Question Details
Seizures In A Dog
by jschell - January 26, 2017    View Case Report
Buster has developed seizures once every 2 to 3 months despite being on Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin. The seizures usually occur in the middle of the night at about 2am. They last 5 minutes. He had a few more seizures than this when he was on Si Miao San. So he has had a few less seizures since starting the Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin. During his seizures he shakes/trembles, but does not lose his bowel or bladder contents. He recovers quickly after going outside after the seizure and urinating outside.
His pulse today was slightly wiry, slow heart rate (as usual- like 80 beats per minute awake),ECG normal sinus rhythm, and tongue was ruddy red- like a dull red but no purple or lavender. When I gave acupuncture to BL40 his pulse slightly improved.

Do you think he would do better on perhaps Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang or Chai Hu Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang ? Ideally I would like him to have zero seizures.

Thank you!
Julie
Replies
by naturevet
January 26, 2017
Hi Julie,

The tongue and improvement from going outside (in the winter) suggest a Heat condition, despite the slower heart rate. At this time of night, Heat is located in the Yang Ming, so a formula that clears it from there may be a good idea.

On the other hand, a partial response to TMGTY says that Blood or Yin deficiency is the cause of the seizures, and in that case the dog may be hot all the time, and not just at night. If that is the case, a Yin tonic may help, while continuing the TMGTY. Something like Yi Guan Jian or Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan. Since the seizures are mild, that may be an easy first step.

Otherwise, Yang Ming excesses in the middle of the night are ultimately caused by Jue Yin excesses. The formula to address this dynamic is Wu Mei Wan. We've found for it to work well, we need to add Tian Ma (or perhaps continue the TMGTY), and in addition use Qing Ying Tang. The two formulas, WMW and QYT, have a synergy that allows them to slowly reduce seizure tendency and severity. In a milder case like this, they may stop completely.

One of these two strategies should work. To quickly eliminate seizures altogether while using herbs, you can try using Keppra. It's much superior to PB or KBr, when taking an integrative approach to seizure management, since it works right away and is easier to withdraw. Since this dog is not grand mal in its seizures and is not apparently in danger of status epilepticus, I don't know if you have to go there, though, just yet.

Note that adding in the cooling herbs of ZBDHW, QYT, or WMW should have the long term effect of reducing seizure predisposition (we think, by inhibiting the ability for synchronous neural discharge). So ZBDHW may be a better option than YGJ if you're going to continue the TMGTY approach.

Hope that helps! Let us know how it goes!

Steve
by jschell
January 27, 2017
Thank you so much Steve! So fascinating.
I'll try him on the ZBDHW-- I like because it also treats 'stargazer syndrome'' in many of my senior patients- its great for night time restlessness.

I'll for sure post updates!
Thank you!
Julie
by jschell
January 28, 2017
Hello!

Wow! What a strange coincidence. Buster had a seizure again last night at 1:30am- This was the day he was given his first 1/4 teaspoon Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan.

He was given his fine needle aspirations yesterday- that may have interfered / decreased his seizure threshold? He has a soft, 1cm ovoid subcutaneous mass near left lateral thorax (near SP21 area) and simlary but larger (2.5cm) mass also on his right axilla area) which I collected samples from at 3:20pm yesterday.

Also strange is that last year his seizures occurred on January 27, 2016, June 22, 2016, Aug, 17, and Oct 13, 2016 and January 28, 2017.

The owner reported that before his seizure last night, he felt warmer to the touch- he felt hot. During his seizure he drooled more than usual. In the past he he pulls away from his owner during a seizure but this time last night he crawled onto his owner and wanted to stay close to her.
Lasted about 3 to 4 minutes, then he was ok. He looks great this morning.

Should we just tell Buster's owner to continue with the TMGTY and ZBDHW and monitor and report seizures to us? I don't think ZBDHW could have caused any issues after just 1/4 teaspoon...... It has not been on board any where long enough to help decrease seizures yet I don't think.

So fascinating!
Thank you!
Julie
by naturevet
February 2, 2017
Hi Julie,

I'm sure the ZBDHW didn't cause the seizures. If there is persistent nausea and drooling, though, you may want to switch to Yi Guan Jian

Steve
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