Asta has vestibular disease

Poor Astra...thankfully at least there seems to be no paiin involved with vestibular disease. We have had one sheltie, our Misty, who got this two times when she was in her senior years. Very scary when it first happens because you don't know what is wrong and all you can think of is a brain tumor or stroke. Misty recovered fine the first time, second time she recovered but her head tilt remained...it didn't bother her at all and she was a happy girl.

Hope Astra is back to normal very soon.

Trini
 
How scary. I'm sending all kinds of well wishes to your big beautiful girl.

This actually happened to my mom's dog this year. He was stumbling, couldn't support his weight and had a really bad head tilt. We were so worried. Apparently there are two kinds of this issue--and the one that is far and away more common resolves (though sometimes with a residual head tilt) in a short amount of time. My mom's dog was back to normal in about a week. No weakness and I can't even tell if he has a head tilt! I'm praying for the same outcome for Asta.
 
I hope Asta recovers soon. I feel for her. My mum gets vertigo, including the rapid eye flick, and I know how unwell it makes her feel.
 
Asta is improving! Her eye movements have stopped, she is brighter today, thank God there's been no issue with nausea so she's been able to eat and drink, although with her head cocked strangely. She walks like a drunken sailor though. Thankfully she's able to potty on her own.

It's so wonderful to have her looking straight into our eyes again, though. She's been wanting lots of reassurance and since it's a weekend, we're both home to tend to her.

Interestingly, Ally has been rather unconcerned and almost avoiding Asta, instead of glued to her as usual. It's been Brooke who has stuck with Asta, laying with her, sniffing her and generally being very empathetic. When I came home to find that note and broke down in tears, it was Brooke who was leaning into me to offer comfort. We are so blessed we added her to our family.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and sharing your experience with this crazy illness. Asta just turned 12 and is so healthy otherwise, it just caught us completely by surprise!!! Will update again as things progress.

Hugs to all of you for your support - it is so appreciated. :yes:
 
Update

Well, it has been a little over a week since Asta's sudden onset of vestibular disease, or vertigo. She has improved a lot but still has a head tilt to the right, and loses her balance sometimes on uneven ground. The biggest bummer for her is not being able to jump on the bed by herself. She tried once and crashed since the footing was too soft. So of course we are lifting her on and off.

But she is able to go on our regular 2 mile walks at least. It just hurts my heart to see her suddenly struggling with things that were so easy. It all happened so suddenly, I simply wasn't prepared. Vet says it may take several weeks to fully resolve, if it's going to, so we are hoping very hard that improvement will stilll happen. She is so precious to us. :cry:
 
Sharon, although many dogs fully recoup within a matter of a few days, our Misty took 7 weeks to fully recover the first time it happened to her...so don't get discouraged that Asta is not yet 100%...that can still happen.

Trini
 
trini gilmore said:
Sharon, although many dogs fully recoup within a matter of a few days, our Misty took 7 weeks to fully recover the first time it happened to her...so don't get discouraged that Asta is not yet 100%...that can still happen.

Trini
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Oh, thank you so much for that, Trini! I needed to hear it. I don't mind helping Asta in any way that she needs it but holding out hope in my heart that recovery is full. Every day lately that I wasn't seeing improvement was a little discouraging so knowing about your Misty really helps. Thanks so much. :hugs
 
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