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My 13 y.o. old english sheepdog, Maggie, apparently ...

Sent to Pet Experts February 4 2006 at 5:06 PM
   

My 13 y.o. old english sheepdog, Maggie, apparently suffered from vestibular syndrome on Sunday evening. She suddenly lost her balance, cocked her head, seemed very disturbed and kept moving her head back and forth. I did some checking online and discovered she probably had vestibular syndrome.   We brought her to the Vet Monday, who confirmed our initial diagnosis, but said she probably had idiopathic vesticular syndrome because her eyes were moving up and down instead of side to side. This she said, is an indication of a more serious problem. I know my Maggie, and she has a tendency to move her eyes up and down when she's trying to ignore a commnad or is nervous. Since Monday, she has been walking more easily each day, with lessening movements of her head but continues to have a tilt. Occasionally, she goes off balance but recovers most of the time. My questions are 1) are we doing the right thing by encouraging her to walk more frequently and giving her lots of attention and kudos for succeeding. 2) How long should we anticipate her recovery to take, and if it doesn't get better, is this still quality of life for her? 3) Maggie has had a chronic green mucus, similar to "gooey louy" which has been treated by antibiotics several times. It doesn't truly go away. Is it possible that she may have a tumor/growth in her sinus which caused the vestibular syndrome? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

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Age: >12; Female; Breed: Old English Sheepdog

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Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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February 4 2006 at 5:13 PM (7 minutes later)
         
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This is a tough one. The sinus (or bacterial) issues that come with the sinus issues can certainly contribute to the vestibular disease. If you KNOW that this is an issue, I would ask the vet to do a culture and find out exactly what antibiotics she is resistant to so that you can get one that you know will work. We have had a lot of success with Orbax, a broad spectrum medication.

You also have to remember that some dogs never recover fully from ideopathic vestibular disease. They recover to the point where they can get around and live their life but they might always show some of the symptoms.

So, step 1, see the vet for that culture to test for sensitivity and go from there.

Let me kwow if you still have questions.

Tammy F. -- Pet Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 5067 Pet Accepts
15+ years-Pet care, Veterinary shelter medicine and infectious disease, Behavior training, Rescue
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February 4 2006 at 5:38 PM (25 minutes and 31 seconds later)
         
I asked the vet if the sinus could be part of the problem and she told me absolutely no. We moved from Long Island NY in 2003, and since, Maggie has had this mucus situation. All along, I've suspected it is allergies, but it is all year long. Not every day, but I have not been able to attribute it to anything other then weather patterns. The green mucus still seems to be indicative of a problem, at least to me, but my vets aren't really concerned. Since Maggie is old, I don't want to do anything invasive. If Maggie doesn't actually have ideopathic vestibular syndrome, (since her eyes have really only moved back and forth) is there anything else we should do?
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