Epilepsy
by Susan Gayle Wynn, DVM
Seizures, or convulsions, may have a panoply of causes, but
"idiopathic epilepsy," by definition,means seizures of unknown origin.
If your pet has seizures, it is essential to determine whether a treatable condition
exists; this is accomplished with a diagnostic medical work-up. Diagnostic tests
such as blood work, X-rays, cerebrospinal fluid taps, electroencephalograms, and
CAT scans may help elicit a cause for the seizures.
If the diagnosis is idiopathic epilepsy and your pet is having more than one seizure
monthly, you may be faced with the decision to use anticonvulsants such as phenobarbital
or primidone. As with many medical interventions, there are risks and benefits to
anticonvulsant therapy, and anticonvulsants in common use have potentially serious
side effects including disorientation, obesity, and liver damage. Another disadvantage
is that, once started, it is recommended that treatment never be terminated, because
seizures may return in greater number than before. But you are probably here trying
to find alternatives. Luckily, one or two non-toxic strategies have met with success
for many dogs. The key to most of these strategies is diet.
A few cases have been described in the human and veterinary medical literature, in
which epilepsy was a manifestation of food allergies. It follows, then, that a trial
using hypoallergenic diets should be attempted in all epileptic animals. Many people
have found success by simply feeding their dogs a very high quality commercial hypoallergenic
diet without preservatives. If you find that these diets are unavailable in your
area, or don't produce results, a veterinarian should be consulted to obtain recipes
for home-made hypoallergenic diets. Commercial diets usually consist of lamb and
rice, but other formulations include venison, duck, fish, potato, and barley, to
name just a few. Hypoallergenic diet trials should be followed for a minimum of 3
months, under the supervision of your veterinarian.
Other nutraceutical and dietary supplements have been recommended. Those mentioned
in the human literature include vitamin B6, folic acid, pyridoxine, magnesium, manganese,
zinc, choline, dimethylglycine, and taurine. One well known veterinarian is often
able to stop all anticonvulsant therapy using antioxidant vitamins and high quality
natural diets alone. This suggests that all epileptic animals should, at the very
least, be taking a high quality vitamin-mineral supplement, and your veterinarian
should be consulted for higher dosages of specific nutrients, if appropriate.
Many holistic veterinarians have found success with homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and herbal medicine. These modalities must be prescribed and used individually for each pet, so it is recommended that a holistic veterinarian be consulted for use of these therapies.
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