Brain Tumor? 9YR F/Boxer having seizures

[PrettySophie]

Hello, all!
I am writing today because I am very concerned. My baby Sophia, is a 9 year old boxer, who about 6-9 month ago we started to notice that she became slower and drinking a lot of water. We noticed this but did not think anything of it. Then on April 2nd she experienced her first seizure. We took her to vet the next day and informed us that blood work was fine. Totally healthy in that respect. We could do a CT scan but very expensive. We cannot afford this for hubby is out of work and I am the only one working. Vet gave us a med called phenobarbital. Vet said we can start giving her this to control if we wanted to ... and that maybe nothing would happen again. We did notice a change in her, she has become a bit more stubborn and rests a bit more than usual.
However, last night (3AM) our other dog woke us up and we noticed that Sophia was pacing a lot in circles. Back and forth non stop. Then at 4 AM the seizure hit her. When she came out of it she was pacing again and was hitting walls and objects. Until finally about 5 AM she jumped on the sofa (with our help) and went to sleep.
At 7 AM this morning, she work up again and fell from the sofa and started pacing again non stop. She finally got on sofa, again with our help, and fell asleep around noon. Then she woke up to yet another seizure at 1 PM.
Went back to sleep at 2 PM and had another seizure at 2:30 PM.
She has been pacing a lot and just now 3:30 p.m. has finally gone back to sofa to rest. I am afraid that she will have yet another seizure. Each time, it is leaving her with less balance and coordination. What can be wrong with her? Could it be a brain tumor? I wish I had the money to get her checked out to know whether or not she does have this, but I cannot afford it. She is drinking a lot of water and is wanting to eat a lot. We are trying to control this. Can someone offer advice? I am afraid something bad will happen or that I might have to put her to sleep. Your guidance will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Independence]

I'm sorry you are going thru this. You really should take her to the vet. It could be a brain tumor. There are meds you can give her that may help with the symptoms. That may be able to buy you time to make hard decisions you probably don't even want to think about right now.

 

[Holden's Mom]

Excessive eating and drinking are signs of Cushings disease. It can be caused by either tumors on the adrenals or a tumor on the pituitary. My boy Petey had the latter. In most dogs, the tumor on the pituitary is very small and very slow growing. It can be treated, or the symptoms are treated, but never cured. In some instances the pituitary is faster growing and then symptoms will resemble a brain tumor. Cushings causes the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol, thus the eating and drinking in excess, along with peeing. Dry skin and lethargy are also symptoms. Testing is possible, but can be expensive.

Has Sophia been tested for hypothyroidism? If the drinking and eating are excessive, but not the peeing, this is a real possibility. Dry skin and lethargy are also symptoms. I believe there are posters on this site whose dogs have had seizures as result of this as well. Hopefully, they will post. Treatment with drug therapy is possible and not expensive. Proper testing can confirm hypothyroidism, but must be more than the usual vets test.

I so hope your girl gets help. Seizures are very scary.

Pam and Doug

 

[PrettySophie]

Thank you both for your responses.

Today is a new day and Sophie is still pacing around the house - like in a daze - and clumsy. She is however, showing a little more signs of paying more attention to things around her, although not too much. My husband and I will be taking her to the vet tomorrow in the morning if things do not improve any.

We will ask them to run a bit more tests.

This is really hard, Sophie was our first every furry baby. Both he and I had never had pets in the past... not even as children. So Sophie was the reason why we have fallen in love with animals and have a whole new level of respect for all living creatures.

I do hope this will pass soon and she can become her old self again. If not, then I am afraid that we will have to do the unthinkable. However, I am staying positive...

 

[Lisa H]

Did the vet check for diabetes? My parents had a husky who had seizure like episodes from being diabetic. Once she started insulin injections the seizures stopped. Just a thought.

 

[Kellyt]

I do hope you got some answers from your vet. It's awful seeing your pet going through this. My Max had seizures with pacing only afterwards, falling into things, a bobbing head and not himself at all. The vets initially thought epilepsy but a scan confirmed a brain tumour. He didn't have the excessive drinking or pacing beforehand so I hope that it is something treatable. Thoughts are with you.

 

[ELubas]

So sorry-I am in the same boat so I will share what I have learned. Pheno will make them thiristy and they will pee more. It can also increase appetite. And many times the dose needs to be adjusted a few times to stop the seizures all together. I chose not to do an MRI as my girl, Nysa, also has ARVC and I do not want to lose her on the table. ALso, if it is a tumour, options are limited. Is your pup's thyriod ok? My girl's was low so we put her on solaxine (very inexpensive) If it is a tumor you might think about prednisone-it has its' detractors but it will decrease any swelling in the brain. Will also make her hungry though! Lastly I assume her blood work has remained stabvle. There is some indication that low blood sugar and seizures are related, though generally in smaller breeds. Seizures are tough to watch. They can be so violent. My vet gave me valium suppositories to administer if needed. I had to once and it really helped my girl so now I keep them in the fridge just in case. I wish you and your baby the best and hope Sophia stabilizes.

 

[Tuff Love]

I'm so sorry to hear about your girl. My thoughts are in line with ELubas. I would be highly suspicious of a brain tumor because of her age and what you describe. The pressure of a tumor in the brain can trigger seizures and circling and pacing are classic symptoms, however those symptoms can be classic for many other neurological conditions as well. Sophia being a boxer puts brain tumor at the top of the suspect list of course but there could be other things going on as well. My first boxer had a condition called GME (a form of meningitis) with or without brain tumor involvement - his MRI's showed areas of dead tissue, some of which were from strokes and others may or may not have been from tumors (they couldn't tell me for sure without doing a biopsy). What I would suggest if you can is to ask your vet to refer you to an oncologist. I understand that the expensive testing may not be an option for you but they will at least be able to give you their professional opinion with a thorough exam. If they do suspect a brain tumor and you decide not to do additional testing, they will probably put Sophia on prednisone to keep the swelling down and help her feel better. Prednisone can be a miracle drug at first but it's effects are limited and don't last forever. It will also make her drink A LOT and pee A LOT so you may need to arrange for someone to be home often to let her outside. I know this is a difficult time for you, especially while not having answers. I wish you the best. Big *hugs*

 

[PrettySophie]

Thank you all for your kind words.

Unfortunately, my husband and I made the hard decision of putting our baby Sophie to sleep. Yesterday when I came home she looked to be alert, but her poor limbs were giving out a lot. To the point where she completely did a split and peed in the kitchen. She had very little strength. She pretty much had to be supervised so she would not hurt herself. Then she started whimpering. My husband could not bare to see her in pain, nor could I.

When we arrived to the emergency vet hospital, the vet ruled out various reasons for her state - and could only determine that it was most likely a brain tumor. Most likely something in her brain was causing for her limbs to start to give out. He did say that we could possibly give her meds to make her feel better but that her condition would only worsen. We could not bare to see her in pain and so weak. So we were there for her through her final moments.

It was so painful, I have NEVER felt a pain like this before. I feel so empty inside. My home feels different without her. We have other furry babies - but she was my very first pet ever. We dont have kids so she was our baby girl. She was/is special. Will always be special. I feel like a huge piece of my heart has gone with her. I MISS HER SO MUCH! I HATE THIS!!!!!!! I know time will lessen my pain but I doubt I will ever be the same. She was the best girl ever.

I LOVE YOU SOPHIE.... YOUR DADDY AND MOMMY LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU SO!!!!!!!!!!

 

[luvmyboy]

I am so sorry to hear this. This is the most difficult decision to make... but the kindest act on her behalf. My heart breaks for you and my thoughts & prayers are with you.