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  Discussion on Seizures in QH gelding
Author Message
Member:
Littlet

Posted on Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 - 3:27 pm:

Hello, My name is Terri, don't usually participate in these forums but read them always! You are all so much more knowledgeable that I am so usually let the ones with the most experience answer questions unless I have had personal experience in the subject. My 17 yr. old QH gelding has had a problem with seizures for at least the past 5 yrs which is how long we have owned him. He is currently on 11 pills twice a day of 97.2 mg Phenobarbital. This has been the dosage for about 2 years & he has only had a few seizures, that we know of, during this time. Last night he had a few in a row lasting at least a 30 minute period. I gave him 11 more pills in the hopes he would be OK during the night. Late this morning he had a couple more mild episodes. Vet is out of town so I called another vet & she suggested doubling his med. & then when normal vet comes back he should check liver enzymes. I have read threw all of the articles I can find on this subject on here & anywhere I can find. I am looking for any more info, suggestions or experience that anyone can share on this subject. I also am interested in what exactly your horse does while having a seizure. Also Dr. O if at some point he just keeps having seizure after seizure & I call vet out what exactly can be done to stop the at least temporarily? Any thoughts on this are appreciated. A fan of the forums, Terri
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 - 11:24 pm:

You continue to increase the dosage of phenobarb until the seizures stop Terri but this should be done under a veterinarians supervision. If the vet comes out he can give it or other antiseizure drugs (outlined in the article) in injectable form. Once stable you might consider adding potassium bromide to the maintenance regimen as it increases the effectiveness of the phenobarb.
DrO
Member:
Littlet

Posted on Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 - 1:15 pm:

Thanks for the response Dr. O. He had another mild seizure this AM but I haven't seen any more so far today. It seems that the added meds are taking effect because he looks so lethargic & as if he is on drugs. I have been reading about potassium bromide & this is what I have read
"Potassium bromide (KBr)

is not a licensed medication in the United States, while currently in the United Kingdom it is classed as a supplement." So I was wondering is there another way that I can get this into his diet or am I misunderstanding this & you can buy it over the counter here in the US? Thanks for taking the time to respond. I see in the forums people have written about epilepsy in past years but haven't seen any thing current, maybe this will spark more to write on this matter.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 - 5:38 pm:

Goodness Terri, we have discussion almost weekly on seizures, particularly narcolepsy, try running a search on the discussions for seizures.

We use it regularly for several of our epileptic patients in our practice and purchase it through a US veterinary compounding company, your veterinarian should not have any trouble finding it.
DrO
Member:
Littlet

Posted on Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 - 8:07 pm:

Thanks for the reply, I will ask my vet about that. Wow, guess I was using the search incorrectly, I have now found my way to the discussions on this subject that are recent.
Member:
Cara2

Posted on Monday, Mar 21, 2005 - 10:22 am:

Hi Terri,

Sorry to hear that your horse has started having seizures again. Have you steadily increased his dose over the 5 years, or has it stayed pretty much the same? My horse started on 30 x 60mg phenobarb 6 years ago and now she is on 54 of them plus two teaspoons of bromide. I have to raise her dose a couple of times per year to keep her seizures completely under control. Experience has shown that it is far easier to prevent them breaking through than to stop them once they have started. On the odd occasion we have had to have a vet come and intervene, he has used a valium-type drug, IV.

A friend of mine who has her own business making supplements for horses provides my bromide for me. It is food quality which I presume is higher quality than what you would have in the school chemistry lab!! I would imagine that your local dispensing drug store could provide you with it and without a prescription from your vet. We can have it prescribed in the UK as an animal medicine and it is hugely expensive hence I use my friend as a supplier. I do recommend that you try it on your horse though. It allowed me to halve Cara's phenobarb dose, a big saving financially and far better for her liver enzymes. Just add it gradually to your horses feed - it can cause gastric upset if you aren't careful. It tastes disgusting too so I help it go down with grated apple and carrot.

Does your vet have any idea what causes the seizures, or could it be the QH breeding?

Helen
Member:
Littlet

Posted on Monday, Mar 21, 2005 - 7:13 pm:

I will definitely ask my vet about adding that. He is not sure what could be causing the seizures & has not personally delt with them before so consults with other vets about this when need be. The first year we had a couple vets out & they said they could run lots of tests & very likely wouldn't find the cause or be able to cure them & that it would be very costly. I had a vet/chiroprater come out that I had seen at a horse expo & he seemed to think that the cause was a pinched vertebra in his neck. He adjusted my horse there & a few other places. Also did the acupuncture with I believe B12 injections. Wow was I impressed. I had never seen such a thing & it was amazing to watch & the horse reacted each time exactly as the vet said he would. My horse was seizure free for a year after that. This man is very well know & travels a lot & I never could get him back out to the house. I then went to my vet again which has little belief in the neck being the problem or faith in the chiropractic work being the reason he was seizure free. He put him on the meds then. About a year after he started the meds he started having them again. We increased from 10 2x a day to 11 2x a day thinking that maybe he had gained weight & that that would solve the problem, worked. That is the only time we have ever increased the dosage, guess we are lucky there. He has had a few mild seizures along the way but nothing like he has had without the meds. Also, I have found using about about a tablespoon of molasses with his pills stirred in it & a handful of sweetfeed makes the meds go down with pleasure. I keep the molasses in a shampoo pump style bottle & it works great with very little mess. Thanks for the replies & it is nice to talk to someone that understands. I wish you luck with your horse as well & it you come up with any new tips, be sure & share.
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