Seizures...brain tumor?

Dr. Marie replied:

Situations like this are difficult because coming to a diagnosis may not be possible.

Initially, the symptoms do sound like vestibular disease which is very common in older dogs. However, vestibular disease is a one time event. It doesn't keep happening, even months later.

Most likely what you are describing is some type of seizure. If a dog starts to have seizures when they are older then the most common cause is some type of a brain tumor. The problem is that the only way to diagnose that is with an MRI or CT scan and not only is this expensive, but there is no guarantee that it is going to give us a diagnosis.

At this point, what most of my clients with cases like this do is just take things day by day. You may find that Zoey goes months in between seizures. Or, you may find that they happen much more frequently. If so, you can ask your vet if an anti-seizure medication like phenobarbital is a good idea. This obviously won't cure a brain tumor but it can make seizure episodes happen less frequently.


The good thing to know is that seizures do not cause a dog pain. She probably feels a little bit confused before and after the seizuring but she is not likely to be painful.

Your vet will help you in making decisions about euthanasia if the seizures get worse. If you find that they are happening closer and closer together and it is very upsetting to the whole family then it may be time. Or, if the episodes are lasting longer and longer then this can be a sign that things are not going well.

Hopefully it will be a while before she has another episode. I have also seen dogs that have one or two seizures and then never have another. That would be a great thing if that happened!

Dr. Marie.



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Dr. Marie replied:

Seizures can have many different forms. They don't always have to be full out convulsions. The thing you are describing with her eyes is called nystagmus and this means that something is affecting a particular part of her brain. It could be that a seizure is affecting this part of the brain, but it could be a stroke. However, we don't see a lot of strokes in dogs.

As far as the prednisone dosage goes, this is something you will need to discuss with your vet as I can't legally discuss medication dosages online.