Wobbly after seizure.

Dr. Marie replied:

Interesting. It's unusual to see a dog have these kind of effects 3 days after having a seizure.

I can think of a few possible reasons for this.

When he had the seizures recently, did any of them last for more than 10 minutes? If so it's possible that he has suffered some damage to his brain.

Has he had any blood tests recently? If this was happening to a patient of mine I would want to check his liver enzymes. If there was a liver problem it could cause him to not be able to process the valium. This would cause the drug to be active in his system for several days.

Does he have any access to anything toxic such as recreational drugs? I once saw a cat with similar symptoms and it turned out the cat was munching on the owner's marijuana plants.

Has he had his levels of phenobarbital and potassium bromide checked recently? If a dog is getting too high of a dose then this can cause him to be "out of it". But, it doesn't really make sense that this happened just after having some cluster seizures...unless the doctors had increased his dose.

I think it's a good idea to have a vet look at him again. They can do some neurological tests to determine if there is a vision problem. They can also do some blood tests to see if we need to be worried about the liver.

I really hope things are better soon.

If you have more questions then please respond. I will be heading out of the office and going back home again in a few minutes so I won't be able to reply for about an hour or so.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

You got me just before I left....

I think it would be worthwhile to consult with your vet again and have them examine him again. They may want to do some additional tests on the liver such as a bile acids test to determine if there is a liver problem.

Some dogs will have slightly elevated liver enzymes because of the phenobarb, but if the bile acids are elevated then this can tell us there is something else going on with the liver.

What you are describing is not normal and I do think it's a good idea to have him checked.

Dr. Marie replied:

Not sure if you saw my reply above...looks like your response came through twice.

Dr. Marie replied:

I have seen dogs get pretty zonked out by potassium bromide...but not for 3 days although it's certainly possible.

I have seen dogs have brain damage after having one long seizure. I've had cases where we couldn't stop a seizure and an animal seizured for 30 minutes and then was essentially brain dead after that. But I can't say that I have seen an animal have brain damage after cluster seizures.

Dr. Marie replied:

No, I don't think the seizures have caused brain damage. I think this is more likely to be a problem with either too high a dose of medication or a problem with his body metabolizing the medicine.

Again though, it would be a good idea to have your vet see him again tomorrow.

I wouldn't make any changes in his medications until it is recognized by your vet.