Abelard has gone stupid!

"Jo Firey" wrote in message ...

It's Friday night and I can't talk to the vet until Monday. Has anyone got
any ideas?

One last thought until you can see a vet tomorrow.

If a cat has neurological problems, like epilepsy or strange episodes,
the drug of choice for cats is phenobarbital, sp? Don't know if most
regular vets know this but it's been known for decades. It's not
Dilantin which is the drug or used to be the drug of choice for dogs
and humans a while ago.

Took a lot of vets to find out this very simple thing for a cat who
had seizures. These seizures were caused by a brain lesion when the
cat was probably kicked while being born or shortly after. She was the
runt of the litter. X-rays of the brain confirmed this without any
doubt. This was before the use of MRI's. I would gather an MRI would
be quite expensive compared to an X-ray.

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong.

"Tree Line" wrote in message
om...
"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...

One last thought until you can see a vet tomorrow.

If a cat has neurological problems, like epilepsy or strange episodes,
the drug of choice for cats is phenobarbital, sp? Don't know if most
regular vets know this but it's been known for decades. It's not
Dilantin which is the drug or used to be the drug of choice for dogs
and humans a while ago.

Took a lot of vets to find out this very simple thing for a cat who
had seizures. These seizures were caused by a brain lesion when the
cat was probably kicked while being born or shortly after. She was the
runt of the litter. X-rays of the brain confirmed this without any
doubt. This was before the use of MRI's. I would gather an MRI would
be quite expensive compared to an X-ray.

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong.

This is very good to know. Thanks a lot for sharing it!

He's been acting completely normal since the last incident, but I'm still
going to speak with a vet or three.

"Tree Line" wrote in message
om...
"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...

One last thought until you can see a vet tomorrow.

If a cat has neurological problems, like epilepsy or strange episodes,
the drug of choice for cats is phenobarbital, sp? Don't know if most
regular vets know this but it's been known for decades. It's not
Dilantin which is the drug or used to be the drug of choice for dogs
and humans a while ago.

Took a lot of vets to find out this very simple thing for a cat who
had seizures. These seizures were caused by a brain lesion when the
cat was probably kicked while being born or shortly after. She was the
runt of the litter. X-rays of the brain confirmed this without any
doubt. This was before the use of MRI's. I would gather an MRI would
be quite expensive compared to an X-ray.

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong.

This is very good to know. Thanks a lot for sharing it!

He's been acting completely normal since the last incident, but I'm still
going to speak with a vet or three.

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong.

You're right about Phenobarbitol being a very old drug, a very effective one,
and also a very inexpensive one compared to the new magic wonder-cures like
neurontin, dilantin, and a couple more I can't recall the names of right
offhand.
It worked marvelously on our dachshund that had seizures.
Sherry

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong.

You're right about Phenobarbitol being a very old drug, a very effective one,
and also a very inexpensive one compared to the new magic wonder-cures like
neurontin, dilantin, and a couple more I can't recall the names of right
offhand.
It worked marvelously on our dachshund that had seizures.
Sherry

In article ,
(Tree Line) wrote:

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...

It's Friday night and I can't talk to the vet until Monday. Has
anyone got
any ideas?

One last thought until you can see a vet tomorrow.

If a cat has neurological problems, like epilepsy or strange episodes,
the drug of choice for cats is phenobarbital, sp? Don't know if most
regular vets know this but it's been known for decades. It's not
Dilantin which is the drug or used to be the drug of choice for dogs
and humans a while ago.

Took a lot of vets to find out this very simple thing for a cat who
had seizures. These seizures were caused by a brain lesion when the
cat was probably kicked while being born or shortly after. She was the
runt of the litter. X-rays of the brain confirmed this without any
doubt. This was before the use of MRI's. I would gather an MRI would
be quite expensive compared to an X-ray.

Depending on your region, MRIs may have come down in price. They are
immensely better than regular X-rays in detecting soft tissue lesions,
as in the brain.

Some human hospitals will do off-hours veterinary MRIs. An extreme case
is in Canada, where the relevant ministry sets a fixed amount they will
pay the hospital for MRI services. So, even while humans wait, the
hospital may do veterinary MRIs once they've reached their compensable
limit for humans.

