Vestibular Syndrome

[Janneke]

@Benkura:

I can hardly believe but, tonight, our 12 yr old GSD bitch, Megan, has come down with vestibular syndrome. It's only been 3 months since we went through this with our BC. He's now doing well and turns 15 tomorrow. I'm taking Megan to the vet first thing to make sure there's nothing else going on.

I'm sorry to hear that.. I hope the vet has some good news tomorrow and nothing else is wrong..

[tanza]

Good news for those that have never experienced Vestibular is that they typically totally recover. Some may have a head tilt, but when my Mickii got this, in two weeks she was pretty much back to normal. However, drinking water was a problem and I held a lick bottle for her (there is another thread on the forum with pictures) and she continued to use this until we lost her at a month shy of 16.

[Patty]

Vicki, I'm sorry to hear about Megan but very strange that she has got it as well. I hope she soon recovers - at least now you know what to expect and how to deal with it.

[Benkura]

Took Megan to the vet this morning. She definitely does not have it as bad as the BC did but she has a temp of 104. I've got antiBs for her and the vet may want to take bloods next week of she's not better.

[thunderbird8588]

Vicki, sorry to hear about Megan and hope the ABS do the trick for her

[Patty]

Good to hear that she's not as bad as Dougie was. 104 is very high though I hope the antibiotics bring that down soon.

[MacPack]

104 sounds high (IS high for humans) but not so high for a basenji, dog's normal body temp is 100 to 102.5, with basenjis on the high side (or so I have been told by my vet).

Hopefully she will feel better very soon!

[Patty]

Basenjis normal temperature should be 1 degree lower than the average not higher!! If any of my Basenjis has a temperature of ioi Iwould be concerned.

Sorry to 'pinch' your thread Vicki. I hope Megan is improving today.

[Benkura]

Well it's happened again. Megan has VS again. It appears to be worse than last time (July 10) but she doesn't have as high a temperature. Her head tilt is to the opposite side. Vet took bloods and her liver enzymes are high. He wants to retest in a month. She has had a little food and water (with a bit of help) and I have her resting in a warm, dimly lit room where she can get peace and quiet. She recovered well from the last bout of VS so fingers crossed she will recover well. She will be 13 on 9th March.

Here are some pictures of her taken on Christmas day 2010.

[tanza]

Healing thoughs coming her way!

[Basenjimamma]

poor thing, yes sending healing thoughts and vibes your way..I hope she gets better fast.

[Schouiffy]

So sorry to hear about Megan Vicki. I hope she is able to recover quickly, poor baby.

[thunderbird8588]

Hope Megan gets better quickly Vicky, poor girl.
Has she managed to eat and drink today ?
Those are lovely pictures of her.

[Benkura]

Megan has had a little food and we are making sure she takes plenty of water. She does look a lot brighter already but she is very twitchy this time which she wasn't last time.

Thanks for all good good wishes. Megan is our Princess :)

[thunderbird8588]

Glad Megan is managing to eat a little and is drinking.
Is twitching usualy part of the syndrome ?

[Benkura]

@thunderbird8588:

Glad Megan is managing to eat a little and is drinking.
Is twitching usualy part of the syndrome ?

I'm not sure if twitching is normal. VS causes eyes to dart back and forth rapidly but Megan seems to be doing a Stevie Wonder impression and her whole head is moving back and forth. She also has small twitches down her body. I think it is worse when we switch a light on and she can see shadows. She has been able to stand up and get to her water bowl by herself and has eaten again today with my help. She is a real fighter.

[Basenjimamma]

Victoria, is there nothing the vet can do for her? I don't know anything about VS, but geeze…something ought to be out there for help.

[Benkura]

Time is the only healer for VS. The vet sometimes gives ABs incase there is an underlying infection. But really it's just rest, TLC and plenty of fluids. That's what makes it really frustrating. Megan is making a slight recovery already so we're hopeful she'll be back to normal soon.

[thunderbird8588]

Great that Megan is making small improvements. Are you having to hand feed her then ?
Is her water bowl raised up ?
I mentioned the twitching because it reminded me of when Benji had seizure activity.
He sometimes got what i called head bobbing that sometimes extended down his body. He used to have a dose of Valium to keep it under control. Not the best thing i know but neccesary at the time.
Sending healing vibes to Megan xx from us and Malaika

[Benkura]

Megan is managing to eat/drink out of her bowl. We just hold the bowl study under her nose. I think the twitching is just part of the vertigo.