Seizure or Stroke?!

[Dione1684]

My Talia scared the heck out of me yesterday. We took the dogs out to let them run around and play. We brought water for them and made sure there was shade for them to lay down in. Everything was fine, we were sitting on the ground and the dogs were just laying and relaxing after their playtime and all of a sudden Talia started shaking and losing her balance. I went over and she couldn't stand up and couldn't control her limbs. I scooped her up and held her and kept saying her name and we rushed to the car and headed for the nearest emergency center. I put the ac on in the car and held her close in my lap, but she returned to normal in matter of minutes. I called my regular vet and he said to just keep an eye on her and to make an appointment for a full exam this week sometime. For the rest of the day she seemed completely normal. I don't know any of her medical history because the owner didn't give it to the shelter when she came here. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Has anyone had a similar experience?

[Gayle_T]

I'm so sorry to hear about your baby....

Our Silky Terrier started having seisures . They think it was possibly brought on by the heart worm shot...which was pulled off the market shortly after this happened. Jasmine, had to be on meds to stop them from happening. Her symptoms were..... First one: about midnight.... she started what sounded like a reverse sneeze.... but then I could hear other strange scratching etc. I turned on the light and she was flailing around and jerking. We held her and tried to talk to her. She had no balance....and disoriented. It was good a bit before she seemed "Back with us" Jasmine had quite a few...about a month apart even with the meds. Some would last a minute...some longer.

How old is your dog? They said it was fairly uncommon to suddenly show epilepsy to a dog that was 11.... so the vet felt it was brought on by the heart worm shot. I don't know, and I wish I could think of the drug they put her on. It did seem to help. My husband was so sick at the time and I had a chart for his meds and for Jasmine....but now I just can't remember... but it was a "People type tranquilizer Prescription" that my vet called into a local pharmacy. I would cut the pills with a cutter. I hope your baby is fine. Take care and good luck with your baby.

[Dione1684]

Talia is 4 yrs and hasn't has any shots recently other than rabies and distemper and that was a couple months ago. I hope the vet has some answers for me this week. Maybe I'll have to wait until she has another episode before they can diagnose her?

[Wylie's Mom]

I wonder if she's prone to low blood sugar? How old is she?

Poor honey. I truly hope you find a definitive answer.

Btw, I love your quote!

[txshopper73]

Gracie had a seizure when she had an accident once (actually got hit by a car). Her body became extremely rigid, shaking, pupils were dialated. I thought we were going to loose her and went to the emergency vet. After that one time, she was fine.

I hope that your dog is going to be okay.

[tor9055]

Wow how scary, Hope you find the answers soon.

[ilovelouie]

Oh Poor Baby! That must have been so scary. I wonder if she was just really over heated? Was it really hot out? Or maybe she got bit by a bug or something. Did you give her nutrical? Well, I hope the vet has some good answers for you. Good luck and please keep us posted.

[wemple2]

This sounds alot like what my Winston does, he's 3 years old, but this has been going on for close to a year. He is not tiny, about 7-8 lbs, and he has always ate very well. The very 1st time it happened, was at night, there is no emergency vet in our town, we didn't know what brought on the seizure, but he came around on his own with really no treatment, just holding him and talking to him. But the next time it happened was during the day, and I took him straight to the vet, he was still in a seizure. At first she thought it was heat stroke, but he had been in the house and it wasn't that hot. Of course they kept him for observation. The only conclusion they came up with was low blood sugar, it was around 40ish. But she kept asking me if I or he had been doing anything out of the ordinary...And I remembered...I had caught him eating a mushroom or toadstool out in the yard...she immediately said that was the answer...it causes hypoglycemia...Hmmmmm...I thought, ok, but that still didn't answer why it had happened the first time, which was late at night, could it be the mushrooms? I really don't think so, because he continued to have seizures...and I watched him...no mushrooms...The vet said all his test came back good, no permanent damage. Anyway, I now feed him canned food along with his dry kibble, twice a day and no seizures, but he has put on about a pound since I'd started feeding him more to keep his sugar up, I'm almost afraid to change his food to a light variety, cuz he really likes it and he's had no more seizures...every time he had one I thought, oh no, he's losing more brain cells and it really is scary and sad at the same time, I just hate to see him like that. I certainly hope you find an answer to your question, and that your baby never has to go through that again. Please keep me informed, as to what you hear from your vet, cuz this has really had me puzzled, I know I've posted very similiar questions on this forum, gotten some response, but nothing that really sounds like what my Winston(and your baby) are doing. Some people have suggested getting him tested for liver shunt, but my vet said it's not that, because he is definately not undernourished and his test have all been negative. The only symptom he has is seizures, and he really gives very little, if any notice that it's his blood sugar, he's not tired, or listlless, he's fine one minute and seizing the next. My thoughts and prayers are with you, take care of your little one and good luck!!!

