What I know and Don't Know

  I do know that there is no cure for Lillys epilepsy. Her lifestyle and state of health is completely up to me. As far as her medications is concerned, the first veterinarian that she had been seing since day one did not put her on any type of treatment. It wasn't until the age of three that I decided to switch vets, from the advice of a new friend, who happened to be a vet tech.  They immediately put her on a twice a day dose of Phenobarb 60 mg. She didn't have a seizure for almost a year and the veterinarian dropped her dossage down to once a day.  This seemed to do the trick for two years until she had two seizures in a three month time period.  She has been back on the twice daily dose since then.  I know that Phenobarb is what they give people with epilepsy and I have not taken her to another veterinarian, so I am not sure if there is another drug that is available.
  The veterinarian says that diet has nothing to do with her seizures. He has told me that the best food for her just happens to be the kind that he sells from his office, but unless I am willing to sacrifice putting food in our refrigerator I can't afford that. I buy the most expensive brand at Walmart, with the first ingredient being meat. The vet also tells me that he has never heard any conclusive evidence that people food would cause a seizure. This is one of the questions that I would really like to find an answer to.  Lilly is a food hound, and I can recall five of her seizures happening the day after she has gotten on the counter and eaten a stick of butter, or a loaf of bread.  The worst seizure she ever had was the day after a family cookout.  All of the food was on a table on the porch, everyone was talking, or in the pool, anyway, nobody was watching.  The table got the full Lilly treatment.  She cleaned it dry, except for the vegetables. The next day, her seizure had lasted for over an hour, she lost bowel control, and the vet finally told me to bring her in.  My opinion is salt, I think that salt dehydrates her, and causes an imbalance that triggers a seizure. I will research this theory further.
  I have spoken to Weston, the person we got Lilly from.  He told me that neither the father nor Lillys mother has epilepsy, and that their dog had four litters and he had never heard from any of their owners of a problem. Did one of their parents have epilepsy? I probably will never know the answer to this question because of the extensive breeding of labradors these days. I will research the question online though to see if there has been any documentation of the such.
  Was she born with the disease, well the word disease is a good clue.  From what I understand about the medical field (which is not much), a disease is something that you are born with.  It is in your body from birth and comes out to be seen at different stages. Why at the age of two though, for both of my dogs that have been burdened with this affliction? I don't understand or have an answer to that yet, maybe never will.
  I know that actions or noises can trigger an epileptic seizure in Lilly. Several of her episodes have been preceeded by a startling noise, or being woken up from a sound sleep.  We have long since stopped waking her at night to put her in her kennel.  She had too many episodes that began half way down the stairs, it was sure to end in a broken bone or worse. I also am certain that she realizes something is going to happen before it actually occurs. Twice that I can think of I wasn't right handy to her, maybe in the shower, or outside. My daughter found her laying next to her bedroom door. That leads me to believe that she not only knows that its coming but she doesn't want to be alone. I am certain that she feels safer when someone is with her.
  I have always sat with Lilly during her episodes, I have never asked the vet if this is the correct way to deal with her.  Maybe it is the mother instinct, or me just being hopeful that she realizes that I am there with her. She looks straight at me if she can during the seizures, and I know that she will try to get up if I have to leave her side at any time, so I sit with her and talk softly, trying to comfort her and wishing the entire time that this will end quickly.
  I don't know how many levels of seizures there are, Lilly began with short, maybe 3 minute episodes. The time before last, (the picnic) it was over an hour and she had lost control of her bowels.  The vet said that he had only seen two dogs walk out of his office after a seizure of that magnitude. They gave her a shot of valium and kept spraying the bottom of her feet with cold water to bring down her temperature. They sent me home with a needle and a dose of the miracle drug, with the warning that it might not always work. It just calms her muscles and lets her get her bearings is the way it was described to work to me.
  I know she remembers that something has happened.  She acts almost embarrassed at times. When she was younger she would slowly get up and get a drink, within five minutes, you would never know that anything had happened. Now that she's eight, it really has an effect. She is lazy and tired for a couple days. I know there will be more to come, but if I am better educated about her seizures, maybe there is more I can do to help her.