I think I'm being punished for being smug about how well Milk's seizures were being controlled for almost three months. With a vengeance.
This morning's was odd - very short, almost no flopping, but a ton of very harsh growling and snarling. It started without any warning - usually I wake up because he's starting to chatter his jaws, but not today. And even worse, he was sleeping snuggled up in my armpit, where I would have no ability to keep him from flopping onto the floor, or banging into the table, or who knows what. Plus, I didn't want him that close to my face and eyes while he was having a seizure. So, while he was snarling away, I couldn't think of anything to do but to pick him up and plop him down on my lap, where I could keep him in one place. Just a smidge scary. But he really didn't move at all. He continued to growl for just a few seconds. No clawing, no flopping, no bouncing around - just stiffness and noise, for probably not much more than 20 seconds. And then he laid with his eyes huge and round and black (pupils all dilated, I assume) for another minute or so. He jerked three or four times, and then just laid there. Eventually, he jumped down, without seeming uncoordinated, and I thought I saw him disappear down the steps. He always is ravenous after a seizure, so I figured I had a couple of minutes to fix him something to eat. (He used to pace after every seizure, around and around the living room and dining room and kitchen. Hasn't done that for many months, though.) Anyway, he wasn't downstairs, as it turned out, he was going from nearly empty bowl to nearly empty bowl licking up the food that I'd left out for overnight for Scruffy. I put down a fresh can of FF for him, and he ate about half of it. Then he started looking to see what else there was to eat. I try never to miss an opportunity to get food into him, so I gave him a tiny handful of EVO/Wellness dry, which he ate a little of, but by then, the other three had discovered that he was eating crunchies, and started jostling for position to wedge themselves into his bowl. He ate another 1/2 can or so of a different FF, wandered around across the computer desk several times, and then sat down behind me here, seeming perfectly relaxed and just fine.
I'm starting to get nervous about the frequency of this new round of seizures. I was hoping that increasing 1/8th Keppra TID would get things back on track, but apparently not. I can't remember where I put the liquid valium that the IM vet gave me - haven't seen her since she referred us to the neurologist in Ohio, and although I left her his most current seizure record the last time I had Scruffy at the Specialty Hospital, I never heard anything from her. I'm guessing, given that she only saw Milk that one time (although it cost me almost $400 for ONE APPOINTMENT that was pretty much useless), that she doesn't necessarily regard him as her patient. Would she give me a fresh tube of valium if I called? Don't know. There was a six month expiration on the stuff - which is long past. I don't want to panic, but we're sort of beyond a place where I have the least idea what to do, besides increase his Keppra again.
I do have a theory - related to the fact that he has just barely started eating voluntarily again in the last two weeks or so. I wonder if the phenobarb dosage - 1/2 pill (8mg) BID has become somehow ineffective - thus allowing the seizures to start again, and lessening the suppression of his appetite? He just had bloodwork fairly recently, but I suppose it would be worth it to not only check his phenobarb levels, but to send blood to Auburn and let them do the Keppra levels, too. I know that they'll do both, which will save the extra costs of Antech doing the phenobarb levels. Maybe that would be a good place to start. I'll have to call Dr. G. next week and ask them to get the blood pick-up/transportation arranged, and make copies of the information Karen posted from Auburn on the epi-kitty site. Which possibly leads to consideration of what to do if they say that he's on too high a dosage (even though it's not working any more?) I did notice - for the first time - with this last tiny increase in Keppra (generic) that he seemed to have more visible symptoms of the greater dosage. I had never really noticed any wobbliness or incoordination since he's been taking Keppra, although others had mentioned that their cats showed it. But this time, although certainly not even close to what phenobarb did to him, there was a noticeable difference. He was just starting to seem to be getting over it.
I wish this was something you could snap your fingers and Zap! it'd be gone..... I am frankly terrified about the possibility of cluster seizures and the frequency increasing.
