OP, how old is your dog? When did he start having seizures? What meds is he on and how long has he been on them? Did the vet provide Valium to be administered rectally if the dog has breakthrough seizures?

If you can afford to get a consult with a neurologist, you should do so. There is no need to consent to any expensive tests, especially if the results won’t change outcome or course of treatment.

One more thing. Go through his food and treats to see if any of them use Rosemary, it lowers seizure threshold and should be avoided.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's possible, your dog simply has epilepsy and you don't need to do any expensive scans. My dog has seizures and has always had them since he was a puppy. He is on a medication now pill twice a day, and since then he has stopped having all seizures. I did not do any expensive brain, scans, or anything. The most expensive thing I did was a bunch of bloodwork to make sure that all his panels show that he's healthy. He's healthy, he just gets seizures. No biggie.

+1 I just want to say how sorry I am you're dealing with this, OP.

The scans are to tell you if it's a brain tumor. So you have to ask yourself what you would do if it is a brain tumor. If the answer is that you would do palliative care but not operate, then you don't need the scans. If you would operate, then it's a good idea to - as PP suggested - reach out to your local shelters and rescues to see if they have funds to help owned pets get treatment. The whole point of those funds is to help in situations like yours - and to make sure pets aren't given up to shelters or euthanized early due to not being able to afford medical treatment.

There's an org called Live Like Roo that will also help with cancer treatment.

Talk to your vet about going on the seizure meds. The best case scenario is that they do the trick - and your dog has many happy, healthy years with you. Those aren't too expensive, either.

Sending lots of good thoughts to you and your dog.

^ This is how it was for us when our dog got seizures. But I am not a vet so if the vet on this thread wants to correct me on anything, or add info, I would welcome that.

Anonymous wrote:It's possible, your dog simply has epilepsy and you don't need to do any expensive scans. My dog has seizures and has always had them since he was a puppy. He is on a medication now pill twice a day, and since then he has stopped having all seizures. I did not do any expensive brain, scans, or anything. The most expensive thing I did was a bunch of bloodwork to make sure that all his panels show that he's healthy. He's healthy, he just gets seizures. No biggie.

+1 I just want to say how sorry I am you're dealing with this, OP.

The scans are to tell you if it's a brain tumor. So you have to ask yourself what you would do if it is a brain tumor. If the answer is that you would do palliative care but not operate, then you don't need the scans. If you would operate, then it's a good idea to - as PP suggested - reach out to your local shelters and rescues to see if they have funds to help owned pets get treatment. The whole point of those funds is to help in situations like yours - and to make sure pets aren't given up to shelters or euthanized early due to not being able to afford medical treatment.

There's an org called Live Like Roo that will also help with cancer treatment.

Talk to your vet about going on the seizure meds. The best case scenario is that they do the trick - and your dog has many happy, healthy years with you. Those aren't too expensive, either.

Sending lots of good thoughts to you and your dog.

Yes- go to the neurologist at Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg. She was amazing. A few hundred dollars for a full assessment (she didn’t recommend scans as my dog seemed otherwise healthy and if it was a brain tumor, etc., she would be dead by now). She prescribed Zonisamide and no seizures for the past 6 months. We are supposed to go back in a year to check in.

In regards to getting testing done at a lesser cost - you might want to try Virginia Tech’s vet school. No idea how it works or the timeline of being seen but might be worth a phone call. I was directed there when our kitten was diagnosed with bilateral trick knees and needed surgery. We ended up using South Paws but I did ask our regular vet about less expensive alternatives. Good luck and hang in there

Just another poster to say there is hope. I had a Springer spaniel and he passed away recently at 14.5 and he had a great quality of life despite years of seizures. His started relatively late in life, I believe at 6 or 7. Because at that age they are often the result of a tumor we did all of the scans and they were expensive, but he was clear. So we started meds and they did help a lot. Seizures declined from monthly to every 6 months.

They are scary to watch and messy to clean up, but he really didn’t seem too bothered by them. They are totally out of it during the seizures.

