I think Chica is having seizure activity...

[tiffers]

...I don't know...it's hard to tell. She's got this spasm thing...it started in her hips, but now it seems to be mainly jerking her head down.

She's being VERY needy, and can't seem to get comfortable at all...she's up and down...up and down...she sitting here looking at me, and falling asleep sitting up...like she's tired, but can't sleep from the spasms, she had three really hard one's just ten minutes ago...her whole body...I called my boss, and she said if she gets worse or keeps it up, give her a call...or take her in to see the relief doctor, as she is off today.

...she hasn't eaten anything that I know of, as she never leaves my side...but something is not right. Not right at all.

She looks confused...and scared...I don't know.

Here I am, the vet tech, who can offer advice in other's emergencies/needs...but my mind's all fogged up with worrying...

What do your dog's do before seizures? If they seizure...

[e1beth1]

My mom's pek/terrier mix would show no pre-cursers to her seizures, they were very sudden. The poodle/chi she has now will show a little confusion before her seizure starts and then get very violent/angry just afterwards. It does sound a lot like the seizures my husband's aunt have, her symptoms are very similar to what Chica is doing.

[tiffers]

...the neck jerk thing has kind of subsided...but, she still just isn't right. :( ...I called the doctor again, and as of right now...there is nothing that we can do for her. The relief doctor is working the emergency clinic tonight as well, and she worked at my clinic for about 13 years...so she knows me and she knows Chica...hopefully, I won't end up there, but at least it's someone I know.

[e1beth1]

Yeah, for the most part they are right. The only thing is if she goes into a "grandma" seizure, which I'm sure you know. That's something my mom always worries about with her little dog. How old is Chica?

[tiffers]

Chica will be 8 in February. She's had her fair share of hardships, but overall...her yearly bloodwork has always been great.

[Ltlpistol]

She may only be 8, but remember she had several litters of pups, that ages them quicker. Why didn't you say something when we were talking on the phone earlier?

[tiffers]

It didn't happen until about 3pm or so.

However, when I first called the doctor...we were discussing if it were a weird response to pain, as she couldn't seem to get comfortable and looked as though she were having muscle spasms. We were leery of giving her Rimadyl...but, eventually decided that it may do more harm than good at this point. So, I gave her a dose...here it is nearly 7:15pm, and I've not seen any type of oddity for about two hours, nearly 3 hours after the Rimadyl. I do wonder if she was having an odd pain response...or just a muscle spasm...it's still hard to say. But, tomorrow...we may still be doing some labwork...just to put my mind more at ease...

[nanamouse]

Aw Tiffers, how scary, keep us updated.

[Ltlpistol]

Be sure and let me know what you find out!

[e1beth1]

I don't want to scare you and I don't know if this happens, but do animals suffer strokes or mini-strokes? Confusion and muscle weakness are common human signs of stroke.

[tiffers]

...they certainly can, Beth. We've had a dog a while back that we think had a stroke...she was very 'odd' afterwards and for the remainder of her life. The doctor and I didn't talk about the possibility of a stroke, but I'll bring it up when I go in in the morning.

[e1beth1]

I'll be thinking about Chica, please do keep us posted, I know I'll be anxious to check out this thread tomorrow when I get home from my business trip.

[That_girl]

I'll be thinking about Chica, please do keep us posted.

Same here. Is there like a full moon today? So many weird things are happening. A co-worker's husband fall out of a hay mow last night and may be permanently paralyzed....then a good friend's kitten is having serious health problems and has been on IV's all day and they can't figure out what's wrong....now this....seriously.

[nanamouse]

Yup, last day of the full moon. My cats are bouncing off walls with the moon full and the weather changing!:eek:

[dlaura]

Tiffers I will be thinking of you & Chica also. I hope that it turns out to be something simple and all will be ok. Sending you and Chica a cyber hug.

[Julia423]

I'm trying to remember Max pre-seizures. I do know that after his really intensive bladder surgery that he had a strange twist in his neck. That was accompanied by weakness in his back legs that kept him from walking properly. The vet wasn't sure what it was. Could have been a small stroke. The seizures seemed more sudden...one minute fine, the next minute screaming, falling over and shaking violently.

