The vet called, and via VET.CT I have been diagnosed with paroxysmal dyskinesias. This fits with my rare and short-lived back leg stiffness.

If it gets worse, I may need a MRI to check for structural intracranial disease. If there’s, for example, some kind of mass growing, I might expect this to happen more often. Or: spontaneous remission also happens.

Gluten sensitivity has been implicated, but by chance I’m on a delicious food which is already gluten free (BTW, more please!).

This explains my 1st, 2nd and 3rd

The photo shows where I was shaved to take some blood yesterday:

The diagnosis is from my vet visits and a video the humans shared. The VET.CT notes are:

Thank you very much for the video provided. It has been very useful! Based on the video, I wonder if Breezy could have paroxysmal dyskinesia (movement disorder). Paroxysmal dyskinesia consists in episodes of abnormal movements, inability to walk and increased muscle tone. The episodes can have a variable duration and the affected patient returns to normal between episodes.

Paroxysmal dyskinesia remains poorly understood. Current understanding suggests that may be the result of transient abnormal activity in deep collections of grey matter within the cerebral hemispheres. The pathogenesis remains unknown, however, a natural reduction in episode frequency was reported in a study with Labrador Retrievers and Jack Russell Terriers and spontaneous remission is possible in up to 32% of the cases.

Diagnosis of paroxysmal dyskinesia is often speculative and based on observation and assessment of key features of abnormal events/ episodes of dystonic involuntary movements.

An association between gluten sensitivity and paroxysmal dyskinesia has been demonstrated in some breeds, and these dogs improve with gluten free diet. Serological testing for anti-transglutaminasa-2 and anti-gliadin antibodies can be evaluated to see if Breezy has gluten sensitivity that could be the responsible for her paroxysmal events. I can see in the video, that during the episode she does constant tongue movement. I would rule out abdominal pain as well, and I would administer omeprazole, just in case.

Sporadically, paroxysmal dyskinesia has also been reported due to structural intracranial diseases. For that reason, if Breezy develops additional clinical signs, MRI of the brain +/- CSF analysis should be recommended.

There is no specific treatment for paroxysmal dyskinesia, and often multiple treatments must be trialed in order to find the correct one for each individual. Let´s rule out gluten sensitivity with the serology and 2 months of gluten free diet, but if clinical signs do not improve or get worse, additional treatments may be added (such as, acetazolamide, clonazepam or fluoxetine).

Please Isabel, keep us updated about her. She is a challenging case.