Animals, mostly dogs, are being brought staggering into veterinary hospitals high on pot, a toxic and potentially lethal condition. Sometimes they’re just sleepy, disoriented and unable to control their bladders. Other times they’re vomiting, having seizures or are comatose.

The symptoms “depend on how much they have,” said Dr. Nicholas Davainis, a Sonoma County veterinarian.

Some animals just need to sleep off the effects, but others suffer dangerous symptoms, including extremely slow heart rates and seizures, that require treatment.

Davainis sees as many as 10 cases of canine marijuana toxicity a month. Farther north, the number of cases climbs, coinciding with increased marijuana production.

Veterinarians at Mendocino Animal Hospital usually see two or three cases a week but last Friday alone had three, said Dr. Jennifer Bennett.

The incidents peak in Humboldt County, the heart of marijuana country.

“I see at least one a day,” said Dr. Joe Humble, and it’s not uncommon to get two or three cases a day at his emergency clinic in Eureka.

“we see more cases than anybody in the world, said Humble, who belongs to the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society.

When he told veterinarians at an international convention in Nashville last year how many cases he sees, they wanted to know where he worked. When he told them Humboldt County, they “went wild” with recognition.

“We’re well known up here,” Humble said. “It’s kind of an embarrassment.”

Nearly all of the affected patients are dogs. The poison hot line run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received 361 calls in 2011 about animals ingesting marijuana. Ninety-six percent of those involved dogs.

“Cats don’t tend to eat indiscriminately like dogs do,” said Bennett, although she has treated a few cats with suspected marijuana toxicity.

“We’ve got a dog here who’s eaten laundry. They eat anything that seems interesting to them,” she said. Dogs will ingest a variety of forms of marijuana. They’ll eat the plants, dried marijuana, joints and food made with pot, Bennett said.

The items they eat can become even more unusual when they get pot-induced munchies, Humble said.

He recalled a dog that was brought to his clinic, limp and unresponsive.

“The dog’s mouth was jammed” with baking soda, Humble said. The owner thought that’s what was making the dog sick, but it turned out it first had eaten a bag of marijuana-laced cookies. Marijuana food products can pose particular problems because they taste good and contain concentrated amounts of pot.

The dog’s heart rate was in the 30s, dangerously low, Humble said. The normal range is 60 to 160, depending on the size of the dog.

Animals with marijuana toxicity also may exhibit very high or very low temperatures, Davainis said.

Treatments vary with the symptoms. They include induced vomiting, administering activated charcoal to bind the toxins, intravenous fluids and anti-seizure medication. Humble is experimenting with a therapy that binds lipid-soluble toxins.

Animals find pot to eat in a variety of places. They may find discarded marijuana while on a walk, at a neighbor’s house or in an ashtray in their homes.

“some people are a little cagey,” with their explanations,” Davainis said. “It’s always the neighbor and the roommate,” whose pot was devoured. “we don’t ask too much.”

Owners also have been known to administer medicinal marijuana to their pets, erroneously believing that what alleviates their ailments will help their pets.

While marijuana toxicity in pets occurs in other places, it’s more common in California, the doctors say.

“I went to veterinary school in Wisconsin. we never saw it,” Bennett said. “Here, it’s common.”

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or Glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.

Autism tends to go hand in hand with a variety of other mental and behavioral conditions in kids, suggests a new study that highlights the fuzzy nature of autism diagnoses themselves.

Researchers said that other disorders that often go along with autism – such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning disabilities – may complicate the diagnosis, or slow down any improvement in kids who do get diagnosed and treated early.

“The most important message that (the study) underscores is that these children tend to have multiple disabilities, not just autism,” said Johnny Matson, who studies autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge but wasn’t involved in the new research.

Dr. Andrew Zimmerman from Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Lexington and his colleagues found that the conditions they typically saw occurring together with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis varied depending on the age of the child.

Learning disabilities were more common in the youngest kids with an autism spectrum disorder, while anxiety, speech problems and seizures were more often seen in elementary school kids and teens.

The study also found that one-third of kids who had ever been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder no longer had the diagnosis at the time their parents were surveyed.

The researchers note in their report, published in Pediatrics, that past studies have also found that some kids who originally have an autism spectrum disorder eventually lose that diagnosis and are no longer considered autistic.

Whether that’s due to a mistaken first diagnosis or actual changes in kids’ brains and behaviors is controversial.

Autism spectrum disorders include autism, Asperger’s syndrome and “pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified,” or PDD-NOS. the number of kids diagnosed with one of those conditions has spiked in recent years, with about one in every 110 kids in the United States now considered to have an autism spectrum disorder, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An upcoming revision of psychiatrists’ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is expected to narrow the definition of autism and related disorders, potentially shrinking the number of children and adults who qualify for the diagnosis.

