Harley's Stomach Emptying Problem

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby iluvk9 » May 15th, 2010, 7:40 am

plebayo wrote:Have they x-rayed his throat?
Yes, and it looked okay.

plebayo wrote: If they didn't do barium already that may be another option just to have them do a barium series and watch how the barium passes - it might give a clue as to why he's barfing.
I think he mentioned "giving barium" to calm his stomach as sort of a medicine?


call2arms wrote:Sucralfate is also good for stomach issues.....
Are you giving several small meals a day, as opposed to 2 larger meals? It's easier to digest small portions.
Is he puking undigested food, or bile/foam? Is it close to every meal, or random troughout the day?


Vet mentioned Sucralfate but for years Reglan worked so he was going to stick with what worked until it doesn't.

I usually feed 3/4 meals a day. He is getting 8 small meals of about 1/8th a can.

It depends when he pukes as to what comes up. If it's 3 hours later, it is brownish, stinks like acid stuff and digested.

Blood tests came back normal so Vet wants to keep Reglan and Pepcid and I/D food going.


Ino wrote: Hope they figure out Harley's problem soon!
Thank you, so do I. He still enjoys eating and licks the bowl with 2 tbs of food clean. :(

Mallika- He did get Reglan and Pepcid intravenously and Thursday night he kept the little bit of food he was allowed down.

Thank you everyone for your input. This weekend has got to get better for him.
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Postby PoodleMaMaKat » May 15th, 2010, 8:39 am

BullyLady wrote:Isn't Reglan one of those "compounding" drugs or whatever it's called where it takes a few days to reach full efficacy though?


No, you should see an effect right away, within about an hour for the oral version. However Reglan is very short acting. If you can pay attention to when you are giving the Reglan and how long after he vomits. Look for a pattern like 4 hours after his meds he always vomits.
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Postby Jenn » May 15th, 2010, 10:41 am

Awww Poor Harley :hug3:
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Postby madremissy » May 15th, 2010, 10:51 am

Only postive, good thoughts headed your way for Harley. like I haven't been sending them everyday since he started. :hug3:
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Postby Malli » May 15th, 2010, 2:13 pm

Joyce, how are you giving the meds? Are you giving " _ x daily" or "every _ hours"?

heres some info on the Reglan/Metaclopromide. It looks to be pretty decent.
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/me ... page1.aspx

and here is Pepcid/Famotidine :
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/fa ... page1.aspx

it will say you need to sign up, but if you close the popup window you should be able to view the info

I would try a couple of extra things, if you are able. I would set it up so that you are NOT giving Pepcid and Reglan at the same time, because this would mean that the affects of both have most likely worn off, so try to give them sort of alternating, if possible, so he is always "covered" by one or the other. The article also suggests giving the reglan 1/2 hr before a meal, I would also try that.

If you like, pm me your schedule, the treatment times for the meds etc, and I'll try and help you come up with something that isn't too inconvinient or unworkable for you and also helps Harley :)
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Postby iluvk9 » May 15th, 2010, 3:27 pm

Thank you everyone. :)

Mallika, my Vet set up a time table similar to what you are suggesting. Harley gets 10 mg Reglan, 3 x a day, 30 minutes before the special food. Also, 10 mg. Pepcid, 2 x a day before meals. I was told to give them together, but I will call and ask for clarification.

I looked at the links, thank you.

Food is 1/8th a can (like 2 heaping tbsp.) every few hours this weekend. If he holds it down, I go to 1/4 can 4 times a day. He should be eating about 2 cans a day, but Vet hasn't worked us up to that yet.

Today, he ate 4 times so far, and hasn't barfed. He drinks appropriate water amounts, and runs and plays outside. I am watching him like a hawk.
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Postby Malli » May 15th, 2010, 4:02 pm

Hmmmm, then there may be a beneficial drug interaction between them, I am not sure...
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Postby iluvk9 » May 15th, 2010, 6:02 pm

6 pm. Another small meal. No puking.

