Sudden Grand Mal/now Paralyzed

[Guest LindsaySF]

Hopefully he's just really "out of it" from the seizure and the meds. Sometimes they can be pretty dopey, even to the point of being unable to stand or walk. Hopefully he keeps improving!

 

Not to doubt your vet, but if it were me, I would keep him on phenobarbital, but just lower the dose until he recovers and is mobile again. If they stop the pheno cold turkey he could start seizing again.

[Remolacha]

:candle

 

I am so sorry you and Minny are going through this

[Guest Lynnada]

All the best to Minny and family. :grouphug

 

I lost one of my cats in January, also 9 years old she started seizing one evening. We got her to the evet, they suspected she may have been diabetic from the blood-work. She seized again at 1:00am, they got it under control with meds, but she coded at 2:00am. I'm thankful I got the chance to pet her and kiss her goodbye before leaving her at the evet that night. I just kind of knew, I saw the neurological issues (back end collapsing, head kept tilting/turning, her eyes at times looked like she wasn't home) I'm thankful I only had to make the call to stop CPR, not the decision to put her down. They told me it was probably either a brain tumor or strokes.

 

It sounds like Minny is improving, that's good. Like someone else said, I would keep him on the phenobarbital (consult with the vet, of course) to make sure he has time to recover in case he does have more seizures when the dose is lowered. Hopefully, if he does seize again, the meds will keep it to a minimum and won't cause any further damage. Keeping you in my thoughts.

[seeh2o]

Sounds better, movement, eating and urination. Baby steps to recovery, sweet Minny. Hugs to you through this very scary and difficult time.

[greysmom]

It sounds more like a stroke to me than seizures, but see whatthe vet says tomorrow.

 

It's not exactly the same, but my Cash had a bad vaccine reaction last December and basically seized/stroked out in the back of my car on the way to the vet. She had to be revived with CPR and heavy-duty meds, on oxygen and a whole bunch of stuff I couldn't even take in at the time. But she was basically paralyzed afterwards - limp noodle, unable to move on her own except to breath and move her eyes. Her brain had been deprived of oxygen for several minutes. The e-vet didn't give her much of a chance to recover and told me to say my goodbyes.

 

That was a Thursday afternoon. I took her home on Saturday afternoon. She was walking, eating, relieving herself, and basically back to "normal." The vets were pretty astounded that she bounced back so fast. She still is a bit wobbly at times, and can fall over if the ground is uneven or soft like a dog bed, but all her other mental and physical functions came back just fine.

 

I'm hoping and praying your Minny has a similar experience. If he's beginning to be able to move on his own, there is a good chance for him. If your e-vet doesn't have a neurologist, please have them consult with one, or send his records to someone for review. This needs a specialist I think.

[racindog]

It sounds more like a stroke to me than seizures, but see whatthe vet says tomorrow.

 

It's not exactly the same, but my Cash had a bad vaccine reaction last December and basically seized/stroked out in the back of my car on the way to the vet. She had to be revived with CPR and heavy-duty meds, on oxygen and a whole bunch of stuff I couldn't even take in at the time. But she was basically paralyzed afterwards - limp noodle, unable to move on her own except to breath and move her eyes. Her brain had been deprived of oxygen for several minutes. The e-vet didn't give her much of a chance to recover and told me to say my goodbyes.

 

That was a Thursday afternoon. I took her home on Saturday afternoon. She was walking, eating, relieving herself, and basically back to "normal." The vets were pretty astounded that she bounced back so fast. She still is a bit wobbly at times, and can fall over if the ground is uneven or soft like a dog bed, but all her other mental and physical functions came back just fine.

 

I'm hoping and praying your Minny has a similar experience. If he's beginning to be able to move on his own, there is a good chance for him. If your e-vet doesn't have a neurologist, please have them consult with one, or send his records to someone for review. This needs a specialist I think.

THANKS! I appreciate the hope this happy ending stirs!

[racindog]

Hopefully he's just really "out of it" from the seizure and the meds. Sometimes they can be pretty dopey, even to the point of being unable to stand or walk. Hopefully he keeps improving!

 

Not to doubt your vet, but if it were me, I would keep him on phenobarbital, but just lower the dose until he recovers and is mobile again. If they stop the pheno cold turkey he could start seizing again.

I am soo hoping you are right. I didn't realize this about how out of it they could be. I too would not have wanted to stop the pheno cold turkey and I am hoping she didn't. It is most difficult to get any feedback from them however. I visited him yesterday for a few hours and they would not let me speak to vet then because she was" too busy" and then had to call 3-4 times after I got home trying to get the vet to call me. Finally at ~7:30PM she called, but it was that long before I was able to find out what she thought about his condition yesterday or if he had been able to pee/poop etc. or tell her about the few red blotches that appeared on his rear legs/belly. His regular vet will be back in town today and I am going to ask her to consult with the er vets. Maybe they will be a little more cooperative with another vet. They are also bringing in another specialist today. It seems they are not sure they want to proceed with the CT scan now. I did call this AM early and found out he did NOT have another siezure last night but that there was no change in his condition-but thats still good news to me that he didn't have anymore with reduced or no pheno. They made a point to tell me that I didn't need to call that the vet was going to see him when she came in later on! I told them I LOVE him and I wanted to know how his night had been- if he had any more siezures- and then they said OK but acted like they couldn't understand. I really don't think it is out of line to call at 6:30 in the morning-before they even get busy- and ask if your critically ill patient that you love had a good night or more siezures, so I refuse to apologize for such abberant behavior and being such a "pest." Yes I love him and I demand and will not tolerate any nonsense. I want him kindly treated and I want to know how he is doing and I make an effort to see that happens. Apparently that is considered bad behavior on the part of the owner. Apparently they expect good owners to drop off their animal and forget about them so they are not bothered additionally. Thanks to everyone for their kind prayers and help. Every post that stirs hope is so precious.

