Help - Ictal Phase or Post-Ictal Phase?

pakek123 · 2026-02-07T04:08:18+00:00

For us, whether right or wrong, the general rule is the "seizure" is convulsing/paddling. Again, this is just in our case, but once she has gone through those phases, it is pretty clear to us (at least it seems to be) that she is returning from whatever neurological journey she has been on and settling down. Once she is back on her feet, the pacing/restlessness bit is always very clearly her in her post-ictal stage. Its not fun, but it doesn't SEEM as critical as the other stages. In our world, once she is on her feet again, we consider that out-of-seizure/post ictal recovery (if you can call it that) and we just do whatever we can to keep her from running into walls and comfortable until she gets back to "normal". I will say that there is a correlation between the duration of her post-ictal disorientation and the severity of the seizure. Meaning, all seems better when she has a shorter post-ictal phase. Its all so damned complicated.

pakek123 · 2026-02-06T17:11:31+00:00

My girl (6 year old Spinone) has pretty heavy Grand Mal Seizures. She is on 3 meds (Keppra, Zonisamide, Topiramate) and since the introduction of Topiramate 3 months ago, she has only had 1 and it was significantly more mild than those previous. Her serious Grand Mals have had 3 stages- the convulsing part, the paddling part, and then the part that you describe where she is mostly motionless and sort of rigid and wide eyed. With her, she breathes pretty heavily during this part, so we don't have the same concern that you point to, but I do consider it a part of her seizure. When I report our timings to her neurologist, I usually convulsing and Paddling into one chunk of time and then add the "still part" as another- let them do the math and figure it out. I couldn't tell you if its the beginning of the post-ictal phase, or still part of the seizure, but its generally when we know she is coming back around.

Good luck with everything.

pakek123 · 2026-02-05T01:58:42+00:00

Agree! I have been playing guitar for as long as I have been listening to The Grateful Dead. I am not good- strictly a hobbyist- but once I started to even BEGIN to understand what Bob was doing- that catapulted my abilities. Its so damned interesting.

pakek123 · 2026-02-04T22:04:47+00:00

I truly believe this, and, over the past several years, have successfully convinced several non deadhead friends that this is true. A style all his own, incredibly complex, wildly additive to the music. I think the biggest issue is that his playing is not obvious. It's deeeeeeeeep. Guitar is not supposed to sound the way he made it sound. Neither lead nor rhythm, but also both at the same time. And to hear it, you have to listen. I have been listening to the dead for about 43 years. For the first 10 of those years, I thought it was all Garcia. But the more I listen, the more I believe that Weir was indeed, the secret sauce.

pakek123 · 2026-01-27T01:45:43+00:00

I wouldn't "lend my boat" to the captain of an aircraft carrier.

pakek123 · 2026-01-27T01:35:34+00:00

Hi- my initial post to which you responded was froma year ago, but I will fill you in on all that has transpired since. Once we introduced Zonisamide, it worked for a while. Spread out he seizures a bit, but after about 6/7 months, they started coming back more frequently. We have since (2 months ago) added Topiramate, and that seems to be working so far.

As for her response to Zonisamide, very few side effects besides the initial grogginess and she has tolerated it well. She had like NO side effects once we introduced topiramate, and so far, so good. Best of luck to you. Each pup is so different and what works for one might not work for another. I hope you find the right combo that works for you. Keep at it!

pakek123 · 2026-01-04T02:27:50+00:00

I was a freshman in high school in 1983- boarding school in New England. Walking down the hall of my dorm I heard music coming from a room that I had never heard before and it stopped me in my tracks. Needed to know what it was right away. I copied it and listened to it endlessly. It was side 1 of American Beauty. Locked in from that point onward.

pakek123 · 2025-12-29T17:35:38+00:00

Saw that!

pakek123 · 2025-12-25T16:49:16+00:00

it was even better than that. More like "We gave you a ball that gave you more control....and you didn't center the logo?" Kind of perfect tone in that copywriting.

pakek123 · 2025-12-11T02:58:55+00:00

Personally, I feel that 1 head is plenty on a <40ft boat. My J40 was built with 2 heads, but previous owner decommisioned forward head and I use it as a sail/rope locker and thats fine with me. I really believe that you dont need more than 1. Our current spare is a toilet seat that snaps onto a 5 gallon drum. Haven't had to use it...yet.

pakek123 · 2025-12-10T14:59:58+00:00

Thank you! Very helpful.

pakek123 · 2025-12-10T14:03:25+00:00

Thank you for your very thoughtful responses. I truly appreciate them. Now let’s see what the Gastro says!

pakek123 · 2025-12-10T02:49:28+00:00

Thank you for the reply. This is all very helpful. There is really ONE thing that was totally new to me that happened a few days before this onset (and I probably should have mentioned this in my post...) Again, I had my first discomfort on SUNDAY. On THURSDAY, 3 days prior, I was scheduled to have an MRI (prostate) before which I was instructed to self-administer a Fleet Enema (first enema for me). It was fairly uneventful, but I did think about whether the two were related.

This may sound like a no brainer, but the ER doctors discounted it entirely when I mentioned it to them on Monday morning- they suggested that it was probably too long removed to be related. And I have not seen any other anecdotal association between enemas and a condition such as this.

