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by Hannelore Kemme |
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Beckie is a 6-year-old female Cocker Spaniel. Her epileptic seizures began about 4 years ago (2006), and the owners have no idea what might have triggered them. At first they occurred fairly regularly, about every 12 days, and there were always several seizures in succession, one after the other. The vet changed her diet, which made Beckie healthier, but the seizures did not decrease. She was then given phenobarbital, 2 tablets twice daily. Now the seizures occur exactly every 4 weeks, occasionally after 3 or 6 weeks. The seizures mostly occur in the early morning at sunrise. A few days before a seizure she starts to emit an odour from her mouth, and her eyes begin to roll. |
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Shortly before a seizure she 'freezes', as if seeing strange things, and then howls loudly at the onset of the seizure. She lies on her back and foams at the mouth. Usually several seizures follow one another, and they are very violent. She sometimes injures herself and afterwards is completely exhausted. Immediately after the seizure she does not recognise her owners and has to be calmed down. Beckie's character has changed since she began having seizures. She used to be a nice, active and outgoing dog, but now she seems rather shy and insecure, although she is still a dear dog. She dislikes certain people and always wants to be near her owners. If she has to stay indoors for more than two hours, she urinates in the house. |
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 Cicuta |
Analysis The focus is on the severity of the convulsions, their periodicity and the fact that each episode consists not just of a single seizure but several in succession. Several antispasmodic remedies came to mind, but only one had the characteristic "one seizure follows another." Also listed are:clinging affection, memory loss shortly after the seizure, limb twitching, extremely violent seizures, screaming before the seizure, weakness after the seizure, foaming at the mouth during the seizures, lack of trust, calm but happy. |
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Prescription: Cicuta virosa C30, once daily for two weeks |
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Follow-up
After six weeks: Cicuta virosa C30 had been given once daily for four weeks – two weeks longer than prescribed – and the owner has now stopped the remedy. She said that her dog had not had a seizure during the past six weeks – a new record – and the owners were very happy and full of hope. None of the symptoms associated with the seizures – such as the unpleasant mouth odour – had reappeared. There apparently was no initial aggravation after administering the remedy and no other notable reactions. The dog was still on antiepileptic medication, which the owner felt made her lethargic. |
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Treatment plan: no repeat of the remedy - wait |
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Photo: Wikimedia Commons |
