Seizure/Panic Attack

[TCB579]

My Rabbit Bebe is about 9 months old and has been having issues with seizures since she was about 3 months. She has small (Focal) seizures where she is "chewing" the air and she sits up/ back and will sometimes fall over backwards. She also has complete (Grand Mal) seizures where she will go into full convulsions, but instead of going limp afterwards she freaks out and runs around like shes having a panic attack.

Bebe is my first rabbit, she was given to me by some family friends who own a feed store because they thought she was blind and they wanted her to go to a good home (I am a Vet Tech so they figured I might be a good fit). About a month after I brought her home she started having seizure activity. I took her to the emergency vet and they said it might be a protozoa so we gave her Panacure for a month but the seizures came back. I took her to the vet I work for and she put her on Daizepam which seemed to help for a while. My vet does not normally see rabbits so a week ago my rabbit had another Grand Mal seizure and bit a hole in the side of her tongue so I took her to vet my mom uses (who sees rabbits) and he gave her pain meds and raised her dosage of Daizepam but then she had another set of Focal seizures today so he raised her meds again. This vet see rabbits but not that often so I am currently looking for a specialist.

Has anyone else had a similar problem or anyone from Tucson, AZ know of a good rabbit vet? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Sweetie]

Is it really hot where you have your rabbit? If so, cooling down the area your rabbit is will help greatly in the seizure activity. Make sure she is eating all the time. Also that she has plenty of water. Over excitement can trigger seizures in rabbits. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can trigger seizures in rabbits.

Has your rabbit been given a diagnosis as to what is really causing the seizures? It could be a number of things causing your rabbit to have seizures. Low blood sugar is one of these things.

I would get a small mammal panel done to rule out things.

 

[TCB579]

We keep Bebe in the coolest part of the house, so I don't she got overheated, and she started this in the morning before it gets hot. She eats and drinks very well and her blood work came back normal. The vet thinks she may simple be epileptic. After her seizures she is quiet for a few minutes then acts like nothing happened, eating and drinking like normal.

 

[Mariah]

I am so sorry you are going through this. I am also a vet tech. I live in Canada though, so I'm no help finding you a bunny specialist in your area. My work does see bunnies and my vet is absolutely awesome. I will ask her for any advise regarding bunny seizures, however;
I'm not back at work until Tue.

I can't give you any advise with your bun, but I do know what it's like to have a pet with seizures. My Australian shepherd has seizures... She's on phenobarbital 100mg- 3 tabs twice daily, and potassium bromide-200mg/ml- 1ml once daily. Shes still not controlled and she's above the
therapeutic level... She's not even two years old... It's absolutely
horrible watching her go though her seizures. I cant imagine watching your poor bun bun

Keep us posted please.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[Imbrium]

aww, poor little bunny I hope you can find a way to get the seizures in check!

 

[katherine at sacred stories]

:?

It really is mystifying. I hope the you can find a vet that will be able to help. It must be so hard to see your bunny going through this. I don't have answers--just sending love and prayers.

 

[TCB579]

So I found a good bunny vet and the good news is the clinic also does emergency so they are available 24/7. The bad news is we put Bebe on Levetiracetam IV, Potassium Bromide and raised her Diazepam dose but its not looking good, I'm starting to question her quality of life

 

[Imbrium]

aww, poor bunny

maybe you could look into getting her a friend to bond with, would give her someone to snuggle with and help her feel better after a seizure if one happens when you're not around

 

[TCB579]

Yesterday Bebe went into GI stasis and was still having seizures, her quality of life was gone so we euthanized her so she wouldn't suffer. She was such a love and only 6 months old, I will miss her dearly.

 

[gmas rabbit]

I am so sorry that you lost her. Sometimes the biggest act of love is to let them go. We had to with Harley, his quality of life was gone, always in pain. She knew that you loved her, and now she has a healthy new body, running and jumping at the bridge.

 

[HEM]

Oh no, we are so sorry to hear about Bebe
Binky free Bebe

 

[FallenRabbit]

So sorry to hear the news

 

[Imbrium]

aww, poor bunny at least she had a loving home during her short life!

 

[nc_bunnys]

Very sorry about BeBe. She had a great home for her short life.
Binky Free little girl