GLUTEN AND SEIZURES

I have accidentally out found something that I want to share. This may not have any bearing in your life, but you may know someone that it might help. I have mentioned before that my dog Mighty is subject to seizures. He has had them since the day he wandered through my gate as a stray.

They only occur about once a month but they are so very frightening for him. He never loses consciousness, but goes stiff legged, shakes, drools, and is wild eyed terrified. There is no consoling him. I can only hold him wrapped in a towel till they pass in about 5 minutes.

The veterinarians can put him on phenobarbital but I hate to give him such a strong chemical every day for something that use to occur only about once a month. Unfortunately, the frequency was increasing.

Activity levels seemed to have no bearing. I kept a journal trying to see if there were any triggers that maybe we could avoid. Eventually, I just settled for the fact that it was a part of him and just did my best to comfort him when they happened. The vets call it idiopathic seizures, meaning they do not know the cause.

Several months ago, Mighty hurt his leg and after surgery to rebuild his ligaments, he was subjected to 90 days of therapy. This was his second leg, the first one he had ruptured three years earlier. So we were both use to the drill.

At first he needed pain medication so I changed his food from dry to wet to make sure he had something on his stomach for the medicine. Boy, did he like that so I continued with the wet food as a bit of a reward for the pain he was having to go though.

He made it through the 90 days quite well and he even chased a rabbit a while back. Trust me, the rabbit was in no danger and I think actually enjoyed the chase as much as Mighty. They were both running at half speed.

It was about the same time that I realized that Mighty had not had a seizure the whole time he was in recovery. I had been so concerned about the leg that I just hadn't noticed. I made note of it, thinking perhaps the lack of vigorous exercise might have been the cause.

Then last week, it was time to buy some more of his wet food and I thought I would just finish up the bag of dry that was still 3/4 full. I prefer the dry food for it is better for his teeth. He was greatly disappointed with his dish, but being a bit of a chow hound, he gamely finished it off. That afternoon, he had his first seizure in over 3 months as he lay on the bed. Yes, it could have been a coincidence but that is pretty much a stretch.

This set off flags waving and I compared the ingredients in both types of dog foods. The one ingredient not found in the wet food was gluten. So I jumped on my computer and did some research. There are many articles that say gluten intolerance can trigger a humans seizure, so why not a dog or cat?

This is just one of the many articles on the subject. Go to the section on "The Possible Connection between Grains and Seizures."

Of course there is a way I can test quickly to see it this is Mighty's problem. I can just withhold the wet and put him back on the dry. However I can't bring my self to do something that may cause him to suffer another seizure. They terrify him. So I am doing the slow , unscientific approach to research. I am continuing his gluten free diet and if he later still has a seizure, then I will know my theory was all wrong. If he never has another, then I found the trigger.

If you have a pet with a seizure problem or know someone who does, perhaps you might want to try a gluten free diet. It really can't hurt and hopefully it will help.

Eukanuba makes a dry gluten free food which I am picking up tomorrow and will try. Plan to just mix the wet and dry. I will do what it takes to help my little fellow. If he has a seizure on this new diet, I will let you know.

Maybe some of this will be of help to you or someone you know who has an afflicted pet. It has really given me hope.