Has anyone's dog recovered well from vestibular disease?

[Spaniels4Eva]

My 13 year old cocker spaniel suddenly fell ill on sunday afternoon. His balance went, eyes rolling and he couldn't stand up/walk... we saw our vet 1st thing Monday who confirmed Vestibular disease, gave him some anti nausea meds and said keep him quiet for a few days/help with feeding etc. Now he's got explosive diarrhoea which has brought on a colitis flare up. He's already got a heart murmur and arthritis.

I've not slept for 2 nights as having to sleep on the sofa with him to keep him calm, and walking round the garden holding his head up last night while trying not to stand in shit was a spectacular low point. Can anyone reassure me that it gets better.......

Our 14 year old lurcher girl already had dementia when she started having vestibular attacks. She was fine within about 10 minutes but it was scary. Because of her dementia vet didn't offer medicine, just advised to keep an eye on her. She was pts in the end because of other issues (not eating, toileting in house, general loss of interest in life). I do sympathise OP, it so hard when they get old and ill. I'll always miss her, such a lovely girl.

Our 12 year old border collie had an attack earlier this year (in March). She recovered pretty well within about 2-3 weeks. Her head is still very slightly tilted and she stumbles if she's trying to get somewhere too quickly but she's more or less back to her old self. The main concern at the time was getting her eating and drinking as we couldn't get the anti sickness tablets in her so the vet ended up giving her a second jab i think on day 3. Once she was eating and drinking she picked up quickly.

That's my worry today, he's just not eating. We're seeing the Vet tomorrow so I may ask for another anti-sickness injection.

Sadly after 6 weeks of no improvement we had our ddog pts at age 11 .

Yes they can recover well.
My girl is 13 and had it bad she didn’t go to the toilet for 2 days could barely stand, I had to basically teach her to walk again. It’s awful to watch especially when their stumbling round in circles.
The anti sickness medicine should help, Pro Kolin is great for bad stomach can get it from the vets, Amazon, pets at home etc.
I found it was just taking everyday at a time, it was a slow improvement.
Check out YouTube there’s some great videos on there.

What a shame @Spaniels4Eva , it's really horrible to see isn't it?

My 13 year old Cocker had exactly the same thing nearly a fortnight ago and because he already has a lot of health issues including CKD and CCD, I really thought this was the end for him.

However, he's improved enormously. Eating has been the thing that's caused us the most worry. He was given a course of anti nausea tablets on day 1 because eating was, understandably, difficult for him. He wouldn't eat his own food at all so we had to give him some different food, but even then he hardly ate a thing for the first 5 days. He also had an upset stomach (although not too bad) so we gave him the Buddy and Lola probiotic.

I took him back to the vet on day 6 and he was given another course of the anti nausea tablets and a short course of prednisolone which really helped to stimulate his appetite. He's now eating his own food again but is exclusively hand fed, he can't eat from a bowl yet or pick anything up from the floor.

He's still a bit wobbly but much better. It looks like the head tilt will be permanent though. I'm typing this at stupid o'clock because I'm also on the sofa! DH and I take it in turns to stay with him overnight. We feel so lucky to still have him.

I really hope your boy improves soon too xx

Thanks for all the replies, it's very reassuring to hear other stories.

Having a bad day today with a lot of wobbling around and flickering eyes, so slightly relieved we're seeing the vet later.

Hope you get some positive news and some good medication OP. Please let us know how you get on when when you're able to.

Vet was lovely and very thorough, we were in with her for over half an hour. She did lots of reflex/reaction testing, felt his head tilt was improved and that the eye flickering should ease off in the coming days. She was more worried about the gastric issue (he suffers from colitis) so he's had a low dose of steroid injected, and some anti-nausea medication and we've got tablet versions of both to carry on with from tomorrow afternoon. She's also told me to give him 3 x 1/2 a paracetamol tablet daily for pain relief until he can go back onto his arthritis meds. Hopefully he will want to eat better, he's had a very small handful of shredded chicken in the last hour. He can't eat from a bowl still, so he's being hand fed and she warned me that take some time to improve on as his head tilts to one side and then drops out of his mouth, poor love.

