Stress is such a trigger

Henry had a Grand-mal about 40 minutes ago. Stress was the trigger, I know it. He knows Riley is sick and has been so worried about him.

Henry is a bit of a spook and really relies on Riley in order to help him be more brave. If we lose Riley to this cancer, it's going to be awfully rough on Henry. =(

Mast Cell Tumor

Sorry I have been away so long. My computer started behaving very badly, and I had to take it in to be repaired, which took three weeks. I just got my computer back today and am very glad to be back!!!!

I had a hard time deciding wether or not to put this here or on my other blog (The BARF Blog). Due to the large number of greyhounds affected by cancer, and this blog being read by many greyhound people, I have decided to put news on Riley's cancer here on this blog. Riley however is not a greyhound, he is an American Eskimo. The kind of cancer Riley has (mast cell tumor) is considered one of the most treatable kinds there is. He was diagnosed March 30th (2 weeks ago) with a carpal mast cell tumor. Riley is not my first dog to have mast cell tumors. We had a chihuahua that had a few show up on her mammary glands, and we caught it in time, and they were removed and she did just fine after that, not even needing chemo.

Riley is a trickier situation though, because the only way to remove his mast cell tumor on his wrist, is to fully amputate that leg. At 14 years old, with some moderate arthritis and mild blindness, and a low pain threshold, we have opted not to do this, especially as front legs bear more weight than back legs.

Originally this tumor was diagnosed as a soft tissue injury. When it grew instead of gettng better, we went back to the vet and that was when we found out it was a mast cell tumor. We were very upset at first, as it is inoperable except by amputation, and Riley is already in pain. I feared euthanasia may not be too far off. I did not have my computer, so I couldn't research as in depth as I wanted to. I still have not done alot of research on this yet. Anyways, our vet called us a couple days after the diagnosis, and referred us to MSU. MSU has a whole section of their veterinary hospital devoted to treating pets with cancer. They have all the most advanced treatments there. So we went to MSU last Friday. (April 10th)

Riley at MSU, waiting to be seen by vet. (Note tumor on wrist, on your right)

A series of tests were done on Riley at MSU, including an ultrasound. Good news is the cancer has not spread to the organs. Even more good news, there is a new chemotherapy drug specifically for mast cell tumors. It is still in research stages though. Riley will be getting this chemotherapy drug that is under research. He will get 4 doses, three weeks apart, and then we will see how he is doing and figure out the rest of the plan after that. Riley's case will be closely watched by the makers of the new chemo drug. They are always researching and trying to come up with more ways to help pets with cancer, which is an exciting thing. The chemo will be free of charge due to Riley being part of the study/research.

Henry Made It 118 Days Of No Grand-Mals

Henry had a Grand-Mal about at about 1 AM today. I knew it was coming. We were upstairs, and he started to cry in a very urgent way. I ran downstairs and got an extra grain of Phenobarbital, I noticed Henry was acting blind and thought oh no.... He did take the Pheno. He really wanted to go downstairs. With me guiding him he started to go down the stairs, and at the third step from the bottom went into full blown Grand-mal and landed on his back/left side in seizuring position at the bottom of the steps.

I made sure he was reasonably safe at the bottom of the steps on the kitchen floor with a rug by his face, then went to the freezer that was only a few feet away and grabbed the ice bag. Unfortunately the ice bag was in one big huge clump and was useless. I tried, but no effect. I hated to have to bang up the ice bag to get it loose while he was seizuring, as noise and light is terribly aggravating during seizure. But the seizure kept going on, and I decided to go for it and proceeded to break up the ice, but it was just too hard, Finally the seizure did end. I didn't time it. The violent part was probably a couple minutes, then the other part was about 5 minutes. Felt like an eternity.

Note to self, ALWAYS make sure the ice in the bag is loose and on the ready!

I was very glad he was wearing the kind of jammies that have a velcro strip all the way down the back. I was able to very quickly unvelcro it. Light dimmer switches or soft lighting are very nice to have too during Grand-Mals.

118 days is very, very, very good. A few more days (Feb. 5th) he would have made it to 4 months which in all of his recorded seizure history he had never made it that long. With 118 days Grand-Mal free, he did beat any previous record he had.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

In this picture, Henry is in a very deep sleep with his eyes open.

