Rough Couple Of Months (Big D, Stroke)

[jshell]

Howdy. I'm Jeff and I have a little fawn brindle greyhound, Betty Joan, who is about to turn eight. I've had her almost six years now. I was fairly active here when I first got her and for a while afterwards, and then drifted away (I drifted away from a lot of things, it seems, as I started to head into my mid-30's).

 

I've been meaning to re-register for a while now as we've been through a couple of rough months. At the end of April I went to Denver (from Salt Lake) for a few days and had Betty boarded at our usual place. I picked her up on a Tuesday, and Tuesday and Wednesday she was fine. I think her last stool on Wednesday was a little soft. The past few times she's been boarded, which isn't all that often, she seems to have soft stool starting a couple of days after I pick her up and it solidifies within a day or two. But this time, by Thursday, it turned into liquid Diarrhea, and she started getting pretty lethargic. By Friday she was also vomiting up whole meals. When the vet visited on Saturday, she had dropped weight from her usual 55 pounds down to 42! She was put on metronidazole and prescription diet i/d (dry) (for gastro-intestinal health). The vomiting stopped, but the stool never really seemed to solidify. It seemed like it would be getting better and then regress. As for eating, she seems to hate the dry prescription diet i/d. I would cook rice and mix the rice in and if the rice was warm, she would actually sort it all out and eat only the rice!

 

So two weeks into this mess, Betty went in for an ultrasound to get a better understanding of what was going on in her stomach and intestines and to get some more thorough blood work. While she was at the vet they gave her some presciption diet i/d in Wet form, and she gobbled it up. I've been mixing it with the dry ever since to get her to eat it all and it's been working. Silly puppy.

 

Anyways, her intestines were really inflammed and there were some spots on her gall bladder even. She was started on Clavamox in addition to the Metronidazole and still, she did not seem to be getting much better: she would improve for a few days, and then regress. Almost like clockwork (ie - on Tuesday I would think she was getting better, then Wednesday it would regress and by Thursday I would be all stressed out again). A friend of mine suggested that she might be re-acquiring the bug (I can't remember if the exact cause has been determined, there have been so many possibles and rule-outs thrown at me). So I started making a point of washing her food bowls at every meal with anti-bacterial soap and did some extra cleaning around the house. It seemed to help, as by her fourth week, her stool returned to normal and a lot of her energy seemed to return.

 

Except for some odd flashes: one morning when I got out of the shower, Betty wouldn't leave her bed, even though she had been moving around fine earlier. As I tried to get her up, she seemed to be having problems with one of her legs. We'd gone through this a couple of times before, and I thought it was a twisted or sleeping leg and that it would pass. And it did. On another day while on our walk, she suddenly stumbled and then started dragging her back left foot. I tried stretching it and we stopped for a minute. When we got going again, suddenly she was lifting her front-left foot very high on each step. We were nearing the end of four weeks on the medication and I thought that it was having odd effects. But we had just a couple of days left, so we ran it out.

 

I think there may have been a couple more of these incidents, particularly in the last month. And I noticed during at least one of them that Betty's eyes seemed funny.

 

Then over memorial day weekend, she started consuming a lot more water than normal and having clear urine (and loooong pisses), which started to worry me. From the dehydration fears when this round of Big D started to over-hydration... I thought it might be related to coming off of the meds and didn't pursue it.

 

So - last Wednesday, we're a block and a half into our walk, when one of these incidents kicks in again and she's dragging her right back foot this time. And her eyes are definitely going funny. Again, I'm not sure what's going on. Doggy funny bone, perhaps? Stepped on something? I stretch the leg and then lift up her front paws to see how well she's standing on the back ones, and when I put her back down, she's fine. We turn around and walk home. I was starting to get very suspicious, but still not enough to call the vet. I wanted more evidence of ... I don't know.

 

Wednesday night, when I get home from work, Betty is very dizzy and wobbly. Her eyes are going goofy and she's having problems standing and walking (but somehow she walked up the stairs!). I called a neighbor who agreed to take us to the emergency vet and ...

 

This was our first big emergency. I was freaking out and crying but eventually was able to get her to the vet and tell them the story. It was definitely some kind of neurological condition, ranging from blood clot/stroke to tumor. I left Betty there overnight, and that was just rough as she's all I've got, but it was the best place for her. The best we could do is see if she got better or worse overnight. But it was the first time I had to really think that she might die or have to be put down. There were tests we could run, but they were extremely expensive. Having just done other blood work with our normal vet, I thought it might be good to wait until we could get a copy of those tests.

