Porter’s Epilepsy Episodes

This is a log of Porter’s Seizure activity to provide a summary of how often his seizures occur, what types of seizures he has, and how long it has been since the last seizure.

Every dog’s seizures may look different, especially depending on what kind of seizure your dog has. Porter has had Grand Mal, clustering Grand Mal, Focal, and clustering Focal seizures. During Porter’s Grand Mal seizures, he has violent convulsions, and often foams at the mouth, clenches his jaw down on an object, urinates, defecates, or vomits. He is unaware during his this type of seizure. During Porter’s Focal seizures, he is very much aware, and looks to us for comfort. Porter’s Focal seizures cause him to have facial and ear twitching, full body twitching, and balance issues during or immediately following the Focal seizure.

I highly recommend using a camera that offers movement/sound notifications and constant record/play-back to monitor your dog while you are not home. There are many brands of cameras out there. However, after researching, we chose to use Google Nest cameras in our home and on our camper. This will allow you to get notified that your dog may be in danger, and also will enable you to save clips of your dog’s seizures to share with your dog’s medical team. I also encourage others to video the seizure when safely possible if the seizure happens while you are home so that you have actual footage to share with your dog’s doctors.

Seizure Log:

• 1/2/2019
  • 3 am / Grand Mal
  • 1st observed seizure
  • CBC
  • Full Chem
  • Urinalysis
  • fecal
• 2/26/2019 (55 days from last seizure)
  • 1:50 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 5:10 am / Grand Mal /50 seconds
    • 3 hours, 20 minutes from last seizure
  • Hospitalization required
  • started medication: Levetiracetam (Keppra)
• 5/8/2019 (71 days from last seizure)
  • 1:48 am / Grand Mal / 5 minutes
  • 1:57am / Grand Mal / 1 minute, 45 seconds
  • Hospitalization required
  • Porter was prescribed Midazolam injections for us to have on-hand for emergencies when Porter cannot come out of seizures on his own
• 5/26/2019 (18 days from last seizure)
  • 2:30 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • Midazolam injection required
  • Medicine Change: Added Zonisamide
• 6/15/2019 (20 days from last seizure)
  • 9:55 am / Grand Mal / 40 seconds
  • Midazolam injection required
• 7/9/2019 (24 days from last seizure)
  • 2:15am / Grand Mal / 45 seconds
  • 2:16 am / 30 seconds
  • 2:17 am / 45 seconds
  • Medication change: Weaned off of Keppra / Started Phenobarbital
• 7/28/2019 (19 days from last seizure)
  • 6 am / Grand Mal / 50 seconds
  • Medication Adjustment: Increased Phenobarbital
  • Started Melatonin at night
• 8/11/2019 (14 days from last seizure)
  • 9:44 pm / Grand Mal / 32 seconds
• 8/13/2019 (30 hours since last seizure)
  • 4:11 am / Grand Mal / 32 seconds
  • Medicine Change: Added Potassium Bromide
• 8/28/2019 (15 days since last seizure)
  • 7:46 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
• 9/17/2019 (20 days since last seizure)
  • 8:15 am / Grand Mal / 31 seconds
  • 8:17 am / Grand Mal / 46 seconds
  • 8:18 am / Grand Mal / 40 seconds
  • 8:19 am / Grand Mal / 1 minute, 4 seconds
  • Midazolam injection required
  • 8: 22 am / Grand Mal
  • 8:23 am / Grand Mal
  • Hospitalization required
  • Medicine adjustment: Reduced Potassium Bromide
• 10/1/19
  • MRI
    • no abnormalities found
• 10/11/19 Medicine change: Added Gabapentin in evening
  • used as anti convulsant and also to help Porter sleep since he was not sleeping much through the night
• 10/14/2019 (27 days since last seizure)
  • 1:04 pm / Grand Mal / 40 seconds
  • 1:06 pm / Grand Mal / 49 seconds
  • 1:20 pm / Grand Mal / 41 seconds
  • Midazolam injection required
• 11/1/2019 (18 days since last seizure)
  • 11:14 pm / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
    • Medicine Change: Weaned-off Potassium Bromide and Phenobarbital. Reintroduced Keppra
