[Bulldog] [Vent] Rocky, 10, had a seizure. Sharing my experience.Dog Talks

Just wanted to share my experience, forgive the length but hopefully this will help someone, somewhere with their doggo:

My English Bulldog Rocky (10/neutered/male) was sleeping soundly this past weekend when he got up from his bed, let out a hairball cough (not unusual for him) and collapsed face-first on the floor. My wife and I of course freaked and ran to him, propping him up. His eyes were wide open, mouth fully closed. It looked like he wasn't breathing. As soon as I put my hands on his chest to check for his lungs and heartbeat, he rolled himself over on his back and shook his front paws for a moment and rolled back over until he finally drew a breath, got up and shook it off. He started walking around normally. What seemed like a lifetime took about 8-10 seconds. Out of an abundance of caution we rushed him to the e-room. They hooked him up, checked his vitals and BP and all was OK. He honestly was acting like nothing happened, even on the car ride over and the on-staff doc agreed that he was alert and seemed OK. She gave him a sedative and sent him home.

Once we got him, Rocky's behavior changed -- he was restless, laying down, getting back up, walking over to me and whining nonstop like he was in pain. I decided not to go back to the e-room and wait a few hours until my primary vet opened up. Unfortunately they were booked and recommended another vet in the area where I ended up taking him. I brought the new vet up to speed, he took Rocky for an exam and brought him back within 5 minutes saying that he was totally fine and he just seemed anxious. WHAT??? I said "no way" based on the collapsing event and couldn't tell whether he just stopped breathing or worse. So he said based on his anxiousness and because he's a senior he wouldn't want to put him through more stress by giving him an x-ray. So instead he suggested to take blood and wait for results as well as give him anti-inflammatory in case the episode triggered some old lower-back issues he's had for the past couple years (Rocky has on-set, mild case of IVDD).

We came back home a second time and Rocky was behaving the same way. I called my primary vet again and begged them to squeeze me in until they agreed and they suggested an x-ray right away to rule out heart disease or lung inflammation etc. (I should have pressed the other vet to do this, but I've always been hesitant to challenge a vet since they should know best). 1 hour later and Rocky's x-rays came back. NOTHING, nada. His heart and lungs looked perfect. Meanwhile the blood results came back from the other vet and my primary vet look at them. Rocky's kidneys were "beautiful". However, his globulin and creatine kinase were very slightly elevated. The vet pointed out that these elevations may indicate that Rocky had a seizure. Without visual evidence and further testing, hard to be sure of what kind of seizure (grand mal, cluster etc). She sent him home with gabopentin which is a nerve pain med and anti-convulsant and recommended I send Rocky to see a neurologist.

Thankfully and maybe with a little luck, Rocky is doing much better and sleeping through the night. He's eating and even in the playing mood!! We're taking it easy but we have a consult appointment with a neurologist this weekend. Rocky will most likely get an MRI done. Praying for good results. And if he does turn out to be epileptic, it can be maintained. I just have to remind myself that Rocky is getting up there in age and I know he doesn't have much time left on this earth. I'm going to give him extra hugs and treats and I even got his paw cast to keep as a memento. I guess if I have anything to say to y'all is love your pets, cherish the moments, they love you no matter what. And advocate for them if you feel that a vet is maybe not listening intently.

Submitted November 04, 2020 at 09:11PM by goldbrow00 https://ift.tt/2TVNJPu