[Guest BrianRke]

Sending lots of good thoughts to you and your boy. Pheno can definitely cause a dog to have the reaction yours did, especially for the first week or so. Im sorry you are having to go through this with your vet. It sounds really frustrating.

[Guest HHHounds]

I don't think you were out of line at all... I would be calling too!

[Batmom]

At our e-vet, the senior attending technician is authorized to speak with the pet owner to relay techs' observations, notes from the chart, etc. Might be worth a suggestion (during less stressful times) to your e-vet that they consider doing that? Has been valuable to me, to hear that the dog is resting quietly, that dog passed foreign body at 2 a.m., etc.

 

Hugs and hopes for continued improvement today.

[BatterseaBrindl]

No advice...just sending good thoughts.

 

Our vets - including the very busy 24/7 E-Clinic - encourage owners to call and see how their loved ones are doing. You would probably not get to speak directly to the vet, but the office staff will update you as often as you want.

[robinw]

Of course you should call

[greytpups]

for recovery. I agree should should call.

[TheFullHouse]

You should be able to call and at least get an answer to any of your questions. I know at my vet's office, if I call they will go and ask him my question and tell me his answer, no matter when I call.

[seeh2o]

I agree, you should be able to call. I certainly called when my old gal was at the e-vet over night. A couple of times the vet couldn't answer as they were tending to emergencies, but I'd just give them some time and call back.

[Remolacha]

I know it can get hectic at an e-vet, but that shouldn't stop you from calling! If the vet is too busy to talk, the techs should be able to give you a general update and have the vet call back.

 

Glad he hasn't had anymore seizures!

[racindog]

UPDATE Tues 12:00

 

After much consultation with various vets all feel that he has multiple sites of brain abnormalities based on the neurological signs he is displaying. It has been decided to do a spinal tap/ chest x-rays/ and abdominal ultrasound this afternoon to make sure it is not being caused by an infective or inflammatory issue and to see if there has been any metastasis anywhere else. Unfortunately he is currently still in such bad conditon that identifying the lesions by CT or MRI would most likely be pointless anyway and even with all that the exact cause may not be able to be determined. He further told me it would take 3 days to get the spinal tap results back so that makes me feel better because then that gives him an additional 3 days to improve. If the spinal tap comes back negative for infection/inflamation than that essentially confirms the multiple brain lesions they feel he has and if he doesn't improve within the 3 days it takes for the results to come back then the only loving option will be to let him go since he will begin to deteriorate from not being able to get up or straighten up and then too the symptoms are progressive and will continue to get worse . He is under a great deal of duress IMO crying because he doesn't understand why his body won't work for him-at least thats what he was doing yesterday when I was allowed to visit him. They won't let me visit him today because of the tests-said the earliest I could see him would be tomorrow at lunch.

Edited July 5, 2011 by racindog

[robinw]

[Guest juliagulia630]

I am so sorry you guys are going through this. It sounds like you are doing everything you can for him. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Pepsi2004]

They won't let me visit him today because of the tests-said the earliest I could see him would be tomorrow at lunch.

 

I too am adding my prayers and positive thoughts. However, it would be a frosty day in h**l before anyone could stop me from visiting my very ill and confused dog!! Can you move him to your regular vet?? The e-vet clinic sounds like they really do not understand the love that people have for their pets. You don't need to deal with their attitude on top of everything else.

[TheFullHouse]

Sometimes a visit causes more distress than if you had just stayed home. We were talking about that at my vet's office when we went to get Jilly Bean.

 

My heart goes out to you. Keeping you both in my prayers.

[racindog]

Sometimes a visit causes more distress than if you had just stayed home. We were talking about that at my vet's office when we went to get Jilly Bean.

 

My heart goes out to you. Keeping you both in my prayers.

 

I noticed that when I first presented him. When I went to give him some love before I left he had been resting fairly decent under the circumstances but got upset and started to try to struggle to his feet which he couldn't do when he saw me. What to do-thats like a no win situation.

[Batmom]

It is hard. I have done both, visited and not. Most pups do seem to stay calmer and quieter if one doesn't visit.

[racindog]

They won't let me visit him today because of the tests-said the earliest I could see him would be tomorrow at lunch.

 

I too am adding my prayers and positive thoughts. However, it would be a frosty day in h**l before anyone could stop me from visiting my very ill and confused dog!! Can you move him to your regular vet?? The e-vet clinic sounds like they really do not understand the love that people have for their pets. You don't need to deal with their attitude on top of everything else.

No they don't have a clue. You want to know why he told me lunch? Its because he said they would be too busy in the morning-the vet actually told me that. And I'm wanting to feed the poor guy who by that time will have been without food for who knows how long? I know they didn't feed him today due to the tests. I took tons of his favorite things that I know he would eat but they don't seem concerned about them eating either and I seriously doubt anyone will try to feed him again until they let me come to do it tomorrow. After all its so much trouble to feed by hand and along with his disability even though his appetite at least yesterday was very good and he was anxious to eat. Even healthy dogs need food much less ones trying to overcome such adversity! I wish I could move him but honestly he might not would make the trip at this point. I am concerned that if I "bother" them too much they might take out their resentment on MInny, so much as it hurts I guess I'l just have to wait till they find it convenient to allow me to visit him-caring professionals that they are. Lucky I can at least talk to my baby via ac so he knows.

[kickchick2000]

:grouphug