The new study included data from a phone survey of about 92,000 parents of kids age 17 and younger in the U.S. in 2007 and 2008.

Parents were asked if a doctor had ever told them their child had an autism spectrum disorder and if the child had one of the disorders currently, as well as if kids had a range of other mental and behavioral conditions such as anxiety and developmental delays.

In total, 1,366 of the parents surveyed said their kid had a past or current diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. in 453 of those cases, kids had at one point been diagnosed as having one of the disorders but didn’t anymore, parents said.

Compared to kids who had lost their diagnosis, the youngest kids that were still considered autistic were more likely to have a learning disability or delayed development, while elementary school kids had more anxiety disorders and teens more often had a speech problem or mild seizures and epilepsy.

In her own studies, “the kids that had more co-occurring diagnoses tended to be diagnosed (with autism) later,” when an autism diagnosis may be more definitive and stable, said Dr. Susan Levy, an autism and child development researcher from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In addition, she told Reuters Health, “The kids that had more co-occurring diagnoses had a lot more difficulties and their progress may have been impeded,” making it harder for their autism-related symptoms to improve with treatment.

Some of the kids who ended up not having an autism spectrum disorder may have originally been diagnosed incorrectly, especially if they got the diagnosis when they were very young, researchers said.

Kids and teens in the study that had once been considered autistic but weren’t any longer were more likely to have hearing problems than those who still had an autism spectrum disorder — suggesting that those problems might have been originally mistaken for autism.

But experts disagreed about whether it’s possible for kids who are diagnosed correctly with one of the autism-spectrum disorders to improve to the point where they are no longer affected.

“When you’re autistic, you’re autistic. It’s a very stable condition,” Matson said, noting that even when symptoms improve, people with autism have to keep getting treatment and work to maintain that progress.

Zimmerman argued that recognizing autism early and starting treatment can increase the likelihood for real, lasting improvement.

“It’s not unusual to see a child start out with more severe autism and then become more moderate and even mild as the years go by. a lot of the kids are improving, and we don’t really know why, except we know there’s a lot of moldability of the developing brain,” he told Reuters Health.

“We think that earlier treatment is essential and there are reasons to think that we can improve the kids. I’m very optimistic.”

my son had "mini" seizures yesterday or involuntary muscle spasms. we do not know what for sure. what is a good site i can go to to look up his symptoms and such? webmd helped alittle, but am looking for more in depth and child based info….any ideas?

one medical site i know is wrongdiagnosis.com/

that site has lots of information. i've used it for my own problems as well as school projects' assignments. its pretty handy. hope it helps u.

maby webmd, i'm pretty sure you can enter the age in the symptom checker

Dog pancreas produces hormones and digestive enzymes too. Pancreatic cancer is a very serious medical condition in dogs. Usually fatal. symptoms do not appear until the cancer is already well under way.

This will cause the disease to develop tumors of the pancreas. This usually causes the blood in the stool of the dog. Other common symptoms are lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite. Neurologicalsigns may be present, and seizures and loss of coordination.

Pancreatic cancer in dogs an owner

if your dog displays these symptoms, should be a veterinarian as soon as possible. as stated in the notice of one thing and seek treatment before the disease is usually advanced. In order to diagnose this disease, veterinary, and blood tests, pancreatic enzymes will have to do is to check the damage.

Unfortunately, cancer, pancreasdogs are usually difficult to treat. It is one of the basic methods of surgical treatment. disease has already spread to other parts of the body, however, surgery has no effect. Tumors can cause intestinal obstruction as they grow. This requires that gastrointestinal bypass surgery.

In addition to surgery, radiation therapy and veterinary prescription drugs may choose to give. Most dogs will not rest the pancreas and the food is notto secrete digestive enzymes. without food, dog food and vitamins must be given by IV.

very poor prognosis for pancreatic cancer in dogs. After showing symptoms of the disease, most dogs would not live more than a year.

Pancreatic cancer in dogs an owner

I have CBD in the family of parkinson. I am want a equivalent treatment without this substance. This aspartane causes seizures.

Tell your doctor what you want.

My dog was outside and when he crossed the threshold to come back inside his back arched really high, he started shaking, and his legs were folded up and we're almost paralyzed looking (he could not walk). his upper body was normal and so was his face and expression. The vet thinks he possibly had a seizure but my dog was coherent while exhibiting these symptoms and he wasn't drooling or unresponsive. The shaking/paralyzed legs only lasted around two minutes and then he was back to his normal, playful self. has this happened to anyone else's pet before? Thank you for your help!

