In May of 2009, our 6 ½ yr old
Golden Retriever: Lola, experienced the first of her many seizures. It was so
very frightening, seeing her first seizure. I had never seen an animal or human
experiencing a seizure and I thought our precious Lola was having a stroke and
dying in front of my helpless eyes… Lola was about to eat her morning breakfast
and suddenly stopped and, looking dazed and confused, she keeled over onto her
side while at the same time emitting saliva from her mouth, combined with a
hacking cough, and a groaning sound, she would then move her legs in a very
fast and convulsive manner, as if she were running quickly… she had no control
over her urination and when she came out of the seizure, she would spend hours
being very clingy, seemingly not wanting to be left alone. That entire scene
would soon repeat itself, on an average every five days for the next year…
In utter desperation, I researched
online every symptom that Lola was experiencing. I eventually came to the
conclusion that the common denominator with other dog owners was that we all
were using Frontline Plus Flea & Tick and Heartgard Plus heartworm
medications. Researching further, I found that these very popular and
veterinarians’ highly recommended remedies were, in fact, comprised of
pesticides, which the manufacturer includes as a main ingredient in order to
kill fleas, ticks, worms, etc... Depending upon the size and breed of your dog,
continuous use of these pesticides can be poisonous to your pet, causing
seizures and possible death.
After charting every seizure for
more than nine months, I decided to stop giving Lola her flea and tick
medication. Her seizures became less frequent, however they still continued.
In May of 2010, one year after
experiencing her first seizure, Lola experienced a very frightening seizure
which led to her falling down a flight of stairs in our house… Blood emitted
from her mouth (I was just very thankful that she had not broken any bones in
her legs or neck!), and it led me to finally stopping ALL medications,
including her heartworm medication. I figured I had nothing to lose…
The seizures immediately stopped and
have not returned to date: June 13, 2017.
In conjunction with completely
stopping the above-mentioned medications, I have been giving Lola daily drops
of an herbal supplement called PetAlive EaseSure, which is advertised to help
sooth the brain, and nervous system. It can be purchased online at:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com (Amazon.com also sells this product)
along with other natural and holistic products including natural flea and tick
remedies and shampoos. I do not know with 100% certainty that PetAlive
EaseSure works in easing/eliminating seizures in pets, or if it is just a
coincidence, but I am not going to take the chance by stopping the use of this
product. PLEASE NOTE: I stopped using this product one year ago, in June of 2016, and Lola is still seizure free. I feel that PetAlive EaseSure may have been beneficial for the first few years after stopping the above mentioned flea/tick & heart worm medications but, like so many medications (natural or not), excessive use and/or the natural aging process of your dog seem to override the overall positive effects.
One thing I do know with 100% certainty is that Lola’s seizures stopped
immediately when I ceased using HeartGard Plus heartworm medication, and
she had been seizure-free for the past 8 years. Lola is now 14 1/2 years old.
I do not deny that this medication and the above-mentioned
Frontline Plus flea & tick medication, may both be very effective in the
early years of an animal's life in helping to prevent heartworm and flea &
tick infestation, however serious thought should be given to researching the
possible term limitation of prescribing and recommending these medications once
a dog lives past a certain age. In the case of Lola, it seems five (5) years
should have been her limit, and such a study might reveal different ages for
different breeds.
Thanks for this. My dog has seizures, but they are supposed to be okay with her medication (phenobarbital). She had those two medications tonight plus her phenobarbital though and she had a seizure. I'm going to call the vet in the morning to ask their thoughts and check the timeline for when she had her seizures before. Bleh. They're scary.
ReplyDeletedo you know of any heartworm preventative that is ok for dogs with seizures? I have an 11 year old lab that is basically my child. I can give him one comfortis pill for fleas every few months or it causes seizures...Im SO scared to give him something for heartworms. He's an inside dog and I try to keep my eye on him when he's outside, but I know there's always a chance he can get them.
