Any one using Zonisamide (Zonegran) with success?

googles · Post by **googles** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:04 pm

I have a large Tibetan Mastiff that had a total of 6 short seizures. He is 27 months old. The last 3 where about 3 weeks apart. I been doing a lot of research and I didnÃ¯Â¿Â½t like the Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide because of the side effects and figured I should try a safer drug before putting him on that stuff. Plus the Phenobarbital I would have to worry about liver damage since he is young and will be on it possibility for a long time. From what I read about Zonisamide there is very few side effects and they use it with humans. So that is the drug I put him on and he seems to be doing good so far. He is the same dog with the same playful personality. Zonisamide is more expensive but I found the private pharmacies where hundreds of dollars cheaper and if you search it makes a big difference in price. He has not had a seizure in almost 4 weeks now so I hope it stays that way but only time will tell. Does anyone know of Zonisamide and used it with success? I have done research on it but there not much info with dogs throughout the internet using it.

adajadesmom · Post by **adajadesmom** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:17 am

I know I've seen some here that are using it. You may try a search using the word "zonisamide" and should be able to find out about it that way.

Glad to hear it seems to be working for you!

googles · Post by **googles** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:30 am

yes i have tried that too but not much on dogs. there unfortunately very little info on it.

skrpio · Post by **skrpio** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:52 pm

PB and KBr get a worse rep than what they deserve. If bloods are done regularly there is usually no problem. dogs have been known to stay on PB for more than 8 years and eventually leave due to old age.
Check out DR Jean Dodds for info on pB. She was the one that told me PB does not deserve the repuataion it gets and is much safer than a dog continually seizing.

bajaluna · Post by **bajaluna** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:57 am

Shamus is on PB,Kbr and Zonisamide we just started the zonisamide and no seizures yet

richmauer · Post by **richmauer** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:55 pm

Do you know what you are paying for the zonisamide and what dosage????

googles · Post by **googles** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:56 am

richmauer wrote:Do you know what you are paying for the zonisamide and what dosage????

I am paying 135 dollars for a months supply of Zonisamide and he is taking 500mg a day. If you shop around you can get very different prices. duke has not had a seizure since he been on Zonisamide and its the only drug he is taking. his last seizure was jan 26, 08. so i hope things stay well. I am curious what other people are paying as well and where is a good reliable place to purchase it online. also he has no signs of any side effects from this drug. he is the same playful dog. he has no weight gains or any kind of side effect. its as if he is not on any drug.

bajaluna · Post by **bajaluna** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:18 am

I am paying 48 dollars for 100 pills thru my local grocery store and he is on 200 mg per day

Merlinsmom · Post by **Merlinsmom** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:56 am

skrpio wrote:PB and KBr get a worse rep than what they deserve. If bloods are done regularly there is usually no problem. dogs have been known to stay on PB for more than 8 years and eventually leave due to old age.
Check out DR Jean Dodds for info on pB. She was the one that told me PB does not deserve the repuataion it gets and is much safer than a dog continually seizing.

Merlin needs something else and I don't want to add KBr because it more than increases the thirst and hunger that he already suffers from with Pb. I want to add Zonisamide as I've heard a lot of good things on it, and for people it is used for partial-onset seizures, which Merlin has. He's going to the vet tonight and I'm going to ask for a Rx for Zonisamide.

ilovemylovey · Post by **ilovemylovey** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 6:12 pm

how is Merlin on it. I just stARTED MY DOG ON IT TODAY!
TINA

Merlinsmom · Post by **Merlinsmom** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:37 am

Merlin is doing pretty well. We added 100 mg twice a day of Zonisamide to 45 mg twice a day of Pb. He went 24 days without a seizure and only had one when I tried to lower the Pb to 30 mg. He started Zonisamide March 15 and since then has had only one seizure.

Started Jack on 25mg BID then upped it to 50, but he was still having seizures so he is now on 100 (no Pb) so we'll see if that helps. I just upped it to 100 on Monday so it hasn't been long enough to tell. Jack seems to have more of a reaction to it as he gets sleepier. They both weigh around 30 lbs.

I'm not finding any really cheap prices, though, we are paying about 60 cents a pill for 100 mg. Costco was $1 a pill so we are ordering online.

Bobbie

Merlinsmom · Post by **Merlinsmom** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:05 am

Well, after a week on 100 mg Zonisamide Jack had another seizure, so I think he's switching over to Phenobarbital.

Bobbie

skrpio · Post by **skrpio** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:10 pm

The one problem with PB is that it is really hard to lower the doseage with out having problems.

beachcouple · Post by **beachcouple** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:20 pm

We love Zonisamide (ZNS)!

Originally started with 32mg Pb. 2 years later, added 275mg KBr.

Liver enzymes started rising, so added ZNS to begin reducing Pb.

ZNS loading was similar to Pb with weakness and wobbly gate. But all went away in a couple of weeks.

The wonderful side-effect we saw was his mood. Rocky became really happy and started playing like a puppy again. I hope this is a common side-effect since it is heartwarming to see our baby so happy.

ZNS also greatly changed the severity of the seizures. We still averaged one every 5 weeks but sometimes, it was hard to tell that it was actually a seizure. Still a disappointing experience but much less physical.

These are our experiences and you have to realize that your experience may be different. Hopefully better but not necessarily.

Carolyn · Post by **Carolyn** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 1:12 pm

Check the prices using Med Saver card http://www.medsavercard.com/ Costco seems to have the best prices. A friend of mine uses Walgreens and between Walgreens plan & the med saver card his savings on meds have been substantial.

CEN

Any one using Zonisamide (Zonegran) with success?

Any one using Zonisamide (Zonegran) with success?

zonisamide

Re: Any one using Zonisamide (Zonegran) with success?

Re: Any one using Zonisamide (Zonegran) with success?