# Head tremors and/or neuropathy?



## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

My dog Zoey (11 yrs old) has been having slight head tremors since about the beginning of February. It is very subtle most of the time, but a couple of times I have noticed some jerky leg movements and facial twitching during the head tremor. Also while she is lying on her belly with her head resting on the floor, the head tremor will happen almost all the time until she picks up her head, or rolls over on her side. She does not seem to notice or care. Zoey was kind enough to actually show off her head tremor in the vet's office, so the vet is definitely aware.

Zoey is on thyroid meds and we checked her thyroid level at that vet visit in the beginning of Feb. It came back pretty high, so we lowered her dose and just had a recheck, which came back right where it should be. We were thinking maybe the head tremor issue was caused by her basically being hyperthyroid, but it looks like it was not. The vet is thinking it's some kind of neuropathy issue.

Otherwise, she is doing very well. I have noticed an increase in her panting but she seems to be breathing comfortably when not panting. Aside from her thyroid meds, she is on Previcox and oxycodone for pain because she has issues in 3 of her legs. If the head tremor is in any way related to the pain meds, then she's just going to have a shaky head. She absolutely cannot come off the pain meds, she would have no mobility at all. Also, if this is seizure related, she eats THK which does include rosemary. But I looked back at the last kibble she was on and it also included rosemary, so not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Vet and I have agreed to wait and see. He explained his thinking and it all makes sense and I'm fine with a conservative approach at this point. Mainly just wondering if anyone has been through something like this before. Google is giving me a bunch of scary reasons for head tremors in older dogs, and not really much info on neuropathy. Keeping her healthy and mobile over the past 2 years has been an uphill battle so it's a little frustrating that now we have yet another issue to add to the list.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

Both my girls ave neuropathy, no head tremors but Macy gets them in her front legs on occasion, she has Degenerative myelopathy and some neuropathy. Babs has neuropathy in the lower end of her spine near her tail. they both take gabapentin and have gone to acupuncture it has worked wonders for Babs, but not so much for Macy, Macy also takes some anti inflammatory and pain meds 
I am thinking of starting her on PT underwater treadmill.

sorry you are going through this, the best we can do is to make sure they are comfortable and not in a lot of pain


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

did you go to a specialist?


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Rvent, what does Macy do when it causes problems with her front legs? Do you mean she gets tremors in her legs? Most of the info I could find on the internet was referring to neuropathy interfering with movement like with degenerative myelopathy, not causing unwanted movement like I'm seeing with Zoey. There are times when I see some leg tremors when she is lying down, never when she is walking. I don't know if any of it is causing pain, but she's on so much pain med anyway I'm not sure I'd know. She is able to get up, go up steps, move around, etc. normally by herself, she is just very limited in how much she can walk at any one time. There is a place near me that is doing a workshop on massage and I'm thinking of taking her. Not sure if anyone near me offers acupuncture. I'm guessing there is but I've never really looked. I do have a good rehab place near me.

Doggiedad, no at this point I'm only dealing with my regular vet. If things progress then a specialist is something I will certainly look into, and I completely trust my vet to tell me when I need to look into other options. There is one place right near me that might have a neurologist, not sure, the other referral places are about 40 minutes away. My main issue is keeping her comfortable and really understanding what is or could be wrong with her. Thanks for the suggestion, I have considered it.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

flashyfawn said:


> Rvent, what does Macy do when it causes problems with her front legs? Do you mean she gets tremors in her legs? Most of the info I could find on the internet was referring to neuropathy interfering with movement like with degenerative myelopathy, not causing unwanted movement like I'm seeing with Zoey. There are times when I see some leg tremors when she is lying down, never when she is walking. I don't know if any of it is causing pain, but she's on so much pain med anyway I'm not sure I'd know. She is able to get up, go up steps, move around, etc. normally by herself, she is just very limited in how much she can walk at any one time. There is a place near me that is doing a workshop on massage and I'm thinking of taking her. Not sure if anyone near me offers acupuncture. I'm guessing there is but I've never really looked. I do have a good rehab place near me.
> 
> It only happens while she is sitting or standing I have never noticed it while she is walking, it does not seem to phase her in the least.
> I did take her to a neurologist
> she struggles to get up sometimes, stairs are not that easy for her either some days are better than others, she is actually a little crocked when she walks. I am looking into taking her to a Underwater treadmill. I never know if she is in pain or not, but the gabapentin is for neuropathic pain, she has meta cam and tramadol as well. I am taking one day at a time


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

head and leg tremors is a serious condition in my opinion. i wouldn't gamble
with my dog's health with a "wait and see" conservative approach. i would go
to a specialist immediately and it wouldn't matter how far away the specialist is.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> head and leg tremors is a serious condition in my opinion. i wouldn't gamble
> with my dog's health with a "wait and see" conservative approach. i would go
> to a specialist immediately and it wouldn't matter how far away the specialist is.



Macy has the leg tremors, she has been to my regular vet and a specialist (a neurologist) unfortunately she has degenerative myelopathy and there is nothing that can be done for it except keep her comfortable and know when its time that she is not anymore.


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Rvent, thanks for the additional info. It sure is hard to know there is only so much we can do for them. DM especially has always scared me, so hard to watch their bodies go when their mind is still there.

Doggiedad, I'm not saying it isn't a serious health problem. When I say it has been a struggle keeping Zoey healthy over the past 2 years, I'm not kidding. We are looking at quality of life now, not quantity. I have had to increase her pain meds recently and I can only make one more slight increase before she is maxed out. You may not agree, and that is okay, but I'm not going to have her spend her last months going off to every specialist when reality is, there most likely isn't anything we can do for her if this is a neuropathic issue. That doesn't feel right to me. She is comfortable, she is eating, she is happy, that is enough for me at this stage in her life. If it progresses, I will reevaluate her situation.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

Have you tried the gabapentin? It worked wonders for Babs her neuropathic pain and issues are pretty well gone, it is hard to tell if it is working for Macy.

You are so right DM is terrible, it is the hardest thing to watch her legs deteriorate, I will try everything I can to help her have some quality of life.
I just lost my 5 year old boy out of the blue 6 months ago, I am not ready to lose another one especially since her health is good other than the DM.

I don't like all the side effects though from the pain meds, she is not on that much now. As long as she can get around and is comfortable I am taking the wait and see approach


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

No, I have not tried gabapentin. I will look into that if it seems like pain becomes more of an issue, good to know that it has worked for you. Yeah those side effects can be pretty harsh but like everything else, we just have to balance that out.


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