Newby please help! Depressed pug, seizures, off food, ? Encephalitis or cns disease?

[barbs pug]

I am so sorry for you and your little lovpug. I just had a pug put up for adoption, she had seizures. That's not the reason I had her up for adoption. I was given phenobarb to give her twice a day when she ate. It helped alot. I hope things go good for you on Thursday night. My thoughts are with you and Woody.

[prezpopi]

Hello there my friend. I am also new to the site and hopefully I can offer you some help. The reason I can offer some advice is that I have been where you are this past year. My Tinkerbell started getting sick at the age of 6. She did not have the usual pug encephalopathy symptoms like walking in circles or banging her head against things but her symptoms included grand mal seizures, confusion and listlessness. I took her to a wonderful dog neurologists who did a spinal and it showed meningeal encephalopathy. Now..there are different types of meningeal encephalopathy...bacterial, viral or immune induced. The best one to have is the bacterial because they can treat it with antibiotics but Tinkerbell's was not that lucky. Dr. Pothoff ( neurologist in Maine) felt it was immune induced but he was not certain. We decided to treat her...her treatment included phenobarb for the seizures, Prednisone to reduce the brain swelling caused by the encephalopathy and Lomestin. She did well for a year and will leave it at that.
Please feel free to ask me any questions...at this point I feel like an expert on pugs and seizures. I don't know if an MRI could have offered us anymore info other than perhaps a brain tumor so....I feel that it's unnecessary. I think a spinal tap offers plenty of info to a neurologist.

[Nicola3771]

Hi guys!
Woody didn't get to go for his MRI scan on Thursday because the vet telephoned us at home on Sunday and asked us to take woody back into see him. The vet changed his mind on thinking woody was showing signs of encephalitis because he wasn't banging into walls and he had been having a few of these funny turns over a period of 2 years. So he told us he didn't think an MRI scan was necessary, he watched the video I had taken when woody was having a funny episode and he said it seemed to be more ataxia and hypoxia as woody was completely aware of his surroundings and what was happening, he said it wasn't a seizure due to his level of alertness. He suggested it was more likely to be muscle weakness as the episodes are so far and few I between. The reason why he wasn't eating was thought to be down to his teeth (got one removed on thursdAy) and they sent him home on antibiotics and painkillers.

Woody perked out for about 1 week and now he is back to lying around the house and he hasn't eaten for 2 days again. The painkillers have made a difference though as he is really perky when I taken him out for a walk and he even played for the briefest of moments with out other dog! But that was short lived.

The vets done X-rays of woodsy hips, mouths and spine. The spine X-ray did show that there was a slight weakness amongst his vertebrae but nothing very significant.

So I really don't know what to do. I don't think woody was hypoxia during these funny turns, he just seemed to want to get up and walk but he just couldn't. Going to keep a close eye of him and take him back to the vets again if he doesn't improve, thanks for all your input x

[Snifter]

Honestly, I think you need to insist on a referral to a specialist if your insurance/pocket can stand it.

Regular vets do their best, but they are general practitioners and can do a lot of stabbing around in the dark. There comes a point where it is just not fair on the dog to adopt a "wait and see" attitude; a pug not eating for 2 days is not a good sign. I am also concerned that the painkillers might be masking something that could be otherwise treated.

Good luck, and do please keep us posted.

[prezpopi]

Hello again
I have to agree. Unfortunately your vet can only do so much and he will be working thru a guessing game. Going to a specialist or an dog internist is the way to go. Woody is in our prayers.

[CSollers]

Positive thoughts and healing vibes coming to Woody. I can only imagine how tough this is on you. Hang in there!

[shaynapug]

It's so scary! I'd be taking him to the specialist just to rule things out...not waste more time! I did that once with an eye injury.......played with the reg. vet....and caused my dog 3 wks of discomfort before I went to a specialist. He found the problem within 10 minutes! She had a quick surgery the next day...and was comfy after that!

Seeing things working out. You will get right answers! Seeing you strong!

[Tinker's mom]

Trust your instincts, nobody knows your pug better than you. If you are satisfied with the vet, okay, if not see the specialist.

[Pooperz]

Hi I would ask them to check for a liver shunt first as this can be done with a simple blood test and treated with diet change and meds. This would not show up on an MRI and it also has nearly the same symptoms as epilepsy (seizures, loss of appetite, depression) plus an MRI can be big money I know my Puggy is not well at the moment and we have done an MRI €900! and it came back clear and we have also checked for a liver shunt which was also clear they think he has epilepsy so we are just trying to find the right balance of meds and rule out other serious conditions. I am praying for you Pug I know how hard it is its so frightening I just keep imagining that he is healed and I find this is helping me a lot! Good Luck x