Diagnosed with Idiopathic Megaesophagus....

[suzyqla]

I have a 10 yr old Rottweiler, Chopper, and he was recently diagnosed with Idiopathic Megaesophagus. Every test came back negative for disease, thyroid or metal problems. At the same time, he had a large fatty tumor in his lower body...non-related to the megaesophagus. Chopper had surgery on August 16, 2005 for the fatty tumor removal. During the surgery, the doctor's took a biopsy of his liver. Those tests came back normal with no signs of disease or cancer.

Chopper survived the surgery and we are living with the megaesophagus. It is extremely difficult, as he vomits every day. We have his food elevated and make him sit up for as long as possible after each meal (3 times a day). He was so vibrant and full of life before the megaesophagus and is there ANY hope of this going away? Can someone give me some pointers to make life easier for Chopper?

Thanks,
Suzanne

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Hi Suzanne,

So sorry to hear about Chopper. My boy Drew also has Megaesophagus ( was diagnosed five years ago ) and has been living a fairly normal life. This isn't something that will go away and although it is difficult Chopper can still lead a fairly normal life as well.

Many megaesophagus dogs do pretty well with their food dish elevated but some ( as with my Drew ) require a bit more than that to lessen the vomitting. My suggestion would be to not only elevate his water but to limit the amount he can take in at one time, the typical way for a dog to drink is to "lap" it up with their tongue, fine for most but with megaesophagus it creates way too much air going into the stomach causing even a greater chance of "losing their lunch." Vomitting is always a cause for worry with the megaesophagus dog as it isn't difficult at all for them to aspirate.

When I say raise the water and limit the intake what I mean in buy a large bottle, the kind you see adult rabbits drink from and secure it either in the dog's crate or if he doesn't have one secure the holder to a wall at a height where your boy actually can not only stand but has to stretch his head up slightly to drink from it. He'll be able to drink all he wants but it will only come out so fast My big guy used to vomit 6 or more times a day before we did this and although vomitting will be part of life with megaesophagus, we are now down to it occuring only once or twice every three days or so.

What type of food are you feeding right now?

[Carrie]

I'm so sorry Suzzane that this has come up, but it looks hopeful. It's nice to have Sonja here, who knows how to deal with it. I do send my best for you and your boy. I think he'll get along OK, really it does sound manageable.