Any advice grateful... Scruffers has just been diagnosed with epilepsy recently

[ScruffersMamabear]

Hi all!
Apologies this is the first time I have posted in a LONG time.
I am after some help/advice/others experiences. Our Scruffers, now 21 mths old has been diagnosed with epilepsy 3 weeks ago. He was hospitalised on 14th Jan due to 6 seizures in a 24 hr period. We had 18 days seizure free then yesterday he had 4 seizures over a 24 hr period which meant he ended back in hospital again. I have epilepsy myself but it's like learning all over again.
I have so many questions, but these 2 for starters...
Does anyone else's dog suffer from epilepsy? Did you have an MRI to check if there was an underlying issue?

[Robbie34]

Henry had Epilepsy that was diagnosed just after his second birthday.  It was poorly controlled despite increasing doses of Epiphen.  Other drugs were added  which made no appreciable difference. My vet referred Henry to the University of Liverpool SAH where he spent the day undergoing various tests, including an MRI scan.  No underlying cause was found, and it was diagnosed as idiopathic Epilepsy.  The neurologist added Levetiracetam 500mg to his Epiphen.  Adding this overcame some of the side effects of the Epiphen and he was a much happier dog.  He had a seizure roughly every three or four weeks.

In October 2017 Henry was just seven years old and was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma.  He was put to sleep on 28th November having succumbed to the cancer.

[ScruffersMamabear]

Thank you for coming back to me @Robbie34
Scruffers has been put on Keppra (Levetiracetum) both time to stop the clusters, then weaned off a few days down the line leaving him solely on 30mg of Epiphen a day. They did blood tests on him last night to check the levels in his blood to see if they need to increase it at all. He's had a settled night thankfully so should hopefully be coming home later. We were offered an referral to have an MRI but they have quoted nearly £5k just for the scan, initial assessment & associated costs & a clause within our policy will only pay £1.5k of that! It's going to be very difficult to swap insurance companies with a pre-existing condition. Not sure if it can actually be done, I have started a thread about this.
I'm glad your Henry became a happier dog due to the meds & had a loving home to spend his days. I am, however, sad to hear of his cancer this had made me cry... May he be running free of pain over the Rainbow Bridge. Bless you, it must still be so raw, they are our family.Thank you for sharing x

[bizzylizzy]

I don‘t live in UK, so might be completely off the mark here, and please forgive me if I am, but 5K for an MRI?. I had to have one myself last year and,coincidently, received the bill last week for €480. 
I appreciate that for pets it would be more but that is a BIG difference!! Might  it be worth checking out if that is the normal price? Maybe someone here would be able to comment?..

[Robbie34]

Why isn't he on a permanent daily dose of Levetiracetam?  Henry was on 60mg Epiphen twice daily plus the Levetiracetam.   The University of Liverpool charged just under £2,000 for the consultation and MRTI.
The Small Animal Hospital is in The Wirral if it's possible for you to travel there.

[Robbie34]

This is the web page for the SATH. https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/sath/

[Darwin]

Have you looked into the services provided by the RVC. There may be information on their website.

[Patp]

So sorry to hear x firstly no more chemical wormers or annual vaccinations should be given.

Research CBD elixir (legal in the uk).  There is a Facebook group called canine health which I will get the link for.  It's worth joining and posting on there x

[Patp]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/50163890984/

[its.sme]

Your Dog magazine has an article in ( March ), it's on the shelves now so I hope this helps.

I would agree with Darwin, RVC are always worth checking.

Hope you find the answers.

[ScruffersMamabear]

I don‘t live in UK, so might be completely off the mark here, and please forgive me if I am, but 5K for an MRI?. I had to have one myself last year and,coincidently, received the bill last week for €480. 
I appreciate that for pets it would be more but that is a BIG difference!! Might  it be worth checking out if that is the normal price? Maybe someone here would be able to comment?..

Not way off the mark at all, we thght it rather expensive though we are new to all this, dog epilepsy tht is as I have human epilepsy...
Thank you for replying we are looking at other options x

[ScruffersMamabear]

Why isn't he on a permanent daily dose of Levetiracetam?  Henry was on 60mg Epiphen twice daily plus the Levetiracetam.   The University of Liverpool charged just under £2,000 for the consultation and MRTI.
The Small Animal Hospital is in The Wirral if it's possible for you to travel there.

Scruffers has only just been diagnosed & is on 30mg of Pheno a day but as he has had another cluster he is back on Keppra for 4 days whilst they check his bloods. Maybe his meds need adjusting. I don't particularly like Keppra as the body can become resistant to it 😔

[Robbie34]

The neurologist at the University of Liverpool prescribed Levetiracetam for Henry and it made a huge difference to his life.  Epiphen causes weight gain and has some undesirable side effects, particularly liver damage.  Your dog will need to be tested annually for this.

[PennyB]

Speak to the woman here http://www.canineepilepsysupport.co.uk/contact/4593965920

It made the difference between a friend who was so worried she was thinking of rehoming her dog so I had a long chat with her then gave her details of this organisation and it made a whole load of difference

There are some other charities if you want to try someone else http://www.pcfce.org.uk/

[David Morgan]

I don‘t live in UK, so might be completely off the mark here, and please forgive me if I am, but 5K for an MRI?. I had to have one myself last year and,coincidently, received the bill last week for €480. 
I appreciate that for pets it would be more but that is a BIG difference!! Might  it be worth checking out if that is the normal price? Maybe someone here would be able to comment?..

It is a lot - I've had an MRI scan covered by medical insurance and so saw the costs and it was much (much) less. However, our Murphy lost his bark and had an MRI scan just before Christmas - with the consultation and some other tests this cost £4,500 for a couple of hours. Murphy did have to be sedated so that he would lie still - not something you do with a person - and that would have added to the cost.  Of course, there was no waiting period for Murph's exam and having all that equipment sitting around ready for a sick pet also adds to the cost when compared to human medical facilities.  Thankfully, we have very good insurance. It has been said that the growing number of heavily insured pets is actually driving up vet's bills.