Vestibular disease - any experiences?

[BambooWhoosh]

My dog was diagnosed with vestibular disease last week. He is laying on a mat and looking miserable. He was eating a little but has gone off his food again - I'm trying to get the vet to prescribe some more anti sickness medication for him.

Does anyone here have any experience with this?

Is he on Vivitonin, as that helps restore normal blood flow? It will take a few days but most dogs seem to make a reasonable recovery.

I walked a dog who had vestibular disease. Unfortunately, medication didn't seem to make much difference to him and he kept falling, losing awareness (and having accidents) and after about six weeks, his owners made the decision to have him put to sleep as his quality of life was gone.

I'm sorry I can't be more positive

@muddyford No, he's not on Vivitonin. The vet just gave him anti sickness meds (enough for a few days) and asked to see him next week if no improvement. The implication was to keep him comfortable until the condition passed. He's on painkillers for back issues.

@coffeesaveslives Thank you. That's very sad. I know that's a possibility.

Hi @BambooWhoosh both my old dogs had vestibular. My boy was bad and didn't recover the use of his back legs. My girl recovered and did well on Vivitonin and Prednisolone. Get the vet to prescribe Vivitonin initially and get a prescription to buy online. It's horrible seeing them like that, is his head tilt bad? It will take a few days for the sickness to pass, hopefully in a few days and on the Vivitonin your boy will perk up, cuddles to him from us. X
Edited to add, if he doesn't have another episode within the 30 days he will hopefully recover, they just view the world differently with their little tilt. X

My mum's 15 year old dog had this and made a good recovery after 2 or 3 weeks .

My sister had an elderly terrier that had 2 episodes of this and recovered very well . Out of interest have you had his blood pressure checked as our dog had what looked like severe vestibular or a brain tumour and it was basically high blood pressure .

Thanks for the replies.

@NippyCrab The vet has prescribed a few days of anti sickness medication but no other meds at this stage. He has been eating and drinking while on this but since it ran out he has stopped so I guess he must be feeling sick again. I've phoned the vets and am collecting more this afternoon. They said the condition should resolve and to return if he worsens. He only has a slight head tilt. His eyes are no longer flickering. He is refusing to stand atm.

@Abc1weabc1 Thank you. That's encouraging.

@Floralnomad No blood pressure check. They looked at his eyes, ears, heart and tried to get him to walk.

I hope he will start eating again once back on the anti sickness drugs. I realise that this might not end well. Time will tell.

How old is he? Did the vet look for inner ear infections or tumors? If not, then they're probably guessing that it isn't something else and will only test if your dog doesn't get better in a few days.
My parents' dog had it. She had to be fed by hand until she recovered (but she did recover after about 4-5 weeks). Got prescribed some anti-sickness meditation and also some light sedatives, because she would sometimes get very disoriented and distressed.

@GelatinousDynamo He's 14. The vet looked in his ears and took his temperature - all normal. Yes, you're right, their idea was to see him later this week if he hasn't shown any improvement or worsens.

He has now got some more anti sickness meds and is also on gabapentin for his back which has a sedative effect. When it wears off he gets distressed. We put him on a rug on Friday and he has refused to move since. He is taking small amounts of food by hand and laps of water occasionally. He sleeps a lot.

I’d be taking him back today or tomorrow.

Do you know how to check a dog for dehydration? It's important that he drinks, especially with the meds. My mum cooked their dog broth to drink and get at least some nutrients into her. They also put her bowl up higher, since she seemed to dislike having to bow her head down. Eating (and keeping it) is good, even if it's only just a little.
Poor doggy grandpa, I hope he gets better.

Thank you - yes I have been checking for dehydration. He is drinking frequently. I put his bowl between his front legs for him to drink. He refused his usual dry food but seems happy on wet tinned food as long as he has his sickness meds. He will only eat food offered by hand. He has kept all his food down fortunately.

Our lab cross had this last summer when he was 13. It came on quite quickly - started losing his balance, eyes flickering, holding his head to one side. We had to use a sling to take him outside. He was also reluctant to move and had difficulty eating/drinking. He was on vivitonin for a short while. He was back to normal within a week or two. My sister's dog had it too and made a full recovery.
Hope your dog improves soon.