phenobarbital

[Jericca106]

My dog started having seizures during his sleep on Friday night, within 12 hours he had three seizures. They only lasted about a minute and he regained his composure in about two minutes. The vet immediately put him on phenobarbital and he has been taking 1 pill every 12 hours and so far he has not had another seizure since. Yesterday morning and this morning he woke up groggy and it looked as if his back legs are getting weak. When I let him outside this morning back legs gave out. After walking around for a few minutes he's able to walk better, it seems like he is weakest in the morning after waking up. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions on how to reduce symptoms of dizziness? I know his body is trying to adjust to the medication but I don't like seeing him struggle so if there is anything I can do to ease the symptoms please let me know! Thank you!

[Jericca106]

Thanks, I called the vet and he assured me that he put my boy on a very low dose so he believes he simply has to adjust to the medication. I was just a little nervous seeing him shaky so when his legs gave out I was even more alarmed. If this continues or worsens the doctor said we may have to lower his medication dosage and see if the seizures begin happening again. So as of now we simply wait and monitor. Thanks for your help!

[BluCrystal]

This sounds 'normal' - under your circumstances.  Your dog has to adjust to the pheno, is all.  As far as dizziness, I don't think he should be having that.  You can tell when your dog is dizzy by looking at his eyes: the balls of the eyes will 'twitch' side-to-side if he is dizzy.  The same thing happens to drunk people - which is why the get caught dead to rights being drunk.  If you are seeing this in your dog, call your vet.  I'm sure all will be well. :)