Anvil of Oak
New member
Hello forum,
This will be a long post, as I am scared/frustrated and in need of help. My ten year old english bulldog, Jax, started having issues mid-January. He has been in amazing health until then. Before anyone says "he is ten years old, it's time for him to go", Jax is still active, playful, and behaves like a pup. He has had no health issues other than food allergies until now. I know he is old, but I want to give him a chance to fight this.
Mid-January, while sleeping, Jax had an intense seizure(his first ever). As soon at the vet opened I rushed him in. They did a full blood panel and complete examination. Blood work came back all normal, and the only thing they found wrong was an inner ear infection. We packed his ears, got some antibiotics and went home. He then began having seizures all day and night everytime he would take a nap.(heavy snoring, trouble breathing). The following day there was a bad snow storm and I couldn't get him to the vet, but I managed to call the vet and she prescribed some phenobarbital which I was able to pick up.
I started flushing his ears weekly, and giving him the antibiotics, a steroid(prednisolone), and his phenobarbital as prescribed. He was still having trouble breathing, however. Heavy panting and intense snoring. Especially when doing any activity or sleeping.
Mid-February, Jax had been doing well for several weeks and was recovering, his ear infection wouldn't go away. His ears were packed again and back on antibiotics and steroids, to make matters worse, he began having seizures frequently when sleeping. He would stop breathing, then start a major seizure.(His O2 levels would drop). At the END of February we started a new seizure medication and got another blood panel, which showed he was almost anemic.
On March 1st - Jax was doing great! Acting just like a pup. He went outside to play, but then walked back inside and had what appeared to be a stroke. (It was def. not a seizure.) After it had passed he walked to his spot and collapsed. He was panting heavily, struggling to breathe. I tried to wake him, but he would not respond. His lips, tongue, and gums started turning purple and his heart rate was well over 200 BPM with his O2 levels at 70%. I rush him to the vet clinic, where he was given oxygen and pumped full of various meds to keep him alive. He spent the day in an oxygen tent. XRAYS were taken and his trach, heart and lungs looked fine except he had aspiration pneumonia. His bloodwork showed he was slightly anemic and that his kidneys may now be acting up. (In my opinion all these other issues coming up are from the hypoxemia - his bloodwork looked great until he started having breathing problems. The pneumonia came from his episodes, we think)
This past week he has been recovering. No excitement or activity for him. He is always struggling to breathe.(heavy panting). He just finished his antibiotic and another round of steroids. Yesterday(march 8th), all day, and this morning, every time he naps, he struggles to breathe and has a major seizure, the one that just happened lasted 4 minutes. In the last 24 hours he has had ~8 seizures when trying to nap/sleep. (That I know of, he had to be left alone for a couple of hours.)
I am headed back to the vet in about an hour for an exam, another blood panel, and possibly oxygen treament too. My options are limited, and an MRI/CAT scan would require sedation, as well as be a 4 hour drive and another $600-$1200 dollars. Biopsies of his heart/lungs would also require sedation. We aren't confident he would wake up from any sedation. I am running out of money and am considering a credit card to keep up his care.
My family knows that Jax and I are inseperable. I have had him since he was born, he never leaves my side. Everyone is telling me that if I cannot figure out what is wrong soon that I should have him put down, since he struggles to breathe so much now. He still acts energetic and like a puppy, and is happy as ever, even while going through all this he is always trying to cheer me up and wants to play. He loves everyone.
Has anyone elses bulldog had similar issues? What is your opinion? Any advice? I don't want to euthanize if there is any chance he could recover.
This will be a long post, as I am scared/frustrated and in need of help. My ten year old english bulldog, Jax, started having issues mid-January. He has been in amazing health until then. Before anyone says "he is ten years old, it's time for him to go", Jax is still active, playful, and behaves like a pup. He has had no health issues other than food allergies until now. I know he is old, but I want to give him a chance to fight this.
Mid-January, while sleeping, Jax had an intense seizure(his first ever). As soon at the vet opened I rushed him in. They did a full blood panel and complete examination. Blood work came back all normal, and the only thing they found wrong was an inner ear infection. We packed his ears, got some antibiotics and went home. He then began having seizures all day and night everytime he would take a nap.(heavy snoring, trouble breathing). The following day there was a bad snow storm and I couldn't get him to the vet, but I managed to call the vet and she prescribed some phenobarbital which I was able to pick up.
I started flushing his ears weekly, and giving him the antibiotics, a steroid(prednisolone), and his phenobarbital as prescribed. He was still having trouble breathing, however. Heavy panting and intense snoring. Especially when doing any activity or sleeping.
Mid-February, Jax had been doing well for several weeks and was recovering, his ear infection wouldn't go away. His ears were packed again and back on antibiotics and steroids, to make matters worse, he began having seizures frequently when sleeping. He would stop breathing, then start a major seizure.(His O2 levels would drop). At the END of February we started a new seizure medication and got another blood panel, which showed he was almost anemic.
On March 1st - Jax was doing great! Acting just like a pup. He went outside to play, but then walked back inside and had what appeared to be a stroke. (It was def. not a seizure.) After it had passed he walked to his spot and collapsed. He was panting heavily, struggling to breathe. I tried to wake him, but he would not respond. His lips, tongue, and gums started turning purple and his heart rate was well over 200 BPM with his O2 levels at 70%. I rush him to the vet clinic, where he was given oxygen and pumped full of various meds to keep him alive. He spent the day in an oxygen tent. XRAYS were taken and his trach, heart and lungs looked fine except he had aspiration pneumonia. His bloodwork showed he was slightly anemic and that his kidneys may now be acting up. (In my opinion all these other issues coming up are from the hypoxemia - his bloodwork looked great until he started having breathing problems. The pneumonia came from his episodes, we think)
This past week he has been recovering. No excitement or activity for him. He is always struggling to breathe.(heavy panting). He just finished his antibiotic and another round of steroids. Yesterday(march 8th), all day, and this morning, every time he naps, he struggles to breathe and has a major seizure, the one that just happened lasted 4 minutes. In the last 24 hours he has had ~8 seizures when trying to nap/sleep. (That I know of, he had to be left alone for a couple of hours.)
I am headed back to the vet in about an hour for an exam, another blood panel, and possibly oxygen treament too. My options are limited, and an MRI/CAT scan would require sedation, as well as be a 4 hour drive and another $600-$1200 dollars. Biopsies of his heart/lungs would also require sedation. We aren't confident he would wake up from any sedation. I am running out of money and am considering a credit card to keep up his care.
My family knows that Jax and I are inseperable. I have had him since he was born, he never leaves my side. Everyone is telling me that if I cannot figure out what is wrong soon that I should have him put down, since he struggles to breathe so much now. He still acts energetic and like a puppy, and is happy as ever, even while going through all this he is always trying to cheer me up and wants to play. He loves everyone.
Has anyone elses bulldog had similar issues? What is your opinion? Any advice? I don't want to euthanize if there is any chance he could recover.