Episodic falling?

Quincy is 5 1/2 yrs old, and has been a very healthy, happy member of our family. Two weeks ago, he had an episode while on a long car ride. His body stiffened and he appeared to have trouble breathing. He never lost consciousness, nor did he pee or poop during the episode. It lasted about 5 minutes, and then he began to pant very heavily. We brought him to emergency, but he was completely fine by the time we got there.

A few days ago, he had an episode while on a walk, when he suddenly seemed to lose balance, and his hind legs were very stiff. He layed down, and within a couple of minutes, he was fine. Then yesterday, he had another episode when he got excited when the doorbell rang. He ran and kept falling, then just layed down, head to the floor, and began lifting his front paw off the ground.

He was admitted to the hospital yesterday for a neurological workup. I mentioned Episodic Falling to them, and they said it could not be that, because that usually starts in puppies, and because it came on suddenly and the episodes are too close together. They want to do an MRI, and echo-cardiogram (EKG and xray of heart were normal). He has no murmur. I have been scouring the internet and watched many videos of dogs with Episodic Falling, and it looks exactly like what Quincy is experiencing.

Has anyone here had a dog with this condition, that started later in life, and the onset was sudden and severe? We are just sick over this. He was a seemingly healthy dog just two weeks ago, and now this.

http://www.episodicfalling.com/first.html These are cavalier owners who spent years helping researchers develop the DNA test for EFS. Contact them, they are very helpful and very knowledgeable.

You will see on the Symptom page that although symptoms usually show in puppies the first signs can arise at any age.

nannyj said:

... I mentioned Episodic Falling to them, and they said it could not be that, because that usually starts in puppies, and because it came on suddenly and the episodes are too close together. They want to do an MRI, and echo-cardiogram (EKG and xray of heart were normal). He has no murmur. I have been scouring the internet and watched many videos of dogs with Episodic Falling, and it looks exactly like what Quincy is experiencing.

Has anyone here had a dog with this condition, that started later in life, and the onset was sudden and severe? We are just sick over this. He was a seemingly healthy dog just two weeks ago, and now this.

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It still could be episodic falling syndrome, discussed at length here: http://www.cavalierhealth.org/episodic_falling.htm But it might also be a form of muscular dystrophy. See http://www.cavalierhealth.org/muscular_dystrophy.htm

Thanks for the advice. After speaking directly with the neurologist, she was very puzzled by his symptoms and therefore very receptive to testing for EFS. They ordered the test kit and I will bring Quincy in tomorrow to be tested. His echocardiogram was fine, and he was sent home with a 7-day holter monitor, with the hopes that if he has another episode, the monitor will capture his heart activity, to rule out any sort of cardiac issue. Of course, he hasn't had an episode since he was admitted two days ago. So now all we can do is wait!