Yukon At Vet For Sudden Neurologic Problem

[Sirocco_Nikki]

Yukon (12 y.o.) seemed fine this morning at 6 when he went out to potty and then eat breakfast. However, he suddenly became very restless and started staggering around and panting. He also seemed to have a lot of problems getting his right rear leg to move. A couple of times, he propped himself against Nikki to stay standing. I gave him a rimadyl in case he had pain. DD helped me load him into the car and we were at the vet's office by 7.

 

His abdominal xrays looked fairly good. The spleen was a little hard to judge since he had such a full tummy. No signs of bloat though. We are still waiting on the blood work to come back. The vet thinks he has some type of neurolgic condition; could be a stroke, tumor, meningitis, vestibular............ He suggested we could send Yukon to a neurologist to get a definitive diagnosis. However, I would like to avoid that if at all possible. I am not worried about the cost. My concern is that Yukon is very shy and is only happy when he is in his house with his bed and his family. Even going out for ice cream causes him to get very stressed. I am not sure if having a definitive diagnosis is worth causing him that much stress. We'll probably be starting him on steroids and then see how he does.

 

I am probably going to need to use a sling on him to get him outside to potty. If anyone has any instructions on how to make one, I would greatly appreciate it. Any prayers, positive thoughts, white light or healing wishes would also be greatly appreciated.

[Guest SkinnyLegDogLover]

Saying prayers for Yukon (and you)

[Guest MyBoys]

So sorry your Yukon is struggling, I also have a senior who has seizures so I understand. For a sling what I did for one of my bridge boys was cut a beach towel length wise in half and just put that under him to lift, it was pretty simple and I just made sure the part against his body was the soft side of the towel. Sending prayers for your sweet boy.

[MP_the4pack]

Test his blood pressure.

 

It seems vets don't think about this but Dr. Couto told me just this past week that greyhounds are notorious for high blood pressure. Pearl has it and I mentioned it to him.

In fact, back in the 50's, greyhounds were used as models in research for human hypertension.

[Trihounds]

Sorry to hear about your troubles - hope Yukon feels better soon.

 

For a sling, yes, use a towel as mentioned above for something quick and easy. we have the Webmaster Harness for Bumper and used it when he couldn't walk (due to autoimmune attack on spine). It works great to help with support but as with most assistance related harnesses, the lift point is forward on a dog, versus being right over the hind end like a sling /towel would be. The Webmaster is really well built and well padded.

 

Good luck.

[Guest GryffinSong]

Hugs and healing wishes for Yukon! I hope the pills do the trick and he feels better soon.

[Guest ss556]

Prayers for Yukon.

[TheFullHouse]

Prayers for Yukon.

[Guest Energy11]

Test his blood pressure.

 

It seems vets don't think about this but Dr. Couto told me just this past week that greyhounds are notorious for high blood pressure. Pearl has it and I mentioned it to him.

In fact, back in the 50's, greyhounds were used as models in research for human hypertension.

 

Curfew has hypertension. He, too, had one of his "episodes," yesterday. I think it was a mini-stroke, the vet, a seizure. Dr. Karen diagnosed Curfew with Hypertention almost a year ago, and this was the first "episode" since Feb. of last year.

 

Sending hugs to you and Yukon! Yes, DO be sure they check the blood pressure. Hugs!

[Devotion]

Did the vet say to administer aspirin? may ask about that. Checking blood pressure is a good idea, however, it can be difficult if your grey has anxiety or is nervous. If your vet suspects this he will probably suggest checking it at home for a more accurate read. It's easy to do.

[brandimom]

Test his blood pressure.

 

It seems vets don't think about this but Dr. Couto told me just this past week that greyhounds are notorious for high blood pressure. Pearl has it and I mentioned it to him.

In fact, back in the 50's, greyhounds were used as models in research for human hypertension.

 

That is good information to know. Thanks.

 

Prayers for Yukon and hugs for you.

[Guest Smiley]

Sending you many prayers for Yukon. If you don't have time to make a sling, I was able to get one from Dr. Foster & Smith for about $16 and paid $15 to get it in 2 days. It's pretty quick and reasonable for $30. If you decide to make it, you make a quick one by sewing a rectangle of sherpa to something sturdy like canvas and then add two lengths of nylon webbing for straps for you to hold. I can PM you the dimensions of the one I bought and modified if you'd like. And be sure to use a large needle (size 16) and upholstery thread with bigger stitch length if you are going to be sewing through tougher fabrics. Good luck!

[3greys2cats]

Sending prayers for Yukon, poor baby. I used a harness for Sara when she 1st was diagnosed w/GME, she needed it to walk and go down stairs. Hoping that Yukon can pull through this without addt'l tests.

[Guest Adrianne]

Good thoughts to Yukon.

 

I think I would try a towel as a sling at first to see how Yukon reacts to it and being helped. We tried one with Wilbur right after his surgery but found he hated being helped up. It's a lot less stress for him to spend a minute or two getting himself up than 5 or 10 seconds of us slinging him and lifting him up. Less stress for him = less stress for us.

[Sirocco_Nikki]

Thank you so much for all your advice and good thoughts. Yukon is home from the vets. They know what the episode wasn't more than what it was. His labs are good. The xrays were good. They gave him some iv morphine and a small dose of iv steroids. He had some irregularities on his ekg that improved as the day progressed. They think he may have had a cardiac episode resulting from a full tummy putting pressure on his vagus nerve. They sent his ekg's to Purdue University for their cardiologists to review. I am definitely going to ask about hypertension. For those with greys with hypertension, what are their episodes like? Also, what medication and dose works well?

 

He is doing fairly well right now. He still seems a bit wobbly. Not interested in eating. Pants when he is walking around. He wants to drink a lot of water but that is a no no. This weekend, we are supposed to try and feed him 5 very small meals a day and only let him have small amounts of water at a time.

 

I am taking him back to his regular vet next week for a follow-up. Please let me know if there is anything else I should ask about or suggest.

 

Again, thanks!!!!!!!!!

[robinw]

i'm glad he's home. hope he's feeling better soon.

[Guest Energy11]

Hi there!

 

Curfew's BP was extremely high at the vets, even with him being anxious at the vets. It was 200/120 once! It was taken at three different times, and always high. He is on Enalapril 20 mg/daily, and I take his BP several times a week. Please read my thread in this week's Health and Medical about his "episodes," ... hope it helps. Curfew also has an ECG, which was normal. Love to you both!

 

 

[Guest 3greysinPA]

Keeping Yukon in my prayers... and praying he gets better every minute.

[silverfish]

Did the vet say to administer aspirin? may ask about that. Checking blood pressure is a good idea, however, it can be difficult if your grey has anxiety or is nervous. If your vet suspects this he will probably suggest checking it at home for a more accurate read. It's easy to do.

 

True, when Jim went for his cardio evaluation, the specialists couldn't get a reading because he was too anxious. They put him on meds anyway, assuming it to be high.

 

Have they thought of embolisms for Yukon? It sounds similar to what Jack experienced, except Jack's breathing was very rough, probably due to an embolus in the chest/throat somewhere.

[Batmom]

How is your sweet boy today? Sending lots of prayers.