Wookiee’s Story - the new Milo Vagal Nerve Stimulator (VNS)
Written by Sharon - carer of this very active lad
Wookiee had his first generalized tonic-clonic seizure in January 2025. We were woken at 2 am by crashing and banging, with all the dogs in a panic. I couldn’t believe my eyes — we had only lost another dog to epilepsy eight months earlier, after a seven-year battle.
Because of that painful experience, I wanted a quick diagnosis and treatment for Wookiee. He went straight to the vet, had blood tests (all clear), and I immediately requested a neurology referral. Looking back, the signs had already been there — confusion, loss of recall, needing guidance which I now believe were seizure activities.
His referral to Neurology was two weeks away. Because he didn’t have terrible cluster seizures like my other dog, I thought he would be okay until then. Sadly, he had two bad seizures - one cluster -while awaiting his Neuro appointment. Both episodes required out of hours treatment. His seizures were so severe he injured himself: broken rib, very bad bruising and wounds that required stitched. I was now desperate for his referral to come through for a quick diagnosis and start treatment. The out of hours Vet started him on Keppra.
At his neurology appointment, Wookiee was officially diagnosed with epilepsy. Having lived through this before, I knew I wanted more than medication alone. I went straight home and emailed Tom, the neurologist at Langford vets in Bristol to see if he could put my other dog’s Vagal Nerve Stimulator (VNS) magnet into Wookiee (I kept the magnet as it was as important as a heartbeat to her). I was desperate for Wookiee to have the VNS as my other dog would have died at a year old without it. I learned from my other dog the medications can have terrible side effects, dogs can become refractory to the meds, and their quality of life can be poor. That VNS had transformed her life — keeping her clear-headed and improving her quality of life, even though she still had frequent-cluster seizures.
Tom advised me to hold off with Wookiee as there was new system coming out where the implant was controlled externally, as opposed to the old style where it was controlled with the magnet internally. I awaited the call from Tom, thinking Wookiee will never be as bad as my last dog, so waiting until the new system is ready to go would be fine. I have now learned a dog does not require to cluster all the time for epilepsy to impact their life greatly. Epilepsy comes with a list of problems. Some of them are not obviously connected to epilepsy, but I feel they are. After his first seizure his life changed. He was not as responsive/engaging, he would get confused and disorientated. He became lame, unable to run. He hardly went for walks and only off lead in an enclosed field as he couldn’t cope as he was so sore he would scream, become lame, he would get lost and disorientated easily. He experienced digestive problems impacting his appetite.
In June Tom got back in touch saying the new system was ready to go. Initially Tom was going to come to Glasgow to carry out the op but that was not working out for him. I will be eternally grateful to Ada and Jos who agreed to do the op, saving me another trip to Bristol. Ada and Jos were amazing, so thoroughly making sure it was right for Wookiee before we went through with it. I totally believe in the team and Glasgow to make sure everything is right for Wookiee. I appreciate all the time they put into learning the system and meeting with the company. At the end of August Ada and Jos put the implant into Wookiee. The op was “simple” and he healed without any issues. The new system is only one small op, as opposed to the old system.
Wookiee is less than two weeks in with the VNS. We are slowly increasing the settings and already I am seeing improvement. He is less lame, interacting with the other dogs and playing. He is leading the runs again and keen to go out most walks. Early days with the VNS but already I am happy with the progress. I can’t recommend the VNS enough. It improves the life of many epileptic dogs. I am hoping Wookiee can now get back to his normal life. I can’t thank the Neuro team enough for the amazing care both my epileptic dogs have received. Epilepsy is the hardest diseases to live with-unpredictable, exhausting and life changing for the entire family.
I believe strongly in the VNS. It saved my first dog’s life and is already helping Wookiee regain his quality of life. For anyone facing canine epilepsy, VNS deserves to be considered — it doesn’t just control seizures, it gives our dogs their lives back.
Wookiee full of beans
To read more about the new Milo VNS - please visit the website of Auxilium MD
