[Dailydrool] seizures and Zonisamide

[Donna Lindy via Dailydrool]

Kara,

IF you’ve not googled Zonisamide, it appears that it is a relatively 
new drug used in dogs for seizures and it mentions that they may 
not be aware of all side effects.  I would take Rooney off of the 
Zonisamide and see if that helps and I would call my vet and let 
him or her know what is going on. This drug is used in addition to 
other seizure drugs like phenobarbital and potassium bromide or 
instead of those drugs. Personally, with this behavior, I’d want to 
try the standard drugs to see if they work better for Rooney.  
Phenobarbital does affect the liver and after about 10 years on it, 
my Gracie, who had seizures starting at 2 1/2 years old, had high 
liver numbers and we switched her to Keppra (there is a generic 
which is not terribly cost prohibitive). She did very well on the Keppra 
and potassium bromide and was seizure free for the last couple of 
years of her life. We lost her in Feb. of this year so this is pretty 
recent information. 

Gracie was put on potassium bromide after her second seizure and 
when she had a third, milder seizure a week later, the phenobarbital 
was added. We were very lucky with Gracie as her seizures were 
generally well controlled with medication. At one point the blood
work told us she could come off the phenobarbital, but after being
off of it for several months, she had cluster seizures and went right
back on it. 

If I were to have another dog with seizures that required medication,
I would opt for the Keppra (generic is levetiracetam) as it seemed
to me that Gracie felt a lot better on that than on the phenobarbital.
Search levetiracetam on www.goodrx.com for the best price in your
area and call around to drug stores that are not listed, as well as
check some of the REPUTABLE online pharmacies. I got it at 
Costco at a good price but then found a local pharmacy had 
a better price (it was a Healthmart). Potassium bromide can be
used with the Keppra and we continued that medication also.

I know several people who have had hounds with seizures with
totally different scenarios so each hound is different. You may
want to see the neurologist to determine why Rooney is having
seizures although I don’t know anyone else with a seizure
dog that has seen one.  I guess in some cases it might be of
benefit but my vet felt that in Gracie’s case, we wouldn’t 
be able to change anything anyway, 

There is also a web site that would be helpful to you - 
www.canine-epilepsy.com     Be sure and check it out.

I wish Rooney and  you the best and hope you can find
something that will work well for him.

Donna, drool fueler for Bosley and Sunny
dlindy at mac.com







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