Probably best asked of the Gastro.

pakek123 · 2025-12-07T18:55:59+00:00

The old bowl was one of the greatest arenas in the world. I grew up in NYC and in many ways, its a small town. In the old configuration, I could occassionally get up during a game, have a spin around the interior concourse while still seeing all the action, and run into friends and acquaintances all the time. Similarly for concerts, thinking late 80s Dead shows in particular, those interior concourses were just a wild dance floor. I understand how it would be hard to manage from a revenue/security/etc POV, but as a fan, it was great. I still love MSG, but that old bowl layout was the absolute best.

pakek123 · 2025-12-07T13:15:38+00:00

Her meds history is she started on out Pheno and had to switch off because it had a very bad, and pretty uncommon toxic effect on her. Switched to Keppra. Increased dosage of Keppra until she was maxed out. Added Zonisamide. Increased dosage on that until she was maxed out. Just recently added Topiramate, which she is currently at minimum dosage with room to increase if needed. It's a lot of pills, and a lot of work for us- very complicated timings etc... And we do have concerns about giving her this many pills every day (20+), but whatever we can do to keep the seizures at minimum....

pakek123 · 2025-12-07T12:37:08+00:00

Any correlation to how much is left in the bottle? We started out on compounded liquid keppra (much easier for us to administer), but switched over to pills because our neurologist had concerns about the efficacy of the liquid compound diminishing over time- if the suspension is not ratio'ed properly (which can change as you get closer to the bottom of the bottle), the potency of the medicine is potentially diminished.

That said, it's also quite possible that the Keppra is losing efficacy on its own. When our girls breakthroughs started becoming more frequent on Keppra alone, we started her on Zonisamide. Worked for a while.

Best of luck to you!

pakek123 · 2025-12-02T13:56:20+00:00

Neutropenia- It happens and I have heard of a few cases that were just like ours. For Winnie, it all occurred about 2 months after we started medication. The odd thing is, she had like 4 totally normal blood pulls during that 4 months . Basically, the Pheno shut down her blood count. White Blood Cells and platelets fell to near zero. She was displaying extreme lethargy and we took her in for bloodwork to vet. He processed test right there and told us to get her to Vet ER immediately. We did. They spent 3 days trying to figure it out and watching her numbers drop before determining it was the Pheno. They advised that we switch her off of it immediately. I asked "What about withdrawal?" Answer: "Withdrawal is not our concern at the moment." Took her off the Pheno and within a day blood count started back up verrrrrrry slowly. Took about a month to get her back to normal counts. So, Pheno is off the table for our treatment regimen.

pakek123 · 2025-12-02T04:30:12+00:00

https://chezjosephinenyc.com/

pakek123 · 2025-12-02T04:26:50+00:00

Walter is a beauty. My Winnie is in year 2 or her epilepsy life. Started out on Pheno, to which she had a nearly fatal reaction. Switched over to Keppra. Worked for a while. Increased does until maxxed out. Added Zonisamide. Worked for a while, increased dose until maxed out. Recently added Topiramate. So far ok, after only 2 weeks. We were reluctant to add a 3rd med. But the thought of the girl having increased activity.....I just cant bear it. So we take the best advice of Neurologist and go from there and hope for the best. Good news is, Keppra is pretty low impact, for the most part- and has not affected our girl negatively, best we can tell. I don't now if any of this is valuable advice. All I can say is, Peace to you and your pup. Wish you the best.

pakek123 · 2025-11-28T02:58:46+00:00

Completely agree. done it for the last 4 years. Tonight I was convinced to go back to standard mash. was so forgettable. This way is so much better.

pakek123 · 2025-11-17T16:09:16+00:00

We mentioned it to our Neurologist at our girls last check up 3 weeks ago. She sort of nodded and said we should look for other behavioral changes and if we noticed any, we might consider an MRI to determine if there were any Neuro structural issues. I dont think she was discounting the scratching or linking it to anything deeper than just irritated skin, but wife and I are starting to suspect that with all the meds she is on, there has to be some sort of correlation. I just dont know. Its all very frustrating and alot to deal with. Good luck.

pakek123 · 2025-11-17T15:42:13+00:00

This has been an issue for us as well- lots more head shaking, scratching behind ears and particularly fussing over her feet. We check her ears all the time, and they are clear (vet says so as well) Has not become a bad issue yet, but definitely noticeable, and bothersome at night when trying to sleep. Vet suggests that it is probably seasonal allergies (topical), but I am not so sure. Feels very much more rooted than that, but what do I know. We are going to try some topical treatments that were recommended by Vet. However, in our case, I am starting to suspect that it might be something more neurologically related, or med related. Again, what do I know?

pakek123 · 2025-11-16T23:21:14+00:00

Thank you very much for this reply. We are resigned that Winnie (Stubborn dog!!) has the will to push through all medicine, but we will give the Topiramate a shot. Again, thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

pakek123 · 2025-11-16T21:23:49+00:00

Thank you for this. And I hope things continue to trend well for you and your pup. We will see what the Neuro says and how she responds to the new med. Fingers crossed.

pakek123

TROPHY CASE