Michelle Marie Sri

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Mar 29, 2015
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Thanks for sharing Memphis' story! The mega esophagus didn't show in Her xray- but they said it can be hard to catch- as it can come and go. Arg right? I think we are going to get the bile acid test done next. Has Memphis had that test done?

The mega esophagus just seems like it's what it could be- it only happens when she is sleeping- and if her esophagus relaxes when she sleeps- and stuff comes up- then she starts to choke/gag on it- which wakes her up- and wakes us up and then she try's to throw up, which is too hard on her which makes her collapse. Again, ugh and arg.

We will def keep you posted on what we find out- please do the same! It is crazy and lucky I guess that Memphis' issues didn't present until 12 years of age. And this has been happening to Rosie since she was about 4 months old.
 

Memphis Mama

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Mar 28, 2015
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Columbus, OH
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We have never even heard of the bile acid test, so no, he has not yet had that done (that I'm aware of anyway). I will definitely bring that to our vet's attention though, so thanks for the tip! I would imagine it has something to do with the mega esophagus, too. Memphis's episodes are only in the morning, but he gags/coughs every day. Also, the ball of saliva that comes up is extremely thick, pasty like, and seems like it would be hard to spit up and out. I freak out every time it happens because I think he's choking and losing oxygen. Does Rosie have the constant gagging/coughing? It's the same sound they make when they are choking on their saliva during an episode, so we are always afraid it is going to happen when we hear him gagging. Memphis was also diagnosed with IBD around the same time, so we switched his food from Iams to (after going through a couple of different brands) Royal Canin HP which is grain free and low protein. It definitely helped his IBD but not the acid reflux. I'm so glad I found your post!
 

Davidh

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Mar 21, 2011
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I am leaning toward the acid reflux, and she is trying to cough it up, plus do you grind the bone really fine? If not that could be scratching or getting caught in her throut causing this too. I would definitely try the antacids to see if that helps.
 

nycbullymama

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Dec 22, 2012
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I would definitely give her 1 Prilosec a day. Many dogs are on it for life and it doesn't hurt them.
Also, you're feeding raw at 4pm and 8am, correct? RAW digest much faster than kibble, and there's a 16 hour window between meals. Chances are good she's building up stomach acid and that's what we're seeing at the start of the video. It could be she's trying to throw it up (reflux) and passes out from the strain.

She definitely needs to eat something at around 10-11PM. I would try the Prilosec and late night meal for a few weeks, see how it goes.
 

Michelle Marie Sri

New member
Mar 29, 2015
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I would definitely give her 1 Prilosec a day. Many dogs are on it for life and it doesn't hurt them.
Also, you're feeding raw at 4pm and 8am, correct? RAW digest much faster than kibble, and there's a 16 hour window between meals. Chances are good she's building up stomach acid and that's what we're seeing at the start of the video. It could be she's trying to throw it up (reflux) and passes out from the strain.

She definitely needs to eat something at around 10-11PM. I would try the Prilosec and late night meal for a few weeks, see how it goes.

It's new that we are feeding her earlier- and only 2 meals a day. She was pooping so much and getting us up in the middle of the night to poop so we just started feeding her earlier, by 4-5, so she wouldn't have to get up.

We are going to try a small meal or snack before bed- see if that helps. We will do some more research on the Prilosec.

Thanks,
m
 

aprilemari

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Sep 11, 2011
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I'm so sorry that your sweet girl is going through this. We feed raw as well, and noticed late night vomiting of bile. We feed her dinner now a bit later in the day, around 6pm instead of 4pm. We also switched to a raw food (commercially available) that is in frozen kibble form so that Lola has to take her time to eat. She was regurgitating (very different from vomiting bile) often, which I thought might have been due to her swallowing her soft raw patties so quickly. Switching to the raw kibble frozen form helped, as did feeding her with an elevated bowl (both actually helped with what I had thought was megaesophagus from palate surgery). I don't have experience with seizures, but Lola would lick her chops and bite the air when she was on a food that gave her allergic reactions and her body would itch a lot. I hope you do find some answers soon.
 

