Fainting *2nd update*

Stella has had 2 "episodes" in the past 3 months that seem like fainting. She'll be sleeping, hear a dog on TV and jump up from where she is sleeping to go bark at the TV. She stands with her front paws on the entertainment center barking for a few seconds and then once she's back on her feet she collapses. She doesn't lose control of her bowels or bladder and her eyes don't completely close. The first time she just fell flat over onto her side and a few minutes ago her back end fell over and I went and picked her up. It scared the hell out of me. Do you think she's fainting from going from sleeping to overly excited? Not getting enough air from the barking? Is a vet trip in order?

I'm sorry to read this! I'm sure others will have advice (I have none), but a former colleague of mine had a dog that did something similar--whenever she'd get excited, she'd fall over, kind of like fainting (it also sounded, from the description, as if she was perhaps reverse sneezing, too). I just wanted to let you know she lived to a good old age with no other complications from it. I hope you figure it out and that it's nothing serious for sweet Miss Stella!

This sounds like the episodes Lucy has had. She's had 2 and they happened almost exactly a year apart. She'd suddenly fall over but there was no shaking, no bowel/bladder loss. Her eyes didn't seem "out of it" but it was almost like her body was frozen. Both times, I picked her up immediately and she snapped right out of it. I talked to the vet and he checked her over very thoroughly and couldn't find anything obvious. He said it definitely could be some kind of seizure behavior. I also worried about her heart, given all the spinning she does and how worked up she gets herself, but he said it sounds fine. He offered to do further testing if I wanted but given that it's happened so infrequently, we've chosen just to keep an eye on things for now.

My dear old LouLou went through two episodes of that, very close together and then never again in her life. My vet wasn't overly concerned and said sometimes when they get excited or something they can just forget to breathe. Hope that's all it is!

Well, I'm glad that Kimchi isn't the only one with the "mystery disease". She does the same thing. It only happens when she goes from asleep to super excited. She'll be asleep on the bed then someone will ring the doorbell. She gets up and rushes to the door barking then will fall over on her side, legs sort of frozen, but not shaking, not having weird eye movements and not losing control of her bowels. If I pick her up, she's fine right away, but if I can't get to her she'll be stiff-legged for about 15 seconds or so.

I called them seizures at first. Lately, I think it might be her ESP not allowing her to get air to her lungs fast enough so she passes out. But, she doesn't lose conscience.

My vet also said to watch her but didn't have any answers.

Both Thelma and Louisie had fainting spells if they got 'suddenly' excited during their older years. This usually happened when I'd come home and everyone was jumping around excitedly.

I attribute the spells to not getting enough air thru their tracheas because they'd get so excited their muscles would freeze up. Once they actually fainted, so they'd relax their muscles, they'd recover just fine.

You know, now that I think about it Stella usually makes a choking hacking noise if she stands and barks for too long so maybe it is that she's not getting enough air? I just made an appointment for Friday with the nice dogtor so we'll see. Thanks for the ideas, always good to know there are knowledgeable people I can come to with questions.

There's a remote possibility it is seizures, but sounds more like an airway issue to me. And don't let a vet rush you into anti-seizure meds. And if you do opt for them, push for the newer ones and avoid the Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide. the newer drugs are better, with fewer side effects and less blood work having to be done. I don't yet understand why vets keep going back to these two drug--except that they are cheap. Keppra/Levetiracetam has been very successful with Pippin and with Candace's Mocha.

Well, put my Tobey in the fainting crowd! She hasn't had a spell for quite some time, years, but for the first 3 years of her life, she maybe had about 5 of them. They were just like fainting, and looking back, maybe she just needed some smelling salts! LOL. They never last more than a few seconds, and she was okay. It of course freaked me out, and I did take her to the vet, and they put her on some meds (can't remember them now), and those meds made things way worse, so I took her off of them.

I'm sure Stella is fine, but I feel your fear! I've been there too.

I wonder if it could be a low blood pressure thing. They are sleeping and then jump up and faint. I know sometimes if I get up suddenly I get dizzy and I have to put my head down. (or at least I used to, now that I've gotten older nothing makes me move that fast anymore lol)

We just got back from the vet. They did an x-ray and her collapsed trachea appears to be worse and her heart looked a little enlarged when she was laying on her side. The one from straight on the heart looked normal. They have her on Temaril P and I have to call back on Tuesday (damn holiday) to see what the radiologist said about the x-ray. Not a good start to the weekend. Can dogs live regular full lives with collapsing tracheas?

Katie & Stella wrote:We just got back from the vet. They did an x-ray and her collapsed trachea appears to be worse and her heart looked a little enlarged when she was laying on her side. The one from straight on the heart looked normal. They have her on Temaril P and I have to call back on Tuesday (damn holiday) to see what the radiologist said about the x-ray. Not a good start to the weekend. Can dogs live regular full lives with collapsing tracheas?

Sorry to hear this. Let me put together some information and I'll post it for everyone on Collapsing Trachea. Hugs to Stella.

Jana knows...she will give you lots of great info.

Thanks Jana

Wow, I had no idea there were so many fainting dogs. Daphne, my first pug, lived a long and full life with a collapsing trachea. I did have to be careful with her and try to keep her from getting too excited. About the only thing that really got her worked up was food!

Katie & Stella wrote:We just got back from the vet. They did an x-ray and her collapsed trachea appears to be worse and her heart looked a little enlarged when she was laying on her side. The one from straight on the heart looked normal. They have her on Temaril P and I have to call back on Tuesday (damn holiday) to see what the radiologist said about the x-ray. Not a good start to the weekend. Can dogs live regular full lives with collapsing tracheas?

Jana has a ton of info! I know we have had a few pugs in rescue that have had severe trachea issues, and have gone on to do great.

Well, poo. Not what you wanted to hear. Jana is the expert, as soon as she gets this. Gentle hugs to you and lovely Stella.

I posted a document in the the medical section. An xray is a good start and I am sorry to hear that she is diagnosed with CT. Unfortunately an xray is not the best means to diagnose and grade CT. Many a dog has been misdiagnosed from xrays. There was a family that flew from CA to TN to the University of Tennessee Vet College because their dog had the symptoms of CT and were diagnosed from an xray. They got to UT and the dog did not have CT.

Right now, I would assume she does have CT. Make sure she is never in a collar and make sure her harness sits down low on her chest. Remove trigger situations like the door bell (have friends call before they come over) and put a note on your door not to ring the door bell, etc. Also, I would make sure you have an air purifier, you can just get the ones for individual rooms and keep them in the room you spend the most time in and in your bedroom.

Ideally, you would have Stella scoped to see what grade CT and this would give you starting point in which to monitor her. Scoping in expensive so wait until you get a job and have some $ saved up. Also, you could ask your vet to consult with UT on her xrays too. That would be a less expensive option.

There is no cure for CT, but it doesn't mean that she won't live to be a healthy old age either. Baby Girl was 9 when she received her stent. She has gone past her 2 year anniversary too!

Katie & Stella wrote:We just got back from the vet. They did an x-ray and her collapsed trachea appears to be worse and her heart looked a little enlarged when she was laying on her side. The one from straight on the heart looked normal. They have her on Temaril P and I have to call back on Tuesday (damn holiday) to see what the radiologist said about the x-ray. Not a good start to the weekend. Can dogs live regular full lives with collapsing tracheas?

Wow. That's not news I want to hear about Stella - nor is it something I want to worry about with Kimchi. I'm off to do some research (thanks Jana!) and talk to Chris about when we can get her into the vet.

Thanks Jana, for all of the great information and guidance. Lisa, hopefully Kimchi's issue will turn out to be nothing.