Update on my sweet boy Leroy.....Last Wed. was his first seizure noted, another one on Fri. He went to the ER both times and was put on antibiotics....on Fri the doc gave me a script of phenobarbital and said I could start it if I wanted or hold off to see what happens w the antibiotics. Well he seized twice Fri night, so I got the script filled with the intention of starting if he seized again. He did great all day....acting like his silly old self. Then around 7 pm he went into another one, then another....probably had 5 clusters in 1.5 hrs. I started the pheno but, it was the kind you mix in his water which I can't comprehend how you can really regulate a dose that way. I 'think' he did ok over night....I slept next to the cage and didn't hear anything. Sunday morning he seemed good for about 45 min after being up then went into 3 back to back clusters. They started lasting longer (around 1-2 min, instead of 30-40sec like previous) it got so bad as the afternoon went on. I was so torn between ending his suffering and holding off to see if the meds would regulate(the doc said it could take a week)
Then he had an awful, violent seizure that lasted over 5 min and my husband and I were crying and saying we can't do this to him anymore. We called the ER to have him euthanized and they said the wouldn't see him bc they didn't have a avian dr on that day. I was not happy! I know you don't have to be a specialist to euthanize a suffering animal.but it ended up being a blessing bc we decide that we would spend his last night giving him all of his favorite things and his light and just loving him. Well he perked up and did great , not seizing again all night! However Mon morning he seized again, 4-5 times in a row...we called his vet who said she couldn't see us until 7pm!(this was at 8am!) we found another avian doc across town and he was great. He couldn't understand why we were given meds in water when I am able to handle Leroy....so he switched us to liquid pheno. He also assured me that he doesn't think he is suffering and that I should give the meds a few days to adjust.
Then he had an awful, violent seizure that lasted over 5 min and my husband and I were crying and saying we can't do this to him anymore. We called the ER to have him euthanized and they said the wouldn't see him bc they didn't have a avian dr on that day. I was not happy! I know you don't have to be a specialist to euthanize a suffering animal.but it ended up being a blessing bc we decide that we would spend his last night giving him all of his favorite things and his light and just loving him. Well he perked up and did great , not seizing again all night! However Mon morning he seized again, 4-5 times in a row...we called his vet who said she couldn't see us until 7pm!(this was at 8am!) we found another avian doc across town and he was great. He couldn't understand why we were given meds in water when I am able to handle Leroy....so he switched us to liquid pheno. He also assured me that he doesn't think he is suffering and that I should give the meds a few days to adjust.
they are so violent and he twists his neck around when he does it....it is just the worse thing I have ever seen : ( at one point he hit his head on his seed bowl very hard. I am just devastated....my whole family is a wreck, my husband and I haven't slept, my kids are scared. I just wish I knew either way....if there is no hope for him to recover then I don't want to prolong his suffering, but I am scared that I will give up on him and possibly he was just about to turn 
the corner with the meds. Has anyone ever gone thru something similar.?? This is sooooo hard!
sending positive energy to all of you..get well Leroy
So we took Leroy to a new vet tonight....fourth one in 5 days. I feel so relieved, the doc was very brash and had terrible bedside manner but that is fine bc he is the first doc that actually did something. He gripped Leroy right out of his cage and gave him an injection of (atropine, I think) to counteract any possible toxins, then he did a full body X-ray. There were no metals or foreign objects noted....he did say that his liver seemed a little small and the proventriculis was a little large. There was a small area he was a little unsure of that could possibly be a parasite, which we treated for. He did complete blood work and a fecal sample (results should be back Thursday.) he also suggested a lot about changing his diet. We were feeding a lot more protein than we should have. Whoops. 
He said to continue with the phenobarbital until we figure things out further.....But amazingly he has not had a seizure since we left, he is like a different bird, preening, dancing, eating. Before we went he was laying on the bottom of the cage sleeping. It's as if the injection he gave him counteracted whatever was hurting him. Fingers crossed that this continues. I am sooooooo happy right now! 
Yay! So glad to hear he has perked up and this vet took a more direct approach! Hope the test results yield some insight and the meds work so he doesn't have more seizures! Hopefully he stays his happy active self!
