[Littlefoot]

Does glaucoma pain cause seizures or syncope? Unbalance gait and vomiting? I put my dog down yesterday because I thought she had a brain tumor related pain. She was having bouts of pains that made her cry out and her eyes looked like they were going to pop out. Usually this bouts will make her throw up too. The vets were of no help. ER visit test everything came back normal, and her regular vet referred me to a neurologist (scheduled in 1 month). Took her a 3rd time to regular vet because she kept having what looked like seizures and she urinated herself and I wanted to talk about pain management. She still had an appetite and drank water but was just miserable so I mentioned to the front desk that possibly I would consider putting her down based on the vets recommendation. Once vet came in I pointed that her eyes were not normal and she was unbalanced. I mentioned glaucoma (I had looked it up on google- didn't know much about it) but he never said yes or no, he just nodded and said an ophthalmologist could check that out. He then asked what I wanted to do. My sister upset asked him what he recommended. He said he didn't know, and said we could try pain and anti seizure meds until she was seen by an ophthalmologist. My sister said it was best to put her down bc at this point we still thought it was brain related and clearly the vet was of no help or support. I placed my dog on the floor and she walked around trembling but still weakly wagging her tail, I could sense she was terrified. She was completely blind. I hugged her, kissed her and the last look I have of her is looking terrified (Her bulging eyes made her look so scared). My sister, brother in law and nephew, and another dog companion stayed with her until the end. I sobbed thinking I should have tried the medications instead even if her eyes were most likely been removed. At this point I am looking in google trying to find similar cases of dogs with glaucoma that presented all symptoms my dog did but I can't find any. I just keep reading it's a medical emergency and it hurts so much because I took her to the ER and nothing was done, now she is gone and I am so upset.

 

[Lillith]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Those types of things are so difficult.

It's best not to dwell on the "what ifs". Clearly, your dog was in tremendous pain and distress, and I think you did the right thing based on the circumstances. I'm no vet, but glaucoma alone isn't likely to cause all of those symptoms. Bulging eyes, perhaps, but seizures, vomiting, unbalanced, and losing control of the bladder really are not...Dogs can and do get epilepsy, however, which would fit those symptoms. Seizures can be idiopathic, which means that nobody knows what causes them, not even the vet, so the best they can do is prescribe medication to control the seizures. The medication may or may not help. Many people have chosen to euthanize their dogs because the seizures were unable to be controlled with medication and their dogs spent so much time in pain and disoriented. The medications themselves can have some adverse side effects, too.

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but here is an article on canine epilepsy. I hope, if anything, it provides some closure: AKC Canine Health Foundation

You could have run all the tests in the world and tried every medication, and it might not have helped. It would have just prolonged your dog's misery. Now, she's pain free.

I wouldn't be too hard on the vet, either, because it sounds like they had no idea what was causing the seizures. Most vets aren't going to say "I recommend euthanasia", either, unless you have a really exemplary relationship. They're going to tell you, to the best of their ability, what's going on and what the outlook is, and it's up to you to make the decision. Most vets aren't going to agree to euthanize a dog who has a really, really great chance of pulling through and leading a great quality of life, either, so think on that.

 

[Littlefoot]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Those types of things are so difficult.

It's best not to dwell on the "what ifs". Clearly, your dog was in tremendous pain and distress, and I think you did the right thing based on the circumstances. I'm no vet, but glaucoma alone isn't likely to cause all of those symptoms. Bulging eyes, perhaps, but seizures, vomiting, unbalanced, and losing control of the bladder really are not...Dogs can and do get epilepsy, however, which would fit those symptoms. Seizures can be idiopathic, which means that nobody knows what causes them, not even the vet, so the best they can do is prescribe medication to control the seizures. The medication may or may not help. Many people have chosen to euthanize their dogs because the seizures were unable to be controlled with medication and their dogs spent so much time in pain and disoriented. The medications themselves can have some adverse side effects, too.

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but here is an article on canine epilepsy. I hope, if anything, it provides some closure: AKC Canine Health Foundation

You could have run all the tests in the world and tried every medication, and it might not have helped. It would have just prolonged your dog's misery. Now, she's pain free.

I wouldn't be too hard on the vet, either, because it sounds like they had no idea what was causing the seizures. Most vets aren't going to say "I recommend euthanasia", either, unless you have a really exemplary relationship. They're going to tell you, to the best of their ability, what's going on and what the outlook is, and it's up to you to make the decision. Most vets aren't going to agree to euthanize a dog who has a really, really great chance of pulling through and leading a great quality of life, either, so think on that.

Thank you. I keep going over what I should have done different. It's too late anyways. My other dog has had epilepsy since a young age so I have a bit of experience in that area. She takes medication and is the frequent flyer to the vet for laboratory work and such, I have always kept a close on eye on her due to her seizures. Never would I have thought my younger healthy and extremely happy dog would go down so fast. One day she was perfectly fine and the next she wasn't. Again thanks for your reply.