Yes, it surely could have been a seizure. .They can escalate or increase in number and severity.
Medications can control seizures & the animal should be monitored.
Other animals may become alarmed and it can promote an attack.
It doesn't state how old your animal is,any recent injuries etc.
Should this happen again, get to a vet asap for evaluation.

Definitely sounds like a seizure. Maybe a localized seizure that only encompassed the back end. have the vet do some blood work if it happens again. It could get worse, so be prepared.

It could have been a seizure, but it could also have been a stroke or some sort of poisoning. take him to another vet for a second opinion.

Get a diagnosis from a vet!

That does sound like a seizure.awe, that is sad.

he was smoking too much reefer

my 10yr old little girl was diagnosed with ADHD and was put on the drug Concerta. She began having seizures and I myself took her off the drug after finding out this drug killed over 900 children. the school was the reason she was placed on medication because they told me that the school would step in and turn me into child protectives if I did not get the ADHD symptoms under control because she was a distraction. is there anyone who could help me in any way? any advice on how to treat or manage the symptoms with out medication?

I am a 38 year old adult taking Concerta. I have serious concerns about the medication as well. Even more so, I have serious concerns regarding those who prescribe it. For a period of time, the dosage they had me on was 3 times higher than I was supposed to be taking. Severe headaches, irritability, possibly even high blood pressure followed. Eventually, I realized what happened, told my doctor, and they said, "oops."

I am not trying to pan the medication itself. When I began taking it, the only word to use to describe the experience was "revelation." it changed my life in a profound positive way. it was the psychologists dosages that messed me up.

I have been curious to try other medications, just to see. the only one I've ever taken has been Concerta.

The Irish Times – Thursday, February 10, 2011

MORE THAN 300 adverse reactions to the cervical cancer vaccine used in the State’s national immunisation programme have been reported so far to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).

The vaccination programme began in second-level schools last May and about 90,000 doses of the vaccine have now been administered. The vaccine is given in three doses and at this stage the majority of girls have received their second dose.

The IMB said yesterday, after releasing its latest annual report, that it had received a total of 314 reports of adverse events associated with use of the Gardasil vaccine up to the end of January 2011.

It said the majority of the reports have been “non-serious and consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects for the vaccine, as described in the product information and include cases of malaise, headache, dizziness, syncope [fainting], fatigue, skin and injection site reactions and gastrointestinal symptoms”.

There have also been four reports of seizures, two occurring in patients with epilepsy, as well as four reports of anaphylactic-type reactions. all patients recovered following treatment.

Free whooping cough vaccinations are now available to WA parents with young children.

State Health Minister Kim Hames says parents should take advantage of the vaccine to help prevent the spread of the infection to their babies, who are the most vulnerable to catching it.

“Australian research has shown that about 50 per cent of babies who catch whooping cough get it from a family member, most usually a parent,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Often a parent won't even know they have the infection because they may have more mild symptoms and don't often produce the 'whoop' after a coughing spell, like young children and babies do.”

The free vaccines will be available from maternity hospitals and community health immunisation centres until June 30, 2011, with a possible extension pending an assessment of uptake and ongoing need.

Dr Hames said although WA had received fewer whooping cough notifications than other states and territories over the past five years, infection rates were rising since the last severe epidemic in 2004.

Whooping cough can cause severe health problems in young babies, including pneumonia, seizures and in some cases, permanent disability or death.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is an acute respiratory infection transmitted through respiratory droplets when an infected person talks, sneezes or coughs.

The classic 'whooping' sound associated with pertussis is created when a patient is forced to breathe in vigorously in order to catch their breath following an extended coughing fit.

Are there any early tests to detect kidney failure?

Signs and symptoms of acute kidney failure may include:

Decreased urine output, although occasionally urine output remains normal
Fluid retention, causing swelling in your legs, ankles or feet
Drowsiness
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Confusion
Seizures or coma in severe cases
Chest pain related to pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac-like membrane that envelops your heart
Some people don't notice any early signs or symptoms, or are more bothered by the underlying problem causing the sudden kidney failure.

Bulging of eyes .Bulging of lower part the legs.

Decreased urine output, although occasionally urine output remains normal
Fluid retention, causing swelling in your legs, ankles or feet
Drowsiness
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Confusion
Seizures or coma in severe cases
Chest pain related to pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac-like membrane that envelops your heart
Some people don't notice any early signs or symptoms, or are more bothered by the underlying problem causing the sudden kidney failure.