Sharon7
Moderator
It has been 3 completely seizure free weeks since Meadow's event. After having wracked my brain for what else it could possibly be, I suddenly had an "aha!" moment. I had been giving them Plaque Off supplement for a few months. Which is kelp meal. And I had just started a brand new jar a day or so before. It was the only thing new or different in her life (having eliminated any other source of toxins). As I held it in my hand I had a very strong feeling it was connected.
At first, I thought maybe it was contaminated or something. All 3 dogs had it but Meadow weighs much less than the other two. But then I recalled that kelp is very high in iodine. Too much iodine can screw up your thyroid. And that can cause seizures! I had been completely puzzled why the ER labwork came back with mild anemia and very low normal T4. Well after a consultation with my regular vet, explaining my thinking, she ordered another round of labs including a detailed thyroid panel. She'd been off the supplement for about 8 days by then. And lo and behold, it had all bounced back to normal! I told my vet my gut says this is the root cause, and she said "I've been at this long enough to trust gut". So, we are staying on the Keppra for now as we will be out of town for 2 weeks in Sept. and another 10 days in October. We almost cancelled our trips but my vet said she had every confidence Meadow would be fine, and our wonderful petsitter is onboard with giving her the meds every 8 hours.
Once we are back from the second trip, we will hopefully wean her off the meds and she will not ever have another. Of course there is a possibility I could be wrong and the thyroid was coincidental (but yes, caused by the supplement). But I honestly believe she isn't epileptic after all. All fingers, toes and paws are crossed here.
At first, I thought maybe it was contaminated or something. All 3 dogs had it but Meadow weighs much less than the other two. But then I recalled that kelp is very high in iodine. Too much iodine can screw up your thyroid. And that can cause seizures! I had been completely puzzled why the ER labwork came back with mild anemia and very low normal T4. Well after a consultation with my regular vet, explaining my thinking, she ordered another round of labs including a detailed thyroid panel. She'd been off the supplement for about 8 days by then. And lo and behold, it had all bounced back to normal! I told my vet my gut says this is the root cause, and she said "I've been at this long enough to trust gut". So, we are staying on the Keppra for now as we will be out of town for 2 weeks in Sept. and another 10 days in October. We almost cancelled our trips but my vet said she had every confidence Meadow would be fine, and our wonderful petsitter is onboard with giving her the meds every 8 hours.
Once we are back from the second trip, we will hopefully wean her off the meds and she will not ever have another. Of course there is a possibility I could be wrong and the thyroid was coincidental (but yes, caused by the supplement). But I honestly believe she isn't epileptic after all. All fingers, toes and paws are crossed here.
