Brain Tumor and Seizures

[tsnitz]

Hi all,
My 10 year old male, Gus, has started having seizures. Our vet is convinced it is a brain tumor and at Gus's age feels and MRI etc. is a waste of money. If we find out it is a tumor, what can be done, not much.

Gus is on pheobarital and has not had a seizure in two weeks, but is very wobbly and lethargic. He has been on some dosage of pheno since Dec. 1, 04, so the side effects should be waning. The Dr. thinks he is losing control of his limbs as a result of the tumor and nuerological effects. In a nutshell, we are just waiting. He has had some good days, but the last few have been not so good. No seizures, but he looks awful through his eyes and he doesn't want you to hold him. He has slept a lot, but acts drunk when he is awake. Watching him deteriorate is killing us. Just wanted to tell someone.

I am trying to love him while we have him, but my husband and I are stressed to the max. We lost our 12 year old to a major seizure in June of last year. He didn't last through the night. This is just too soon for it to happen again.

Thanks for listening.

 

[cody&duke]

I am so sorry to hear about your Gus. I am glad he hasn't had any seziures lately. I know exactly how you are feeling, I went through the same thing with Cody.


My 11 year old had the same symptoms for about a month. The vet also didn't encourage any other options since he was getting older he may not even last through the extensive tests. He would stand in corners and want to be by himself, which was so not him. The x rays showed something on his spinal cord that eventually ended up causing 2 seizures and neurological problems.. After the two seziures with in 10 minutes we decided to end his pain, he couldn't even move after them. The only good thing is, is he is no longer in pain. It is the hardest thing I have had to do and I still cry and miss him everyday.

Here is a positive thread about a similar situation:

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59977&page=1&pp=16

I hope Gus stays strong and doesn't have anymore seizures.

 

[tsnitz]

Thank you. Right now we are going crazy. I appreciate the kind words. I am so sorry for your loss. I've been there.

 

[Cindy]

I am so sorry to hear about Gus. We have also been through terrible
seizures. My Rock was only four. He had a brain tumor and only lasted
about four months from the time he had his first seizure. He's been gone
almost two years, and to this day if I hear a loud noise at night, I think
"He's having another one!" As I write this my new boy Bronx is laying
contently at my feet. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Cindy

 

[Aimee]

I am so sorry to hear about Gus. Baxter, my 11 year old, is also managing with a brain tumor. Fortunantly he is not having seizures though he has experienced a lot of the other symptoms you are seeing with Gus. It has been 8 ½ months since Baxter's symptoms began and we have been able to manage them very well with natural/holistic treatments. We did opt to have the MRI and Baxter tolerated it well despite the fact that it was questionable how well he would do. Knowing the location and type of tumor has been helpful in managing Baxter's symptoms. Although we are not curing him, we have been able to gain some really good quality time with him. You can read all about Baxter's story in the thread that Sarah referenced. If I can be of any support or assistance, please do not hesitate to ask me. My heart aches for you, I know very well the emotions that you are dealing with. Gus and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Aimee

 

[momstaxi]

I am so sorry you have to go through all this. How awful. Enjoy each day you can and I hope there are many more.

 

[tsnitz]

Thank you from Gus's mom.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words. Gus didn't want to eat yesterday for the first time. I finally got him to eat some applesauce and some canned dog food. He is having a hard time holding his head straight. I think the time is close.

We are taking him to our wonderful vet today to have accupressure done. She treats horses with this type of wand that works wonders on horses. We are hoping it will at least make him feel better. She can also tell us how she feels about his quality of life right now. He has had five bad days now with no tail wagging. He is not having seizures thanks to the medicine, but he is losing coordination in his limbs.

We have Molly and Gabe (3yrs. old) brother and sister we rescued, and Poot, our lab mix who was sold to us as a boxer/bulldog! ( We should have known better) Anyway, these guys are not getting enough attention right now, but we will make it up to them. They will be a comfort when Gus is gone, but he can never be replaced. Please pray for us to have strength to get through this. Yesterday I felt like I was going to explode.

I came to this board when my 14 year old Jesse died from cancer and your support meant the world to me. No one else can understand except Boxer lovers.

 

[Austin's Mom]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<strength>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[Julie P.]

Please know my thoughts are with you...Gus!

It tears me up to read what your Gus is going through; it hits to close to home. I understand the stress you are feeling; we fought night and day to keep Magic alive for four months before finally helping her to the bridge. I think the hardest part about our babies getting sick is that they cannot talk to us and tell us what they need. I wished a million times that Magic would let me know what she needed. The life and spark disapear so quickly in my girl. It was the hardest life event I think I have ever had to go through. I am still dealing with the trauma of it. I understand why you feel this is so soon after loosing your other baby recently. I, know, I would buckle in if some thing happened to our baby boy Deeg. It would be way to soon. I almost feel that if something did happen to him I would throw in the towel and say "no more dogs...I can't bare the pain." I know I don't mean it. Please know that I am thinking about you and will follow your posts to see how your sweet Gus is doing.

 

[Angelfeather]

I feel for you and know what you are going thru. We just lost our girl Pandora yesterday from a brain tumor. About a week ago she had been acting a little funny, not focusing and being a little confused, but no stumbling or circling at that point. The vet ran tests and thought it may be age or loss of vision, she was 9, but to keep an eye on her.

This past Saturday night she had a full seizure, we took her to the Emergency vet where she was put on the phenobarbital. She seizured again on Sunday while she was there. Monday morning we picked her up and took her to our vet where she had another seizure, at this point she was not able to walk more then 3 steps before stumbling. She reffered us to a neurologist. We discussed our options, including the MRI. They started her on heavy rounds of steroids, phenobarbital & valium. Despite the expense, we opted to have the MRI done, because we just had to know. We took her on Tuesday morning to the MRI and the brain tumor was confirmed. It was too large to operate and at this point no steroids or radiation would have helped. So we knew we had to end her suffering.

We dont regret having the MRI done because it gave us confirmation that we did the right thing. If we did not have it and continued on her treatment she would have suffered. If we did not have it and still chose to end her pain, then again we would have wondered if we did the right thing, if there wasnt more we should have done. I know it is expensive (our week of vet bills was in excess of $4000) and you have to make that choice, but its all about the little one, they tell us when they have had enough. If he still has some fight in him and he is not in pain, then fight for him, if not, have the love and the strength to let him go.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and will wish the best for you, I know its not easy and I cry as I type this, we love them so much.
Angel