 

The following morning, Thursday, they called and said Betty had improved overnight and was able to stand and walk, but with assistance. They wrapped a towel around her stomach and used that to help give her support.

 

After my vet sent in their lab results from the previous month, I talked with the doctor at the emergency vet and we went through the possible scenarios, with blood clot / stroke being the most likely. I could come in and take Betty home, but would need to watch her for a couple of days and do a follow-up, either with the emergency vet or our normal one. They decided not to give any medication, as it seems that with unknown neurological cases, treatment for one potential cause creates problems if the cause is something else. And Betty had apparently improved enough overnight that the best course was just to watch her and follow up.

 

That was over a week ago now and I'm happy to say that Betty is doing well, so far. She was very wobbly that first day back, but steadily improved. She would drag both of her right feet, but that has nearly gone away completely (the worst part of this is that she's ground one nail on her back paw down to almost nothing, and thus it bleed pretty easily). She's been afraid of stairs and we've just taken the handicap ramp into our loft and staying on the ground floor. We've started working on stairs again and this morning when we went outside for our morning constitutional, I finally got her to go down and back up the four wooden stairs outside (after some heavy resistance). She still has a bit of a head tilt and is still a little unsteady on her right legs, but this morning she even tried running down the hall on her own (it didn't last long, but it is the most energized that I've seen her). It's been interesting, watching her brain try to correct itself.

 

She's still vastly underweight, which is partially my fault. When I was mixing the wet and dry dog food, I wasn't mixing enough and was giving her about 3/4 a cup less per day than she needs. But now that I know that I've been mixing better. She's still on the prescription diet for intestinal stuff, and we have another followup scheduled with the vet for next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll finally get some answers about it all (I've heard so much under stress that I can't remember it all, but now should be of clear mind).

 

I'm still not sure what's happened, but suspect that the problems last month with the diarrhea (and very very low levels of some kind of protein that my vet was concerned about) and the (likely) vascular incident are related.

 

Anyways, I just wanted to share the story and will keep posted on her situation. Since she's improved so much, I'm still electing to forgo the expensive tests, as MRI's and Spinal Taps don't catch everything anyways.

 

Here is the first picture I took of Betty after she got home last week - http://campl.us/bis4

 

And here she is from a couple of days ago re-enacting a film noir crime scene - http://campl.us/bk4j

[Guest BlueCrab]

Hi - welcome back!

 

Sorry you've had a rough go of things lately. Hope your baby girl is back to her regular self soon!

[TheFullHouse]

She's a very pretty girl. Sounds like the two of you have had a rough go of it. It sure sounds neurological in nature. I hope she continues to improve and you don't have any more problems.

[robinw]

Do they know if it was a stroke? If it was, acupuncture might work really well. Glad she's feeling better, and you, too

[Guest Tes623]

Welcome back--she sure is a cute little girl! Hope she continues to get better. (It sucks when they're not feeling well).

[Fiona3]

Jeff, those symptom sure sound neurological in some form. With a head tilt and some of the other symptoms have they considered Vestibular Syndrome? Our greyhound had this twice and it looked very much like a stroke or neurological event in the beginning. It can really affect the stomach and causes difficulty in standing. Here's a link with some info: http://www.vara.org/...larSyndrome.htm

Good luck with your beautiful girl - I hope they find a solution for her condition and that she continues to improve. Please keep us posted on how she is doing.

[Remolacha]

I remember Betty Joan! (oh, and you, too ) I am sorry you have had a rough time recently. I agree, it sounds very much like vestibular syndrome. Fortunately, most dogs make a 90%-100% recovery.

[MaryJane]

Such a pretty girl .. hope she's feeling better

[MP_the4pack]

Did any vets check her blood pressure? If not, get it checked ASAP. According to Dr. Couto of OSU, greyhounds have a propensity for hypertension with no known cause. My Pearl had it (as well as heart disease). ANd when she did exactly what your baby did on a walk I called her cardiologist. She said come in NOW. We had lost control of her BP and it was soaring.

 

She upped some meds and changed some meds. I worked hard and controling Pearl's BP since she was 7. I lost her to cancer at age 12. So, she can do very well with hypertension as long as you stay on top of it. If she has it, she'll get meds and you'll have to check it periodically.

 

So far, I've found most vets don't check BP. Don't know how to. So you may need to take her to a cardiologist or specialty clinic. But once it's under control, it's no problem.

[Batmom]

Oh gosh! You have had a rough time! Really hope she is on the mend now. I remember you and your lovely girl very well. Give her a scritchie for me, OK?

