My vet says my 19-year-old Bichon had a stroke. Is there hope?

Question

I just got home from the vet. My vet examined my 19 yr old Bichon and said she likely had a stroke (head tilt, circling, imbalance and eye flickering) - he advised that we euthanize. I’m hesitant to give up. Is there hope for a 19 yr old? Pet's info: Dog | Bichon Frise | Female | spayed | 19 years and 2 months old | 14 lbs

Ann Dion, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Baby Girl is beautiful, I am sorry she is feeling sick. Dogs can have episodes where they suddenly become very dizzy, (head tilt, circling, 'horizontal nystagmus' which is the eyes flicking back and forth). This can be caused by many different things, including strokes, brain tumors, inner ear infections, etc. There is also a condition called "Idiopathic Geriatric Vestibular Disease" which means "we don't know why but old animals get dizzy". One cause of this condition is a stroke. This condition can resolve on it's own with time, and you usually see a drastic improvement over the first 24-48 hours. In the mean-time, we usually provide a drug called "prochlorperazine" which makes them not as nauseous. You can get this, or a version of this drug, from your vet. There is no treatment aside from making them not feel nauseous from the dizziness. Time is the only healer. If the cause is this vestibular disease, your little girl could get better and have a good life otherwise. This condition can re-occur at any time. If she doesn't get significantly better over the next couple days, then the problem is likely more serious and won't resolve. At that point you have to assess if her quality of life is affected. This will be determined if she has other disease processes going on. You will also need to provide nursing care in the mean-time, making sure she doesn't pee and poop on herself, bringing food and water to her. I hope she feels better soon. Best of luck with Baby Girl.

My vet says my 19-year-old Bichon had a stroke. Is there hope?

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