[MoxyDog]

Please help

Needingng to know if others have experienced anything similar in their Beagle...

Our Moxy is 15 years old. She's a small 13 inch female. In the past 24 hours she has had three episodes that may be seizures but the don't present exactly like that.

The day before yesterday she was walking to the kitchen and her back legs let out from under her and she fell to the side. She could not use them for around two minutes although she was aware and trying to walk. She looked drunk.

The following day she had another episode that was the same however it was worse. Her back legs got wobbly and I picked her up to hold her for a few minutes. After she was trying to circle the living room and again, looked incredibly drunk as she didn't seem to have control over her movement. She appeared aware throughout but scared.

I took her to the vet and they put her on anti seizure medicine, letting me know it's most likely a brain tumor, and based on her symptoms it could be cushing's as well. (She's very hungry, far more than your typical Beagle character, and thirsty.)

This is all new for her. I just wanted to ask here as I have seen Beagles live much longer and up until this point she's been of good health.

If you have any insight or a similar experience I would really love to hear from you. We love our girl and can't imagine our family without her. TIA.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I haven't had that experience, so I can't help from the medical side. Just wanted to say I'm sorry she's experiencing this, and that I hope the anti-seizure meds work. What med is she on?

 

[MoxyDog]

Thanks for responding. She is on Levetiracetem, but they don't seem to be working unfortunately. I just don't think it's seizures, which is kind of why I reached out here. It seems like her hips are giving out? Next time it happens I'll be filming it and sending it off to the vet

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I had luck filming issues and showing to our vet (old vet; for a reason!) who was dismissive previously.

 

[Mollys Mom]

It's tough when they get older and start having scary symptoms. I had a beagle with Cushings and she did good on Vetoryl, she had the increased hunger and was stumbling. I have never had a dog with seizures before. My little Molly is a tiny beagle and she gets pain and shaking. She takes Carprofen for her pain and it works wonders.

 

[Cassie]

Before jumping to seizure drugs ask your vet to rule out other causes such as pain or cushings. The problem with seizure drugs is once on them they usually remain so.

 

[MoxyDog]

Thank you both for your response!

Cushing's has been mentioned. After a ton of research I'm suspecting it's something to do with her back (maybe IVDD?). Only her back legs seem to be affected, with the odd neurological symptoms.

The seizure medicine is NOT agreeing with her. Last night she was showing signs of ataxia, walking around the house like she was drunk... And after researching the drug, find out this is the number one side effect. Plus she's still having her back legs give out on her, so we'll need to figure out how to wean her off of these. She's got the sweetest personality and generally bounces around the house happily - she doesn't do this at all on these drugs and it breaks my heart.

We have x-rays on Monday because unfortunately an MRI or CT will cost about $5k they tell me. Hopefully that will show something.

Amanda

Ps. I'm glad you found a suitable solution for Molly and that she's doing well.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

If the x-ray doesn't show something, would an ultrasound? My vet has a ultrasound technician (or whatever) come in and do ultrasounds, I think it costs $500-700. Just a thought. MRI/CT sounds prohibitively expensive, at least to me.

 

[Cassie]

Keep in mind that an MRI/CT is a diagnostic tool only. They cost as much as those performed on humans. I suggest rulling out all other causes first. My vet wanted to do an MRI on my dog when she was having trouble moving..it turned out to be "Beagle Pain Syndrome" which would not have been seen on an MRI.. . it was treatable with very inexpensive Prednisone

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Depending on what the x-rays show, could you take her to an animal chiropractor?

 

[ljas]

It could be a back/spinal issue - or it could be what is known as a partial seizure. Sophie has seizures - they are infrequent, and seem to be stress/hormonal based. She has one every 2 to 6 months depending on weather and other factors. They can be (the most extreme) a very, very short grand mal followed by rigidity, panting, drooling or very simple - she falls over and does not have control over her legs - particularly her back legs - for a while. She usually retains bowel and bladder control, but needs to go out as soon as she is able to walk. When she is 'post dictal' she looks drunk, is aware, can drool a great deal, and when she is coming out of it she pants and slowly regains motor control. She is not on any medication - since we can manage them without, our vet feels that it is better for her not to be. Sophie has had seizures most of her life (she is 11) and we have found a few things that help. When she has a seizure, we turn off any screens that are on, lower the lights, and try to have a quiet environment for he to recover in. We reassure her, make sure that she is warm enough, and recently have been trying message - a friend who is a reiki practitioner taught me. The most important thing to do is to remain calm - dogs pick up on our distress and it can make things worse. Sophie's seizures probably are because of a head injury inflicted by her first owners (she was removed from that home).

What does blood and urine analysis indicate?

 

[jcorwin196]

Our Bo had epilepsy his whole life (at least with us). The first seizure I witnessed was a lot like you described. First he started walking like a drunk, then the back legs gave out, then he went into complete seizure. We thought he was dying. By the time we got to the emergency vet, he was back to normal.

They put him on Zonisamide, and it worked very well for the rest of his life. When he did have seizures, they would be very mild compared to before the medicine. He would be aware, and just sort of out of it for a couple of minutes. We did not see any bad side effects from the meds.

Bo also developed Cushing's late in life - roughly the last year of his life. He had all of the hallmark symptoms. Some days he would seem normal, others he would drink all day and have accidents if you didn't get him out immediately. Some nights he got me out of bed 5 or 6 times.