My black and white English Springer Spaniel (named Preston) was born June 14, 1994; he is from three generations of my own breeding. His seizures began November 8, 1996. His most severe seizure episode was a 25-hour cluster of approximately 30 seizures on April 2-3, 1997, followed by two days of disorientation, diarrhea, vomiting, severe dehydration, and other problems.

The Decision to Go for Gold Beads

My decision to take Preston to Dr. Terry Durkes in Marion, Indiana, for gold-bead implants evolved as Preston's seizures increased in frequency (despite increasing doses of PB), his periods of unconsciousness after each seizure increased from 30 seconds or so till 6 minutes, and each of his seizures since August became complicated by pulmonary edema. In addition, of the Springers I have know or known about who had epilepsy, only three survived to be older than 5 years of age; the others have either died during seizures, died from or been euthanized because of liver failure associated with phenobarbital (PB), or been euthanized because of uncontrollable seizures.

My vets (who do the gold-bead procedure in their office) supported my interest in calling Dr. Durkes, who originated the gold-bead implant procedure. On October 6, 1997, I made my initial call to Dr. Durkes. He was really nice. He'd only done one other Springer, so he had no breed-specific success rates (as he does for German shepherds, Labs, and a few other breeds), but he gave me the overall rates (which are slightly lower for cluster dogs). He said Prestonvs pulmonary edema was extremely unusual. He made no promises, but thought it might be worth a try given Prestonvs complications, his PB-associated elevated liver enzymes, and the frequency of bad endings for the epileptic Springers I knew about. I asked Dr. Durkes during this initial call if I could observe the procedure, and he said "probably." His estimated cost was $325-$350.

So I decided I'd probably go. Preston's October 25 seizure, during the day and at the peak of his PB level, followed by 6 minutes of unconscious and heavy congestion erased any doubts I still had (and I had some). I called Dr. Durkes' office on October 31 for an appointment, and we scheduled the procedure for November 7.

The Gold Bead Procedure

Atlanta to Marion should be a 10-hour drive, but between heavy traffic, heavy rain, an overturned tractor trailer that spilled jet fuel all over the interstate, road construction in Chattanooga and Nashville, and a flat tire, the trip took 13 hours! We arrived Thursday evening, November 6, for our Friday morning appointment with Dr. Durkes.

Dr. Durkes' hospital is a nice one-vet practice in this city of 32,000 well off the interstate among the Indiana cornfields. (Dr. Durkes said his practice is 30% acupuncture and 70% conventional vet stuff.)

I gave him my log of Preston's seizures and answered his questions. His initial exam found problems at the gallbladder, heart, and lung points, and he detected a heart murmur. The murmur could possibly have been caused by the seizures or it could be causing or related to the pulmonary edema; in other words, his heart might be taking too long to restart after the seizure (a scary thought.). He recommended an EKG when we returned home.

Dr. Durkes led us to his surgery prep area. His two assistants, Sue and Judy, were very nice and very funny. Dr. Durkes anesthetized Preston with isofluorane gas, then Judy clipped his head and back, then cleaned him with surgical scrub. Prep time took about 10 minutes.

Dr. Durkes began implanting the gold beads into Preston's head. Sue or Judy loaded each syringe with three beads, and Dr. Durkes injected all three into each point. Then he moved to Preston's back. Nearly all of Preston's head points bled, and most of his back points bled.

Dr. Durkes' method of determining which points to implant is fascinating; he detects points by pulse measurement. My regular vet said only one other vet he knows about can do this. Even though he treats certain standard points, Dr. Durkes customizes each implant procedure to the individual patient. After he finishes, he goes back over the dog again and again until he finds no more points that need implanting.

Even though I'm familiar with acupuncture, I still was amazed at how obviously the points are connected. For example, the point near Preston's left hip didn't bleed until Dr. Durkes implanted beads into a point near his right shoulder.

Early on, Dr. Durkes called me over, told me to hold out my hand, and gave me two beads. I knew they were small but not THIS small!

They permitted me to take pictures before, during, and after the procedure , on the condition that, if I sold the pictures to the paparazzi, they got a cut! I was very careful not to take too many or otherwise disrupt things. (These photos are now in their own small photo album, along with the two gold beads [which I somehow managed to get home without losing].)

The implant procedure took about 45 minutes. I counted about 42 needle sticks in Preston's back and about 18 in his head.

Dr. Durkes told me not to worry if Preston seizes this week because sometimes the implants take a week to become effective. I'm supposed to call him on Friday (one week post-implant), then probably monthly thereafter. If he goes a month without a seizure, we can begin lowering his PB.

