A Different Type of Seizure

 

Hailey had been recovering nicely from her calcium drop. She was back to her old self and we were continuing to enjoy our Spring weather. I took this picture of Hailey on Sunday afternoon. Everything was ok. 

At 7:30pm, Hailey had a seizure. She went down on her side quick. She was stiff with legs shaking. It didn't last long, maybe 15 seconds. Then she got up and walked across the room to my husband who gave her a little treat. Nowadays, treat means one piece of her low fat gastro food. She then walked under my desk got in her bed. Maybe 5 minutes later, another one hit her just like the last one. She slid out of her bed.

The next 4 seizures were maybe 10 seconds long. She would be either sitting or laying down with her head up. Each time she would start shaking and her head would twitch or jerk to one side. These all happened within half an hour. We took her to the Emergency Vet who is used by her thyroid doctor. 

While driving over, Hailey was quiet. Not moving around which is unlike her. She would shift, take a deep breath and then become very still. I really thought that this was it. When we arrived and went in, I was clutching her so tightly, I just didn't want to let go. As with every Emergency Vet, they terrify you with everything horrible that could be going on and at one point giving us the option to end things here and now for her. I was in tears, my husband said no, we are not giving up on her without knowing what's going on.

They kept her overnight during which they took chest x-rays, did blood work and started an IV.  The next morning the regular doctor, who was more likeable than the overnight vet, called. She said that they started her on anti-seizure medications overnight. She said Hailey had not had any more seizures. She said that Hailey has a stage 3 heart murmur and that there is also fluid in her belly that was noticed on the chest x-rays. She said there could be a cancerous tumor on her liver or other cancer in there causing the fluid. Her heart is slightly enlarged and that also might be causing the fluid. They also started her on heart medication overnight. She said the seizures could have been caused from her heart issue causing mini strokes or a neurological cancerous tumor. 

They had a laundry list of every test, scan, MRI that they wanted to run. When it came down to it, based on her age the Vet said that they wouldn't change how they are treating her. It would just give us answers. Well, we are not putting her through anything unless treatment would change. The quality of Hailey's life is worth much more than quantity at this point.

We picked her up Monday afternoon and she was her happy self again. Clearly the meds were helping her feel better. As we were driving home, Dr. Burney her thyroid doctor called. He didn't hear the heart murmur two weeks before, neither did our primary vet Dr. Johnson. Dr. Burney apologized for not catching the heart murmur, again discussing testing that could be done to give us answers. Based on what Hailey displayed during the seizures, he believes it is a brain tumor. He said our options are limited to radiation. We know all about this having been through it with Lucie. We learned and given Hailey's age, we do not want her enduring the testing and procedure involved to extend her life a few months. He said a pup with a brain tumor has 3 to 6 months. Quality of Hailey's life is most important.

That's my Hailey. Enjoying life and making funny faces. If you thought my Hailey was already spoiled, you can only imagine how spoiled she will be now.

For my reference, Hailey's new medication consists of Levetiracetam 250 mg, 3/4 tablet 3 times a day and Vetmedin (Pimobendan) 2.5 mg, 1/2 tablet in the morning and 1 full tablet 12 hours later. Dr. Burney also wants her to stay on Rimadyl instead of switching to Galliprant which our primary vet wanted. Dr. Burney believes that Rimadyl provides better pain relief than Galliprant. Plus her blood test all looked fine so he sees no reason why she cannot stay on it right now. If anyone is still reading our post at this point, have you ever had two trusted Vets disagree on a med and if so, how did you handle making the decision. This is a first for us.