He's very wobbly on his feet tonight still, and pacing so he's on a lead next to me on the sofa. Thanks for the concern, it's so upsetting watching them struggle as they get older.

That’s does sound positive and good news he’s eating, I had to hand feed for a good few weeks she just couldn’t stand and eat it was just to much. The wobbling is common, my little Pops still has a bit of head tilt I think it’s one of the last things to go. Take care and look after yourself it’s so stressful and exhausting when there ill, sending you a big hug x

Thanks for the update OP. It sounds like a good, thorough exam and he's improving slowly. I think it's hard to see the progress when you're in the thick of it.

I don't know about you, but despite the fact that I'm bloody ancient, I just felt like I wanted an adult to come along and take over! It's just all-consuming isn't it?

As I said, we're about a week further on from you, and actually I hope you don't mind but I'm going to celebrate a little 'win' here - our old boy managed to eat by himself a little tonight! I'd read that putting their food a white paper plate sometimes helps them to eat a bit better because their eyesight is obviously affected at the moment too so it makes it tricky for them to work out how to use their bowl. Anyway it worked! We just put a little bit at a time and he did really well. Hopefully it won't be too long before you get to this stage too.

Also just in the past couple of days he's been able to coordinate his jaw better and can carry his fluffy giraffe toy - he couldn't manage that at all before. Like you said, everything just drops out of their mouths a lot in the early days.

Slow, slow progress though. I've ordered him a new harness which should come on Monday I think, which should give him a bit more support.

DH is doing the 'night shift' here tonight so he's sending you solidarity as he's also going to have a dog's lead on his arm all night so that our old boy doesn't fall too.

I really hope that other people's stories are giving you a little bit of encouragement too and you're seeing improvement soon.

Thanks for the support all. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

It's been a tough day again, he wouldn't eat at all until early afternoon and all he will eat is from foil trays of Lily's kitchen wet food - I'm happy he's eating but bit worried it's not bland enough for his tummy. One explosion of bloody diarrhoea so far which is an improvement on the day before. He's still very wobbly on his feet, and his eyes flickering very badly. Hoping the steroids kick in tomorrow and he starts to show some small improvement.

I adore him, he's my best friend but I'm feeling so sleep deprived and exhausted that I had a very tearful moment this afternoon thinking am I doing the wrong thing trying to get him through this... I don't want his last days to be lurching from one crisis to another with fewer and fewer good days in between. It's just so sad watching them fade from the vibrant souls they used to be, isn't it.

@CarrieMoonbeams I'm so glad you're seeing slow progress. Every win at this stage is something to be celebrated.

Our Jack Russell had this aged about 12 and recovered completely within 48 hours.

I totally understand @Spaniels4Eva , I have cried so much this past fortnight too.

The start of the steroids really signified a positive change for my old boy, so hopefully it'll help yours too. The not eating is so distressing isn't it, mine lost 0.8kg in the first 5 days, which doesn't sound much but he was only 13.1kg to start with.

We're back to hand feeding today and he's only had about 2/3 of his normal daily amount but I have to keep reminding myself how far he's come along. As you say, even a little win is to be celebrated.

I'm on 'settee duty" tonight so will be around at various times if you want to have a chat 🤗

Our 14 year old Brittany had an episode in early April but has pretty much recovered other than a small head tilt. I was ready for the vet to PTS but gave it one more day, when he started eating chicken, slowly progressed to his normal kibble after a week. He’s nearly 15 now, and still going well so don’t give up yet. So hard isn’t it.

Last night was the worst night, explosive diarrhoea all over the house after hours of pacing in the garden. I've just spent the last hour cleaning floors and carpet. The steroids have led to relentless pacing and panting, and even more diarrhoea it would appear. Our vet isn't open today, they hand over to one of those Vets Now chains out of hours so I'm not risking that.