      • Porter’s neurologist expressed that despite the medication changes, Porter is still having the same or similar cycles of seizures. However, due to the increased and severe anxiety that we observed, he feels it is best if we backed him off of both the phenobarbital and potassium bromide. He also feels that re-introducing Keppra again may be the best alternative since the anxiety and behaviors were not noted while he was on this medication.
• 11/11/2019 (10 days since last seizure)
  • 8:49am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 8:51 am / Grand Mal / 40 seconds
  • Medicine Change: stopped Gabapentin at night and started Trazadone
• 11/23/19
  • began CBD oil (Charlotte’s Web brand)
• 12/5/19 (24 days since last seizure)
  • 10:51 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 10: 52 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
• 12/30/19 (25 days since last seizure)
  • 9:58 am / Grand Mal / 38 seconds
  • 9:59 am / Grand Mal / 10 seconds
  • 10:00 am / Grand Mal / 51 seconds
• 1/28/20 (29 days since last seizure)
  • 1:15 am / Grand Mal / 20 seconds
  • 1:17 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 1:18 am First observation of what we thought was Focal seizures
• 1/29/20 (43 hours, 25 minutes since last seizure)
  • 8:40pm clustering focal seizures / Clustering until 10pm
  • Midazolam injection required
• 2/1/20 (3 days since last seizure)
  • 3:15 pm / Focal / 3 minutes
  • Midazolam injection required
  • Medication Change: Increased Keppra dosage
• 2/27/20 (30 days since last seizure)
  • 4:49am / Grand Mal / 50 seconds
  • 4:50 am / Grand Mal / 45 seconds
  • 4:51 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • Midazolam injection required
  • 4:52 am / Focal / 3 minutes
• 3/23/20 (25 days since last seizure)
  • 12:04am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 12:05 / Focal / 30 seconds
• 4/8/20 (16 days since last seizure)
  • 11:30 pm / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 11:31 pm / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 11:32 pm / Focal / 3 minutes
  • Midazolam injection required
• 5/3/20 (25 days since last seizure)
  • 12:21 am / Grand Mal / 55 seconds
  • 12:22 am / Grand Mal / 50 seconds
  • 12:23 am / Focal / 3 minutes
  • Midazolam injection required
• 5/20/20
  • Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas Nutrition Consult
• 5/23/20 (20 days since last seizure)
  • 12:40am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 12:41 am / Focal / 1 minute
  • 3:22 pm / Grand Mal / 1 minute
  • 3:23 pm / Focal / 2 minutes
• 5/24/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
• 5/25/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
  • Midazolam injection required
• 5/26/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
  • Midazolam injection required
• 5/27/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
  • Midazolam injection required
  • Medicine change: Increased Keppra and Zonisamide
• 5/28/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
  • Midazolam injection required
• 5/29/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
• 5/30/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
• 5/31/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
• 6/1/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
• 6/2/20
  • clustering Focal seizures throughout the day
  • Hospitalization required
  • bloodwork
  • urinalysis
  • Medication change: Reduced Keppra and Zonisamide, and added Lyrica (Pregabalin)
• 6/8/20
  • Medication change: Poor reaction to Pregabalin (Lyrica) – tapering off by 6/10
• 6/9/20
  • Began transition to new diet, CBD (ElleVet brand), and supplements suggested by VSH of the Carolinas
• 6/10/20 (18 days since seizure)
  • 11:06 pm / Grand Mal / 36 seconds
  • 11:07 pm / Clustering Focal Seizures / 2 minutes
    • (8 days since last Focal)
  • Midazolam injection required
• 6/22/20 (12 Days since last seizure)
  • 6:55 am / Clustering Grand Mal / 2 minutes
  • 6:57 am / Clustering Focal / 2 minutes
• 7/6/20 (14 days since last seizure)
  • 6:39 am / Clustering Grand Mal / 2 minutes
