Convulsions

[a1r1ka]

At around noon today, Papi (9 years old) dropped to the ground like he had his legs swept out from under him and started to convulse. He was alert, aware, and even sort of surprised by this -- his eyes were clear, he wasn't drooling, and he was wagging his tail when I went to him. He got up and walked a few steps and it happened again.

We took him to the vet and it happened two times while we were there. The vet thought she could rule out a heart condition and recommended taking him to a brain specialist.

They took blood and sent us home with a Holter monitor on him to track his heart overnight just to be sure and we have an MRI appointment tomorrow morning.

It's a really weird situation and I'm not sure what to think about it...

 

[Kisaq]

I'm so sorry you and Papi are going through this.

Boxers do seem to have the strangest "collapsing" health issues as they age. I hope you and your vet figure it out quickly, and that it is something manageable.

Good healing {{{vibes}}} being sent your and Papi's way.

 

[packblt]

Are they doing a full thyroid panel with the bloodwork? Hypothyroidism can cause seizures and neurological issues, tremors, head tilt. Look up and see if he possibly has any other symptoms.

One of my boys with hypothyroidism had seizures that did not always involve excessive drooling. He usually had the convulsion type when sleeping or resting.

Sending healing (((vibes))) and hugs.

 

[Tuff Love]

Oh my, how scary! I hope you get some answers soon.

 

[a1r1ka]

Thank you everyone!

They did bloodwork, but I will ask about getting a full panel to check his thyroid.

I will post an update later today and share anything I know so that others can learn from these symptoms.

 

[a1r1ka]

Papi Update: The overnight Holter monitor showed no "events," but it did show multiple heart arrhythmias, and so the cardiologist suggested skipping the MRI and getting a cardiac/abdominal ultrasound instead, which on the positive showed good heart muscle contractions, but on the negative showed a small nodule in the pancreas. They aren't sure which is causing the "events"...or maybe both.

He'll be on heart medication for two weeks while we wait for the results of some additional blood tests to see if hyperthyroidism is in play and/or if the nodule is secreting insulin (and if it is, he will have an operation to have the lump removed). And hopefully the lump isn't actually a tumor.

The scary and/or fortunate thing is, the Holter monitor was there by luck (the facility just so happened to have the device and the specialist who reads the results) on staff this week, so if it/he wasn't there, we would have gone ahead with the MRI (based on our regular vet's recommendation) and not found out any of this heart/pancreas info.

And once again, this reminds me of how little vets/specialists know about dogs in general or Boxers specifically...and how you really have to push for tests, question the results, and be willing to spend the money to try everything. Dog insurance helps us be bold, but we are also financially secure, and I know a lot of people just can't go down every path like we can.

It's such a big honor and responsibility to be a dog owner...

 

[packblt]

Glad you got some answers quickly. It is so stessful when our furbabies aren't feeling well. Hopefully further tests will show nothing too serious and meds will be all that is needed.

Sending healing (((vibes))) Keep us posted.

 

[a1r1ka]

You have to be tenacious to be a Boxer owner...