Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Wahoo! Katie the Poo has reached 100 Days seizure free!!!!!

Katie the poo, the kid of controversy has reached 100 days without a seizure!  This is a momentous benchmark for a little dog that could sometimes barely make it 14 days without having one for the first 3 years of her life.

Her history is elsewhere in the blog site but the persistent care of a great Veterinarian, Dr. Amy Valenzisi, Katie is now holding her own on 100mg of Zonisamide once per day. Though recommended min dosage is twice a day, she has been fine and has no side effects or personality changes on this med. All other meds we have tried have resulted in increased number/severity of the seizures (up to 4 hours off and on) and major changes to her awareness and behaviors. Some made her lethargic, uninterested in anything. Others made her become OCD and she would spawn off into uncontrollable barking bouts for no reason at all.  Most gave her a glazed over staring look that was hard to connect with.

OOPS!!!!!!

Drat!

Here, while writing this blog, Katie was sleeping soundly in her bed under the window. I got up to go to the other room where her meds are kept to get the name of her medication and she woke up and jumped down to follow me.

I checked the Rx bottle, came back, started writing and then heard her scrumbling around in Merrily's chair. She was going into a seizure and was fighting it the way she has learned.... just lie still and be as unstimulated as possible.  It did not completely stop it but the whole thing only lasted a few minutes instead of hours and she only had 1 bout of the stiff rigor.

After a minute, I picked her up and sat with her in my lap to help her feel secure and relax. Another few minutes and she wanted to get down and walk.  She has learned that it often helps shorten the overall seizure and after effects if she paces.  I am guessing that the neurological cross-brain patterning that is involved helps to normalize her neurology back into regular patterns.

Once again, this was a case of her being soundly asleep, then suddenly waking and getting really excited.  She also had not been out yet this morning and somehow, that is almost always a present condition. It's  Like having has to evacuate is a condition that enables these seizures. Whether it is from the urgency or perhaps, her own efforts to control it and not just go in the house, I don't know but I suspect it may be part of her attempts to hold it that leads into seizure as many times in the past, she would uncontrollably evacuate during the seizures.

Bummer but still, 3 times a year is much better than 3 times per month and especially when the seizures are much, much shorter and more gentle.

I had planned this for a celebration and it still is, just not quite as joyous as I had thought... yet.