Tread careful if tempted to ax meds minus vet OK
Q: “Sweetie Bear” is my all-time favorite dog. She is 7 years old and started having seizures a few years ago. We finally have her medications straightened out, and she hasn’t had a seizure now for over a year. I want to talk to my vet about stopping one of the medicines since she’s doing so well. What do you think? A.D., Farragut
A: I’m happy that Sweetie Bear is doing so well — it’s great that she has been seizure-free for a long time. Since she has been doing so well, I would agree and recommend talking to your veterinarian before changing or discontinuing any of her medicines. If it was difficult to establish good seizure control with Sweetie Bear, your veterinarian may be reluctant to change her medications.
Some dogs do require two different medications to remain stable. Additionally, effective dosages of seizure medication can widely vary between individuals.
Although the goal of seizure medicines is to eliminate seizure activity entirely, that is not always possible depending on the cause and severity of the disease. Most dogs with good control can still enjoy a good quality of life.
Hopefully Sweetie Bear will continue to do well — best of luck to both of you.
If you have questions about our pet, e-mail Dr. Myers at lenoircityac@gmail.com
