Megaoesophagus.

[Astrid Landsaat]

After months of vomiting/regurgitating, last Thursday the chest x-rays made it clear that my Ginger does have MO. It is not caused by the drugs she is taking for her epilepsy, but it is the heritable form. Now I now that she has MO I can deal with it, the vomiting stopped now I know what caused it. With loads of antibiotics she is recovering remarkably well from her inhalation pneumonia. I found out that I can live with MO, just like her epilepsy. The only difficult thing is the combination. Today she had four seizures and they made her very hungry. Because of the MO she is only allowed to eat and drink in sitting position. After that she has to stay for 15 minutes in a more or less vertical position. Even today I could deal with the situation. I was wandering, are there more owners with dogs that has both diseases? If yes, how do you deal with it?

[Mary Davies]

Hi Astrid,

I had a dog a few years ago with MO. He lived to be 11 years old with not too many problems along the way once properly diagnosed.

It was a very bad case and the poor boys heart was almost pushed out of his chest with the food. The vet showed me the exray. If I had known at the time when he was very poorly at the vets I would probably have had him put to sleep, but of course by the time I found out the details he was back to his normal happy self. However it was very easy to deal with, you dont need to go buying any expensive items. I just used one of those plastic kitchen stools and fed him with his front feet on it. Never feed dry food without moisture on it, and sometimes if they have a very big drink it can also get stuck in the loose oesophagus. I think if it doesnt get food or water stuck in too often it does probably tighten after a while. I didnt need to keep him stood up after feeding, but if you think it hasnt gone down then let him jump up you and gently pat his back just behind the shoulder blades for a few minutes . Hope this helps.
Mary

[Jo Ottinger]

Astrid so sorry to hear about Ginger, she is so lucky to have you.

Scout's sister was born with megaoesophagus and she will be four in February and is doing well. She has taught herself to stay quite after she eats and is a very healthy girl. Vet recommended to but her down when she was born but her breeder would not and she has a forever home with her.

[Astrid Landsaat]

Kathie, what a lovely breeder! I know that we can deal with it too. The only sad thing is that it took us almost a year to find out what caused Ginger her problems. In the past few months she lost 5 kg. of weight. Now she is gaining weight and looks so much happier!

[eva ciechonska]

That is super to hear. How are you manageing it - with drugs and a diet regime or just diet?

[Astrid Landsaat]

Hi Eva,

she is only on her epilepsy drugs now (Phenobarbital, Sodiumbromide and Keppra) and that the first thing I give her. After that I feed her dry food soaked in hot water and after that she is allowed to drink some water. I am feeding her 5 times a day now.

[eva ciechonska]

Hey Astrid,
Would this be a specific make of food, do you liquidise it or does it have a consistency? Is it the same every day or do you vary it?

[Astrid Landsaat]

Because of the breed and the possible stomach (torsion) problems I always fed her 3 meals a day. Dry food pre soaked in water. Not liquid. Since it was clear that she was an epileptic, I banned every thing possible that could cause seizures. Food with grain and preservatives was one of the issues. I am feeding her only brands that are free of it, Acana and Orijen. I vary her food with some raw fish or beef and boiled eggs.

[eva ciechonska]

Interesting that grain foods and preservatives were pinpointed as a potential cause of seizures in Ginger - is she allergic to them? All grain or just wheat? What substitute do the foods that you feed have - rice, potatoes? With preservatives - do you mean chemical ones - can you tell me which do you have to avoid? Can you have vit E? Is it better to feed raw fish insteas of cooked?

[Astrid Landsaat]

No, Ginger is not allergic to them, but I read and found out myself that food could make a difference for an epileptic. The substitute in her food is rice and it doesn't contain chemical preservatives. I think that raw fish might be better, it contains more vitamins. For an epileptic it is wise to be careful with raw food. I would not feed her with things that I can't eat raw.

[Astrid Landsaat]

An update. Ginger is doing very well. She didn't vomit or regurgitate any food in the past 3 weeks. She lost 5 kg. in the past months but now she is gaining weight. There is only one problem left. She was always eating other animals droppings (dogs, cats, horses, cows and sheep, name it and she loves it) and recently she started to eat her own sh*t! She is a very behaved girl but about this she pretends to be deaf.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[Jo Ottinger]

I have had a problem when Hawk was younger with Lady and him eating each other droppings. I have used pineapple which worked to get them to stop.

[Astrid Landsaat]

Interesting. How much pineapple did you give him and was it fresh or from a jar?