Update on Oliver, Seizures

[Chevalrose]

Previous Post: http://www.jorats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=15967&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

So Oliver is still "freaking out" but only before a seizure it seems. We still have no idea what triggers it. Sometimes it's the vacuum (sometimes I'll vacuum and he's totally fine) and sometimes it's nothing we can tell. He doesn't "freak out" without having a seizure anymore so now the problem is simply seizures.

My vet originally perscribed Ivremectin (which our last dose is tomorrow) in case of internal parasites that could have possibly traveled to the brain. He was already on SMZ during his check up, which she was going to perscribe an antibiotic anyways in case of infection.

Well, it's been 3 weeks and he's still having seizures...so it seems that neither of these worked. Her next possible train-of-thought is liver damage which she'll diagnose by giving him supplements and seeing if they work.

What I don't understand is that if it was something consistent (like liver damage or parasites) would that cause him to have random moments of seizing...or shouldn't he be seizing all the time?

Is it possible that this is some kind of mental spark that causes him to seize when he gets very scared on occasion? That is what it seems to me, but I'm no vet.

 

[Godmother]

Seizures in humans are often a result of abnormal brain activity even when the other organs are functioning normally, so it should be the same for rats. Good thing that your vet is looking at a wide range of possibilities, though. I wonder if Oliver may end up on a trial of an anticonvulsive medication. The scientific literature will have dosage ranges, since the meds were almost certainly tested on rats at some point.

 

[SQ]

Seizures in rats can have many causes.
Some rats have been helped by:
a low sugar diet,
a magnesium suppliment because of low levels (normal rat daily req. is 10 - 15 mg),
phenobarbitol (started with a very low dose and gradually increased to a level where it helped),
baytril + prednisone (seizures were caused by carcinoma of the cerebrum)

(info taken from the Rat Health Care book)

 

[Maple]

Seizures are terrible to watch. I hope your vet comes up with an answer, at least you can deal with it and move on.
Good luck poor little Oliver. :heart:

 

[rat.charmer]

Poor Oliver. Epilepsy can be caused by so many things; it's sometimes very hard to figure out what the trigger may be - it might just be a general overstimulation. Do you know if maybe he chewed on something with lead it in? It might be entirely genetic as well. Some people have tried diazepam as well with some success.