Given Preston's shaved back and the 42 F temp in Marion, I was concerned he would be cold. However, he immediately removed the coat I put on him (and Springers are used to such things because we pin towels around them after bathing them), and he seems to be fine.

On November 10, I took Preston to my vet for an EKG. She could not detect a heart murmur, and the EKG was normal, so we'll have to continue to monitor that.

Now we just wait . . .

One Week Post-Implant: November 11

This is what I've noticed:

First, he has not (yet) had a seizure. However, since we're still in the 13-24 day window in which he seems to seize, I won't get my hopes up for awhile.

Second, he has become WILD! At first I thought it was my imagination--sleeping less; not sitting as sloppily or falling up the stairs as frequently; chasing Kendal and Milton all over the place; staring at me with his ears up, ready and waiting to DO something; climbing on the furniture (which is off limits!); curious and into everything as he was before the seizures started. But I am sure now that I am not imagining all this. When I spoke with Dr. Durkes this morning (a scheduled follow-up call), he confirmed that Preston should indeed have started feeling better almost immediately. The seizures, as well as the PB, take their toll, and the implants counteract their negative effects.

Third, Preston has become lumpy. His back is fine-all the implant sites are healing well-but six or eight of the implant sites on his head are really lumpy, almost like large mosquito bites under the skin. Dr Durkes said it's possible there was some minor hemorrhaging underneath the skin, and the lumps should resolve within a week or two. Preston is already on cephalexin for a staph infection, so there's no need to do anything else with him except keep an eye on the bumps.

I'm supposed to call Dr. Durkes again in 2-3 weeks, and we'll discuss beginning to reduce his PB at that time . . . if he does not have a seizure before then.

Four Weeks Post-Implant: December 5

Preston is feeling absolutely fantastic-playful, inquisitive, alert, much more coordinated. I had not realized how much the seizures and the PB had taken out of him.

Preston's last seizure was Oct. 25 (41 days ago); he was "due" again round the time of the implants, but he did not seize then and has not since. (Yet.) He had been seizing approximately every 2-1/2 weeks.

When I checked in with Dr. Durkes this morning, he said if Preston remains seizure-free for another 2 weeks, I can begin reducing his PB. The first reduction is about 25%. This really scares me!

By the way, all the mosquito-bite-looking lumps at the implant sites are long gone. I can feel a few of the beads in his head but only because I know where they are. And his hair is growing back faster than I ever thought possible!

Six Weeks Post-Implant: December 19

After 55 seizure-free days, Preston seized Friday at 12:35 a.m., one big grand mal. At least his lungs stayed clear this time. I gave him another PB dose and 6 ccs of Karo syrup, and I finally also fed him because he was trying to eat everything in the house that looked remotely edible. He was extremely restless for about 90 minutes afterward.

I noticed three odd things Thursday about 10 p.m.: Preston's feet were wet (but he wasn't panting), his breath smelled like feces, and he was burping. Otherwise, he seemed normal.

We were supposed to have begun reducing his PB with Friday morning's dose, but of course did not. After speaking with Dr. Durkes mid-morning yesterday, I took Preston to my vet for acupuncture of two specific points.

Needless to say, Prestonvs PB dosage remains where it is for the moment, and he goes back to my vet Dec. 29 for acupuncture of those same two points.

My vet reminded me that, with the gold bead implants, we were hoping for CONTROL, not necessarily ELIMINATION, of the seizures. (I, of course, was hoping for elimination!).

Ten Weeks Post-Implant: January 16, 1998

This afternoon I called Dr. Durkes for a scheduled "check-in."

Most disappointing is that, because of that one seizure, Dr. Durkes doesn't believe we'll be able to reduce Prestonvs PB. However, he said that IF Preston can go 4-5 months without a seizure, we can try to reduce it; I think neither of us is optimistic about that! I'd definitely rather leave him on PB than put him (and me)through his terrible seizures.

The good news, though, is that Preston continues to feel fantastic. There's no question the gold beads have improved his overall health, which Dr. Durkes said the owners of gold-bead dogs have been reporting. Prestonvs lethargy and mild ataxia are gone, and he's a little too full of himself :-) My vet here recently ran liver enzymes, and all but one were right in the middle of the normal range; the one elevated enzyme was only barely elevated.

So, all things considered, the trip to Indiana was definitely worth the time, trouble, and expense.

(As of February 8, 1998, Preston has had only the one seizure since his implants. He continues to feel fantastic, and looks great.)

Preston has gone to the Rainbow Bridge and waits for his loving owner Karen Foster.