November 22, 2011

White Dog said, "I KNEW Dr. Julia wouldn't let us down." Even though she was still under the weather, she called to say that we should bring Quinn in to discuss his seizures...and that Puff should come along so her congestion could be monitored as well.

Steve dashed home from the office and we loaded The Other White Dog and Still Another White Dog into Pumpkin. The rest of the WDA wanted to ride along for support but were convinced (mostly by the duck jerky bribe) to send their best wishes from the comfort of home.

As we drove I shared with Steve my concern that TOWD's deep uninterruptable sleep until nearly noon today was somehow connected to the seizure story. I was nervous for what we would hear but full of questions.

At the vet's office, Dr. Julia looked at Puff first and smiled. "She is sounding a lot less congested than last week," Dr. Julia said. We told her what a difficult time we had getting SAWD to take the antibiotic capsule in the mornings. Evenings were no problem since she ate them in her dinner; but Puff is not a morning eater. Kibble is always available but she never eats until afternoon and the pill is needed in the am. Nothing entices her and she quickly catches on to all of the tricks. Dr. Julia felt that the stress caused by forcing Puff to take the pill countered the effect of stopping her cough so she gave her an injection and told us to stop the capsule. Puff must go back next week. Our littlest one gratefully hopped off the exam table and hid behind Steve's legs.

Now it was Quinn's turn. Dr. Julia asked us to talk about the seizures Quinn had experienced over the weekend. She asked lots of questions about his behavior and environment both before and since the manic sessions. She had read the ER reports, viewed the Xrays, talked with the ER Vet, spoke with a colleague. Then she put Quinn up on the table for a thorough exam. She discounted my nervousness about his sleeping this morning and asked if maybe Quinn might be getting a little hard of hearing. "It was cold and if he was comfortable, slight deafness could have blocked out the household noises and just encouraged him to sleep in."

After, she stood stroking TOWD and shared her thoughts and ideas. She said that seizures, epilepsy, and brain tumors were all about repeat episodes; that she felt a single isolated case of one night (even though Quinn had two bouts) was not enough evidence for us to put our boy on medication. If however, he had another seizure, or started having them at some frequency like once a month or week then we needed to look at the drugs which can do a fine job of controlling them (the drugs prevent seizures, they do not cure them).

She said the next time, if there is a next time, we should grab the cell phone and make a video of his actions. We thought this was a brilliant idea as it would clearly illustrate the situation much better than words could. (ASIDE: this is a great idea for any health issue that happens outside the vet's office...limping...bad behaviors...harmful licking).

Dr. Julia also thought it was too soon to bring in a neurologist...again there is just not enough seizure history to jump to this. An MRI would be stressful to Quinn; this may be necessary to subject him to in the future but for now we have decided to take a cautious wait and watch approach...at least through the new year.

As Steve and I have talked over the past few days we have come to some conclusions and lots of questions...that we did not want to medicate without reason...that the quality of life was more important than the quantity...wondering whether one Event was enough to base a diagnosis on...whether waiting and seeing was sound judgement or avoidance...what does Quinn expect from we who have promised him safety...It would be a gigantic help if The Mighty Quinn could weigh in on the issues.

For now, somewhat reassured, we wait and hope...for nothingness.