Sick Pom A Poo HELP

[Rita]

I have a four year old pom a poo named Shelby. She is my baby. She has over the past few years had these episodes. What I mean is she shakes almost like a seizure. When I stand her up her back end falls down. I was told by the vet to give her asprin. So I have done that but these episodes are becomming more often like from every 6 months to now every few weeks. Any ideas on what it could be. She is going to vet today.

[duckling]

Is she awake and aware when she's shaking? Or do you feel that she's really unconsciously shaking? .....Will she answer to her name? Blink if you tap her on the eyelid?

Keep a journal of when she is having this episodes -- what time of day? after a walk? before eating? soon after waking up? By doing this, you and the vet will have more info to work with.

I would ask the vet to check for knee problems and spinal injury. Both of these are painful (and one symptom of pain is trembling) and may explain the reluctance to stand. I would also make sure that the vet listens closely to her heart. Also ask if she/he feels it's possible that Shelby is experiencing low blood sugar. Hmm, she's a bit young for thyroid problems, but hypothyroidism has been linked to seizures and back end weakness. Still, if a blood panel hasn't been done yet, it would be nice to get some baseline values for her thyroid, kidneys, liver, etc.

Good luck!

(If the vet tries to give you Rimadyl to replace the aspirin, please be aware of the risk of adverse reactions.)

[Rita]

Thanks for the response i will keep all that you have said in mind. I didnt get the other response u sent as my computer crashed and i do not know where it went...lol....but ty anyhow. Shelby is vomiting and shaking alot but not to the point it was before it is really weird it is not like seizures but i do have it on tape. I am going to wait for another seizure to show the vet the whole tape. Then we will do more tests once he has seen her in action so to speak.

Rita

[duckling]

You initial message to me is still in my Auspet inbox, so I think my reply to you should be in your inbox unless it got deleted. Anyway, I'm posting my reply here in case someone thinks of something else. Vomiting doesn't seem normal - maybe she's experiencing hypoglycemia? http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dhypogly.html

Maybe you could try giving her some honey or a small meal around midnight.
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Hi Rita -- If she's crying out during these episodes, I think it may be a seizure, a pain response, or synope (fainting). Of course, some dogs may also cry out if they're afraid -- have you known her to do that?

Does she have any known heart problems? Murmurs or arrhythmias? If you suspect a heart issue, an echocardiogram with a board certified cardiologist would be really helpful. If she's having the episodes at 6 am, it seems less likely that it's fainting (usually dogs that faint usually do so when excited/stressed).

Additionally, if she started having these episodes from the time she was quite young, I look toward primary epilepsy. I know that medication is available to prevent seizures (e.g. Phenobarbital), but I would get a blood panel done, including a thyroid panel, before putting her on meds. Because it may lower the thyroid levels, it could possibly give a false positive for hypothyroidism. There's also a couple medical conditions that cause seizures (such as late stage kidney failure), so I would get the blood panel done to rule out organ problems. It's not likely in a dog that's so young, but it would provide a nice baseline to compare to when she gets a bit older.

In the meantime, I would take her off of the aspirin -- it seems odd to me that the vet recommended it to you if she has no muscular or skeletal pain. Personally, I would seek a second opinion in addition to getting it on tape. It certainly can't hurt.