Seizure in new yorkie, Need advice and support please

[Dan & Corinne]

We are happy to help. It's our hope to help others from what we learned from Jewel's illness.

Good job Abbie for being seizure free for all this time! You mommie loves you and what a terrific mommie you have you lucky little girl!

To answer your question: We get most of Jewels lab results within 24 hours. Her Thyroid and Bromide takes a few days longer. I don't recall how long the Bile Acid tests comes back. It all depends on the lab.

Make sure you get a copy of the full lab results. Since you are in the medical field I'm sure you won't have any trouble reading it like I did. Many doctors do not explain each test/result and it's worth taking the time to learn.

For those of you who would like to know how to interpret the lab results here is a link to a terrific website:

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/index.html

http://labtestsonline.org

[JeffJ]

We've never had a urinalysis test done, but when we get blood tests (and fecal matter tests) at the vet, the results are back within 20 minutes or so. I'm not sure what all they test for during the routine visit, though. It may take longer to test the blood for specific diseases. It will also depend on the test equipment your vet has available in their office - some tests may need to be sent out for results.

We had no previous symptoms before our hypoglycemic episode happened. But, we noticed the "drunk" behavior again a few days later and was able to stop it off with Nutrical.

I'm glad Abbie has been doing well all day!

[yorkiegirl2]

Originally Posted by HShanks

Hi everyone, I am a new member to this site, but have been lurking on the boards for the past couple of weeks. I am just sick with worry right now.

We bought a 9 week old female yorkie (Abbie)from a reputable breeder (family friend). She is now 12 weeks old and has been doing well up until last night. She used the bathroom (pee and poo at 2 AM) and she was fine. She had not been acting lethargic or strange last night before bed. She sleeps with my husband and I and woke us up at 6:00 AM with what we thought was a nightmare, but turned out to be a grand mal seizure. Her whole body stiffened, she was making strange noises, she lost control of her bowel and bladder. It lasted for about 2 minutes and my husband even had to perform CPR on her at the very end of the seizure because she stopped breathing.

I am a nursing student and my first thought was hypoglycemia. I grabbed a jar of peanut butter and had her lick it off of our fingers, all the while I was calling the emergency vet. The vet said to give her honey water, which we did. She acted strange for about 15 minutes (easily scared, shaking), but then was fine, running around and playing. She took a 20 minute nap, got up, ate breakfast, and is napping at my feet as I type this.

It is now 3 hours later and she has had no other seizure activity. I spoke with her normal vet and she is scheduled for blood work tomorrow. He said it didn't sound like hypoglycemia to him because of the extent and severity of the seizure. I would like any thoughts on this condition. Does it sound like liver shunt, she is gaining weight, and seems healthy other than the seizure. I did notice that she pee'd alot after the seizure, but I think that is because of the honey water.

I would like to add that she ate a mushroom from our yard 2 days ago, but threw it back up about 2 minutes after she ate it (it was only the cap of the mushroom and I definitely saw it when it came back up).

If it is a liver problem, can you please give some advice on what I can feed her until I get her to the vet tomorrow? She is currently on NUTRO puppy and I noticed that it is 28% protein...isn't that what she needs to avoid?

Please say a prayer for our baby. It's amazing how quickly they squirm their way into your heart.

I would be sure to let the Vet know about the mushroom..as they can be toxic to dogs.
Here is a good site for seizure and causes.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...m/site_map.htm
I hope your pup get better..keep us posted.

[megan_kat22]

I'm not sure what could be wrong, but you're right- Liver problems would show more symptoms than that. So, thank God you can pretty much take that off your list! I bet she will be fine, keep us updated!!!

[HShanks]

Thank you again everyone. The outpouring of support from board members has been phenomenal. I just wish my very first post was not a health related issue.

Abbie did well through the night. She slept like a baby. I, on the other hand, only slept for about 15 minutes at a time. Every little squirm and squeak she made threw me into a full blown panic. I woke her up every 4 hours to give her a little snack to keep her blood sugar from bottoming out, just in case it is related to hypoglycemia.

No seizures. Just a happy little baby. If I had not witnessed the seizure I would be oblivious to its happening, because she acts so healthy otherwise.

[sashajade]

Originally Posted by megan_kat22

I'm not sure what could be wrong, but you're right- Liver problems would show more symptoms than that. So, thank God you can pretty much take that off your list! I bet she will be fine, keep us updated!!!

when zac had his fits it was due to a plastic toy which was toxic that he had eaten which then caused liver problems due to the liver trying to get rid of the toxins and the fits were the only problem he had.

