I think this is my first Ask the Professor! My cat had radioactive iodine therapy 1.5 years ago for hyperthyroid. Seizures are a possible side effect. In the past 6 months or so, she has had progressive dystonia, where she hears sounds that have a rattle or crinkle or chinking sound and she'll shudder/jerk. She can sometimes do this 6-8 times an hour, sometimes not for a day. Three times in the past month, she has heard repetitive sounds and has gone into a severe grand mal seizure after jerking repeatedly with each separate noise: once the dog scratching his collar with a tag jingling, once when the dogs were running like Scoobie doo through the house and were 'running in place' on a wood floor, once I was fishing in a corn chip bag. It lasts way too long. I'm thinking for dystonia maybe Melilot, milky oats, skullcap, valerian, and I'm drawn to Blue vervain. Her meninges feel tight when I get on her cranially, her seizures are stiff, she's vibrating violently, and it's severe; I've seen a lot of seizures and these are up there. She's not overly hot, good appetite, Kidney pulses deep bilateral, Liver pulse wiry but thin. She's 16 but active. Any help with the dystonia and any other clues-treating one's own is very tough. I think if the dystonia is quieted, she won't escalate into a seizure. Thank you.

PS I don't know if it's applicable here, I have an older terrier patient, she had the same presentation of progressive dystonia as a cognitive disorder, though she did not seizure. In her case, she'd fall over because the dystonia would make her jerk and tremble so violently, and it aggravated an old neck injury that we dealt with years ago. Another vet prescribed Gabapentin, which interestingly made it much worse. There was some improvement though minor with b vitamins and a cognitive blend from a pharmacy that had carnitine, choline, serine, etc. but the biggest improvement came when I gave her a small dose of valium for her neck. The dystonia disappeared. She gives her a tiny dose every day and she's great. Cats should not have regular valium, plus I'd prefer to explore herbal solutions. The terrier owner is content to stay with valium because of the results and the dog's advanced age.

David said: For dystonia (and seizures) I would consider Skullcap, Ashwagandha, Yuan Zhi, Lobelia, Blue Vervain, Suan Zao Ren, White Peony, Chinese Clamatis root, Mucuna, Gou Teng, Tian Ma, perhaps formula with Skullcap, Blue Vervain, Yuan Zhi and Suan Zao Ren, might be a good starting point.