My understanding is that the expensive scans really only serve one purpose, to identify a tumor that could be treated or removed via surgery. If that is unaffordable, or unwanted, you would treat symptoms and you can hopefully afford the meds.

Vet here. A few comments.

First, I am sorry your dog is having seizures. They can be very scary to watch. Phenobarbital used tobe the first medication recommended, but it can cause am elevation in liver enzymes. Keppra is a wonderfully effective medication, but in smaller pets needs to be given three times daily.

There is a class of flea and tick medications (isoxalines) that DO NOT CAUSE SEIZURES but can lower the seizure threshold in dogs that are already having them or are prone to then. This class includes Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica among others. If your pet has a seizure in the day or two after taking one of these medications, you may want to change meds.

To address the poster who commented about the vet recommendation of tests and thinking them unnecessary. Hmmmmm. So happy to hear your dog was not affected by its heart murmur. But if an owner wants to know if a pets murmur needs attention, may I ask how else you think that should be done ? Doing an echo of the heart is the only way to check a pets heart function. What if your dog had issues regarding its heart and you had not known to go to the veterinary cardiologist. Bet you would be blaming the vet then for not recommending it. My point is you don't know what you don't know. The vet was just recommending the next step of you wanted to find out more. Please be kind rather than suspicious. It is an easier way to go thru the world.

Anonymous wrote:It's possible, your dog simply has epilepsy and you don't need to do any expensive scans. My dog has seizures and has always had them since he was a puppy. He is on a medication now pill twice a day, and since then he has stopped having all seizures. I did not do any expensive brain, scans, or anything. The most expensive thing I did was a bunch of bloodwork to make sure that all his panels show that he's healthy. He's healthy, he just gets seizures. No biggie.

+1 My dog growing up had epilepsy.

If you have pet insurance how come it doesn’t cover the visit to the neurologist? Genuine question, not trying to be snarky.

It's possible, your dog simply has epilepsy and you don't need to do any expensive scans. My dog has seizures and has always had them since he was a puppy. He is on a medication now pill twice a day, and since then he has stopped having all seizures. I did not do any expensive brain, scans, or anything. The most expensive thing I did was a bunch of bloodwork to make sure that all his panels show that he's healthy. He's healthy, he just gets seizures. No biggie.

OP talk to the animal shelter in your town. Rather than having you surrender her, sometimes they work with dedicated owners to help them keep their pet. I had a dog with seizures and it was a simple daily pill she had to take, not expensive.

So sorry to hear about your sweet pup. This isn't fun at all. Keep a journal for the frequency and intensity of the seizures. Some dogs continue to have a great quality of life even with seizures. The journal will help you and your vet evaluate what is going on. The cost for the evaluation is up front. Just do it and get your dog on the medicine as soon as possible. You will then have more information on what is going on and what, if any, options you have. It might be something your dog lives with or it might be a brain tumor. The evaluation will educate you. You can get dog prescriptions filled at CostCo using your HSA funds or filled online at places like petted for a fraction of the cost. And yes, check the flea and tick preventative. Ask your vet if you are using the right one as some do cause seizures. Best of luck to you and your dog.

https://www.friendshiphospital.com/veterinary-social-work-services/pet-care-financial-resources/

Something here could potentially help you get the care your buddy needs.

I had a dog with seizures. She was a JRT and problems emerged when she was six months old. Turned out she was a result of inbreeding. Her back legs started to go lame and she had seizures. My vet put her on phenobarbitol and CoQ10 which you can buy in the vitamin department.

I checked into getting her seen at a vet school but even the cost of that was more than I could afford and there were no guarantees they could even figure out a cure or treatment.

I dealt with the seizures and the lameness for six years, she was actually a great dog despite these issues. She eventually got progressively worse and I had to have her put down because her quality of life was very low.

BTW phenobarbitol is very cheap and works pretty well. Good luck with your dog.

What kind of dog and what age?

Isn't there a forum for pets? I presume that would include pet health.