This doesn't have anything to do with epilepsy, but I feel it's an important topic to cover regardless.

I have had many breeds and breed mixes over the years, and the sleeping pattern of the Henry has really stood out as different than any other dog we have had.

Greyhounds are known for sleeping with their eyes open, and they are known for sleeping very deeply, and they are known for having very vivid dreams and can be pretty active in their sleep with their legs and vocal noises.

It is important to be aware of this and understand this to prevent incidents from happening, and it is especially important to teach children that just because the Grey's eyes are open and you can see the black parts of the eyes does not mean the Grey is awake, and to always leave a potentially sleeping Greyhound ALONE. The Greyhound due to it's deep sleeping pattern may not realize right away it's a family member waking them and may bite before they realize that.

If you need to wake a sleeping Greyhound, do it by gently calling their name. Do not assume they are awake until they actually lift their head up.

Blood Test Result

Henry's blood test result is in. His Phenobarbital level is 149. 160 is the maximum allowed. So he's up there. Yikes. I'm glad he's staying seizure free though! I have mixed feelings about this. His dose is 150 mg twice daily, so total of 300 mg a day.

Pancreatitis

I have been meaning to post about Pancreatitis and have neglected to do so. This is something I feel is especially important for all those whose epi-pups are on meds to know about. Unfortunately Pancreatitis is more common in dogs who are on both Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide. Being aware of the symptoms so you know what to do and are prepared is a very good idea. Symptoms are not necessarily cookie cutter, and can vary from dog to dog, so please keep that in mind as I post the symptoms.


Common symptoms are~

lack of appetite

diarrhea

vomiting

fever

abdominal pain

abdomen may be distended

Pancreatitis is when the pancreas leaks digestive enzymes and starts to essentially digest itself, thus causing inflammation of the pancreas. It is a painful condition, and if left untreated, the pain alone can cause an animal to go in shock and die.

The #1 thing NOT to do if you suspect your dog may be suffering from Pancreatitis, is to try to get them to eat. They are not eating because they know eating makes their condition worse. It is essential they go on a fast. Some even make the mistake of feeding extra fattening food in hopes of getting their dog to eat, which is the LAST thing you want to do. Call your vet right away, and she can do a blood test to help determine if your dog is suffering from Pancreatitis.

Wether or not your dog will need to stay at the vet will depend on how severe the Pancreatitis is and how far along it is. Your vet will tell you how to go about the fast, and what to do about seizure meds during this time and etc., etc.

I've no first hand experience with this, but my friend does, so I am going to link you to her blog, so you can read about her epi-pup's experience~ http://topazseizures.blogspot.com/search/label/pancreatitis

GAA Galgos Project

A lady named Julie Costello has started a new blog, which will be documenting her trip to Spain to help the Galgo. Galgos are a sighthound pretty similar to Greyhounds. Galgos are very common in Spain. Galgos suffer extreme horrors in Spain. =( Julie is going to Spain to help the Galgos, and she will be blogging about her experience to help raise awareness.

Please check out her blog~ http://gaagalgos.blogspot.com/

Sorry to be gone so long

Sorry I have been away from my blog. I would like to do a few quick updates.

First of all, Henry is at 35 days Grand-Mal free today! Tomorrow will be a new record for how long he has made it. November 20th he has an appt. with Dr. Buck and will have his Phenobarbital level checked via blood test. My prediction is the level is right about in the middle. Not real high, but not real low either.

Also, I would like to share an observation. Those of you who have followed our journey through Henry's health issues since the beginning, know that Henry used to be prone to diarrhea, and that was how we found out Flagyl is a trigger. Anyways, since Henry started homecooked, he has not had diarrhea even once. It's a great recipe not just for dogs with epilepsy, but for dogs with IBD, chronic diarrhea, etc. In fact, it was originally created for Lucky's IBD. (IBD=irritable bowel disorder)

Also, I have been meaning to blog about Pancreatitis. Unfortunately this seems to be a fairly common affliction among dogs who are on AED's, especially if they are on both Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide. So I would like to make sure everyone is aware of the symptoms and knows what to do. My friend's epi-pup Topaz was diagnosed with it about a month ago and she has learned alot since then, so I will be linking to her blog so you can benefit from her experience.