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ReplyDeleteMy beloved German Shepherd had a seizure hours after visiting the vet and administering the heart worm meds. She was dead two days later. She was only 9. She was healthy and active before it was given to her. Fee months later my friends Roti had to be out down after having seizures from the heart worm meds. I refuse to give that med to my dog I have now but my heart is still broken.
ReplyDeleteI have a basset hound, pit bull mix and He had two grand mal seizures the day after I gave him Heartguard. The next month, I only gave him half the dose and he again had two grand mal seizures the next day. These seizures are terrifying to watch. I know it is the Heartguard and I will NEVER give him any more of that. I will know for SURE next month if he get no Heartguard and has NO seizures.
DeleteMy beloved German Shepherd had a seizure hours after visiting the vet and administering the heart worm meds. She was dead two days later. She was only 9. She was healthy and active before it was given to her. Fee months later my friends Roti had to be out down after having seizures from the heart worm meds. I refuse to give that med to my dog I have now but my heart is still broken.
ReplyDeleteOur dog Floyd, only one and a half years starting having seizures and died after only one dose of Heartworm medication and while on phenobarbitol. He was healthy (no siezures) before receiving flea and heartworm meds. I feel that the meds might have caused his seizzures.
ReplyDeleteFound your post because we had the same sort of experience. Our dog Holly is 8 and had her first-ever seizure in August. A second followed in September and I figured out the correlation with having been given Hartgard (24 hour reaction time). She had a 3rd seizure two weeks after that (9/24) but nothing since. We've been to Tufts to have a neurology consult, MRI, and spinal tap looking for infection, stroke, or tumor. Everything came back negative. I am taking a wait-and-see approach. If she seizes again (the vet at Tufts assures me she will), then we'll consider meds. Until then, no. If she goes four months without a seizure then she has "beaten the odds" as they told me. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteBut I hadn't considered the Frontline as well. We have a heavy tick area. Any suggestions?
Order Cedarcide....have been using for myself and dogs for years. Be sure to examine and check carefully for t picks...but I suspect you will love it....and it smells good. Great company to deal with
DeleteALL of those topical meds that go into the bloodstream...contain PESTICIDES...very poisonous and toxic. I believe ed the vets should be sharing more warnings...esp Frontline.
My sweet dog is only 15 months old. She started having mild seizures 8 months ago. I took her to a neurologist and they can't find anything wrong with her. This has started happening after putting her on heartworm meds (aka Heartguard). She had a 2-month gap of med-free time and had zero seizures. When I have her the "meds" again she had a seizure just 48 hours later.
ReplyDeleteI'll be looking for alternative non-toxic solutions instead. Our poor pets, I mean think about it, what would happen to us if we ingested OFF mosquito repellant on a monthly basis? We would all end up sick, or at the ER, or possibly even die.
My 3 year Aussie was prescribed Heart Guard & Bravetco only this year, was on Revolution the past 2 summers. Soon after his first doses he started having seizures. I stopped all meds, and the seizures are less frequent & short in duration, but still occur? I ssear (as does my breeder) the meds are still in his system. I'm so scared, watching him go through this is heartbreaking? Any suggestions, comments? Denise
ReplyDeleteDid he have seizures this month? I adopted a 5-7 year old boxer pit mix in May of this year. He was in the shelter for a year and, as far as we know, never had seizures. He started Hesrtguard in July and had his first round of cluster seizures on 9/8. Heartguard 9/16 seizures 9/20, heartguard 10/16 seizures 10/20. I’m starting to see a pattern. I’m going to skip next months dose as well and see what happens.
ReplyDeletePlease STOP those pesticides now !!! Don't think you need any more warnings and those seizures cause permanent damage !!
DeleteHeart guard caused horrible seizures in our Standard Poodle that eventually caused her death and a Heartguard representative said once the neurological damage is done it’s done.
ReplyDelete