We're a week in today and I feel we're going backwards, not forwards.

He's got absolutely no quality of life right now, and it's breaking my heart. And my spirit if I'm being totally honest.

I am so sorry you are all having such a hard time. Fingers crossed that today he turns a corner a bit.

So hard when our dogs are poorly.

My heart goes out to you. I had to make the decision about my girl last year and in hindsight wish I'd made it sooner. In the end it was very peaceful, outside on her blanket in the sun. I'll miss her every day, but she had no quality of life. I felt it was the last act of love I could give her.

I'm so sorry OP ❤️

I don’t want to complicate things further but are you certain it wasn’t a stroke?
Our cocker had a stroke and symptoms very similar to what you describe.
best of luck to you - it’s very very hard when they are getting older in life. My one piece of advice is to remember what a privilege it is to be able to choose less suffering for them when the time comes. Hugs and I hope your pup recovers well xxxxx

@Spaniels4Eva sorry to see your update above this morning - have you got any anti diarrhea medication? You could also offer a couple of boiled eggs. What medication do you have available?

can your pup hear well still?
do you have a crate or some sort of enclosed space you can use?
in your shoes I would give some boiled eggs, anti diarrhea medication and a dose of pain relief; and make an enclosed space or find a way to help dog settle in one space as best you can - sounds silly but play some calm
music, use heat like a wheat bag etc if you thing dog has stomach ache (likely with the diarrhea and treatments). Keep offering water and being close. Let us know how you get on xx

Oh I'm so sorry to read this @Spaniels4Eva , you must be absolutely exhausted, physically and mentally.

I know how soul destroying it is when you just keep going from one horrible thing to another and to another again, day in day out. You're (both) really going through it and I wish I knew you IRL so I could come over and sit with your dog for a wee while so you could go out for a coffee and a cake or something.

I really hope that today is a bit easier for you both and that your own vet is able to help you tomorrow.

Small baby steps so far this morning, his eyes are flickering far less than yesterday and his balance is a bit more stable as a result. No more diarrhoea since the 5am one fingers crossed and he's had 2 very small servings of chicken and carrot. He does seem a tiny bit more settled and the pacing has lessened.

Medication wise, we've got 3 days of Dia-Tabs from the vets on Friday, she also said he can have loperamide tablets (Immodium) twice daily if needed and he can also have buscopan to help with tummy pain. He's also got Cerenia (anti sickness) and steroids (Prednisone) but I'm reluctant to carry on with those after last night and the pacing.

DH went off to the supermarket earlier and we've got Kefir yogurt to try to see if that helps his tummy, some turkey mince and some eggs to cook. He won't touch rice unfortunately as I'd add that in too.

Thank you all for walking through this with me, I didn't think it was possible to shed as many tears as I've done this last week. The support is greatly appreciated.

@Spaniels4Eva oh I hope this afternoon has also been a slight improvement!
I would also be wary of the steroids if you thought that was making him feel unsettled; trust your instincts; he could always have some tomorrow if he continues to improve a bit. I hope he enjoyed the turkey mince.
It’s a hard time to spend with them, I’m on my seventh & eighth rescue, all have been seniors so I’ve seen many final few years and it’s so hard. I was thinking of you this afternoon, I’ve been there (not vestibular disease- I think that’s the one thing ive not yet dealt with!!) and it’s hard. xx

His balance is improving, so I am hoping that not giving more steroids was a good call. He was still pacing and panting from around 3am to 6am though, so I'm hoping they're slowly working out of his system. He's barely eating, but he had 2 tiny handfuls of turkey mince this morning. He's hungry but turns his nose up at everything which is really testing. And no diarrhoea since 3pm yesterday so fingers crossed that's turned the corner if nothing else.

@babyproblems this has been a hard wake up call to the prospect of caring for a frail elderly dog, in truth.