What's Wrong With My Darling Girl? :(

[Nekhbet]

We all went to the park this morning and I was watching her because for several years now, on and off, she seems to feel the heat and sometimes gets the wobbles in the sun, even sometimes when it's not actually hot

You posted before I was about to say has she had a urine test. fluid and electrolyte imbalances can cause the wobbling, amylase is usually a sign of pancrease inflammation at the least but not always something to panic about if its just over.

[Trishm]

It sounds like geriatric vestibular to me, the nystigmus and wobbling were the symptoms that Jazz had when she had it. I was lucky with her, she got over it in about 24 hours, but it can go on for weeks.

The amylase is usually pancreatic inflammation, but if it is just over, I wouldn't be too worried about that.

I do hope she recovers quickly, it is so upsetting to see them so distressed.

[Loving my Oldies]

You are getting some answers .... that is good.

[Riley James]

Hope Feather is doing great today and back to herself

[Flashsmum]

Good news, and hopefully she'll be fine from now on.

[Kirislin]

Looks like it's happening again. I'm not sure if there's any point in taking her to the vet as they didn't treat her for it last time. She's curled up in her little bed now and I'm keeping an eye on her. What would other DOLers do?

She doesn't seem distressed by it, she's just staggering around like a drunkard when she tries to walk.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Kirislin

[Loving my Oldies]

How upsetting, K. Have you talked to Marcus? He might have some advice or ideas.

[Kirislin]

No, he's never had this with any of his dogs. She's dozing now. Last time she was OK after a couple of hours so I'm inclined to just watch her carefully for a while. I might make a late appt. at the vets just in case and I can cancel it if she improves.

[Kirislin]

she's following me around wagging her tail so I think she's OK, probably just wondering why she's got the wobbles but not in distress.

[Trishm]

Phew !!

[Jed]

If she were my dog, I would get an opinion from another/better/specialist vet, and do not discount a brain tumour. Sorry, but it is possible.

Ithink you need to know what is the matter with her.

[Kirislin]

How do they test for a brain tumour, wouldn't that be an MRI? Her symptoms fit vestibular syndrome if she starts showing other symptoms or appears to be in pain then I'll take her back to the vet.

[Salukifan]

How do they test for a brain tumour, wouldn't that be an MRI? Her symptoms fit vestibular syndrome if she starts showing other symptoms or appears to be in pain then I'll take her back to the vet.

Yes. They don't come cheap. In the absence of other symptoms, I'd not go that path yet.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

My dog had many distressing symptoms, I saw 3 vets and they all said it was likely to be a brain tumour.

The only definitive answer was to have an MRI. It is not easy to get one and it costs thousands - my vet advised against going down that path because of the difficulty and expense and also, if that's what it was, the treatment would be removal and apparently it generally changes your dog completely.

Sadly I had to put him to sleep about 3 months after the first strange initial symptom which was that of confusion - he got lost in a familiar place. After that he started to lose his ability to jump around from place to place, he was a pocket rocket kind of dog. He also became aggressive on odd occasions to myself and the other dogs and finally he had fits and urinary incontinence. Some days he was fine, other days not. I didn't let him linger.

[Kirislin]

they are not the symptoms Feather has. I'm not going to put her down yet.

Thankyou everyone for relating your experience and giving your opinions. It's much appreciated.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Kirislin

[OSoSwift]

My way of processing it is,

Have they had it before?

Are they showing signs of pain?

If a test/procedure I talked about

Will it change treatment/outcome? If it was a brain tumour for example for me it wouldn't I would keep then comfortable with painkillers etc then euth, spending thousands on an MRI is really not going to achieve much.

If they are young then my answers would be different to if they are old or if they have pre-existing conditions.

I am not one who needs a definitive answer as to exactly what they have or is going on, so I am happy to treat symptomatically.

If she is not in pain, otherwise happy/eating and has had it before and recovered, what's the rush??? I have seen some dogs recover with cortisone when symptoms have gone on longer than normal.

It's about their quality of life as well, why get her pocked and prodded if it isn't going to change much/help much

Edited December 20, 2014 by OSoSwift

[Simply Grand]

My way of processing it is,

Have they had it before?

Are they showing signs of pain?