Snuggle Chica and give her at least one scrubbie from me.

[Catslave]

Sending healing vibes to Chica from Australia, hope your beautiful girl is o.k. as I'm sure she will be.

[nanamouse]

How's Chica this morning? Did she do OK during the night?

[dlaura]

How's Chica this morning? Did she do OK during the night?

I was wondering the same thing. Hopefully she did ok and the med you gave her helped.

[Hunna]

I too have been looking all day for a update. I hope no news is good news.

[katiem]

Poor girl! I hope she's feeling better today and you got some good news-like it was really bad gas or something!

When Loeke has a seizure he usually lays down, but won't put his head down and he stares of into space and twitches and jolts. Then once its over he becomes very quiet and still for a few hours, and usually isn't himself for a few days.

[tiffers]

...she did fine in the night, by 9pm she was back to normal. We ran blood work today and checked her for tick diseases (she's a tick magnet since the hurricane), but she's perfectly healthy. We talked about toxoplasmosis, but the kitty poop has to stay out for at least 24-48 hours and not all kitties have it, so we're sure that isn't it either. We manipulated every bone/joint in her body and she seems to be pain free. So, we're going to give her Rimadyl once a day until Monday in case it is just muscle spasms and see how she does over the weekend. We can't do anything for her until she really goes into a 'seizure'... :(

[Macawpower58]

I'm glad to hear nothing was found. Hopefully she'll not have another episode, and you'll find out it was only muscle spasms.

[PatchO'Pits]

Hopefully everything will be fine now!

[tiffers]

Thank you, Becky and Therese. She's been doing okay...still acting kind of weird, but I'll talk kind of weird over whatever the heck she was doing yesterday for sure.

[e1beth1]

I'm so happy to hear she's doing okay. Here's hope that it was just a one time thing.

[Julia423]

How's she doing tonight?

[special]

I don't want to scare you and I don't know if this happens, but do animals suffer strokes or mini-strokes? Confusion and muscle weakness are common human signs of stroke.

My senior cat (who is CRF, highblood pressure, hyperthyroid disease, megacolon, arthritis and heart murmur) had a mini stroke a few months ago. She's 17 + years old. She fully recovered in about a week. No symptoms remain

It didn't happen until about 3pm or so.

However, when I first called the doctor...we were discussing if it were a weird response to pain, as she couldn't seem to get comfortable and looked as though she were having muscle spasms. We were leery of giving her Rimadyl...but, eventually decided that it may do more harm than good at this point. So, I gave her a dose...here it is nearly 7:15pm, and I've not seen any type of oddity for about two hours, nearly 3 hours after the Rimadyl. I do wonder if she was having an odd pain response...or just a muscle spasm...it's still hard to say. But, tomorrow...we may still be doing some labwork...just to put my mind more at ease...

I've seen your update and am very glad Chica seems better. Could she have pulled a muscle in play? The rimadyl may have helped relieved the pain enough to make her relax so it could start healing, if that was the case.

.
What do your dog's do before seizures? If they seizure...

My boy cat who has a seizure disorder has no pre seizure behaviors. He's been on phenobarbital for over 6 years now, and hasn't had a seizure in 4 1/2 years.

My sister's golden retriever started a seizure disorder about 18 months ago, she's 8 now. She would just go directly into an epilleptic grand mal with no warning. She also takes phenobarbital, and has not had a break through seizure in about 10 months.

I hope Chica continues to improve and doesn't do anything to give you any more scares. Has her appetite improved?

...

Here I am, the vet tech, who can offer advice in other's emergencies/needs...but my mind's all fogged up with worrying...

.

It's always different when it's your own, no matter how much you care about the other pets you know and love in the forum, it's always different when it's your own furbaby.

I know you'll keep us updated

[tiffers]

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. She's been doing just fine. She ate a whole bowl of food last night and ran beside the bikes today on our hike. :D

[dlaura]

Tiffers I am so relieved to hear that! I was worried when we didn't hear from you for a bit. Glad she was back to her old self today!