epileptic dog

Question
Hi

Our dog has been epileptic for 2 years now. Every time he seizes, he can't stand or walk for a while. vets in the area all have said that this is just post-seizure paralysis, and would not last more than 12 hours. in the past 6 months its lasted much longer, and this time it has lasted several days, he is still paralyzed. every time we go to the vet they test for all possible diseases. today the vet said that the reason he couldnt walk or even stand up was NOT a neurological issue, and probably an infection of sorts. this i do not believe as its been going on for 2 years. i spent about 700 bucks today at the vet and the vet still has no idea what is wrong with my dog. can you help me? or offer some ideas that i can tell to the vets or treatments to help this out? he isn't eating, or drinking, and is sedated from the phenolbarbetol. and the last time this happened to a different dog my friend had to put her down becuase she was so sick. can you help us?

Answer
There are dogs whose epilepsy does not successfully respond to phenobarbitol.  Seizures are caused by many things, including genetic and acquired.  According to veterinary experts, the single most important test in diagnosing the type of disorder is the CSF tap and analysis. If the epilepsy is caused by an injury, the injury is long healed and the CSF will be normal in that condition. On the other hand, the CSF is usually abnormal in active seizure disease. MRI can help identify those conditions which do not markedly alter the CSF, yet cause an active seizure disease. The MRI remains normal in acquired epilepsy.

Regarding treatment, according to William Thomas DVM, "Valproate (valproic acid, Depekene) is considered a second line drug for the treatment of epilepsy in dogs. The elimination half-life in dogs is fairly short (approximately 3 hours) compared to people (5 to 15 hours). Thus, unless very high doses are used, blood levels of valproate in dogs are less than concentrations known to be therapeutic in people. However, these blood levels may still be sufficient in dogs, since lower protein binding of valproate in dogs gives rise to higher brain concentrations, compared to people.  In one short-term study, treatment with valproate alone was effective in reducing seizure frequency by 50% or more in 7 out of 16 dogs (44%) with idiopathic epilepsy. When used in conjunction with other anti-seizure drugs (mostly phenobarbital or primidone), valproate was successful in reducing seizure frequency by at least 50% in 21 of 41 dogs (51%).   Because of the lack of long term studies and concerns about the rapid metabolism in dogs, valproate is currently considered a second line drug for the treatment of canine epilepsy. It is used primarily in dogs whose seizures are not well controlled with phenobarbital or bromide."

Your veterinarian appears to be correct when s/he says your dog's post seizure behavior is not typical.  However, if seizures are being caused by disease (brain tumor or systemic imbalance) this might not be the case.

If you are intent on getting to the cause, you need a large veterinary school with an active hospital.  Here is the address for a site which gives the names and locations of such veterinary hospitals:  http://cancer.landofpuregold.com/vet.html  You should be able to find such a hospital within a reasonable driving distance (several hundred + miles) of your home.  This will not be inexpensive.  One has to weigh quality of life with the experimental analysis and treatment your dog will receive at such a facility.