Acupuncture & Epilepsy question

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Pumpkin
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Acupuncture & Epilepsy question

Post by Pumpkin »

I know it is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of sting' question but how frequently do seizures need to be before we consider medication - I was wondering if anyone with an epileptic furkid had been through the process and when they went on medication.

Charlie is 6 now and has seizures since he was about 18mth old - I maintain it was Advocate that started them but that's another discussion! In the beginning they were violent and started to get about a month / 2month apart. We put him on Skulcap tablets and they settled it down really well and he was having maybe 2-3 a year. Of late (6-9mth) he is on the same Skulcap dosage but he is having them more frequently but they are a little milder (not sure if that is better or not!). I would say he is back to having them every other month which, in the scheme of things, I know is not really a lot but I can't decide whether now is the time to talk to the vet about medication (proper medication rather than herbal).
My lovely vet who I would have talked this through with has left the practice so I need to get an idea in my own mind what I want before I go.

I have just edited this as been looking online (as you do) there seems to be something behind acupuncture helping epilepsy in dogs - anyone heard similar or has anyone have their dog acupuncture-ed (?!?)
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zeta1454
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Re: Acupuncture & Epilepsy question

Post by zeta1454 »

Hi Tracey,
Sorry to hear that Charlie's seizures are increasing in frequency. I have no experience of a dog with epilepsy so just passing on information that I have read.

I do know that acupuncture can be very effective for some conditions and certainly could do no harm to try if you have a veterinary practice offering this. We have three of our dogs registered at an integrative veterinary practice which offers a range of treatments to clients including pharmaceuticals, herbal, homeopathic, chiropractic and acupuncture as well as surgery. It might be worth checking if there is this kind of practice anywhere near where you live.

When I saw your initial post, I wanted to mention also about CBD oil which some people do find helps their dogs with epilepsy as well as other conditions. I know it has been given a kind of "cure all" status by some people which is unlikely to be the case, but there is good evidence of it helping in humans and there are now on-going scientific studies being carried out in the USA for dogs with seizures to give support (or not) to the considerable anecdotal evidence.

I have used a CBD oil blend with turmeric (Liquid Gold from the Simply CBD company ) for our eldest dog who has (possibly arthritic) stiffness. Both his chiropractor and the vet commented on the difference in his demeanour and movement after a few weeks of just one small drop a day on his food. He does have other supplements but it was because these seemed to be less effective than they were initially that we added in the CBD oil. He is not on any pharmaceutical medication. I know this is a different condition but just to show that I do know it can be an effective supplement. However, a number of people do use a different (no turmeric) CBD oil for their dogs with seizures and seem impressed with the results. There are a few links here with more information, including one to the company where I obtained the oil which I use for our dog and one to a Facebook group specifically for people using CBD oil for their epileptic dogs.

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/cbd-oil-for-dogs/

https://www.simply-cbd.co.uk/about/

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1141385965996208/

I do hope you can find something to help Charlie.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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Oscar 12345
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Re: Acupuncture & Epilepsy question

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Just taken a look at that stuff. That's very useful to know. Don't ever leave this forum Leigh.......

Hope you find something that helps Charlie Tracey.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
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Pumpkin
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is a: Black Mini Dog
Born: 14 Jun 2013
Location: Hornchurch, Essex

Re: Acupuncture & Epilepsy question

Post by Pumpkin »

Thanks Leigh, that's really helpful and not seen that in my research so far so will have a look. I am basically up for trying anything that will help hence the acupuncture - obvs OH thinks it is a waste of time!!! As you said it won't do any harm and might help which is the same for the oil by the looks of it.
I want to keep him on alternative meds for as long as I can really.

Am off to do more reading on CBD and have found a vet that does acupuncture about half an hour from me so going Tuesday.
Thanks
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Re: Acupuncture & Epilepsy question

Post by Valentin01 »

I had an epileptic dog and when he was first put on phenobarbitone he was very unsteady, it took about ten days for him to become normal again, so you may find your dog will improve after the excess phenobarbitone has left his body, the added Kbr should be very effective. There is a very good support in England called The Phyllis Croft Foundation for Canine Epilepsy and you can Google it, I found it very helpful, worth you having a look and perhaps getting in touch. I am so sorry for you, it is heart rending to have an epileptic dog, they are completely normal between fits but when they are fitting it is dreadful.
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