We just got back from neurologist appointment. He examined Rusty in the back and then came to chat with us.
He thinks it is Epilepsy/seizures that these episodes are, however, he also said Rusty has 2 spots in the middle of his back that are unusual but they are very common in Frenchies as no spine is normal in frenchies he said.
He checked how long it takes Rusty to fix his paw when he puts it upside down and this time it was his left back foot that was slow to being put back.
So that still exists, but he doesn’t think Rusty is in back pain, and does think it’s seizures. He can’t guarantee there is no other spine issues, and a MRI will tell us for sure.
So first we have to have a liver specific test done at our regular vet, that will rule out any liver issue as the cause for the seizures if it comes back good. Only issue is that he has to be fasted for 12 hrs before they can do the test which will be very hard for Rusty as he needs a snack before bed @10pm and breakfast @9am or he vomits foam from going too long without eating, but we will see how he does with that
Then after the liver test if all is good, MRI is next. That will rule out any cyst or brain tumour that can sometimes cause this(he said very unusual for that), but he will also check his spine to see if anything he didn’t see that would be unusual is there, if nothing is bad with his back, I will maintain with laser therapy treatment after the MRI(the laser therapy is not done at the specialist).
He wanted to put him on a seizure medication, i said I want to make sure his back is fine, and it’s for sure seizures that don’t have a cause to it(I am NOT giving him any medications unless absolutely needed as they damage the liver and kidneys causing them to fail and really shortens the dogs life).
If there is no known caused for the seizures, it’s considered epilepsy, he figures Rusty will have more episodes and the episodes will last longer , hopefully he doesn’t have anymore episodes anytime soon!
Epilepsy is very common in dogs between 2-5 years of age , however, it’s not very common with the scream, but it’s something that does happen.
My regular vet also said last time she examined Rusty and thought it was a seizure, she said I do NOT want to put Rusty on any seizure medications as that does more harm than good, unless it’s really necessary and his episodes are really long and very frequent, no meds she said(she did say too its too hard on the organs).
Some dogs can go years without having a seizure, we are hoping for at least a few months in between episodes, ideally there is around 6 months or years between each episode, then they dont need meds.
Also the neurologist said there is only a 50% chance of any meds being effective anyway and if they are effective they only lower the episodes by 40-50% which doesn’t guarantee no more episodes, so that’s super risky to consider any medications even if there is no known cause.
