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Sudden Death?

Sent to Pet Experts June 28 2006 at 8:36 PM
   

My dog passed away suddenly. Exactly a year ago, she started experiencing very mild siezures at age 4. My vet put her on the lowest dose of phenobarbital and she did fine with that. Then about 2 months ago she got very sick and was hospitalized. During that time, she could not keep her potassium and sodium levels right, so the doctors diagnosed her with Addison's disease. She had been taking steriods for that for the last few months and was fine. Then suddenly last week, she started having a twitch on the left side of her head along with her left leg kicking. We did not know if she was having a seizure or the Addison's disease was acting up. We rushed her to the 24 hour emergency vet, where they said her heart rate was normal and said she was just having a seizure. He gave her vallium to calm her through the rest of the night until we could get her to our regular vet in the morning. The vallium did not knock her out until 4 hours later. The next morning we took her in to our vet and they said her body temp, color, heart rate, electrolites were normal, but she was very groggy and unable to stand on her own. The doctor was some what concerned considering it had been hours since the vallium and it should have been wearing off by then. The doctor went to lunch and came back and my dog had died in the kennel. My question is, do you think she could have had a brain tumor the whole time and never had Addison's disease or could she of had a seizure the night before that was bad enough to kill her or could she of had a stroke? I know that no answer will bring my dog back to me, but I need some kind of closure and right now, I am just lost. Thank you.

 

Optional Information:
Age: 5; Female; Breed: rat terrier

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Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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June 29 2006 at 6:00 AM (9 hours and 21 minutes and 15 seconds later)
         
Reply to babybloo's Post: At the emergency clinic, they checked her vital signs and observed her for about 15 minutes. No blood work was done. The doctor said her heart rates was normal and that if her Addison's disease was acting up that her heart rate would be eractic. So, he just said it was a seizure and gave her the vallium. Our vet in the morning checked the electrolytes in house and they were normal along with vitals. She did give her a shot of steriods and gave her some fluids under the skin because she had not eaten in a little over 24 hours, but she was not dehydrated. Our vet has no idea what happened. She thinks that maybe we never really got to the root of what was going on with Chi Chi and that maybe there was more going than what they thought was Addison's disease.
Answer
June 29 2006 at 3:37 PM (9 hours and 37 minutes and 17 seconds later)
         
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At her age I would think a brain tumor was less likely but still possible. She could have had two conditions at one time. Seizures and Addisons disease. I am guessing that what caused the seizures in the first place was also her fate. Again this is just an educated guess as neither I nor anyone else saw what happened before she died. Siezures can be idiopathic, meaning no known cause or another way to read that is the cause is not yet known or they can be the result of chemical ingestion, liver disease, kidney disease, or brain tumors. Some dogs with thryoid conditions also have seizures until that condition is treated. There are three phases to a seizure:

1) a period of altered behavior, 2) the seizure itself, and 3) after the seizure disorientation and confusion. A dog that seizures for more than 5 minutes is in serious danger this is called status epilepticus. They body temperature continues to rise to dangerous levels damaging organs, causing brain damage, and if untreated can result in death.

I am most curious as to her glucose level. Many dogs with addisons have hypoglycemia, or very low blood sugar. The symptoms of this include, disorientation, severe lethargy, and weakness. I wish more bloodwork was done so that the docs might have been able to see other potential problems.

It is also possible while in the kennel she had a severe enough seizure to cause her death. I do agree with you, something more may have been going on especially with all the symptoms and problems she had. It is too bad she wasn't meant to stick around long enough to find out. I am sorry this happened to you as you seem to be such a concerned owner. I hope you can recover quickly.

bloo




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June 29 2006 at 6:04 PM (2 hours and 26 minutes and 54 seconds later)
         
Reply to babybloo's Post: Thank you for your response. My vet had mentioned to me back when they diagnosed Chi Chi with Addison's that she could develope diabetes. Two weeks before her death, I took her in for a routine blood work check up and her results were fine. I assume they were checking her blood sugars as well as the potassium and sodium levels, but I am not certain. I will have to speak further with our doctor about that. I appreciate your time.

Sincerely,
Chi Chi's Mom
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