The neurologist on call prescribed an anti-seizure medication for Max, and this is where we learned that there are absolutely NO 24x7 pharmacies within 30 minutes of our house! Personally I don't think the anti-siezure medication is good for him - at least the one prescribed. He has had heart palpatations since, and has had an upset tummy. I can see him breathing from the lower end of his tummy and it's more labored, he also vomits every 12 hours or so after he is dosed this medication, even on pepcid or zantac. One of the side effects of this medication is to feel drunk and woozy. He's definitely wobbly so I'm guessing that that has something to do with it.
Last night Dr. Bush suggested we try pepcid and boiled chicken and rice for Max to see if that will help him eat. So this morning that's what I made for him... and it worked.. He at our other dog's breakfast! (not the chicken and rice). So our next test is to see if it stays down
For anyone who is concerned about cognitive skills and cyber knife. Max is his normal self, a little more tired than normal but that's a normal side effect. In humans I've read that the lethargy can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years, and I'm sure it depends on where their tumors are, and the medications they are on. The prednisone itself makes Max really tired. He usually sleeps very soundly for a good 4-5 hours after taking his prednisone dose and then he's his normal self. With the anti-seizure medication he just sleeps all day and night long.
He knows to come and get me when he needs to go to the bathroom, and actually will search the house for me if he can't find me. He still waits in the front window for me when I go out. When he's not on the anti-seizure medication he's more curious and wants to sniff around outside and check and see what the contractors are working on or who is coming to the door. He still barks and runs to the door and then comes to get me when the door bell rings. Last night he even engaged in a little body slamming with his rottie sister, Buttercup. But his energy does come in short bursts and that's ok. He just needs his rest and I"m anticipating that for at least the next month he'll be doing a lot of resting.
At meal time he still comes to the kitchen and examines what everyone else is eating, even if his tummy is too funky to eat. He'll still also herd the shepherd out of the kitchen as well. Last night I heard him give off a low growl to our beagle when he was thinking of trying to steal Max's food, and a low growl to the cat who wanted to sleep on the same dog bed. He's working on gaining his strength and getting back to his normal self.
I am not sure but I think loss of appetite may also be a side effect of radiation though too - or I may be getting that confused with chemo, of course the prednisone should be making him eat cardboard. I"m sure his appetite will eventually make it's way back after we are able to stabilize his tummy. This happened when he first went on prednisone as well.
(Above - Max had run to the window to see what the dogs were barking about - still not 100% - he'd be the loud one if he was and that tail would be waiving like a flag.. but he's starting to get back into the swing of things a bit)
(Above - Max around 6pm today. Not barking but you can see he's still a part of the pack and still wants to know what's going on and obviously could hear the alarm!)
Hi there. I've enjoyed 'meeting' you and your gang through your blog. My Papillon, Desi was treated with the cyber-knife last week at the ASC in NY. Since then he's been exhausted, not eating as much and coughing / hacking a lot. The lack of appetite isn't quite as much of a concern because he is eating enough food each day and it could be because we've recently added Zonisamide for his seizures. My main concern is the exhaustion and the hacking. I'm worried there's a problem from the intubation. I'm guessing the exhaustion is from the treatment as you said Max was very tired. Desi is sleeping almost the entire day so I'm concerned. Anything you can share about what your doctor told you to expect after treatment and more of what Max experienced would be very helpful. Thanks so much. Your blog is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti, I hope CK works as well for Desi as it has for max! We actually took Max off zonisamide. He did not do well with it at all. There is another dog (well her person) that we spoke with who was also put on zonisamide and had a hard time with it and they switched her over as well. Max would gag and vomit and not want to eat. We had to play around with his anti-seizure doses quite a bit. I know there is a posting on Max and his anti-seizure meds http://maxck.blogspot.com/2011/11/maxs-neuro-check-up-and-anti-seizure.html
DeleteThe zonisamide zonked him out so bad he wouldn't even wake up for the next dose. After a couple of weeks I decided that sleeping through life was not the way to live and asked about switching - there are literally 1000s of anti-seizure meds out there.. We switched to keppra. He was originally put on 500mg 3x day... He was not a nauseuous and regained his appetite but still sleeping a ton. More than he should be.. so we ended up reducing his dose down to 125mg 2x day and he's been on that since and doing well. I will also say a couple of things on this.. 1) We came to this conclusion with our holistic vet and 2 neurologists and my assessment of Max - knowing him best. 2) Max had never had a seizure before CK - he had 1 a week after - and I had taken him out for a walk and shouldn't have at that point - so I chalk that up to my fault. 3) Max has also been on chinese herbs that are specifically designed to break through the blood brain barrier and they carry medicine directly to the brain.. so what might have more of a challenge getting to the brain in a regular dog/person - had a direct channel to the brain for Max - so essentially it was MUCH more potent. There are some links on the left side of this blog to some holistic vets if you have an interest in learning more about Chinese herbs. If you're near ASC - you may want to see Dr. Marty Goldstein or visit his clinic up there. I know they use TCM. Max is on Stasis of the Mansion of the Mind as well as another one to help prevent seizures (which we added to the mix a few months later). There is going to be some lethargy from the CK but not to the extent that all they want to do is sleep - that's the anti-seizure meds.. and could be the prednisone too - although I don't think it's a bad idea to let them sleep for the first month or so - If you think about what the CK is doing - it's changing a lot of stuff in there.. But it sounds like you may want to possibly try changing up the anti-seizure meds - but talk with your neurologist first. (Dr. J?)
I didn't really get too much to expect after treatment. Most of what I was able to find related to humans vs. dogs. That was a big part of why I wanted to start this blog. I'd love it if you could provide us with updates on Desi so we can get more info out there to others going through CK!!!