Does anyone's dog have epilepsy?

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If so how does it manifest itself? How is it treated and what if any are the side effects of the medication. Basically what can we expect and how to help our DDog

Our almost three year old Labrador has been having what I've called "funny turns" like a spasming. We took him to the vets and took along a couple of videos of him having these spasms and she thought they looked and sounded like epileptic seizures. We hadn't considered this at all, as we'd thought he was having something like leg cramps

The vet asked us to keep a log of seizures and go back in a few months and tale it from there

We want to do our best for DDog and don't want him to suffer hence us trying to get as much info as we can

Not me but our next door neighbor had two dogs (brothers) with epilepsy, it was/is managed by tablets. They are fairly old now (9/10) and one passed away last year from cancer -nothing to do with the epilepsy. I have never seen their dogs epilepsy manifest and from what I can tell aside from the medication day to day is completely normal and healthy. I see them most days and from the outside you could literally not tell and I wouldn’t know unless I hadn’t been informed.

My 6-7 year old (rescue so not quite sure) dogue de bordeaux has been having grand mal seizures since February 2023. At first they were roughly once a month, which we could deal with (guided by the vet), but in May 23 he had 24 hours of cluster seizures. He stayed overnight at the vets, during which they bombarded him with anti-seizure meds. He's now on twice daily epiphen. The only side effect has been an increased appetite. As a result of this he's gained around 5 kilos in weight and has had to have his meds increased in line with his weight.

My dog had partial seizures- he'd not have control but would try the get towards us.

The meds stopped them nicely, although we had to increase the dose after a few years when the fits started again. No real side affects.

24kg lived to 13 years old. I suspected his kidneys had damage, but he'd not have gone much longer for his size. (He was also riddled with arthritis and going blind: it was his time.)
Better the way it was than him falling down the stairs.

The vet will do a blood test to check levels.
Our mutt would not allow that (behavioural issues) but luckily the vets were lovely and let us medicate based on it working. We accepted the risk that the dose could be too high.

My dog has atypical epilepsy/CECS/Spikes Disease. He probably has 1-2 fits per year and doesn’t require treatment although he has a gluten free diet.

This is what the fits are like, the dog is mentally all there, no urination or excess drooling or eye rolling, but legs are very stiff.

Just to add, mine started fits age 8 and is now 12 and fit and healthy.

Thanks everyone - lots to think about

@Zerotoleranceforgoats that's very similar to the seizures our rascal dog has.

My 12 year old rescue had proper fits. The first and second were months apart and then he had one a week . After the first one the vet said to keep an eye on it and after the third he thought it was a liver problem. He had been on the streets such a long time it was probably a problem from that. I had him PTS as he’d had a really good two years with me and the fits had really scared him. I didn’t want any more fear in his life even if tablets would have prevented more ( he wouldn’t know that) .

Our 7 year old Lhasa Apso was diagnosed with Epilepsy at age 3 (this is around the age it commonly starts to present). He has been on a variety of medications since then and in the last year we have found the correct mix to reduce his cluster seizures from every three weeks down to every 6 months or so. The RVC has an excellent free seizure tracking app that you can download and if you use Facebook there are several groups that offer support and advice.