  • 6:41 am / Clustering Focal / 4 minutes
  • Midazolam injection required
  • 7:10 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 7:111 am / Focal seizures / 4 mins
  • Midazolam injection required
• 7/16/20 First Acupuncture session
  • Began Chinese herb Di Tan Tang
• 7/25/20 (19 days since last seizure)
  • 10:17am / Grand Mal / 45 seconds
  • 10:18am / Focal seizures / 23 seconds
  • 10:18 am / Grand Mal seizure / 32 seconds
  • 10:20 am / Focal Seizures / 3 minutes, 25 seconds
  • Midazolam injection required
• 7/28/20 second acupuncture session
  • Added Chinese herb Tian Ma Bai Zhu
• 8/12/2020
  • started new CBD
    • Veterinarian Recommended Solutions brand: ENDO Blend
• 8/16/20 (22 days since last seizure)
  • 11:24pm/ Grand Mal/ 25 seconds
  • 11:24 pm/ Grand Mal/ 25 seconds
  • 11:25 pm/ Grand Mal / 30 seconds
  • 11:25 pm / Focal seizures / 3 minutes
  • Midazolam injection required
• 8/27/2020
  • Added Neurotrophin PMG supplement
• 9/7/2020 (22 days since last seizure)
  • 7:59 am / Grand Mal/ 2 mins
    • significantly more mild convulsions than in the past
    • snapped out of it on his own and did not need Midazolam shot
    • no Focal seizures
    • postictal phase was much shorter than in the past
  • 9/23/20 (16 days since last seizure)
    • 9:01 am / Grand Mal / 37 seconds
    • 9:02 am / Grand Mal / 38 seconds
    • Midazolam injection required
    • Increased dose of Chinese herb Di Tan Tang
  • 10/4/20 (11 days since last seizure)
    • 7:07 pm / Grand Mal / 39 seconds
      • followed by focal seizures
    • 7:09 pm / Grand Mal / 42 seconds
      • followed by focal seizures
    • Midazolam injection required
    • Increased dose of Chinese herb Tian Ma Bai Zhu
  • 10/20/20 (16 days since last seizure)
    • 11:32pm / Grand Mal / 1 minute
      • followed by focal seizures
    • 11:34pm / Grand Mal / 1 minute
      • followed by focal seizures
    • Midazolam injection required
  • 10/25/20 (5 days since last seizure)
    • 9:33 am / Grand Mal / 45 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
    • 9:34 am / Grand Mal / 50 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
  • Stopped Acupuncture and started weaning off Chinese Herbs and Neurotrophin PMG supplement
    • Porter’s medical team all agreed these were not helping Porter
  • Porter’s medical team also concluded that his special diet was not helping, so he is being weaned off of that as well.
  • 10/29/20 added Topiramate as a daily medication
  • 11/9/20 (15 days since last seizure)
    • 7:11 pm / Grand Mal / 40 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
    • 7:12 pm / Grand Mal / 40 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
    • 7:13 pm / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
    • Midazolam injection required
  • 11/15/20 (6 days since last seizure)
    • 6:36 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
  • 11/25/20 (10 days since last seizure)
    • 5:43 am / Grand Mal / 30 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures
  • 12/7/20 (12 days since last seizure)
    • 8:25 am / Grand Mal / 53 seconds
      • followed by focal seizures / 2.5 minutes
  • 12/8/20 (34 HOURS since last seizure)
    • 6:30 pm / Grand Mal / 39 seconds
      • followed by focal seizures / 2 min 34 seconds
  • 12/22/20 (13 days since last seizure)
    • ***STATUS EPILEPTICUS – Hospitalized***
      • 8:44 am / Grand Mal / 41 seconds
      • 8:45 am / Grand Mal / 39 seconds
      • 8:46 am / Grand Mal / 1 min 13 seconds
      • 8:48 am / Grand Mal / 42 seconds
      • 8:52 am 2mL Midazolam injection
      • 8:53 am / Grand Mal / 44 seconds 
      • 8:54 am / Grand Mal / 39 seconds
      • 8:56 am / Grand Mal / 36 seconds
      • 8:58 am / Grand Mal / 33 seconds
      • 8:59 am another 2mL Midazolam injection
    • Hospitalized
    • Added Potassium Bromide back to daily medication
  • 4/12/21 (112 days since last seizure)
    • 5:57 am / Grand Mal / 15 seconds
      • Followed by focal seizures / 4 mins
  • 8/24/21 (133 days since last seizure)
    • 10:16 am / focal / 1 min