Epilepsy Update

I've tried a few times to write a "seizure update," but it seems like I only think of writing one after Iris has had a couple seizures.  Problem with that is I am tired after "seizure day" (or two days, as has been her recent pattern).

At the end of 2010, Iris went 15 weeks without any seizures.  I was hoping she might do the same this past winter, but unfortunately, that was not the case. She continued right along on her every-four-weeks schedule.  Even more stressful is that her clusters had been getting gradually more severe. Rather than having 3-4 seizures per episode and being done after a few hours, she was up to around 10 seizures over a 24-36 hr period. I talked it over with her vet and we made the decision to increase her phenobarbital dose (again) on Feb 7th.

Iris' seizures almost always start in the middle of the night, although lately they've been starting closer to morning.  In the past, she would have one bad night of 3-4 seizures and then by the next night, she'd be starting to feel better.  Starting last November, she's been continuing into the second night.  She was up to 4-5 seizures during the first night, maybe 1-2 over the course of the next day, and another 2-3 the following night.  Which means 48 hrs or so of postictal crazy dog.

After increasing her meds in Feb, it seems like the total number of seizures she's having is better.  Yesterday she had 4 seizures starting around 5am (all fairly close together) and then had one more around 6am this morning.  Definitely better than the ~10 seizures she was having before increasing her meds.  But two nights of seizures means two days of postictal dog.  And honestly, I'm more worried about her doing something crazy and hurting herself when she's postictal than hurting herself during a seizure.

Sometimes I feel like it's hard to determine what is an "acceptable" level of control for Iris.  Ten seizures is definitely unacceptable.  Is 5 seizures per episode ok?  Is two nights in a row as "acceptable" as we're going to get?  She's due for her annual exam and bloodwork in May, so I guess we'll reevaluate then.

If I knew then what I know now...

I've been seeing a lot of these "if I knew..." posts today, mostly regarding agility training, so I thought I'd do one for Iris.  I originally adopted Iris to be my agility dog.  While we did do some agility training, in the end I don't think our agility adventures had much to do with jumps or tunnels.  But it did have a lot to do with building a relationship with my crazy little red dog - the dog who tried my patience, drove me tears, and made me want to scream.  The dog who makes me smile every single day.

To my red dog, if I knew then what I know now, I would still choose you.

Temper Tantrums

Iris has come so far since I first adopted her. Sometimes I really can't believe she's the same dog. But she does have one lingering bad habit I'd really like to work on with her.

Whenever I leave Iris in her crate, she throws a "temper tantrum." I really can't think of a better way to describe it. I'm pretty sure she's barking mainly out of frustration and not anxiety (although there probably is some anxiety too).  She barks and barks and scratches at the crate and then barks some more.  I think this goes on for about 15 min or so. Then she settles down and is quiet for the rest of the time I'm away. Living in a condo, I do really worry about her bothering the neighbors.  I generally try to time when I have to leave Iris for when I know my neighbors are at work, but sometimes that isn't possible.

A few things about the situation.

• The barking is specific to being left alone at home.
• She'll bark regardless of how I contain her at home (I've tried an x-pen, different crate, gated in a bathroom).
• She does not bark if I crate her in the car and then leave her alone in the car, which is why I think it's more of a frustration issue than an anxiety issue.
• When I come home, she's completely silent (when I first adopted her, we did work on not barking to get let out).
• I've tried leaving her with a kong.  She won't touch it.  I might be able to get her to chew on it if I was right there.

Iris MUST be crated when I leave.  She's gotten herself in some really weird (and dangerous) positions during a seizure while I've been home and able to help her.  If she has a seizure when I'm not home, the crate is the safest place for her.  I don't generally leave her for long, usually only 1-2 hours.  Occasionally, I'll leave her for longer, but that's unusual.

So any ideas?  For the next couple weeks, I don't think there will be any days when I have to leave her home.  It seems like it would be a good opportunity to work on this issue.  I'm just not sure quite how to start.

Bedtime

I'm a bit of a night-owl. Iris is really not at all. She usually goes upstairs and gets in bed around 9:30pm. Around 11:30, she comes back downstairs and refuses to go up to bed unless I go with her. She's ok with napping upstairs by herself, but when it gets to be bedtime, she can't go alone.

Sometimes she's adorable.

Peanut Butter Face

Ok, a quick post just for Raelyn....  I know I'm way overdue for a real update, but for now you'll have to settle for a few photos of Iris enjoying one of her favorite activities - making strange faces at the camera.  :-)

Iris really is such a weirdo.  Does anyone else have a dog who can bend their face that way?  Iris' best faces happen when she's enjoying her favorite treat - peanut butter! And since she gets peanut butter with her pills 3x a day, I get to see plenty of funny faces.

(click on above for larger view)

"So all you want me to do is sit here and eat peanut butter?"

Iris thought this was the most fun photo session ever.  The thing I love most about this dog is that she makes me smile every single day.

Watching - 33/52

One of the things that I love about Iris is just how expressive her ears are.  Here she was so serious.

Watching - 33/52

She surprised me by deciding to wade in the water.  Usually she does a pretty good impression of the wicked witch of the west when it comes to water.  Actually her wicked witch impression in general is pretty good.

Missing Summer

Turning the clocks back last weekend really made me start wishing for summer. Sunset at 4:30pm is just too early!  Since I just realized that I never shared these photos here, I thought we could all use a taste of summer.

One of my favorite summer walks with Iris is the Cranberry Bogs.  It really is a gorgeous spot!  Plus it's right down the street, which made it so easy to head over there after I'd finished working for the day.

The Bogs - 28/52

I don't know what it is about this next photo, but I just love Iris' expression here.  I'm not really sure where she's going with this "one ear up, one ear back" look.  She is such a goof!

One Up One Down - 29/52

Because it's such a beautiful spot, we always see other people walking their dogs.  The bogs are so open, you can see folks coming from a ways off so it isn't really too much of an issue.  The funny thing is, I know Iris well enough that I can tell how close someone is just by watching her expression change.  In the above photo, there was no one around at all.  She was nice and relaxed.  If you look at her expression in the next photo, you can tell that she's watching someone else and their dog walking on the path.  She's just about hitting the point where I have to stop taking photos of her and get her walking again.  And all that without me ever turning around to look!

Guarding the Path - 31/52

In this next one, Iris isn't actually looking at anything in particular.  She's just sick of looking at me!  Eventually, she gets really annoyed with the camera and won't pose anymore.  Such a diva!

Look Away - 32/52

She just doesn't understand the point of sitting around when we could be walking.  Or running.  Or sniffing things.  Or staring at other dogs.  If the possibilities are endless, why bother sitting around?