My Dog Has Vestibular Disease

[klw]

hi,my 13yr old dobermann is suffering with this and i feel so emotionally drained watching him,if he doesnt improve in a few days the vet said he could likely have a tumor on the brain as he is covered in tumorous lumps everywhere.my question is does anyone know how much a mri or ct scan costs? i heard its expensive but i'd like an idea on just how much roughly,has anyone had one done recently or had a dog with this condition?

thanks

[ish]

Our 15.5 year old Golden Retriever has just recovered from her 2nd bout of this. Its so upsetting watching them struggle and feel so yuck.

Has your dog had a cortisone shot? That seems to have helped our girl both times. I've also heard there is a drug for dogs with dementia that has been shown to help with Vestibular too - might be worth asking your vet about? We were told the sypmtoms could go on for a couple of weeks before they feel better, but our girl has recovered within a week both times.

[Diva]

My 13 yr old Belgian Shepherd had a bout of vestibular disease. It was distressing for both of us but she recovered fully within a few weeks. Good luck.

[cowanbree]

It took my old girl Kell a couple of weeks to show any marked improvement so I really don't think a few days means a brain tumour. She couldn't even stand for the first week and eating was a huge issue. She about 85% recovered, kept the head tilt and had a bit of an odd gait but lived on for another 2yrs without it reocurring and had quality of life right up untilt he end. Give it time and just keep him safe, crated if you have too

[Pugmum]

I was quoted about $2k for a scan to check for a brain tumour in my girl - that was the vets estimate. by the time we got to the specialist centre for the appt, nearly 3 weeks later, I think they said it would be about $1200 - $1500. Apparetnly they are sedated quite a long time for this procedure. We didn't go ahead with the scan because she was diagnosed with a bigger problem and all concern about a 'possible' brain tumour was secondary so I did not get an actual cost.

I know how you feel, but take a deep breath, and dont worry about a tumour until you need to - you may never need to.

best wishes to you and your boy....

[4Kelpies]

My dog had a bout of vestibular earlier this year. He took about ten days to show any improvement, but had the head tilt for a few months. I also had to raise his food bowl as he would lose his balance when he lowered his head to eat. My vet did some tests such as flexing his toes and seeing how quickly he responded to rule out any brain condition. His eyes were flicking from side to side which is also a symptom of vestibular Don't rush into expensive scans - vestibular is a lot more common in old dogs than tumours.

[klw]

wow it must be common,thanks everyone for your replies,i actually feel better reading your posts,its good people have put how long it lasted in their dogs as i didnt know how long to wait,at that price im definately not getting the scan done!!! one other question,how long did it take before your dogs ate food,mine hasnt eaten for nearly 3 days now and i have forced a bit of food in but the vet said not to worry too much yet but he is drinking pretty well.he is on anti nausea tabs but they dont seem to be enough.

[stormie]

From memory, it took a few days before my step dad's Golden started eating again. I hand fed her for a while as it was too hard for her to put her head into a bowl and pick something up, with her eye nystagmus. It helped if she was laying down as well. I think in the beginning, I was actually putting food into her mouth as she just couldn't focus on the food to pick it up herself.

She recovered, but was never quite 100%. She had a little bit of a head tilt which I think made eating harder for her. Unfortunately, one night she must have scoffed her chicken carcass without chewing, and got the wish bone stuck in her pylorus. She vomited in the night and somehow aspirated some, causing irreparable damage to her lungs. We tried to operate but she couldn't maintain a proper oxygen saturation due to the lung damage so I put her to sleep on the table. She was 16.

[cowanbree]

I had to hand feed Kell for about a week before she was able to eat from a bowl that I held. To begin with I had to place the food in her mouth and she tried to eat it. About 2/3s of it ended up on the floor but we did make progress. Soft mushy food was better. I would keep the fluids up and give him nutrigel which you put on the top of the mouth.

[ish]

We gave Jassie some lectade just to make sure she was hydrated well, and some nutrigel when she wasn't eating. Mum bought her some special things like My Dog and Natures Gift cans etc to temp her to eat and offered her several small meals over the day.

[klw]

just an update,this is day 12 and he is almost back to normal,he went no.2's for the first time in 11 days and after filling him with nutripet he is now eating pretty well,he's a bit off balance still but getting around great and he's not depressed or sick anymore,oh im so relieved !!!! to have my old boy back,i cant describe the relief for me and him!!

[Swizzlestick]

So pleased your boy is doing so well!