[sashajade]

Originally Posted by HShanks

Thank you again everyone. The outpouring of support from board members has been phenomenal. I just wish my very first post was not a health related issue.

Abbie did well through the night. She slept like a baby. I, on the other hand, only slept for about 15 minutes at a time. Every little squirm and squeak she made threw me into a full blown panic. I woke her up every 4 hours to give her a little snack to keep her blood sugar from bottoming out, just in case it is related to hypoglycemia.

No seizures. Just a happy little baby. If I had not witnessed the seizure I would be oblivious to its happening, because she acts so healthy otherwise.

i bet it was something she had eaten. glad shes better.

[HShanks]

He said my little "porker" was doing well and showed no signs of liver shunt. She has gained 3/4 of a lb in a little over 11 days, so he ruled that out preliminarily. He did say that is sounded like a bad case of hypoglycemia, maybe provoked by our extended play outside on Saturday. He didn't think it was the mushroom because she should have had some other symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, muscle rigidity, etc.

They tested her Blood sugar and it was 80, he said her normal range should be 60-110 give or take. She had eaten just 2 hours before, so I feel like 80 is low when you consider I have also been giving her the honey. The vet thinks that hypoglycemia will be the end diagnosis.

They took a CBC and enzyme panel and I should know the results first thing in the morning.

He told me to give her baby Gerber Chicken in the meantime.

Thanks again everyone, yesterday was one of the longest and most stressful days ever. Thanks for helping me through and sending good thoughts our way.

[Oscar's Mom]

Good news to hear that it is nothing terrible. Hypoglycemia is serious but I think it is controllable. So glad it was not liver shunt or anything like that! Keep giving her the sweet stuff and you might want to try some Frosted Cheerios...I swear they love them! And they are easy to pack if you go somewhere, not messy and they think they are treats! Oscar lived on those things and was not a fatty because of them. He was so active he ran off all of the extra calories he may have gotten from the Cheerios! Hope your news from the test results is good news! Best of luck with your baby and keep us posted!

[HShanks]

SashaJade, I wouldn't put it past her to have eaten a barbie shoe or any other small plastic item. We have an 8 year old little girl who is very good at keeping the toys off the ground, but you just never know.

What type of plastic toy did Zac eat?

[lisatodd]

my family dog "blue" which we had for 16 yrs had seizers all the time. no medicines were given to her and she lived a long life. i hope everything goes well

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by lisatodd

my family dog "blue" which we had for 16 yrs had seizers all the time. no medicines were given to her and she lived a long life. i hope everything goes well

Although the first two times Jasper had seizures, we took him to the vet and they filled him with IV fluids, did all kinds of tests, and charged us hundreds of dollars, we never found out what caused the seizures. I learned about the sugar water thing, and the next time he had a seizure we went with that and keeping him calm. Jasper would seize about once every 6 months or so for the rest of his life, and we just took it in stride. He lived to be 12 and was a happy pup for most of his life until the end.

Good luck to you going forward, and it's awesome that there is nothing serious that has been found.

[sashajade]

Originally Posted by HShanks

SashaJade, I wouldn't put it past her to have eaten a barbie shoe or any other small plastic item. We have an 8 year old little girl who is very good at keeping the toys off the ground, but you just never know.

What type of plastic toy did Zac eat?

it was a squeaky dog toy, it happened years ago before they put warnings on them, i always took them out of the room the dogs were left in when i went out but must of missed it that time and i wouldnt mind but he had eaten the whole thing there was nothing left ,the only reason we knew he had eaten a toy was when he was sick at the vets and it was pink and blue hes 12 now and never been ill since apsrt from a reaction to frontline. he was always eating things wood plastic plants glass even once im sure hes got goat in him

[JeffJ]

We're so glad to hear that Abbie is okay! Now that you have a probable cause, you should be able to keep it under control. The good news is that most Yorkies grow out of their hypoglycemia.

A blood sugar level of 80 sounds pretty good - our vet said that around 100 was normal. When we took Errol to the emergency vet the morning he was in a coma, his blood sugar level was only 15! It's quite possible that he had a seizure in the night and we never knew it. But, like I said before, he's fine now, and he's really feisty!

[Dan & Corinne]

I'm so glad things have turned out so well! Good job to mommie & Abbie!