Vestibular episodes

[SheriS]

Hi all,
Fibi was doing great with no episodes since beginning of December. She's now have Three in the past 22 hrs. We gave her Cerenia after the first episode at 12:45 am Sat morning. She seemed better a while after, simply falling asleep after some time. But at 4:50am there was another that lasted about 1/2 an hr. And now tonight at 10:30 pm she's experiencing the third one. We gave her Gelsemium 30c after reading some posts on the topic and given her specific symptoms. She's not thrown up and her eyes are not darting but she's stretching her neck and is unable to balance. She's very uncomfortable. If you have any suggestions to get us through the night, we're all ears.
Thank you!
Sheri

 

[SheriS]

Update: We gave Fibi another dose of Cerenia (30 mg) after almost 24 hrs since the last dose. We're not sure if this or the Gelsemium helped or what. Would you be able to recommend Cerenia a little more frequently if needed? The script is written for once every 24 yrs. Also, is Gelsemium a good guess for a remedy? If so, how frequently? It seems that Fibi tends to get BIG symptoms on three day weekends...

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Would you be able to recommend Cerenia a little more frequently if needed? The script is written for once every 24

Once/day is more than enough for the Cerenia it to do its job. In fact, I prefer to go as light as possible on the dose of any drug in order to give the body space to self-correct (as it absolutely will do).

For example, for Archie's nausea and inappetence due to severe kidney dis-ease he's only getting 40% of the recommended injectable dose/day.

Perhaps something like meclizine or Benadryl (for vertigo) as needed.

Meclizine (NausX®) for Dogs and Cats

Meclizine is commonly prescribed by veterinarians to treat and prevent motion sickness in dogs. Learn how meclizine works in dogs, including side effects, directions, and more.

www.petmd.com

Meclizine Hydrochloride (Bonine, Antivert, Dramamine, UniVert, Vertin-21)

An excellent product for people that can also be used for car-sick pets, meclizine hydrochloride is generally used for nausea relief due to motion sickness. It is also used to control the nausea resulting from vestibular disease, a syndrome characterized by vertigo and loss of balance.

veterinarypartner.vin.com

Also, is Gelsemium a good guess for a remedy?

Maybe. We can only judge based on the full context of her dis-ease. How's her BEAM? Is she eating?

Also, maybe try to get her out for sniff walks as often as possible today.

"Happy" New Year Sheri?

 

[SheriS]

Update: Fibi has not had another episode since we gave her the Gelsemium. Not sure if the remedy is helping or what is happening in her body or when she'll have another episode.
B- she's about the same. Food obsessed and more clingy
E- Not a lot except when there's food involved or snuffle mats.
A- excellent
M- Not a lot of outdoor walks but she is up and down from the couch many times a day to see if there's food on her mat. That ends up giving her a decent amt of movement. ( I hope I have the BEAM correct. It's been a while since I've used it).

Here are a few things we're wondering about--

The remedy Fibi was on for about a week, Apis 200, ( I tried to tag Judy Herman but her name did not come up) I took her off bc, as I mentioned, I'm giving the Gelsemium 3xs per day for the acute vestibular episodes. I do not know if I have this right with the remedies. Can you pls advise?

She has been drinking more water than usual. Could it be bc it's drier in the house? She is getting blood work this week to investigate other issues. Also she has an appt with Dr. Judy Herman later in the week.

Do you think I should stop giving her banana? I read that if she has kidney issues, it might not be good for her and she gets it as a treat several times a day.

Also, is cooked sweet potato not good to give with her raw meats and veggies?
She's currently not getting any bone meal in her meals and doesn't do well on poultry, lamb, beef or pork. Also, would ground fish bones be a good source of bone meal?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

I'm giving the Gelsemium 3xs per day for the acute vestibular episodes. I do not know if I have this right with the remedies. Can you pls advise?

Maybe slow down or even stop dosing to assess her response.

She has been drinking more water than usual. Could it be bc it's drier in the house?

Yes, it could be. Drinking more is also less common than being thirstless (and very weak/tired) in patients who need gelsemium.

Also, is cooked sweet potato not good to give with her raw meats and veggies?

Also, would ground fish bones be a good source of bone meal?

Sure (for both)!

 

[SheriS]

Thanks for your reply Dr. Jeff. I did not refresh my browser and so did not see that you left responses.
a few follow up questions and I have an appt w/ Dr. Herman today---
Can the Meclizine be used within the same 24 hrs that the Cerenia is given?
Are bananas discouraged in a (potential) kidney issue?
Is sweet potato Not recommended in the same meal as animal protein? I read this recently...

Yes. It is a happy new year now that Fibi has support from all of her docs!
Happy new year to you as well Jeff!
How is sweet Archie doing?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Can the Meclizine be used within the same 24 hrs that the Cerenia is given?

Yes.

Are bananas discouraged in a (potential) kidney issue?

Not IMHO.

Is sweet potato Not recommended in the same meal as animal protein?

Meat + sweet potato together is fine.

How is sweet Archie doing?

He's deciding if he needs to teach me anything else...

 

[SheriS]

Great answers Dr. Jeff! We spoke with Dr. Herman and got a remedy to use if another episode should arise. We also got a script for Meclizine to have only if absolutely necessary.
I love that Archie is deciding if there are further teachings...so touching

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks Sheri!

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Just a thought, bananas are extremely high in sugar, and potassium actually can be an issue with kidney disease, so all things considered I'd probably avoid them.