Vestibular Disease/Syndrome - Dogs

[Zoom-boing]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

 

[flacaltenn]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

This hit my 18 yr dog a couple years back. It's onset is more sudden that what you describe, but similar symptoms. Usually the head tilt and disorientation will give it away. So what the Vet is telling you is that the isolated previous occurances are NOT characteristic of these neurological problems.

Here's the test -- if you are out of options. Find a vet who will treat it as a Vestibular issue. The "cure" was a couple rounds of steroid shots which had an almost immediate effect. (along with symptomatically treating the nausea and dizziness.) Although it didn't disappear completely for a month -- most everything was CLOSE to normal in about 4 days.

If the vet is not treating the symptoms with simple common anti-nausea, and a drug called "tranquil-- something or other" -- find another vet..

 

[Zoom-boing]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

This hit my 18 yr dog a couple years back. It's onset is more sudden that what you describe, but similar symptoms. Usually the head tilt and disorientation will give it away. So what the Vet is telling you is that the isolated previous occurances are NOT characteristic of these neurological problems.

Here's the test -- if you are out of options. Find a vet who will treat it as a Vestibular issue. The "cure" was a couple rounds of steroid shots which had an almost immediate effect. (along with symptomatically treating the nausea and dizziness.) Although it didn't disappear completely for a month -- most everything was CLOSE to normal in about 4 days.

If the vet is not treating the symptoms with simple common anti-nausea, and a drug called "tranquil-- something or other" -- find another vet..

Well that's the thing ... he didn't offer any suggestions or any information at all directed at her symptoms. Which I thought was weird. I do have to say, we moved three months ago and do not know this vet/practice. Family used them before and they were very happy with them. We'll see if we stay with them or find someone else. I've yet to find a vet that I really trust, have had several simply be wrong about their dx. Flat out wrong.

She may have something else going on, what with the previous short spells, and yet we've read countless stories of people whose dog also had short spells then a big/long one they needed to recover from over a period of days/weeks. As far as the vet and our research says, they don't know what the cause is. It CAN be a number of things but if it isn't ear infection, reaction to med, injury, tumor, etc they simply don't know. Idiopathic. Vet said some believe it could be a virus. So it makes me wonder if perhaps her shorter spells are part of the disease/syndrome in her, rather than something more serious. Time will tell. If she has another big spell again we're going to see the specialist to see if he can provide more info. Thanks so much for posting, appreciate it.

 

[flacaltenn]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

This hit my 18 yr dog a couple years back. It's onset is more sudden that what you describe, but similar symptoms. Usually the head tilt and disorientation will give it away. So what the Vet is telling you is that the isolated previous occurances are NOT characteristic of these neurological problems.

Here's the test -- if you are out of options. Find a vet who will treat it as a Vestibular issue. The "cure" was a couple rounds of steroid shots which had an almost immediate effect. (along with symptomatically treating the nausea and dizziness.) Although it didn't disappear completely for a month -- most everything was CLOSE to normal in about 4 days.

If the vet is not treating the symptoms with simple common anti-nausea, and a drug called "tranquil-- something or other" -- find another vet..

Well that's the thing ... he didn't offer any suggestions or any information at all directed at her symptoms. Which I thought was weird. I do have to say, we moved three months ago and do not know this vet/practice. Family used them before and they were very happy with them. We'll see if we stay with them or find someone else. I've yet to find a vet that I really trust, have had several simply be wrong about their dx. Flat out wrong.

She may have something else going on, what with the previous short spells, and yet we've read countless stories of people whose dog also had short spells then a big/long one they needed to recover from over a period of days/weeks. As far as the vet and our research says, they don't know what the cause is. It CAN be a number of things but if it isn't ear infection, reaction to med, injury, tumor, etc they simply don't know. Idiopathic. Vet said some believe it could be a virus. So it makes me wonder if perhaps her shorter spells are part of the disease/syndrome in her, rather than something more serious. Time will tell. If she has another big spell again we're going to see the specialist to see if he can provide more info. Thanks so much for posting, appreciate it.

