Further bumps in the road

I suppose it was foolish or blindly optimistic to think it would all be plain sailing since we consulted AHT on Harrison’s epilepsy.

Things have definitely been better, but the seizures keep coming, which we’re surprised and anxious about. Even Luisa seemed disappointed when I called to update her. She just explained she has a lot of work to do to get the right balance for him, but at the moment things are quite blind until we get true peak & trough blood samples taken to see how he is adjusting to his new dose, what kind of level does he have in his blood and is there more room to maneuver.

As ever, it never rains it pours, so amidst all of this Harrison has also had an upset tummy on and off too. In addition to the standard knock on effect that his ability to cope alone when we’re out at work seems to take a downward turn also (right back to square one).

So right now feels like groundhog day, we’re going over old ground with some of the behavioural changes and its so hard to see his separation anxiety exacerbated again, especially as we worked so hard to build him up to a good level. But, on a positive note the last couple of seizures (this morning and before that, on Monday morning) he has only suffered one fit in isolation (this is great progress!) thanks to the new seizure emergency plan we have with his meds and also he seemed to bounce back really quickly following the seizure too. He had his usual 1 hour of postictal pacing and bumbling into the walls, but after that was quite lively, energetic and coordinated. The devastating part is that both of these seizures occurred whilst we were out at work, he was alone in the kitchen. We have a camera setup so we can keep an eye on him, heartbreaking watching the footage of him convulsing on his own and coming round all confused and disoriented. Much harder than going through it in real life, to be honest!

 

 

The Expert Experience

The weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

We had an excellent consultation with Luisa De Risio at the AHT on Friday. Luisa is the leading author of a book on canine and feline epilepsy and she is a member of the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force. Luisa is an editorial board member of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and Associate editor of the Veterinary neurology and neurosurgery journal.

Things had deteriorated very rapidly with Harrison, so we got referred to AHT for what we considered to be the last chance we had to gain some control of Harrison’s condition, or we would have to make the decision to have him put to sleep as he was suffering too much.

So we attended the appointment feeling quite bleak and like this was our last chance really, but safe in the knowledge that if we had to make the final call, at least we could do so knowing we had exhausted every option.

So it was a relief and quite emotional to learn that the specialist is very confident she can help and there is loads of room for improvement. Yippee! So now, onwards & upwards! We can concentrate on getting his condition under control and if we end up with a difficult decision to make later down the line then at least we know we tried everything possible to help him.

Celebrating a mini victory!

Not wanting this blog to just be the negative or pessimistic ramblings of a desperate woman, I thought it was time to write something a bit more positive!

I am so pleased to say that Harrison is feeling much better today, thank goodness! 🙂 He’s celebrating by chomping on a brand new stag antler! 😀

He is still not 100% his usual self, but much closer to that than he was at the start of the week. Still a bit barky and bitey, but overall more calm. Our boy is coming back to us 😀

So we have our appointment with the neurologist tomorrow morning and will be able to discuss an action plan for how we move forward.

I believe with the right mix of medication and the appropriate meds for during/post seizure we will be able to manage this beast and Harrison can have a lovely, normal life.

Isn’t it funny how catching up on some much needed sleep alters your mindset completely on challenging situations! Being able to get on and do some housework yesterday was very therapeutic also and the window cleaner came today too 🙂

Current mood: Feeling optimistic & determined!

The bad run continues

We should have been at the airport now, sipping complimentary drinks in the Aspire Lounge at London Gatwick, waiting to board our flight to New York. I was so excited about it, my first time in NYC!

Instead I’m sat at home in a filthy, dirty house too scared to get up and start tidying and cleaning up as Harrison has  finally settled off to sleep and I don’t want to wake him up. The poor lad is exhausted, well, so are we. This recent blip I have written about before turned into a very rocky week long patch and we felt completely helpless. Leaving us with no choice but to cancel our trip to NY and get H in to see a canine epilepsy expert ASAP, before we lose him.

I was scheduled to go to New York with school in October 2001, but they cancelled the trip after the terrorist attacks. Maybe its a sign? Maybe I am not really ever meant to make it to New York?

Anyway. Things kicked off last Wednesday evening around 21:00, but the seizures continued for about 14 hours and he never really recovered in between, even though the duration between was longer than normal. Our vet prescribed keppra as a cluster buster, but it barely touched the sides. Yes the seizures seemed to subside short term, but Harrison was manic, frantic, endlessly pacing around. The brain activity was clearly still going on and the keppra was fighting against it, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

Then the seizures kept coming, we never expected more when he was put on keppra, but sure enough seizure activity broke through. I said there and then I didn’t feel comfortable leaving to go on holiday and we needed to cancel/postpone/reschedule and do whatever necessary to get him sorted. Crisis point you could say. Not sure how much more of this he or we can take.

So we’re booked in to see Luisa De Risio, Head of Neurology at the Animal Health Trust Friday morning. Essentially, if she can’t help us then no one can! Luisa is a leading canine epilepsy expert and has even published a book on the subject, which I refer to on my Resources & Info page.

Feeling optimistic, but at the end of the road really, this is our last chance to get him hopefully the right help, or we have to call it a day. It’s not fair on him and he’s not himself at all.

He barks constantly, like a frustrated helpless bark and is even biting us accidentally during play, but much harder than a play bite, so we can’t sustain this for very long.

For anyone who’s ever been in this situation, my heart goes out to you. It’s absolutely awful and you constantly question whether its fair to even carry on for the time it will take to try and regain some control. This moral, ethical conflict is really hard!

At least he is asleep for the moment, so we get a minute’s peace. But we’re living in fear that the phone ringing or any other external noise will wake him up and we’ll be sent right back into that sick cycle of frustration, which takes him so long to snap out of and settle down from.

At least after Friday’s appointment we should know whether there is any hope, or whether we’re just prolonging the inevitable. I’ve already made my peace with it and don’t feel that sad as I write this or think about it now. I know I would be sad, devastated, if we had to have our poor, sweet boy put to sleep, but I would feel reassured that we had taken things as far as we physically and mentally could, sought the best advice and care available and tried everything we could for him, before making any rash decision.

 

A bit more than a blip :(

Well the last 24-48 hours have been a challenge, to say the least!

Seems our little Harrison got struck with a bad cluster case again, this time was totally different to anything we have seen before with 2-3 hours between seizures over longer time period, instead of every few minutes like normal.

Our vet has advised to put him on keppra for 10 days which should definitely help break the cluster now. He’s had this medication before after our emergency vet visit back in April, when it really knocked him about. He was all wobbly and weak on his back legs, poor boy.

This time is a different beast entirely… he is super hyperactive, restless, agitated, constantly pacing and barking. Absolutely awful to witness and we haven’t slept properly in two days, neither as he. He must be exhausted as the seizures themselves take such a lot out of him.

I talked to the vet again, who thinks the behaviours are just postictal and hopefully he’ll settle down soon. I really hope so! Supposed to be flying to New York on Tuesday, we’ll be worried sick if he’s not feeling and seeming a bit more himself by then. We would be worried sick anyway, but the timing is so bad.

Anyway, it is what it is and we’ll do whatever we can to make it work as long as he is happy and has a good quality of life.