Seizure Treatment Plan - Day 4

Stella had 3 full doses of Gabapentin yesterday; it is making her even more disoriented. 

At 12:15pm today she had yet another seizure.  Again, lasting about 20 minutes.  Less than one hour later she had another.  This last one was the “worst” one she’s had so far.  At one point, as I held her tightly, her entire body seized into a hard rock; it felt like she had turned to stone.  This lasted for just a few seconds and I felt her muscles relax and then she just sat there shaking.  We made the decision that 5 seizures in less than 48 hours was too much (I believe it is called a “cluster”) and we decided to go back to the ER.  Although this was in the middle of the day, the “regular” hospital was closed as this is Independence Day. 

By the time we arrived in the ER it had been one hour since Stella’s last seizure began and she was just coming down from it; this was the longest one yet.
 

ER vet examined Stella and came back to us to explain what he thought should be done.  He stated that there was no more waiting to put Stella on anti-seizure medication.  When we asked about the possible live damage or failure he explained that we were at a point where we needed to think about her overall well-being versus just the liver.  He stated that although anti-seizure medication CAN cause liver damage it doesn’t mean it will happen.  If Stella continues to have seizures, the seizures WILL cause brain damage.  So tending to her seizures now takes precedence over what MAY happen to her liver.
 

The ER vet told us we should leave Stella in the hospital overnight so that he can start loading her with Phenobarbital; the anti seizure medication.  We asked why we could not do this at home and he responded that although we could go home with Phenobarbital pills they would give her a loading dose thru an IV so that it gets to her system immediately to hopefully stop the seizures sooner.  He stated they would monitor her closely throughout the night and we could pick her up tomorrow afternoon.  He told us the Phenobarbital would make her really loopy and he expects that she will sleep most of the next 24 hours.  We proceeded to ask a gazillion questions about seizures and Epilepsy.  The ER vet was very patient and tried to answer as many questions as possible but pointed out he is just there to stabilize Stella.  All the neurologic and treatment questions should be posed to the neurologist.  We knew this of course but you know how it is when you’re worried and scared and given so much information to process; your brain doesn’t stop to pause and your mouth just keeps going. Incidentally, the neurologist will not be back in the office until Monday 7/8, four days from now so hopefully Stella will be stabilized until we can speak with her about future plans.
 

Later in the evening we called the ER to check on Stella.  The ER vet said that Stella is responding really well and remains alert.  He said he was surprised as most dogs usually “pass out”  from the heavy medication but he also pointed out that there were a lot of Pug Lovers working on the shift and they were giving Stella a lot of attention.  There’s nothing Stella loves more than adoring fans!!