Pexion as an alternative to Epiphen

BSAvale

Well-Known Member
Chaps, does anyone have any experience of Pexion for an epileptic dog?

My terrier has been on Epiphen since October last year and has been doing really well - frequency of seizures has reduced hugely from one quite severe 30min plus seizure approximately every 3 weeks to one minor 5 minute one in January and a similar short one last Friday night (and I think the trigger for that was processed pork as he had a sausage which he is not normally allowed).

Last time he had his bloods done the vet said he was at the low end of the levels so I said if he fits again we will look at increasing it. He went to the vets today for bloods and then to increase the dose but my mrs has called to say that they have not done either of these things but have suggested Pexion as an alternative with less side effects in the long term.

I have briefly looked up this new drug (I studied medicine for 3 years so wanted to look up the pharmacology but can't find it) and it appears to have only been licensed for 3 months.

I am reluctanct to change when we have a solution which is working very well unless I need to ie unless it is causing liver function issues (dog will be 4 in August) and put him through the side effects associated with starting a new drug.

Any advice or experience would be very much appreciated.

Anthony
 
All i can say is that our bitch has been on epiphen since she was 5, she is now 11 with no further episodes and no side effects. She is very active and does a full season picking up 3-4 days a week every year with no problems. If you aren't having any issues with epiphen I would be very tempted to stick with it especially if the other drug is new on the market.
 
My thoughts exactly - although he has had two very minor episodes in 10 months it is a huge improvement and I don't want to risk something with less pedigree so to speak and possibly less efficacy.
 
Have a chat to your vet about why they are thinking of swapping? In a stable dog then I'd be reluctant to swap therapy, but there could be other reasons - serious changes in liver enzymes would be a reason to look for alternatives.
 
Have a chat to your vet about why they are thinking of swapping? In a stable dog then I'd be reluctant to swap therapy, but there could be other reasons - serious changes in liver enzymes would be a reason to look for alternatives.

Exactly my thinking, I wasn't there and the mrs was...they haven't done the bloods yet so the suggestion was not based on any clinical signs or results...just that we asked for the dosage to increased because the last bloods indicated that blood levels were at the bottom of the range. Phenobarbital is clearly working because the frequency of episodes is so dramatically reduced so unless the bloods which are being done tomorrow show liver issues I don't see a need to change.

Being probably overly conservative, I am not keen on putting him on something which has only been licensed for 3 months as far as I can understand in place of a tried and tested drug which is working well.

Thank you for the advice.

​Anthony
 
Exactly my thinking, I wasn't there and the mrs was...they haven't done the bloods yet so the suggestion was not based on any clinical signs or results...just that we asked for the dosage to increased because the last bloods indicated that blood levels were at the bottom of the range. Phenobarbital is clearly working because the frequency of episodes is so dramatically reduced so unless the bloods which are being done tomorrow show liver issues I don't see a need to change.

Being probably overly conservative, I am not keen on putting him on something which has only been licensed for 3 months as far as I can understand in place of a tried and tested drug which is working well.

Thank you for the advice.

Anthony


Hi there!

I appreciate your post is 6 years ago but I’m looking for some advice/experience.

We have a Sprocker who is 17 months old now. At 13 months old she suffered from some cluster seizures. After a swift referral to langford vets in Bristol and several non conclusive tests later they diagnosed her with epilepsy. We were then discharged and put back under the guidance of our local vet. From the moment of her first seizure she was put on Keppra (sorry if I’ve misspelt it!) which stops her seizures completely. However we’ve been advised it’s only a short term drug so we need to find an affective long term one. For the last 4 months we have been giving her Pexion. We are in a cycle which we administer Pexion, leave it for a week/10 days and then take her off the Keppra to see if the Pexion is affective. Every time we take her off the Keppra she has seizures. My vet did this week that we might look to put her on Epiphen (this was also after me having a bit of a weepy moan to the vet nurse who is very experienced), I’m just looking for experience and advice as I feel like I’m up against a clock. We can’t be on the Keppra for much longer (apparently it can be ineffective after 8 months and for licensing reasons) but the Pexion isn’t working? Many thanks, Hayleigh/panicky dog owner
 
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