megaesophogus

[sunimist]

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge and experience with this disease? If so, I would love to know about it.

Thanks,

Shelba and Suni~~

[Roxee's Dad]

Hi Shelba,
I don't have first hand experience by my wife's cousin has a pup with megaesophagus. He built a special chair so his dog can sit up to be able to eat He is on FB and she can hook you up with him.

Also a web site: http://www.caninemegaesophagus.org/

[labblab]

Hi Shelba,

You might try this Yahoo support forum:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/megaesophagus/

I found it some time ago but have never joined, so I can't give you any direct feedback. But it might be a start. Our Peg has had intermittant issues with regurgitation that first led me to start searching for more info on this condition. Fortunately for us, she hasn't worsened over time and the episodes are pretty infrequent. But she just had a couple of "bad" days again last week, so the issue keeps nagging at me...:o

I surely hope you are not needing the info on behalf of Suni!!!

Marianne

[lulusmom]

Sorry Shelba, I don't have any first hand knowledge but I believe German Shepherds are a breed that is predisposed. I've seen more than a few rescues trying to find adopters for GSD's with megaesophogus. The extent of my knowledge is what I read the other day on fb. Apparently, you should feed the dog several small meals a day and make sure their food dish is elevated. Another fb'er posted that her dog has it too and she actually puts the food dish at the top of steps. I have done some research on it but it's been so long...I forgot everything I read. As I recall, I found some pretty good reference material and will try to find it again for you.

[sunimist]

Thanks guys. I truly appreciate your support and links. Been doing a lot of reading and research as it seems like my little Suni girl might have this problem. Haven't had her to the vet yet because she seems so healthy otherwise, and if I understand it right, the only thing they can do is x-ray for possible blockages/obstructions and then, not much, if anything, can be done to help other than home treatment.

Marianne, I joined the group you sent and it looks like they are a good bunch to communicate with. The chair is awesome, and we just may have to have one of those.

John, I guess I missed reading about megaesophagus on Facebook. Would appreciate any communication you can provide.

Glynda, I am feeding several small meals a day and putting them on the coffee table so she has to stand to eat. Bless her heart, she thinks mom has gone completely crazy!

Again, thanks for all the info and links and I will definitely be checking them all out.

Love you guys....

Shelba and Suni~~

[addy]

Hi,

I don't have first hand knowledge but my neighbor adopted an eight year female German Shepard and she had the condition. Frequent bouts of regurgitation can sometimes lead to the dog aspirating vomit into their lungs which can develop into pneumonia so she had frequent bouts of it. She was on anti nausea medications, her food had to be rolled into little meatballs and hand fed slowly and she had to eat in an upright position and remain upright for 20-30 minutes after eating. There is also a Bailey Chair that you can order to help them maintain the correct position. Frequent small amounts of food needed to be fed to her so she ate 4 times per day.

German Shephards are prone to this condition. She was born with it according to her previous owner and vet. The food ends up sitting in their esophagus instead of being pushed down into their stomach.

Not sure if this helps and hope it does not sound too negative.

Hugs,
Addy

[sunimist]

Thanks Addy. :) Yes, it helps! I appreciate all the information given.
Looks like I have another extensive information folder to fill. Oh me! :confused:

[labblab]

Oh Shelba, I hate it that you have any worries at all with precious little Suni! And hopefully whatever is going on with her will turn out to be less serious than you're thinking right now. :o

As I said, Peg's been having periods of regurgitation almost her whole life (she's six now). But they tend to be episodic for her -- she'll go for weeks without a problem, and then have a two or three-day period when she regurgitates multiple times daily. Sometimes only moments after she eats, sometimes hours later (which I learned is all possible with megaesophagus). Just when I get panicked enough to think, OK we've got to get this evaluated, she'll settle down again. I do elevate her food dish and split her meals into four servings daily. And I've tried giving her pepcid (but not religiously, I admit). So at this point I've just got my fingers crossed that she doesn't get worse. Because I think you're right that the solutions are largely based on homecare rather than medical intervention.

Anyway, here's hoping that you'll find some helpful support and that Suni will end up also having more of a low-key chronic issue rather than something really acute.

Marianne

[labblab]

Hi Shelba,

I was thinking of you guys this morning, and just wondering how little Suni is doing?

Big hugs to you both,
Marianne

[sunimist]

Suni is doing fine. Still standing on hind legs to eat and me gently rubbing her throat after she finishes until I get a healthy burp. :D The folks at the megaesophagus board said that was a good thing!
She is being so good about it and now knows the routine. She hasn't had an episode since we started.

Marianne, Suni's regurgitation is sparodic also, so I am wondering if maybe her trachea is so small, and she vacuums her food, that perhaps she is eating too fast and the load just can't make it thru the narrow passage...?? If anything worsens, we will get her evaluated to see what the real issue is.

Thanks for everything guys!

Shelba and Suni~~

[labblab]

Oh I'm so glad to hear that she's doing better, now that you're using this new feeding routine :) :)! Hopefully this will turn out to largely solve the problem.

Like most labs, Peg usually gobbles her food, too. She and Luna both eat dry kibble, and originally I always moistened her kibble a bit before feeding it to her. I always did that with Barkis and I do that with Luna -- thinking that it helps the kibble slide down easier. But with Peg, I've found that it's better if I don't moisten it. She actually crunches it up and chews it when it's dry instead of just swallowing it whole. I also think that maybe it was swelling up in her throat when I'd already pre-moistened it. ANYWAY, even though she still has episodes on occasion, it's a lot less often than before.

What you're doing with Suni -- having her stand up on her hind legs, sounds even better. What a good girl to adjust so nicely! I'm truly hoping this will ease the problem for you and that you won't have to get involved in any more diagnostics.

Please give sweet Suni girl a big hug for me.
Auntie M.

[sunimist]

It's really a big change for Suni, but she adjusted like a little trooper.

From all I have read so far, elevation of food and water is a must and the standing on hind legs to reach food was recommended to let gravity help make the food go down. The massaging of the throat was also recommended. In some cases the "Bailey Chair" becomes necessary.

I agree with you on the dry food versus wet. I also moisten Suni's food most of the time, cause if I don't watch her, she will swallow the dry food whole without chewing. Piggy she is! It is recommended by some to make small "meatballs" and they will chew it better. Don't know and haven't tried it yet. We are just learning as we go and doing whatever is necessary. :) I wonder if they ever outgrow this condition? Probably not!

[lulusmom]

I thought of you when I saw this video of a dog with congenital megaesophagus who was trained to eat upright from a chair.

http://www.wimp.com/dogchair/