Doesn't seem right that the vet would leave you with symptoms that are EASILY remedied by simple meds. Even IF the vet suspected something more complicated. For a dog with nausea who can't keep food down, doesn't want to eat because the room is constantly spinning ---- to me that's inexcusable. Not caring too much about YOU or the dog.

What we found that helped the dog is to restrict his/her field of view. Put them in a quiet corner where there is little to "spin around" in their head. Or a dog bed surrounded by tall pillows or other objects to block their field of view. Laying UNDER a bed or a coffee table (like yours did) was the dog trying to do this on their own. The spinning is greatly decreased..

 

[jon_berzerk]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

good luck with penny

sounds like vertigo

with no ear infection

i would think about the nystagmus

since it has been associated with vertigo

there are medications to treat

might be worth a check see

we have two geriatric dogs they line up for their morning meds

and evening meds as well

--LOL

 

[Zoom-boing]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

This hit my 18 yr dog a couple years back. It's onset is more sudden that what you describe, but similar symptoms. Usually the head tilt and disorientation will give it away. So what the Vet is telling you is that the isolated previous occurances are NOT characteristic of these neurological problems.

Here's the test -- if you are out of options. Find a vet who will treat it as a Vestibular issue. The "cure" was a couple rounds of steroid shots which had an almost immediate effect. (along with symptomatically treating the nausea and dizziness.) Although it didn't disappear completely for a month -- most everything was CLOSE to normal in about 4 days.

If the vet is not treating the symptoms with simple common anti-nausea, and a drug called "tranquil-- something or other" -- find another vet..

Well that's the thing ... he didn't offer any suggestions or any information at all directed at her symptoms. Which I thought was weird. I do have to say, we moved three months ago and do not know this vet/practice. Family used them before and they were very happy with them. We'll see if we stay with them or find someone else. I've yet to find a vet that I really trust, have had several simply be wrong about their dx. Flat out wrong.

She may have something else going on, what with the previous short spells, and yet we've read countless stories of people whose dog also had short spells then a big/long one they needed to recover from over a period of days/weeks. As far as the vet and our research says, they don't know what the cause is. It CAN be a number of things but if it isn't ear infection, reaction to med, injury, tumor, etc they simply don't know. Idiopathic. Vet said some believe it could be a virus. So it makes me wonder if perhaps her shorter spells are part of the disease/syndrome in her, rather than something more serious. Time will tell. If she has another big spell again we're going to see the specialist to see if he can provide more info. Thanks so much for posting, appreciate it.

Doesn't seem right that the vet would leave you with symptoms that are EASILY remedied by simple meds. Even IF the vet suspected something more complicated. For a dog with nausea who can't keep food down, doesn't want to eat because the room is constantly spinning ---- to me that's inexcusable. Not caring too much about YOU or the dog.

What we found that helped the dog is to restrict his/her field of view. Put them in a quiet corner where there is little to "spin around" in their head. Or a dog bed surrounded by tall pillows or other objects to block their field of view. Laying UNDER a bed or a coffee table (like yours did) was the dog trying to do this on their own. The spinning is greatly decreased..

Yeah I thought he'd prescribed her something for the nausea or something but it resolved itself. Don't know if this will be our vet. He's been in practice for 38 years and he said his daughter was joining him in his practice so maybe he's retiring. We hadn't gotten as far as looking into vets yet (been a freaking hectic year and past three months).

She gravitated towards under the coffee table, she likes it under there anyway. Just her head part. So we moved it away from the sofa to give her more room. Do you remember how long it took for the nystagmus to go away? From what we've read it could take a couple of weeks to completely disappear. We're familiar with it, as our special needs son was born with it, so we knew what her eye movements were. At first I thought she couldn't see at all but then realized what she was seeing was everything moving. Amazing how she compensates for being unstable though.

