Left side paralyzed?

[TheDieseltruck]

So about a month ago, I noticed that the left half of Diesel's face is paralyzed. I took him to the vet and we tried two weeks of prednizone. There's no improvement, and now it seems as though his whole left side is starting to be affected. His appetite is still fine, although I think he might be losing weight. He still drinks fine. He has plenty of energy, but it does seem as though he is content sleeping a lot. A lot more than he used to be. When I play with him with the flirt pole, and I swing it by the left side of his face, he completely misses the toy so it's affecting his vision. He will also fall and tumble when he tries for the toy, he clearly is completely uncoordinated on his left side. When he goes up the stairs, he almost always runs in to them first, and stumbles up the stairs. It's a struggle for him.

When I spoke with the vet, she told me that I needed to see a neurologist and get an MRI. Well, when I spoke with the KState vet clinic, they said that an MRI would be 1,500. There's no way that I could afford that.

So right now, I'm just waiting. It's hard because I can't tell if it's really affecting his quality of life. I can only imagine that having the left half of your body not working is unpleasant, but he doesn't seem in pain. He is a bulldog after all though....

I'm at such a loss.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Holy that sounds scary!

I would at least start with a neuro consult.

Sending healin thoughts for you and your boy!

[suzanne]

Did your vet talk with you about the possibility of horner's syndrome or are they thinking it's a brain tumor???

How is his proprioception? Does he have issues with the use of his limbs on that side as well?

You would think if it was a brain tumor it would have responded in the slightest to steroids. If you're thinking it's more neurologic and not just a pinched facial nerve I would see if you can make a consult with a neurologist and see what their suggestions are outside of having an MRI. Another thing to consider would be to have him sedated for skull x-rays, sometimes if your vet is good at reading x-rays, or there is something obvious you can sometimes see a possible tumor forming.

[HappyPuppy]

Oh, no - I hope more people see this and you get more ideas/support. I just wanted to share your worry and a hug!!

[pacopoe]

This happened to my roommate's dog. It moved subtly and slowly at first but then quickly took almost all the mobility on his left side. He died before they were able to conclude the exact cause but the leading theory was brain tumor. I pray for a better outcome for your boy.

[Leslie H]

My oldest dog had a condition in which the first symptom was left side facial paralysis. She did not become paralyzed anywhere else but the right side of her face. She did lose coordination, lost significant muscle quickly, and deteriorated horribly over the course of a month. She was treated w/prednisone and doxycycline(sp). She responded very minimally. Her spinal tap, full thyroid panel, cat scan (did everything but MRI) were all clear. The vet was certain she had a brain tumor, and that it was going to be inoperable. He sent me to a homeopath/vet, who treated her w/the remedy thuja, she blinked 24 hours later. Her recovery took the better part of a year, but that was 7 years ago. Good luck to you and your pup.

[TheDieseltruck]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Just so you know he's ~5, give or take. So he's not that old. Every time I try to speak with a vet, they won't speak with me unless I pay for it. My vet was at a loss and sent me to the neurologist, when I spoke with the neurologist they said that they would either get an MRI or just wait it out, but it would be a hundred bucks just to even look at Diesel. I'm a college student so my funds are extremely limited, and I really don't know when I'll have a hundred extra dollars to drop so he can get a physical from the neurologist. Also, if they're just gonna tell me to wait... Sometimes I wonder if it's a degenerative disc, but he doesn't show any pain or discomfort. Just paresis, which I can't tell if it's getting worse or not (from here at least, it's clearly gotten worse over the course of the month). Sometimes he seems as though he's becoming more uncoordinated, other times it seems as though he hasn't really changed.

He still acts happy, but when I played with him today I damn near cried. It's so hard to see him try to catch a toy, miss and crash in to the ground and roll. It's hard to see him struggle up the stairs, and it's hard to see that he can't even walk a straight line.

This is just so sudden, and so shocking.

[Cherry]

Is there anyone that can help you with funds? He needs to get to the vet asap. Poor guy. Maybe try a homeopathic vet like Leslie suggested.

[suzanne]

Can you apply for care credit?

I would call around to vets and see if there's someone interested in checking him out and taking some skull x-rays. You might be surprised there might be a vet out there who would be willing to look at him for cheap/take rads because they are interested in the case. It doesn't hurt to call and ask around. My vet I work for can be like that, he likes challenges and we're known in the area to take payments even from non-clients [which sometimes screws us over in the end!] There are people out there like that, I'd at least try.

They might also be able to help you by way of a different steroid, instead of pred something like dexamethasone, possibly a shot or something too.

[Peneloki]

Can you apply for care credit?

I would call around to vets and see if there's someone interested in checking him out and taking some skull x-rays. You might be surprised there might be a vet out there who would be willing to look at him for cheap/take rads because they are interested in the case. It doesn't hurt to call and ask around. My vet I work for can be like that, he likes challenges and we're known in the area to take payments even from non-clients [which sometimes screws us over in the end!] There are people out there like that, I'd at least try.

They might also be able to help you by way of a different steroid, instead of pred something like dexamethasone, possibly a shot or something too.

x2 When my Loki got parvo I applied for care credit AND spoke to my vet about a possible payment plan. Make some phone calls and give it a shot. I agree you might be surprised that there are vets out there willing to work with you. Although hard to find. Best of luck and keeping your boy in my prayers.

[Leslie H]

The homeopath vet was way cheaper than the conventional veterinary treatments/tests I'd tried. Conventional vet costs were over 2 thousand (w/out an MRI), homeopath was under $200.

[TheDieseltruck]

Hi guys,

Sorry that it took me so long to reply, but with the holidays and finals I got pretty caught up in everything. Diesel is actually doing pretty well now. He has regained his coordination fully, and I believe he has regained sight in his left eye as well. In fact, it seems as though he made a full recovery except for one thing...the left side of his face is still paralyzed. The vet is baffled, but she said that many times this happens and it's completely idiopathic and many dogs live perfectly fine with half their face being unusable. I guess he just needed time to adjust and cope. I feel as though as long as he can do all the stuff he loves, he still has a good quality of life, and that's the most important thing.

Anyway, thank you all very much!

[Leslie H]

I'm glad he's recovered this much. Can he blink? If not, do you put drops to keep his eye moist? I had to put them in Xanny's eye 4x a day.

[patty]

Good to hear the Diesel has improved. Continued well wishes sent his way.

Where are you located in Kansas? If you don't mind I will ask around some friends and family members in Kansas to see if they know of an afforable vet that works with college students on limited funds.