Hi, my Boxer girl, who is nearly 11, started having nausea and refusing to eat on the 1st of April. We’d offer her food and she’d walk away pulling faces as if she was about to be sick. She was also shaking, disoriented, pacing in circles, panting heavily through her mouth, and wanting to stay out on the cold balcony—but then she’d be shivering from the cold, so we had to put a blanket on her. She started hiding away in the bathroom, somewhere she never usually goes, and she was wobbly on her legs and having seizures.
I took her to the emergency vet, and they did an ultrasound which came back normal, so the vet told me it was gastritis and that I had to stop giving her human food. She prescribed Cerenia and Vetgastril Plus. After the treatment, the symptoms went away but came back about a week and a half later after I’d given her a sausage. The symptoms stopped again, but then here we go again: they came back after she had 3 or 4 small pieces of grilled chicken. She’s used to begging and we gave in out of habit. The symptoms 'went away' after a few days, and in the meantime, I’d gone to the chemist and they gave me Cocculine for the nausea and sickness since I’d run out of the vet’s treatment. She seemed a bit better but not her usual self. On our hour-long walks together, she’d make me realise she wanted to turn back after 30 minutes. I thought it was just tiredness due to her age. My girl turns 11 on the 22nd of July. On Monday the 4th of May, I called the vet because she’d relapsed over the weekend and hadn't eaten or drunk anything since Saturday. The vet, who has known her since she was a puppy, did a blood test, but everything came back normal. He told me again to stop the human food and gave her an injection that was supposed to help within 2 hours. The next morning, I called him back because she was still the same; the injection did nothing. He told me to give her Cerenia straight away instead of at 5pm as planned, and to call back the next day if there was no improvement. I called again because she still hasn't eaten or drunk since Saturday night, plus she’s wetting herself, can’t settle, her eyes are doing strange things (flicking from side to side), her front right paw is stiff, she’s staggering, has a head tilt, and has been sick once. He advised me to go back to the emergency vet because this clearly isn't normal anymore, it’s not gastritis, and they must have missed something.
Back at the emergency vet, they did a more thorough ultrasound, and everything was clear—no tumours. The vet (a different one this time) told me it’s neurological, a kind of stroke. She isn't in pain; it’s just going to take time to care for her. She gave me more Cerenia plus 8mg of Ondansetron for 6 days. She also said the symptoms might come back or might clear up for good, and that we just have to leave it be. She’s seen cases like this before. Sure enough, the symptoms came back two days after the treatment ended. I called her back, and she gave me another prescription to extend the treatment, saying we could do an MRI or a CT scan to rule out a brain tumour. I can’t afford an MRI or CT scan. So I started the treatment again, but as of today, she’s still no better even though the course isn't finished yet. I’m not sleeping at night because she sometimes falls over or wets herself; I’m having to get up 2 or 3 times a night to clean up and I’m so worried. Today she hasn't eaten much—I have to force her, and even then, it’s not a lot. She’s hardly drinking anything either; I’m having to force-feed her water with a syringe. I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m so worried about her and I’m exhausted. I really need your advice. Has anyone else gone through this?
