# Seizure?



## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Hi all,

We think Flynn had a mild seizure last night, but he has not been to the vet yet so I'm not 100% sure. It's still morning here and we're waiting for the Vet to call back. We did call the emergency 24 hour hospital last night when it happened but since it resolved quickly and he seemed fine after, they said it was ok to just monitor him overnight and call out Vet this am.

Anyway, I researched the forums and I know that there were seizure discussions (SteelCity posted about Dozer last year before I was a member), but Flynn's situation seems very different from Dozer's so I wanted to know if anyone was familiar with something like this scenario.

Flynn was exercised last night and he had dinner and was fine. My husband gave him a new glucosamine & chondroitin pill (he's had other brands before but this was a new brand) and he seemed fine. He was relaxing on the carpet in front of the sofa. 

A few minutes later, he stood up and he looked strange and his head was titled. Then, we noticed both of his eyes rolled back in his head. He was not in a fitful state at all though. He could still walk, but he was disoriented. He was using his paw to try to rub at his eye, presumably because he was bothered he could not see? My husband was able to get him to sit, and to take a liver treat during this time because he wanted to know if Flynn could hear/see him or was aware of his surroundings. Flynn was aware, though his eyes were still not back to normal and my husband thought he saw mild nystagmus (eye twitching). 

The entire thing resolved within a couple of minutes and then Flynn was totally fine and his eyes were back to normal. He drank water and I had him run to me and do a few things (i.e. sit, paw, down, etc.) just to make sure he was cognitively ok and that his eyesight and hearing were ok and everything was. 

It could be a total coincidence that this happened after the first time he had a new supplement (the dosage for his weight is 3 and he only had 1) or it could be related.

Obviously, we'll be taking him to the Vet soon but I wanted to ask if any of you are familiar with this type of a seizure in a V? It was pretty mild and not at all fitful and he seemed fairly aware of what was going on, so I'm still not even sure if it was a seizure? 

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

My first question is how old is Flynn?, and does he need the Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplement. 
As a bicycle racer that took this supplement daily for 15 years,I can tell you that the brand does have an effect. I used to take 3000-5000mg a day, along with 6000mg of Creatine Monohydrate. Our horse, an off the track Thoroughbred, OTTB, is also on the supplement. His is Cosequine and we have tried others, but the Cosequine seems to work the best for him.
Hopefully it is exactly that, something in the binders of the pill does not agree with him. Seizures are kind of scary.


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Thanks Gunnr, he is 7.5 years old and we think he does need the supplements because he sometimes limps a bit (right shoulder) after he's had a vigorous workout and then he's rested in one place with no movement for a long time after. I can tell it's a little achey when he first gets up but then with more movement, it's fine again. He's not getting any younger so we wanted to do our best to protect him form arthritis. 

The new brand (I forget the name and I am not home to look at the bottle) is highly rated, very expensive, and was purchased online from a place that specifically makes supplements for dogs. So, even if it was something in the supplement, it was supposedly a very trusted brand. But, we're going to bring it to the Vet and see if there's anything in there we should be concerned about.


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

flynnandlunasmom, I hope everything works out well - fingers crossed for Flynn and you. Please let us know what the vet discovers...


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

flynnandlunasmom - how scary for you. I hope Flynn is okay and that you get some helpful advise from your vets.

Do keep us posted. Thinking of you.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Here's hoping it was just a reaction to the new supplement. Fingers crossed.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

You are correct that his episode sounds nothing like Dozers. However seizures can present in any number of ways and it is thought that many owners are unaware that their dog even has them due to the mild nature of the particular dog's episodes. That being said, if he was truly aware of you all I doubt it was a seizure. But by the way Dozer gets it seems like he is aware of surroundings, yet unresponsive. So did Flynn respond to your stimulus? I hope this is not what his episode was but I've learned that they're very manageable and can happen just once and then never again. So keep your hopes up or at least remain neutral until your appointment. Likely your vet will just tell you to look out for it again. And if it recurs please try to get a video. This will be a huge help with any vets. 

Good luck!


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Thanks SteelCityDozer (and everyone else for your support). 

My husband just called from the Vet. They think it was most likely a petit mal seizure and they don't think it's related to the supplement he took. 

My husband also talked to her about Flynn's achiness/stiffness in his shoulder (I was actually scheduled to take him in for that next week anyway) so she wants to see if these 2 things may be related at all. We thought it was his shoulder because he limps sometimes but apparently the Dr. manipulated his movements and he yelped a few times in a way that made her think it could actually be his neck or spine that is bothering him. 

They did a basic neurological work up and he is fine there. They also did a bunch of blood tests: an electrolyte panel and a complete CBC and tickborn illness panel (results not in yet). Pending blood test results, they may also want to x-ray his neck/spine.

I'm no Dr. but a part of me wonders if it could be Lyme disease that caused both the achiness and the seizure. We live in New England where Lyme is prevalent and due to his ITP autoimmune diagnosis last year, Flynn is no longer able to get vaccinated for Lyme disease. 

I guess if the tests come back ok we just wait it out and see if he has another seizure. At that point, they'll probably do an MRI and other tests. 

Thanks for the advice re: capturing any future episodes on video - that is a great idea. Thanks also for your encouragement. It's good to know Dozer is doing well. 

PS - We think Flynn did respond to the stimulus while he was having the seizure but it all happened so fast it's hard to pinpoint exactly when everything happened. Yet another reason for the video next time, if there is a next time.


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Well, the good news is the blood work all came back normal. So, then they did the xray of his neck/spine which also checked out just fine. 

The frustrating part is that we still have no idea why this happened. I'm just going to hope and pray that it was an isolated incident and won't happen again. And if it does, we'll deal with it. Flynn's a fighter. Always has been. And so are his parents!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

I hope Flynn continues to be a normal, crazy V and you don't have any similar episodes. Haeden sends a roo roo to Flynn!


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

Oh Flynnsmom! 

I hope this incident was just a one off thing! It must have been very scary. It's good to know that the results are ok but not good you don't know what's going on. 
Maybe there's still the possibility that it was the tablet?!
I guess if you give it to him again and it happens than you will know for sure. Let us know if something comes to light. 

In the meantime I wish many more happy and healthy days with your vizslas!


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Flynn and Luna's mom,

That must have been pretty disturbing for you and your husband. Thankfully, it sounds like Flynn wasn't really effected by the episode!! So scary! I'm happy/relieved to hear he received a clean bill of health!


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