 

[Zoom-boing]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

good luck with penny

sounds like vertigo

with no ear infection

i would think about the nystagmus

since it has been associated with vertigo

there are medications to treat

might be worth a check see

we have two geriatric dogs they line up for their morning meds

and evening meds as well

--LOL

I've had a couple of bouts of vertigo and got it from pinching either a nerve or muscle or both in my neck. Twice from exercising, once from painting. It's awful.

We're just hoping that it resolves. If it keeps happening . . . that is no good at all. Right now she's snoozing at my feet and the food we got her to eat, people food, it making itself known. p-u!

 

[jon_berzerk]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

good luck with penny

sounds like vertigo

with no ear infection

i would think about the nystagmus

since it has been associated with vertigo

there are medications to treat

might be worth a check see

we have two geriatric dogs they line up for their morning meds

and evening meds as well

--LOL

I've had a couple of bouts of vertigo and got it from pinching either a nerve or muscle or both in my neck. Twice from exercising, once from painting. It's awful.

We're just hoping that it resolves. If it keeps happening . . . that is no good at all. Right now she's snoozing at my feet and the food we got her to eat, people food, it making itself known. p-u!

yeah it sucks

high blood pressure could cause that also

hope it works out for you guys

 

[flacaltenn]

So Penny, 12 turning 13 in May, has has a handful of dizzy spells over the past couple of months. She completely loses her balance, cannot stand, sometimes vomits. They last just a few minutes then it passes and she seems totally fine. The first one she had, she vomited then stood up and was fine. Thought it was low blood sugar (she seems to get a bit shaky sometimes when she needs food). The last couple she had we noticed that her eyes shook somewhat (nystagmus) but again, it only lasted a couple of minutes then seh was fine.

She had one around 11pm Sunday night. 5:30 Monday morning the hubs woke me up saying she was really bad. She was completely unable to stand/walk, she had vomited a lot at some point, pooped/peed on the rugs (we think that was due to being so disoriented rather than losing any ability). She also has nystagmus really bad. She vomited several more times prior to taking her to the vet. No ear infection, no reaction to meds (she isn't on anything), she didn't eat anything toxic. He said that because she's had a few short occurances prior to this one, that the possibility of some kind of tumor in her brain was greater. He based this on what she didn't have and his 35+ yrs experience. He also said that without any type of mri/cat scan it was nothing more than and educated guess.

Blood work came back normal, she spent the entire day yesterday laying on her left side under the coffee table. Her left side seems more affected than her right side but she does not walk in a circle to the left. We had to coax her up last night, help her walk to the door and outside/down two short steps to got potty. She did, very wobbly but walking. She came back in and lay down under the coffee table on her right side. We did get her to eat some (scrambled eggs, chicken) and drink, she kept it down.

She is much better today compared to yesterday. Got her to eat (hand fed her her dog food wet w/kibble, she didn't chew it as much as swallowed it), got her up and outside several times, she got up very frequently today, walking around. She's still wobbly, nystagmus is present but reduced, needs help going down the two small steps to the outside, she lists to the left side, head slightly cocked to the left too. It makes her even more adorable.

Looked up vestibular syndrome and it seems like she is a text book case. Vet referred us to a vet neurologist if we wanted a second opinion. We're taking the wait and see approach.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this or anything, any info, etc. Danke.

This hit my 18 yr dog a couple years back. It's onset is more sudden that what you describe, but similar symptoms. Usually the head tilt and disorientation will give it away. So what the Vet is telling you is that the isolated previous occurances are NOT characteristic of these neurological problems.

Here's the test -- if you are out of options. Find a vet who will treat it as a Vestibular issue. The "cure" was a couple rounds of steroid shots which had an almost immediate effect. (along with symptomatically treating the nausea and dizziness.) Although it didn't disappear completely for a month -- most everything was CLOSE to normal in about 4 days.