Michelle Marie Sri

New member
Mar 29, 2015
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We have never even heard of the bile acid test, so no, he has not yet had that done (that I'm aware of anyway). I will definitely bring that to our vet's attention though, so thanks for the tip! I would imagine it has something to do with the mega esophagus, too. Memphis's episodes are only in the morning, but he gags/coughs every day. Also, the ball of saliva that comes up is extremely thick, pasty like, and seems like it would be hard to spit up and out. I freak out every time it happens because I think he's choking and losing oxygen. Does Rosie have the constant gagging/coughing? It's the same sound they make when they are choking on their saliva during an episode, so we are always afraid it is going to happen when we hear him gagging. Memphis was also diagnosed with IBD around the same time, so we switched his food from Iams to (after going through a couple of different brands) Royal Canin HP which is grain free and low protein. It definitely helped his IBD but not the acid reflux. I'm so glad I found your post!

Rosie doesn't have any day time gagging or coughing. We will for sure keep you posted!
 

RiiSi

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Sep 30, 2011
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I'm so sorry your going through this, it must be really frightening and also frustrading not to know what is wrong. I have no experience in this but I feed raw and we use little balls of tripe as snacks and means of transport for medicine. It hasn't got too much protein, but a lot of digestive enzymes and most of all they love it. I don't as much, since it stinks, but I can take a little stink for my stinkers...
 

ddnene

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[MENTION=13946]Chad Morgan[/MENTION] [MENTION=13951]Michelle Marie Sri[/MENTION]

My hubby Ray just told me last night that he met you guys in Seattle over the weekend… I'm Tracey ;) I'm SO glad that he told you about EBN, and I sincerely hope that we can help you out w/your sweet girl. We are a BIG family on here, and we are so excited to have you & Rosie on board!!!
 

aprilemari

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Re: Morning vomit + faint (video)

Oh yeah I meant to say that Lola eats homemade baked sweet potato fries for treats even tho she's on raw

sent from my droid mini
 
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Chad Morgan

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Rosie
  • Thread Starter
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Great to meet you Tracey! Like everyone else with s bulldog, we get stopped all of the time but I'm super thankful with connected with Ray and found this place! Everyone seems so helpful. I hope we will have the chance to give back to the community over time.
We appreciate all of the help!
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
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Jun 19, 2013
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Great to meet you Tracey! Like everyone else with s bulldog, we get stopped all of the time but I'm super thankful with connected with Ray and found this place! Everyone seems so helpful. I hope we will have the chance to give back to the community over time.
We appreciate all of the help!

Ray gets a little obsessed w/meeting every bully that we see… Lol You are already helping us out here on EBN by sharing your story of Rosie… I hope that her issues can get resolved soon. Please keep us posted!!!
 

Memphis Mama

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Memphis
We recently had Memphis back to the vet for the same problem again. His breathing has been a little funny too, so they did x-rays again to make sure he didn't have pneumonia. He had bronchitis, and apparently both are common with the enlarged esophagus. Our vet switched him from Pepcid to Prilosec about a week and a half ago, and that seemed to help him quite a bit. He still has a little gagging/coughing, but it appears to have slowed down significantly, and no episodes where he gags and passes out. I showed him your video so he could see what happens, and he thinks it's related to the enlarged esophagus and the acid reflux that goes with that. If you haven't switched meds yet, you may want to talk to your vet about an acid reflux pill (like Prilosec). Hopefully Rosie is doing better. :)
 

Memphis Mama

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Mar 28, 2015
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Columbus, OH
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United States
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Memphis
We were back at the vet again today. Memphis had a seizure late yesterday afternoon and another one this morning, peeing himself both times ... once on the couch and the second time in our bed. He's not eating and lethargic. There's apparently a muscle that runs along a bulldog's esophagus, and now the theory is (after vet did some research), it's "common" with megaesophagus for that muscle to get irritated when they start gagging and can't catch their breath. When they briefly pass out, it's a good thing, because it relaxes that muscle (and their esophagus) and helps them to catch their breath and regain consciousness. Memphis was also diagnosed with mild kidney failure a couple of years ago, and late last year they found a tumor on his spleen. The most recent x-rays revealed the tumor has grown slightly, and today they said his one good kidney (while still functioning), is slowly declining. I'm not asking for advice, just using this forum as a sounding board in attempt to regain some sanity after a tough day. We don't have kids, we have a bulldog! He's always been our #1 priority and a Mommy's boy (even though Daddy thinks he's a Daddy's boy). :no:
 

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