brandts2004

Hi. We're new to this site. It has educated us more on our Twix. He had his first seizure a month ago early in the morning and had his 2nd (and hopefully last!) 6 hours later. He was given phenobarbital and thyroid supplement and has to take it twice a day all his life We're wondering if he just needs to take either phenobarbital or the thyroid supplement and not both. We're losing confidence in our vet - we just moved in to a new city and we spent over $500 already to this place. We're thinking of trying another vet that owns a basset hound himself! Any comments, thoughts and recommendations would be appreciated...

Soundtrack

One thing you might discuss with your vet is the possibility of putting him on a low carbohydrate diet (you may have to make it yourself, I don't know if there are any commercial ones). Extremely low-carb (ketogenic)diets are often recommended for controlling seizures in humans, especially children. From personal experience, I once had a dog who had occasional seizures, for a while I had her on a raw diet and I noticed that she did not have seizures during that time.

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Barbara Winters

Hypothyroidism is fairly common in bassets and also may be the cause of seizures so it is appropriate that your veterinarian is testing for both.
Here's a good article that discusses both seizures and thyroid dysfunction: COMMENTS ON THYROID DISEASE.

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We're losing confidence in our vet

You need to get a detailed account from your vet to find out where your $500 is being spent. Prices vary greatly depending on where you live. KV vet charges $59.95 for 1000 tablets of 0.3 mg Soloxine. They don't list phenobarbital but Fosters and Smith charges 8-12 cents per tablet depending on the dose. These aren't expensive medications but laboratory tests and office charges can get pricey, depending on the tests. Dr. Jean Dodds charges $110 dollars for both a thyroid panel and a phenobarbital panel. If after talking with your vet you're still not happy look for another veterinarian. You don't say why you've lost confidence but this is something you need to discuss.

Hope Twix continues to do well. Keep us posted.

lutharmartin

hi I found the information to be real informative one. I never knew that thyroid disorder could affect hounds too. Want to know whether thyroid supplements can be useful for them or not?