[Guest Fasave]

Boy does this story sound familiar to me. I had a boy with similar issues and a lot of this sounds familiar. Definitely check the blood pressure. I called Dr. Couto and he mentioned that Thromboembolic (sp?)disease (blood clots) are not that uncommon in greyhound blood but can be treated easily with blood thinners. My boy was on 1/4 baby aspirin for this symptom but check with vet before starting. The "high stepping" is also intesting, as well as the dragging feet as this would also happen with my boy. We never found any neurological issues so the thinking was this behavior was caused by severe abdominal cramping. We had many scary incidents and e-vet visits. He was also 8 when this all started. After many tests and visits with neurologists (2), IM docs (2), consults with OSU, we never landed on a final diagnosis or cause but we did identify PLE, PLN and IBD as some of his issues. I did end up working with a nutritionist and designing a diet for his medical needs and home cooked his meals.

 

It sounds like things have become stable for you and I hope they continue to do so. I know how scary this stuff can be and she is lucky to have you.

[jshell]

Thanks, all. I'll have some good questions now to review with the Vet on Tuesday. I can't remember if vestibular syndrome was explicitly ruled out or not, but I'll bring it up again. I remember my vet firmly saying 'no' to taking anti-inflammatories, but I don't think I was able to ask the right questions at the time (still a bit in shock and overwhelmed). I was not aware of checking the blood pressure and will ask about that too.

 

Betty is heartily consuming food again (earlier in the week she was a bit tepid, but as I've been feeding her more I've noticed that our potty-walks have needed some expansion) and is braving the outside stairs, so I think things are moving in a good direction. Nystagmus (I think) is still persisting, but neither vet was concerned about it. Her eyes, particularly her right eye, twitch a bit when looking up, but the pupils on both sides are the same dilation and the eyes aren't flickering left-to-right, which seems to be a bad sign.

 

Until the next vet appointment, we're just taking it very easy (which sadly means that Betty will miss her first Farmer's Market opening since I got her).

[greytpups]

Wow, poor Betty and poor you...it's so hard to go through all this without knowing what's wrong and what can be done to help her. Glad to hear she seems to be on the mend. Plus she is so precious looking.

[DesiRayMom]

Lovely girl.....hope all gets much better soonest.

[EllenEveBaz]

Best wishes for continued improvement. We'll think of your girl tomorrow as we're at our town's farmers' market.

[KF_in_Georgia]

There's an inconveniently long "wash-out" period for NSAIDs (like aspirin), so your vet is smart to avoid NSAIDs until you have a legit diagnosis and know what you need to treat. Good luck with your baby, and I hope she continues to improve.

[Houndtime]

No advice, just wishes for a complete recovery.

[Guest Soso]

I hope she is doing better. I want to share some encouraging word for you. Our Sophie had and FCE 5 or 6 years ago. I'll let you google it. She was fine outside walking and then screaming and paralysis from her middle back to her tail. She lost bowel control and her rear legs were like jelly. That was the first time quality of life was discussed. She stayed at the emergency vet overnight and by morning she stood up and went back down--at least she had progress. Over the next couple of days, she was not doing good, our ac went out, wife was 7 months pregnant--did I mention we had only been in our new house for a month??? We took Sophie back to the emergency vet, we got a hotel room (July in Texas) with ac. By morning she came stumbling out like a newborn deer. Her legs were all over the place.

We worked with her for a few months before she could walk and run on her own. It was funny to watch her run. The only problems she had were jumping which she worked hard and and was able to get in the car and bed , and getting off the floor was a front first then back second routine.

She beat the odds and recovered. She lived a long time after that and was around 90 percent recovered. I have faith that working with her and letting her do things on her own will help.

On a sad note, our Sophie broke her hip slipping on the ice this February. We worked with teaching her to walk again. She was doing well after 6 weeks and then she broke her femur on the same leg and a week after that she broke her leg again. We said goodbye to her in March.

My point is that she can recover from the walking and stairs. We couldn't afford all the other tests and the e-vet even told us that in her situation they weren't likely to help heal her even if they did show something. EDon't feel guilty or worried about the tests. You know your dog better and you listen to what she is telling you. I know first hand it is not easy when it is your baby and it is definately a lot of work--phys and ment.

[Guest mbfilby]

Betty sure is well loved, and a very pretty girl. I have read here about many greys who make complete recovery after stroke or spinal clot issues. It sounds like Betty is making progress, so hang in there. I'm glad you went for the ultrasound early on. We lost our girl in May to cancer, and she had many of the symptoms you describe. The ultrasound showed us the culprit.