself. Does he have brain injury, organ injury? I know it's because of the medicine, but my mind wanders. My husband asked the vet, "Has this damaged his brain, has this changed him permanently?"..only time will tell.

He is not Himmy. He is falling, bumping into things, has forgotten Himmy rules. He does not do the things we hold dear to us. He stares through me sometimes. I hope he will recover. I want my Niko back. Another evil of either the seizure and or the medicine.

I remember when Lexxsmom was going through this and I thought, bless her because I could never be the mm of a special needs dog. Well, I am now the mom of a special needs dog. I vow to do my best to care for him.

I hope he is not scared and suffering.

This has changed so many things for us, we have to protect him.

Remember me telling you about his head bobbing? Were these seizures? Did I do this, did I feed him bad things, is he exposed to something in my home.... these are all thoughts I have.

Thanks for letting me talk. I am so sad, I can't stop crying. I never expected this, I have been blind sided. I heard of people talking about how a traumatic event made them sick to their stomach and wanted to vomit, this is how I felt on Thursday, I get it now.

I want my Himmy to be ok, I need to advocate for him and do all I can. Here's hoping for the best.
 
#58 ·
You did NOT do this to him. Don't think that for one second.

You're an excellent Dobermom - you have done nothing but the right things from day one. You have loved him and cared for him and given him everything and more that a dog could ever hope for in life. You continue to do everything you can for him.

He's still Himmy - he's just confused right now and has been through a lot. He still knows and loves you. Don't doubt that.
 
#60 ·
after reading the link vivienne provided, it sounds like its normal and expected for him to be acting this way after the grand mal seizures. It said days. So hopefully he 'comes back'.

And it's not clear to me if this is now a life sentence of seizures - once he has them, he has them for life? I guess it depends on cause - genetic vs. environment.

Also in the reading material were drug options. I know for a fact neurontin (gabapentin) works wonders for humans - it is an antiseizure drug, but also a neuropathic pain drug. Maybe it would benefit himmy as an anti-seizure drug vs. phenobarbitol. Worth asking.

All of us with dobermans probably have to face reality of this breed one day or another. What can we do - love them, care for them, learn from them, i.e., live each day to the fullest, one day at a time. That's what Quincy tries to teach me - to enjoy each moment and stop being so grumpy about things that I cannot change.

Give him time and hopefully this resolves itself.
 
#61 ·
When You're Not Well


When you are ill,
our sun goes under a cloud.
Your presence in our lives
is such a bright joy
that everything seems in shadow
When you aren't feeling well,
we feel the lack
of your glowing energy
and contagious vitality.
When you are sick
we feel incomplete,
like a jigsaw puzzle
with a missing piece;
Please rest,
take good care of yourself,
and feel better.

Get well soon.


By Joanna Fuchs
 
#63 ·
I forgot to tell you, while we were on our way to the vet, Himmy expressed his anal glands all over my leg. I had that mess on me for hours.
Lets add that to the list of things I never want to experience again.
Gotta love it.
 
#64 · (Edited)
My Sierra, an aussie, lived until she was 15. She was on pheno from age 8 everafter. She had seizure like activity and she hurt herself, breaking teeth and ripping out nails, long story. The pheno made her tired at first and she was very spacey, disoriented and her balance was affected for a while but she got used to it and within a few months she was back, most of all it saved her life. I remember feeling that my girl was gone, looking into her vacant eyes as she stumbled around, but she came back, my CC was there, took a while but she was there, Niko is there he is just in a fog now. So, take heart, pheno is a life saver and it doesn't mean a shorter life due to organ damage. Can there be side effects? Well yes, however Sierra (CC) didn't have any and many dogs do not. Soft gentle hugs and good thoughts. Be kind to yourself, Niko needs you.
 
#68 ·
Himmy is still not right, but so far....... NO pre-ictal today! He wagged his tail and looked at me today. He is in there. Mr Chatty is really starting to worry about him being Niko again, he really misses him.

I am seriously freaking out about leaving him tomorrow. I have pulled out the gates for the stairs, have removed items that may fall should he bump into them. And have done the best I can to make the house safe for Himmy should he seize.

My daughter is going into work late and I will be home before noon. My other daughter will be here around 2 and I will go back to work. We will do this for the week. This is logistical planning at it's finest. We are all being so supportive of each other and arranging our lives so that we can take care of our boy. We love him so.

I am a wreck about this and feel horrible for not being here. What if something happens in that window of time? How will I ever be able to be away from him and feel comfortable about it. I wish I could take a leave of absence for a couple of weeks.

We talked tonight about 2/24 and the 4 "incidents" It's still hard to relive, Mr. Chatty told us all we were "three screaming fools", then he said "I really can't blame any of us for the way we reacted, I was just as scared of loosing him."

I have gotten some amazing advice PM'd to me and I want to thank everyone. Knowing there are people here who care and I can count on really, really helps me.

Writing my thoughts down here is also helpful.

Cathy
 
#69 ·
I'm so happy for the good news about today! And he wagged his nub!!!! What a sweet boy. :)

Sounds like you've planned for the week as best you can. Your entire family is really pulling together to be there for him. He's a lucky guy to have so many loving people in his life.

I know you'll worry, any one in your situation would, but try to focus on the good things as much as you can. You and he will both be better off that way.

Continued good thoughts & love to you all!!

(((HUGS))) for you and Niko!
 
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#71 ·
I love that your family is pulling together--that is wonderful.

And I see glimmers of humor beginning to shine thru--your DH's comment about "screaming fools" :)

I do understand not wanting to leave him, believe me.

But, you will not be able to have your eyes on him every single second for the rest of his (long!) life, so, well, it is what it is.

My bet is he will sleep a lot. His body is still adjusting to the sedative effect of the pheno, and I imagine his normal routine is to sleep while you're at work, anyway.

This will be good for him--sleep is healing.

One suggestion, if you have the tech capabilities, is to set up a webcam and you can then check on him while you're at work.

And if you can't, you've still done some extraordinary things to help him be safe and well, so take a deep breath and just...know that you guys will work thru this.

Hugs.
 
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#78 ·
Everything went VERY well today! Logistically everyone was here to check on Himmy. My oldest sent me a picture of him....with his SS gift in his mouth!! He was trotting around the house with it!

When I came home he GREETED ME AT THE DOOR, he looked (almost) normal, yes normal. Very little tripping, wagging his nub, doing his silly Himmy things, and remembering house rules. He is not 100% but, oh this is a joyous occasion. He reciprocated when we did our special hug! Boy did I miss that.

Why are we still walking on eggshells? We are still on watch for another "incident". I am doing a lot of research so I know how to be the mom of a special needs dog....I'm kinda proud that I have embraced this, in fact honestly, I feel a much closer bond to him now due to his medical condition.....I don't like to say the "s" word.

Today is the best day I have had in a very long time, my Mr. Himmy has come back. I think he missed ME too! :)

Thank you to all of you for your kind words and support. I can't tell you how healing your words and support are.

GO HIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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