Page 11 - Spring 18

A Case of Epilepsy in a Beagle by Chris Almond, UK
Oscar is a 10-year-old neutered male beagle. He had recently had several seizures, which were diagnosed as idiopathic epilepsy by his first opinion vet. His owner was reluctant to start treatment with anticonvulsant medication.
He had no recent history of vaccination but had started medication the week before with meloxicam for signs of arthritic pain and stiffness. His owner was concerned that this may have triggered the seizures. He had recently developed colitis, which his owner thought had developed after his other dog had died. He tended to drool when unhappy & distressed, but this stopped when the situation was resolved.
During the seizures, he showed signs of paddling and disorientation, with salivation and loss of control of bladder and rectum. He is a very greedy dog and will eat anything (typical beagle I thought). He drinks large amounts infrequently and eggs appear to trigger his colitis.
He is an anxious dog, and the owners moved recently, which appeared to have increased his signs of anxiety. He is very attached to routine, is single minded and very focused on things according to his owner. He growls when told off and sometimes when approached. He is a creature of habit and checks the house out when he returns home. He dislikes other dogs and tries to dominate them. He appears to be averse to cold.
I decided that the main feature of the case was related to Oscar reacting negatively to changes in his circumstances. He had developed colitis following the death of the owner’s other dog, and the epilepsy appeared to have started following the house move. Before the
move there had been no previous history of seizures. My reading of the case was that he was suffering grief because of the recent changes in his life.
Analysis
I used Radar 8 to repertorise the case using the following rubrics:
Mind-Grief
Mouth- Salivation, Profuse Stomach-Appetite-Insatiable Abdomen-Inflammation-Colon Generals-Convulsions-Grief after
The 2 leading remedies on the repertorisation were Arsenicum and Ignatia.
According to the Materia Medica (Murphy), Ignatia has a marked hypersensitivity of all the senses and a tendency to clonic spasms and convulsions. It is one of the chief remedies for emotional shock, conflict, disappointment, fright and grief. In the Mind section, ailments from grief, fright or emotional shocks and disappointments are prominent. In Abdomen, flatulent colic and cramp like pains are present.
I prescribed Ignatia 30c in liquid spray form. I suggested giving one dose initially with an interval of 24 hours before the next dose in case of an aggravation, then twice daily for 5 days.
Following the course of treatment Oscar has been free of signs of epilepsy for the last two years. I am sure that our domestic animals can suffer the ill effects from grief. These can include epilepsy and acral lick granuloma. In dogs I think that changes in routine and loss of other members of their “pack” can result in a grief state.