# vestibular disease in lab



## twinmom (Aug 14, 2009)

Hi. This is my first time here, desperately looking for answers/advice/experiences with vestibular disease in dogs. My black lab (5 years old) was running around half-crazed (as usual) yesterday when she came into the kitchen and was acting "drunk". I immediately took her to the vet and he thinks she may have vestibular disease. He's not completely sure since she is younger and didn't present with the eye movements. She can't get up to walk at this point, although she did move around yesterday by crawling and rolling. She is so uncoordinated (except for her tail!). He gave her some steroids in case it was trauma induced and she's on her way back in today for observation. I can't get her to eat or drink, thinking about asking for the subcutaneous fluid when I pick her up this afternoon. Has anyone had dogs who don't present with the eye movements? Do they make a recovery? How long should this wait-and-see period last? Any other advice for me? Thanks.


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## tunisianswife (Aug 11, 2009)

I so feel for you and the dog! I went through this last year w/my shih tzu. Does the lab have a head tilt? typical symptoms are head tilt, poor coordination, they have a hard time walking, and usually nystigmus(the eye movements), vomiting(from feeling so motion sick)

Mine did have the eye movements but they were left to right which is the 'good' kind. rolling eyes, or up and down can indicate a different neurological problem. 

If it is vestibular disease, it does not go away in a day or two. My dog had it for 1 week straight of no eating, I had to carry him everywhere. I know you've got a lab and not practical but they suggest you limit their movement as much as possible because it makes them so motion sick. The head tilt can last longer and his lasted for about a month.

antibiotic(wasn't sure if it was caused from an infection but I believe he was on Keflex)
motion sickness meds-dogs can take either dramamine or meclizine(antivert). My dog dig much better w/the meclizine
Prilosec for the stomach.

of course, I'd ask the vet first and to be able to get the right dosages

even with all the above, poor thing didn't eat. he would drink and keep it down but not eat. I even tried pedialyte, broth and water.

It is such a hard thing to watch and you feel so helpless.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

We went through a vestibular episode with a senior greyhound. The symptoms lasted about 2-3 days. Vet just gave us some anti-nausea meds in case Champ was too sick to his stomach to feel like eating (he didn't need it).


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

I have no dog experience with this but I have personal experience. I had a stroke a year ago and it left me with major vestibular issues. Eating went way to the bottom of my list. I felt like I was on an amusement park ride that had been going in circles for hours. It really messes up your vision too.
I had double vision for months. The only thing that offered even slight relief was Meclazine. Even with that everything was spinning just not as much. I'm not suprised that your dog won't eat. My problems got a lot better with therapy but you can't really do that with a dog. 

Sorry, I can't offer much help other than some insight into what it feels like.
You might ask your vet about Meclazine though as it did help me some.


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## tunisianswife (Aug 11, 2009)

w8ing4rain, I can only imagine what it is like. Oh golly, months of that would just make a being go crazy. I found with my dog that the meclizine worked better too. I had him on dramamine for a few days and it really did nothing (or nothing that I could see as an improvement). when the vet said I could use meclizine, I saw a better result, although nothing takes it away completely. I know when I read up on it, at least in dogs it can last up to a month. His head tilt was there but at least the poor thing could walk a straight line. 

funny thing was, right up through the seventh day of it, he would not eat, had a terrible time getting meds in. Had to crush them and put them in water and into a tipped syringe which he took begrudgingly. we went to bed with my thinking that I was just going to have to go back to the vet again because he had lost so much wt. in that week. less than an hour of being in bed, he JUMPED down, went straight to the kitchen and to his food bowl(in the dark) and gobbled down. was able to walk-not straight but at least was walking by himself. It was just like he did 180 degrees in less than 2 hours time!


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## twinmom (Aug 14, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. This happened Thursday morning, she came home Thursday night, couldn't walk. She went back in to the vet Friday morning and stayed all weekend until I picked her up today at noon. She's been walking since Sunday. She's still unstable when she walks, but at least she can get up and get down the few steps to go outside. The vet has her on antibotics and steroids, just to cover all the bases since he's still not 100% sure it is vesticular disease, mainly due to the lack of eye movements. Hopefully the meds aren't just masking an underlying problem like a brain tumor. But I think she'll be okay, except for the head tilt might not completely go away.


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## tunisianswife (Aug 11, 2009)

aah, so glad she's doing a bit better. My vet told me that the exact etiology is not known when it happens in older dogs but it can,*if not caused by an infection* the tx was pretty much the same for my dog, and it does take time. some dogs are left with a permanent head tilt. mine lasted about a month.


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## Chisos (Mar 13, 2010)

This is my first post. Our dog Cassie was diagnosed with vestibular disease 5 days ago and it has been a frightening experience. She is a 12 year old (we think, she's a rescue) golden retriever. She had all of the signs--couldn't stand or walk, eyes moving side to side, disorientation, head tilt, etc. We thought she was having a stroke--turns out strokes are not that common in animals. Our vet diagnosed her and put her on Meclizine HCL (dramimine (sp?)), and Valium. We had to carry her outside for the first 2 days and use a towel to support her on the first day. On the first night the vet advised us to put towels under her and let her pee in her sleep, movement is THAT difficult for them.
The vet stressed that we not leave her alone at all for a week or so, until we saw major improvement. They have so little control over their movement they can easily hurt themselves. Thanks to the valium, she has spent a lot of time sleeping; and we are blessed with flexible schedules. 
By the third day she was able to get herself up and go from room to room, also to get to the water bowl. We fed her low-residue food to reduce her need to go outside. Eating from a bowl was very difficult for her to coordinate, but last night she was able to eat from a plate. Up to that point we have been feeding her little food balls by hand.
I guess what I want to say is that, as awful as it is, this condition is not that unusual, ( another dog came into the vet with it the same morning as Cassie), and baby step by baby step she is improving. Although I had never heard of vestibular disease, I have met 4 people in the last 4 days who have had it! Who knew?
I know that there is a serious version of this that is in the brain and can't be treated but, as my wonderful vet said, why go there?


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