If a test/procedure I talked about

Will it change treatment/outcome? If it was a brain tumour for example for me it wouldn't I would keep then comfortable with painkillers etc then euth, spending thousands on an MRI is really not going to achieve much.

If they are young then my answers would be different to if they are old or if they have pre-existing conditions.

I am not one who needs a definitive answer as to exactly what they have or is going on, so I am happy to treat symptomatically.

If she is not in pain, otherwise happy/eating and has had it before and recovered, what's the rush??? I have seen some dogs recover with cortisone when symptoms have gone on longer than normal.

It's about their quality of life as well, why get her pocked and prodded if it isn't going to change much/help much

Yes, agree.

K, as long as she seems happy enough, if a bit perplexed, and the symptoms aren't worsening, I'd just keep monitoring her, as you've said.

[Kirislin]

thanks, yes that's the course of action I will take for now, and as you've said, if symptoms change or worsen I'll get her seen to again, but I'm not going to be getting an MRI.

[Dmayma]

Kirislin

I sincerely hope Feather is feeling better and her symptoms have disappeared.

However, I went through a very similar situation, only 2 weeks ago, and hopefully will be able to answer some of your questions.

Feather's symptoms appear to be from neurological nature. By reading your description of Feather's behavioral changes, it appears to me she was having a fit(s).

Often, such neurological signs point to a diagnosis of brain neoplasia (brain tumors). Neurological signs are often insidious and progressive and vary depending where lesion is located: central, brainstem or cerebellar brain tumors. Diagnosis is done by history assessment and neurologic examination results. Confirmation requires intracranial imaging (CT or MRI). MRI is markedly superior for soft tissue detail (brain, spinal cord) and have superior resolution than CT. CT is also good, but preferred for bone lesions (skull tumors, for instance), it's faster and slightly less expensive than a MRI.

The prognosis/outcome of brain tumors is often guarded, however, it widely depends on several variables: lesion (tumor) location, lesion type, whether or not is a metastatic lesion, whether or not it is expanding and invading nearby brain structures, whether or not there is bleeding or inflamation inside the brain (triggered by neoplasia's expansion/growth and subsequent bleeding), etc Because symptoms vary depending which structures inside the brain are under pressure by the tumor, a CT or MRI is often strongly recommended in order to determine the next course of action.

If the tumor is located on the outer brain and non cancerous, surgery is viable, but pre surgical testing/diagnosis is expensive as well as the surgery itself. If tumor is located anywhere else in the brain, surgery may be offered, but it is not recommended (often dogs die on the operating table or immediately after surgery).

I shall mention as well that unfortunately, painkillers do not work in brain structures. Radiation therapy is also an option, however the cost is immoral, the only machine available is located in Brisbane and general anesthetic is required each session.

Because I went through a similar situation 2 weeks ago and I noticed you live in Victoria, I can inform you about upfront fees/pathway to follow should you decide to investigate further:

1) Often, Animal Emergency Centers have CT Scans, but they charge twice the price, so skip AEC alltogether;

2) The only location in Melbourne where you can have an MRI (dogs & cats) is the Werribee Veterinary Hospital. They have the only available machine in VIC and only perform MRIs during work days (Mondays through Fridays), never during weekends. Kind of bizarre in my opinion and I asked the staff if they believed that pets don't get sick over the weekend. The cost of a MRI is around $1000/1700;

3) CT scans are also quite good and the cost is around $850 (including the CT scan itself, contrast agent and microbiology);

4) Skip the vet alltogether and ask for a referral to a neurologist. I recommend you ask for for Dr Sam Long, Head of Neurology at Werribee Veterinary Hospital, neurologist / neurosurgeon.

5) I didn't use it, but Werribee Veterinary Hospital offers some type of payment plan by instalments (sorry, cannot recall the name)

I do feel for you Kirislin and I sincerely hope I'm wrong. Neurological symptoms are hard to witness and really scary. I wish all the very best for you and the lovely Feather and hopefully, she will make a full recovery. My thoughts will be with you and Feather. Good luck.

[White Shepherd mom]

Naughty Feather, causing you stress so close to Christmas. I'm glad she's come out of it, if it was me I'd be taking her to another vet (preferably one who comes highly recommended) if it happens again. I hope it doesn't happen again though.