Why are we waiting for another seizure before MRI?

[LaurieFairyCake]

my 11 year old had a massive grand mal seizure last night - most distressing thing I've ever seen

Afterwards we took him to the vet and they took bloods and ruled out liver/kidney failure. Most likely this leaves a brain tumour as no history of epilepsy.

We are now monitoring him to see if he has another. She says if he does then we need to do an MRI.

I'm wondering why we're waiting the only explanation I can think of is that she expects one to happen soon.

I've spent the last ten hours reading everything about tumours on the Internet and they all say that early diagnosis and early treatment if treatment possible buy the best life expectancy.

Either way I've read that he's only got a 50% chance of lasting ten months.

Is there any chance whatsoever that it was a one off ? There doesn't seem to be any other possible explanation than a tumour as he's not poisoned or has organ problems.

Any advice?

Stop googling if you can. It'll just worry you even more than you already are and won't give you a definite diagnosis.

What breed is he?

If you want an MRI done now, you can ask the vet to do one to take away the uncertainty, but I doubt very much she is waiting becauses she thinks another seizure is just around the corner. More likely she's waiting to see if there actually is another.

Did they test for Lymes Disease? Epilepsy? Has he been well in himself so far?

He's very well now. No, they didn't test for Lyme's and there is no previous epilepsy which is why she was thinking a brain tumour.

I just paid a vet for a consultation online (justanswer) and he said he wasn't too old to suddenly develop epilepsy and to get my vet to start on medication.

The vet who examined said that he wouldn't have epilepsy at his age without an underlying cause.

He's a springer.

THank-you for answering - going out of my mind here.

Really try to stop worrying so much - not least because I bet your boy knows you're worried. There are more reasons than just a tumour to cause a siezure and, like with humans, it's possible there may never be more than one.

Whatever caused it, it's going to take a bit of time to diagnose correctly. In the mean time, enjoy having your dog. Keep a close eye on him and start a diary of what he does each day, what he's eaten and where he's been. Then if it does happen again, you will have started building a picture of any external causes which might just help.

Do you trust your vet?

Not really, it's a massive chain/franchise - it took over my regular veterinary surgery about 8 years ago - dozens of different vets, all seem perfectly nice. The good thing about them is that they are open 24 hours and my animals only get sick at night or on bank holidays

Last nights consultation and blood tests cost me £250 at 8pm but I should get the majority back from my insurance company.

So, trust no - but convenience yes.

I feel much better informed now though and less scared - I have some medical knowledge from previously training as a nurse (a loooooong time ago) but it all deserted me last night as for the first few minutes I was convinced he was having a stroke. I've seen people die and it was less awful than that.

It is possible for dogs to have a single seizure and then never have another one.
The most common age for development of epilepsy is 2 to 8 years of age, but it is possible outside these ages.
Epilepsy is a diagnosis of exclusion only when you have ruled out every other cause can you diagnose epilepsy - if only there was a test.
The drugs used to treat epilepsy are not without their own problems and I always explain this to owners so that the decision to medicated is a fully informed one.
If you would like an MRI ask for one, but it may not give you an answer. If it is a brain tumour referral to VRCC is probably the best option.