If the vet is not treating the symptoms with simple common anti-nausea, and a drug called "tranquil-- something or other" -- find another vet..

Well that's the thing ... he didn't offer any suggestions or any information at all directed at her symptoms. Which I thought was weird. I do have to say, we moved three months ago and do not know this vet/practice. Family used them before and they were very happy with them. We'll see if we stay with them or find someone else. I've yet to find a vet that I really trust, have had several simply be wrong about their dx. Flat out wrong.

She may have something else going on, what with the previous short spells, and yet we've read countless stories of people whose dog also had short spells then a big/long one they needed to recover from over a period of days/weeks. As far as the vet and our research says, they don't know what the cause is. It CAN be a number of things but if it isn't ear infection, reaction to med, injury, tumor, etc they simply don't know. Idiopathic. Vet said some believe it could be a virus. So it makes me wonder if perhaps her shorter spells are part of the disease/syndrome in her, rather than something more serious. Time will tell. If she has another big spell again we're going to see the specialist to see if he can provide more info. Thanks so much for posting, appreciate it.

Doesn't seem right that the vet would leave you with symptoms that are EASILY remedied by simple meds. Even IF the vet suspected something more complicated. For a dog with nausea who can't keep food down, doesn't want to eat because the room is constantly spinning ---- to me that's inexcusable. Not caring too much about YOU or the dog.

What we found that helped the dog is to restrict his/her field of view. Put them in a quiet corner where there is little to "spin around" in their head. Or a dog bed surrounded by tall pillows or other objects to block their field of view. Laying UNDER a bed or a coffee table (like yours did) was the dog trying to do this on their own. The spinning is greatly decreased..

Yeah I thought he'd prescribed her something for the nausea or something but it resolved itself. Don't know if this will be our vet. He's been in practice for 38 years and he said his daughter was joining him in his practice so maybe he's retiring. We hadn't gotten as far as looking into vets yet (been a freaking hectic year and past three months).

She gravitated towards under the coffee table, she likes it under there anyway. Just her head part. So we moved it away from the sofa to give her more room. Do you remember how long it took for the nystagmus to go away? From what we've read it could take a couple of weeks to completely disappear. We're familiar with it, as our special needs son was born with it, so we knew what her eye movements were. At first I thought she couldn't see at all but then realized what she was seeing was everything moving. Amazing how she compensates for being unstable though.

The eye motion is probably first to disappear. But the head tilt and wobblyness could be barely detected for 3 weeks or so even with the steroids. NO TV for her !!! Nothing in the room with motion. Even trees thru a window.

Pretty sure you need a new vet. This one could be COMPLETELY correct in dismissing Vestibular syndrome, but the lack of attention to symptomatic relief is pretty disturbing..

If the nausea continues -- there are safe over the counter meds that can be used. Consult a reputable source and treat like motion sickness.

Our dog was the 2nd oldest in our Vets practice when we lost him last October at 18 years of age. His episode came COMPLETELY suddenly after a trip to the dog wash. I thought that the blow dryers and the noise might have set it off or water in the ears -- but vets say no. It was super frisky (for 18) one day -- and the next he was totally ackward and disorientated.

 

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Just an update. It's been four days since her big dizzy spell. She was eating only hand-fed, today she started eating on her own. She's still wobbly but nothing compared to what she was. Nystagmus is gone. She seemed kinda listless this morning, more so than yesterday. Hubs came in and she got up, trotted in to see him, we put her and Dio on their leashes and she wagged her tail! Pulled on the leash (very glad to see that), went on a short walk just up and down the street. She's much more like herself today. She did go about 1/3 way down the basement stairs (we were down there trying to move something) and I had to help her turn around and get up the stairs. She can't shake her head without stumbling and she goes down on all fours when she sneezes. She still hasn't jumped on the sofa yet but she's getting there. She's def on the mend. Fingers crossed it's the vestibular syndrome and nothing more serious.