Our six year old boxer, Jack recently started having cluster seizures about a month ago. Prior to that we had noticed some subtle behavioral changes in him such as growling at strange people/dogs. He also gained a lot of weight and was sleeping a lot. After he had the seizures we immediately brought him to our vet and he said that his epilepsy could be caused by a brain tumor, GME or epilepsy. He was started on a very low dose of Phenobarbitol and given a Cortisone shot and B12 shots. The shots made a huge difference but only lasted a couple of weeks. The Pheno was too low of a dose and while the cluster seizures stopped he continued to have "lesser" seizures. A decision was made to increase the Pheno to a dose more appropriate for his size and add Prednisone. We also switched to an all natural grain free food and a natural liquid vitamin. Here is our heartbreak....we can handle the seizures but there is one symptom we are seeing that is breaking us emotionally. Many times during the day when Jack stands up very quickly he will "scream" as though someone is poking him with an electric prod in the head. We can not handle our beloved boy suffering or in pain. Our three children are 7, 8 and 9 and have been a major support for Jack since he got sick. My husband and I are so torn....we agree between our tears that as long as Jack shows quality of life and at least some improvement with no signs of pain we want to do everything we can. At this point, he seems so pitiful that we doubt whether we are doing what is right for our boy. Our kids are begging us to give him more time. We don't know what to do. Is it possible that he is "screaming" or yelping when he stands up because he is disoriented from the medicine? Or do you think we just don't want to face the truth that it is most likely pain from something originating in his brain? Desperate at the point for input or experiences! Thank you for listening.
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