Epi4Dogs

according to past and current research https://epi4dogs.com/seizures/ , as i mentioned in an above post, diet can also play a big role in idiopathic seizures.........

There is a lot of debate regarding the possibility that anti-flea and anti-tick medications could cause seizures. I specifically questioned the neurologist about this, and he replied that it is among the most frequent inquiries he receivesbackrooms game

My thought on this is you have to be careful and go with the tick and avoid the tick and flea meds that

1. have multiple applications... like kills tick and fleas AND is heartworm med all rolled into one..... this is a lot of chemicals all packed together, given together

2. AVOID tick and flea meds that you give infrequently... like every 6 months, 9 months or annually.... stick with the ones that are given monthly... they are not as strong.

3. Give topical vs. internal tick & flea med

And most important do your own research and see which product has the lesser# of deaths, adverse effects reported...................

I can't comment much in respect to EPI and seizures. But I did have a very bad epileptic for 16 years. I was told by her vets and neurologist not to expect more than 8 years with her, due to the severity of seizures and the amount of meds she was on. The very most we managed to get was 6 weeks between seizures, at the best of times. But she was a very happy and playful girl until the end.

With regards to flea/tick meds; my vet always wanted to push that on all of our dogs - EXCEPT this one. Even at one time we had a bad enough infestation, we had to get a fumigator in! The dogs were taken to the vet that day. The other dogs were dipped; but they said she could not be because of her seizure history. They said they would check her over very well, and put her in the bath. They gave us meds for the others, and again said she could not have any. They sent her home with an Ovi Collar. Unlike traditional flea collars, they said this is the only flea protection that was safe for her. It's not something I was going to question...I wasn't going to take risks.

There's some documentation regarding seizure risks in some of these meds. For a dog with a lower seizure threshold, risks could be higher.

A friend of mine has a VERY mild epileptic. She's on no meds, and has a seizure once every 6 months to a year. Even for her, the vets had told her not to use flea/tick meds on her. (In her case seizures are so mild, I'm guessing risks would be quite minimal. But obviously they feel it's still not worth a risk).

it's a very hard call "how" and even "if" to treat compromised dogs.....

My Izzy had IMHA.... and could not receive heartworm med and also no vaccines.... had to get written permission filed with the state to exclude some of the mandatory vax's.

ANYWAY... when it came to tick and flea that was a huge issue... and i had to literally research every single ingredient in any product i looked at.

AND..............counter to what vets suggested to me.... i was advised by an IMHA specialist to give 30 day tick and flea me .. only give once every 45 days.... (i lived in tick country) and it worked just fine, not matter how much the local vets tried to push it on me to give every 3 weeks.... sooner than the recommended 30 days.................

SO......... the best i can say is research EVERYTHING....... and even then, there are no guarantees that your dog is going to be safe..........

I am sorry you are dealing with seizures. I always said that was one thing I didn't think I could cope with......so the Universe gave me a son with idiopathic seizures and years later a German Shepherd, Kip, who developed seizures when he was 5. Be careful what you don't wish for.

It took us several years to find the right meds for my son, but he is well-controlled with medication and lives a full life.....married, father of twins, has a thriving business. '

Kip's seizures were also idiopathic. Originally, our vet did not want to put him on medication because he said once you start, you have to keep increasing the dosage to keep him controlled. But he started taking more seizures, so we put him on the lowest dose. We were lucky. He stayed at that dose all his life and lived to be almost 13.

Try to get as much information as you can. The experts aren't always correct. We took my son to a renowned neurologist who gave us advice that did not work and made him worse. We worked out a plan with our pediatrician which worked very well. In adulthood, he found another very good neurologist. With our vet, we pushed for the medication for Kip and the predictions about the increase in meds did not materialize. So sometimes you have to go with your gut.

It isn't easy though. Hang in there. Let us know how Max does.

Barb

thanks Barb for sharing the experience with your son and your dog's issues with idiopathic seizures.

I really appreciate your take on this... to get as much information as possible..... , research, research, research!!!!..... but sometimes.... what is recommended by specialists doesn't always work out.... and sometimes you have make other choices........................