Question submitted by the audience in our recent webinar: What’s Feeding Those Seizures? An Update On Refractory Canine Epilepsy And The Potential Link to Gastrointestinal Health:
My miniature schnauzer has both Addison's disease and epilepsy. He is on predinisone and monthly shots of Percorten for the addisons, and phenobarbitol for the epilepsy. Is this a common association, or are there factors of which I should be particularly aware?
Answer by: Karen R. Muñana, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Neurology)
I am not aware of any association between Addison’s disease and epilepsy. The only potential consideration that I am aware of for a dog with both Addison’s and epilepsy is that treatment with potassium bromide should be avoided, as the dog can have difficulty handling the potassium. If bromide is determined to be the best antiepileptic to use, then sodium bromide should be utilized instead of potassium bromide.