[Yorkieluv]

I would suggest getting a bile acid test...It's only about $40-$50 depending on your area, and it will give you peace of mind. It sounds like a seizure to me, and regular bloodwork won't necessarily tell you if anything is wrong with the liver. It could be a liver shunt or MVD...Please keep us updated!

[Yorkieluv]

wemple2, my yorkie is not malnourished either or underweight at all He is a good 11lbs and he has a liver shunt. Please don't let your vet tell you that your baby can't have one because he's not one of those TINY yorkies. That's a complete misconception that vets who don't have much experience with liver shunts have... If you request a bile acid test, he should do the test. If not, I would suggest going to a vet that will address your concerns.

Miko was diagnosed at around 8-9 months...But he had had it since he was a baby...We took him to the emergency vet when he was a puppy (14-16 weeks old) because he was having seizures and we wanted them to check if he had a liver shunt, but they told us, "No way, he's too young, that's not possible" They told us they did not want to do that test because it was a waste of money!! Well, we believed them, so we didn't do the test that evening. They also told us that nothing could be done for his condition and that he probably wouldn't make it through the night...It's been almost 3 years now We went to a different vet and ended up finding out that he in fact did have a liver shunt...

[sashajade]

my sasha had fits since she was 2, the vets never did say why but when she became ill with heart failure aged 12 her fits were a lot worse and i think she had always had a heart problem which caused the fits.
how long have you had her?
if this is the only one she has had i would say its was prob due to over heating, if she has more get the vets to check everything out including tests on her heart.
good luck with your little one

[drawlins27]

It does sound like a seizure. Tucker has seizures and has been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. Idiopathic epilepsy is common and means that the cause of the seizures cannot be identified whereas symptomatic epilepsy can be attributed to a cause.

While a dog can have a single seizure and never experience another, it is rare and the odds are that she will have another one at some point so be prepared to hold yourself together when she has a seizure (so hard for me to do) and be calm so that you can be there for her.

Dogs with Idiopathic epilepsy usually experience their first seizure at 1 -5 years old. There is no test for Idiopathic epilepsy. It is only diagnosed by ruling out other causes. Typically a vet will not give medication for Idiopathic epilepsy unless the seizures are severe or are occurring on a frequent basis. What they will have you to do is time the seizures and keep track of their frequency. I know how scary it is to watch your little one have a seizure and not be able to do anything, but a seizure that last for under 15 minutes is not usually life threatening. If the seizure lasts longer or occurs one right after another (cluster seizures) then they can be dangerous and must be treated right away.

Don't let your vet tell you that it is idiopathic epilepsy without first doing a full blood panel to rule out other causes. If you want to go further and rule out serious causes that can't be diagnosed with blood work, be prepared to do an MRI. Some vets are reluctant to recommend this because it is very expensive and not widely available.

If your vet determines that her seizures are idiopathic, then ask for a dose of rectal valium that you can carry with you. You can administer the valium only if the seizure lasts longer than 15 minutes or is particularly violent. This should bring her out of the seizure and will help to prevent lasting damage until you can get her to a vet. I have some that goes where ever Tucker goes and at least brings me some peace of mind.

I hope that this helps. Please let me know how it goes.