Hi Krista
My almost 11 year old MC Potcake (who has too many beings lipomas to count) recently had his senior blood work and urinalysis – everything was normal except an elevated ALP.

The urine was a free catch sample at 4 pm and it was very dilute. This prompted me to remember that he has been drinking a little more (summer) as well as eating a lot of watermelon – and to remind me that he has also had an increased appetite over the last year. I did a specific gravity on a morning urine sample after he had no access to water overnight and he was able to concentrate his urine at 1.025

He has chronic seasonal allergies so his inner thighs have a dark pigment change – this has been present for years – there are no other derm changes and I don’t see a pot bellied appearance but the vet is considering Cushing’s. They suggested an abdominal ultrasound first followed by a low dose suppression test. I would rather do the dex test first before an ultrasound. I’m not sure that I’m convinced that Cushing’s is likely but something may be going on.

Of more concern is that this previously healthy dog coincidentally, a few days after the blood work, had an episode of vertical nystagmus and ataxia – very brief – less than 30 seconds. He’s been fine ever since but its only been a few days – I have been told that vertical nystagmus is less common with Senior Vestibular disease and possibly more likely a central lesion.

any thoughts that you have would be appreciated !
Pam

Has anyone experience for REM Sleep Disorder in cats?
Ezra is an ca. 8 year old female cat. When she was in our shelter she seemed to be somewhat slow in her movements/reactions. She also had a weird way to walk – she moved her front legs a bit like a prancing horse. She also was a bit wobbly on her feet.
Otherwise she was very affectionate and cuddly, always eating good and didn’t seem sick.
However very often in the morning we found her bed wet. When we were around she always used the toilet and we never saw her urinating in her bed.
When we gave her to the vet, they found out, that she already was neutered and had an urinary tract infection. It was succesfully treated, but the problem still remained.

X-Ray and Ultrasound showed nothing special, same with bloodwork.
Her movements most likely were due to ataxia. Wether due to an accident or if she was born with it nobody knows.

So we found a new home for her and we informed them about her “problem”. I had contact with the new owners and it turned out she only pees when she sleeps. It looks like she has a seizure while she’s in deep sleep and she urinates during that. She may fall down from the chair our wherever she sleeps on due to her rapid movements – and wakes up confused.
When she’s in such deep sleep it is hard to wake her up, but possible.

An MRI then was done without result.

Medication for epilepsy was tested, but she became very quiet and tired with them, without solving the problem, so they were stopped.

Des anyhone have ideas what could be done to help her? Ezra itself doesn’t seem to suffer from this, as she doesn’t realize she’s peeing. When she wakes up she just goes away. But the danger of falling down is still there. The peeing is also a problem, which is why she is not allowed to sleep on the couch or bed when nobody is around.

The owner uses special pads on her chairs etc. depending on Ezras sleep those sometimes are completly shredded.

Maybe someone has an idea how to help in this situation?

A month ago we went out of town and left our dog in the care of friend but when we came back our dog seemed lethargic and in pain. We took him to the vet who stated that our dog had hip dysplasia and he could go back to normal activity, (just not sprinting) and here is arthritis medication, but when his pain got worse and walking became difficult, we got an appointment to see a surgeon to have a hip replacement. The surgeon stated we would have to get an appointment to get an MRI because he stated that there is a problem with our dog’s spine because of the ataxia and pain. This came as a shock because of what we were told previously but that now we have to some how get the dog to an MRI specialist in the next coming days and handed us a 30 day supply of dog opiate. His diagnosis was never given but taking into account what was said to us that it may be IVDD. Is there something we could do that may make him more comfortable. I have read that he should only be restricted to a crate and let out to bathroom on a leash. Our vets on the other hand say he would be fine for a walk? We are just wondering because we do not know when the MRI facility an hour and a half away will have an opening we can take our beloved companion to.

HI THERE, MY DOG HAS EPILEPSY. HE IS ON POTASSIUM BROMIDE AND PHENOBARBITAL. GERMAN SHEPHERD. SINCE STARTING MEDS HE HAS GAINED 45 POUNDS. HE HAS ATAXIA, WHICH IS GETTING PRETTY BAD. WE DECIDED TO SWITCH HIM TO A DIET DOG FOOD TO HELP HIM LOSE WEIGHT, SO THAT WE COULD ULTIMATELY LOWER HIS MEDICATION DOSAGE. OUR VET CONCURRED. SHE DID NOT MENTION THAT CHANGING HIS DIET WOULD INTERFERE WITH THE SALT LEVELS BECAUSE OF THE BROMIDE HE WAS TAKING. AS SOON AS WE SWITCHED HIS FOOD HE STARTED SEIZING. HE HAS HAD ABOUT 7 OVER THE LAST 2 DAYS (HE WAS SEIZURE FREE FOR ALMOST 3 MONTHS). WE LIKE THE NEW FOOD WE PICKED BECAUSE IT IS BETTER QUALITY (FROMM) AND DOES NOT HAVE ROSEMARY EXTRACT, WHICH HAS BEEN LINKED TO SEIZURES. BUT WE DON’T KNOW IF WE SHOULD STOP IT AND GO BACK TO HIS OLD FOOD, OR HOW TO TRANSITION BACK/FORWARD. HE WAS PREVIOUSLY ON NUTRO LARGE BREED ADULT FOOD. I CANNOT FIND THE CHLORINE CONTENT FOR NUTRO, BUT THE CHOLINE CHLORIDE CONTENT FOR FROMM IS 2887.63 IU/KG (71.47 IU/100 CAL). I DON’T TRUST MY VET ANYMORE TO ASK HER, AS THEY HAVE NOT TOLD US ANYTHING ABOUT BROMIDE AND SALT LEVELS. I HAVE HAD TO RESEARCH ALL OF THIS ON MY OWN, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO VETERINARY TRAINING. APPARENTLY, GOOGLE IS MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN MY DOG’S VET. IF SOMEONE COULD ADVISE US ON NEXT STEPS WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. WE WANT A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR DOG, ONE WHERE HE DOESN’T SLIDE HIS BACK LEGS DOWN THE STAIRS AND FALL DOWN BECAUSE HIS BACK LEGS ARE TOO WEAK. SO WE KNOW THAT A DIET AND LIFESTYLE CHANGE IS IMPORTANT. BUT WE NEED SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO MAKE THE CHANGES, AND HOW FAST/ HOW TO TRANSITION, BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE CHANGE HIS DIET IT APPEARS TO TRIGGER SEIZURES (WE SWITCHED HIM TO LIQUID BROMIDE BACK IN MARCH AND RIGHT AWAY HE GOT CLUSTERS AND ENDED UP IN EMERGE AND SEVERELY MEDICATED FOR A FEW DAYS). WE DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN, SO WOULD PREFER TO FIX THIS ON OUR OWN. BASICALLY, I’M ASKING, SHOULD I GO OUT TOMORROW MORNING AND PICK UP HIS OLD DOG FOOD AND SWITCH HIM BACK COLD TURKEY? OR SHOULD WE STICK WITH THE NEW BETTER FOOD AND SEE IF HE GETS USED TO IT AND THE SEIZURES STOP? OR SHOULD I BUY HIS OLD FOOD AND MIX IT WITH THE NEW FOOD FOR A WHILE, AND WILL THIS EVEN HELP? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO? THANK YOU KINDLY FOR YOUR TIME. “