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WARNING!
I have two Boston Terriers, George and his daughter Tina. It seems their seizures center around the new moon. Not every month by any means, but if it's going to happen they will both have a seizure on the new moon.
A few months ago Tina had at least one seizure three weeks straight. While I waited for a day off to take her to the vet I came on site here and was encouraged to find good suggestions on alternatives to phenobarbitol. I know it causes liver damage and I wasn't willing to go that route. As an herbalist the last thing I want to do to my dogs is give them drugs that don't always work and cause damage. So I talked to the vet and he assured me that Potassium Bromide is a safe alternative. I had already been using Bach's rescue Remedy with pretty good effect, but dosing is kind of tricky, too little isn't effective and too much becomes more stimulate than sedative.
Well, we put them both on Potassium Bromide and at first everything seemed fine. Then Tina started developing symptoms of Ataxia, at first I thought it was just too strong a dose so I started giving her a smaller dose. Every day it got worse, she was becoming more and more crippled in her back legs. it scared me enough to put her back on the RR. Sure enough she started improving right away. In about two weeks she was walking normally and being able to jump on the furniture again. The next new moon she had two seizures in two days and that scared me into going back to the PB. Eight days later she was blind in her left eye and quickly losing sight in her right eye. She's been back on the RR for about a month now and her vision has almost completely recovered.
I won't say absolutely do not use Potassium Bromide. My George hasn't had any problems. Except that, and I can't be completely sure missing a dose will cause them to be able to seize. Christmas Eve Tina seized before breakfast, and I was still upset when I fed them and forgot to give George his meds and he seized that afternoon.
So if you do plan to use PB watch your pet closely. Keep a constant check on hearing and eyesight and if you notice they have become clumsy when they usually aren't watch closely to make sure it doesn't continue to worsen. I wouldn't want anyone to have the tragedy I came so close to with my little girl.
