Follow-up with Neurologist - Seeking a Second Opinion

We are extremely upset and feel completely lost and broken.  Yesterday, it had been 5 days since Stella started on the powerful seizure medication (Phenobarbital).  We had waited all this time to finally speak with her Neurologist, which we understand was unavoidable and just bad timing.  Unfortunately we have had a serious communication breakdown with the Neurologist and the conversation we had with her last night has left us extremely uncomfortable.  We are very concerned about Stella’s current catatonic state and condition and we are now left wondering if she is on the right treatment plan.  I won’t go into details about our conversation with the Dr. C. but suffice it to say that we have decided that we need to seek a second opinion.

 

We have made an appointment for this Thursday, two days from now, with another Neurologist.  Incidentally this second Neurologist is one we have gone to before years ago with two of our other dogs.  When Stella started having seizures we felt it was important to keep all of her healthcare under one roof, at the specialty hospital, and at the beginning we did not know if the seizure activity was related to her cancer issues and wanted to be close by to her oncologist so we made the decision to see the Neuro at this same facility.  As I stated in a previous post – all the veterinarians contributing to her current health issue (Oncologist, Neurologist, our regular vet and the ER vets) all agree that this seizure activity is a completely unrelated to her cancer history.

For the next two days until we see the second Neurologist we will abide with the suggestion of the first Neuro that we reduce the Phenobarbital dosage to half her current dose.

We are hopeful that the second Neurologist can provide more clarity with Stella’s condition and can lead us on the right path….whatever that may be.

Meanwhile Stella's condition remains the same; very worrisome.