It would be unusual for a plain X-ray to confirm a brain lesion, unless
there were bone involved. X-rays can be improved by injecting dye, but
that usually involves the riskier procedure of threading a catheter into
the brain.

Phenobarbital is indeed a useful drug for many epilepsies, but not all.
Its major side effect is sedation. It's not that much, if at all,
cheaper than other anticonvulsants that have gone generic, such as
Dilantin (generically phenytoin) or Tegritol (generically
carbemazapine). In humans, these are not necessarily the first choice
for all epilepsies, but are very frequently used.

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong

There is a saying in medicine that when you hear hoofbeats, the wise
money says horses, not zebras. There is another saying that all cases
solved by neurologists are zebras.

In article ,
(Tree Line) wrote:

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...

It's Friday night and I can't talk to the vet until Monday. Has
anyone got
any ideas?

One last thought until you can see a vet tomorrow.

If a cat has neurological problems, like epilepsy or strange episodes,
the drug of choice for cats is phenobarbital, sp? Don't know if most
regular vets know this but it's been known for decades. It's not
Dilantin which is the drug or used to be the drug of choice for dogs
and humans a while ago.

Took a lot of vets to find out this very simple thing for a cat who
had seizures. These seizures were caused by a brain lesion when the
cat was probably kicked while being born or shortly after. She was the
runt of the litter. X-rays of the brain confirmed this without any
doubt. This was before the use of MRI's. I would gather an MRI would
be quite expensive compared to an X-ray.

Depending on your region, MRIs may have come down in price. They are
immensely better than regular X-rays in detecting soft tissue lesions,
as in the brain.

Some human hospitals will do off-hours veterinary MRIs. An extreme case
is in Canada, where the relevant ministry sets a fixed amount they will
pay the hospital for MRI services. So, even while humans wait, the
hospital may do veterinary MRIs once they've reached their compensable
limit for humans.

It would be unusual for a plain X-ray to confirm a brain lesion, unless
there were bone involved. X-rays can be improved by injecting dye, but
that usually involves the riskier procedure of threading a catheter into
the brain.

Phenobarbital is indeed a useful drug for many epilepsies, but not all.
Its major side effect is sedation. It's not that much, if at all,
cheaper than other anticonvulsants that have gone generic, such as
Dilantin (generically phenytoin) or Tegritol (generically
carbemazapine). In humans, these are not necessarily the first choice
for all epilepsies, but are very frequently used.

Phenobarbital controlled the seizures, very small pill and dosage,
maybe 1/8th of a grain. Took a highly specialized vet, a professor of
neurology, to make this call. A call all the local vets did not know
which was frightening in their ignorance where they prescribed
antibiotics and Dilantin which in this case were quite wrong

There is a saying in medicine that when you hear hoofbeats, the wise
money says horses, not zebras. There is another saying that all cases
solved by neurologists are zebras.

There is a saying in medicine that when you hear hoofbeats, the wise
money says horses, not zebras. There is another saying that all cases
solved by neurologists are zebras.

I like this saying! I thought it may be heat exhaustion - that will make you
unresponsive and give you the shakes. He just laid down for a nap on the
nice warm driveway and was overheated fairly quickly. Next time (if there
is a next time), try taking his temp to see if it is elevated, and that
might give you a clue.

Good luck!
Patti

There is a saying in medicine that when you hear hoofbeats, the wise
money says horses, not zebras. There is another saying that all cases
solved by neurologists are zebras.

I like this saying! I thought it may be heat exhaustion - that will make you
unresponsive and give you the shakes. He just laid down for a nap on the
nice warm driveway and was overheated fairly quickly. Next time (if there
is a next time), try taking his temp to see if it is elevated, and that
might give you a clue.

Good luck!
Patti

"Mishi" wrote in message
...
I thought it may be heat exhaustion - that will make you
unresponsive and give you the shakes. He just laid down for a nap on the
nice warm driveway and was overheated fairly quickly. Next time (if there
is a next time), try taking his temp to see if it is elevated, and that
might give you a clue.

This explanation makes a lot of sense. I only wish it could be applied in
this instance. Both times, he was sleeping under a tree, in the shade. And
it hadn't been very hot, either.