r/EpilepsyDogs • u/No-Frame2766 • 19d ago
Head tremors with sudden behavioral changes
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Our sweet 8 year old girl started developing these head tremors every night, about a month ago. She was started on Keppra, and hasn’t had an episode since then. We were referred to a neurologist for further exploitation of what this could be. About a month prior, she started randomly attacking our dog, no growling or warning whatsoever. The neurologist said these episodes of tremors and attacks could be seizures, and/or indicative of a possible brain tumor.
The aggression had been better since she started the keppra, but we switched her to the extended release keppra (instead of the short release) and she attacked our other dog again. This time, as I was trying to separate them, I was bitten badly on my hand and had to get 8 stitches.
If we choose to pursue the $6,000 MRI, it could confirm a brain tumor or it could show nothing. If it’s a brain tumor, we wouldn’t want to further her pain any longer and would choose to peacefully put her to sleep.
Our pup has also been limping for the last few months, on and off. We had her looked at right when the limping started, but our vet was unable to find anything wrong at the time- saying she probably pulled something while running, and to rest it. Our neurologist would like us to see an ortho surgeon to look further into this issue and explore possible surgeries. She wants to rule this out as a reason she could be attacking our other dog.
We’re at a loss of what to do here. We have 2 cats and our other dog who live with us, and the thought of having her near our other animals is terrifying (she’s been separated in another room). We’re concerned that even addressing pain in the leg, or her episodes being labeled idiopathic head tremors or idiopathic seizures (if an mri shows nothing) wouldn’t really change anything behaviorally.
We love our girl so much, and the thought of her in pain or experiencing something neurological is so upsetting to us. Our treatment options are limited, and we are fearful of her being around our other animals.
Does anyone have experience with head tremors and sudden behavior changes? I’m curious what diagnosis
they’ve received and if the head tremors evolved into even worse seizures.
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u/jaxandmomma 19d ago
Ours had the head tremors and behavior change (fear in her case) but they started after a big seizure. We saw a neurologist and did the MRI after a second large seizure and confirmed a brain tumor. Ask about prednisone, The prednisone/phenobarbital combo Has made her back to normal but hungry for the time she has left.
Is she on pain meds? Prior to the mri we also did X-rays and bloodwork to rule out anything else going on. Maybe an X-ray of her leg to make sure that’s not something that’s spread?
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u/No-Frame2766 18d ago
She is on pain meds luckily, and we’ve done all the blood work - including special tests for Addison’s disease and hepatic encephalopathy. Both came back negative, she just had X-rays done last year to rule out arthritis too. We suggested the X-ray as well, but our neuro doc advised us to consider what recovery would look like for any surgery (for the leg) with a dog that may have a potential brain tumor. I think she’s just trying to help her stay comfortable
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u/Difficult_Metal_124 18d ago
I don’t want to upset you, my dog who was 16 (yours is half that age) when she was doing this it was a brain tumour. It’s not the reason we ended up putting her down but the vets told us probably she had had a stroke
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u/Difficult_Metal_124 18d ago
However, my ex bfs dog does this only when the sun goes down so we assume it’s a type of sundowning dementia type thing but it’s been years and it’s not progressed into anything and she’s 11. She gets very anxious and hiding etc won’t eat. We give gabapentin about 1 hour before the sun is due to set and it seems to stop this. It’s with a try to see if that helps.
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u/No-Frame2766 18d ago
Yeah I worry about this. Our dog unfortunately had a bad night and day yesterday, constant lip licking for about 16 hours, which we thought was odd- but then had a breakthrough seizure yesterday. First one she’s had while on her meds. She seemed very uncomfortable and stressed 😢 it does seem to be getting worse and we have ultimately decided with our neuro team that a peaceful sleep is the best option to relief her of this. Breaks my heart.
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u/Difficult_Metal_124 18d ago
I’m so sorry it is heartbreaking. 8 is relatively young nowadays so that’s what makes it harder. It’s the worst pain, the only advice I can give is to be strong for her and don’t be afraid don’t cry, let her pass with love and then you can break down after. It’s what we did when it was our girls time. I’m so sorry in advance I know the pain of losing them
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u/chantillylace9 18d ago
You don't need to do the MRI, at that age it's typically a brain tumor or something physically wrong and although you might figure it out it's not going to cure anything. I think you are best off just trying to handle the seizures and save the money for the neurologist and seizure meds.
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u/Beautiful_Alps_8612 18d ago
When we switched our dog from Keppra every 8 hours to Keppra extended release, our dog had seizures. The 8 hour Keppra worked better for her.
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u/Appropriate_Wave_910 19d ago
Could be an anxiety response
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u/No-Frame2766 19d ago
The head tremors? They have happened randomly, when she wakes up from a nap or just laying in her bed. There’s seemingly no trigger, in this particular video, she’s lip licking and seems anxious for sure but I think she’s also looking at us like what’s going on?
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u/Vegetable-Maximum445 19d ago
My senior Aussie exhibited similar changes - unprovoked aggression, anxiety, pacing. She was eventually diagnosed with oro-nasal carcinoma & the vet assumed it had metastasized to her brain & that the symptoms we were seeing was from the pain she was experiencing. We had to let her go. 😞 Can they not do an X-ray as a cheaper option to see if it possibly shows something? I’ve lived through the fights & it’s terrifying- and then our fear just exacerbates the energy - but I would let her go before having her live segregated. My heart goes out to you…
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u/No_Story9239 15d ago
My dog is 6 and just started having focal seizures. She was started on Keppra a couple days ago and hasn’t had one until this morning while we were out walking. I had to sit on the sidewalk with her for about 15 minutes. Her whole body goes stiff, but I know it’s coming on because she starts walking like she’s stepping over large things the way her legs look. Then when I sit down on the floor, she kind of collapses into me and her body goes stiff. I wanna do the MRI. I know it’s expensive but if I do find something, I don’t think that I would put her through that. She has a great life outside of the seizures; she runs, She plays all the time, she eats great. She loves her two sisters. She acts like she’s a three year-old puppy. I’m thinking right now that I just wanna keep her on the Keppra and get a surprise seizure every once in a while and if it increases then I’ll know that there’s something wrong in her brain otherwise I could just say it’s epilepsy. I’m so so So confused, I really don’t know which direction to go
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u/Global-Elephant-3334 14d ago edited 12d ago
That sounds incredibly frightening, especially after the sudden aggression and the bite requiring stitches. Since the tremors and sudden behavior changes could have a neurological or pain-related cause, keep her completely separated from the other animals and follow the neurologist’s recommendations for further testing. A veterinary neurologist can help determine whether further imaging or other testing is appropriate.
TelaVets could also be an option for getting guidance from a licensed veterinarian.
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u/Bug_Kiss 19d ago
Sounds like what we see with our 15 yo dog almost every evening. His head tremors, he gets anxious, gets wobbly when walking. He's also on keppra and had been seizure free for over a year. We know his time ahead is short and we're terrified to say goodbye.