P*L*E*A*S*E Angel of Dogs, keep the food in Harley!
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Postby hugapitbull » May 15th, 2010, 6:14 pm

Very thankful for small meals that stay down. The Angel of Dogs is listening.
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Postby airwalk » May 15th, 2010, 8:00 pm

Woohoo for meals staying down...the Angel of Dogs is watching over Harly.
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Postby madremissy » May 15th, 2010, 8:44 pm

Yeah for keeping food down. Good thoughts, good thoughts, good thoughts.
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Postby ArtGypsy » May 15th, 2010, 9:57 pm

madremissy wrote:Yeah for keeping food down. Good thoughts, good thoughts, good thoughts.



Yes, tons and tons of good thoughts flooding your way........*we work hard in Nebraska*
LOL

I keep refreshing this page to see if there's an update on whether or not Harley keeps his food down.. :rolleyes2:
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Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine
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Postby madremissy » May 16th, 2010, 4:37 am

Sending you a very early good thought wave for no gacking today.
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » May 16th, 2010, 8:11 am

I'll second that motion, Missy!

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Postby iluvk9 » May 16th, 2010, 8:22 am

Another good night. :) Hopefully the pattern has been broken. Thank you for the good thoughts!
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Postby blabsforbullies » May 16th, 2010, 8:29 am

Joyce, good to hear things are getting better!!! 8)

I'm a little late to this (was out without internet much of yesterday and Friday), but here are my :twocents: :

Motility disoders are EXTRMEMLY COMMON :neutral: and COMPLETELY UNDERDIAGNOSED :cuss: !!! There are many disorders, but I often see a delay of the stomach emptying as a common problem. To diagnose this, a barium study is needed with the patient being completely off all medications. A seriers of xrays are taken to see how long it takes the barium to travel, and empty, the intestinal tract. It can be expensive, and a lot to ask of the patient (I have done them and had to take 8-10 xrays or more to see what I needed to :rolleyes2: ), especially if you do not suspect a blockage and/or masses, etc. That is why a lot of veterinarians use a trial of very safe medications and see if the response is positive, provided the patient is doing well otherwise.

Metoclopramide, brand name Reglan, is a motility modifier. It is used to make the muscles in the upper intestinal tract (it has virutally NO effect on the colon, in other words) move so that the food can be moved and prcessed along the GI (gastrointestinal) tract properly. Therefore, it is contraindicated in patients that we feel have a possible obstruction, for obvious reasons. :wink: It is used temporarily in patients that have had some type of GI distress (sometimes an acute period of vomiting can upset the natural movement of the GI tract), or long term in patients with motility disorders. At high doses, patients with concurrent central nervous system (CNS) disease (ie: seizures, etc), or patients that are sensitive to the medication, the most common side effect we see is behavior and mentation changes. A dog may seem more sedate, or possibly more hyper, when using this medication INITIALLY (this is typically transient, if seen at all, and resolves quickly :) ). In other species, such as horses, and potentially humans, the side effects may be different (as I only do cats & dogs, I don't feel qualified to speak to those situations :mrgreen: ). BUT, IN CATS AND DOGS, IF USED PROPERLY AND UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF A VETERINARIAN, IT IS A VERY, VERY, VERY SAFE MEDICATION! I have been using it in practice for over 10 years and have YET TO HAVE ANY ADVERSE REACTION, WHATSOEVER!!! In fact, my own personal dog, Parker, takes it twice daily every day, and has for the better part of 5 years, for a similiar reason. :dance: The Pepcid is equally safe, as does exactly what someone else already explained. I do really love cerenia, and use that in acute situations, but it can only be given for 5 consecutive days. :x

In these cases, what I do is give both medications and if we see a positive response for a good solid period of time, and then try to wean down or possibly eliminate either the Pepcid or Reglan (usually I cannot get them off of the Reglan entirely, however, if it is a motility disorder). As with many medications, there are ranges and I do my best to keep my patients at the smallest dose possible if they have to remain on medications.

I hope this helps a little. :| Joyce, you are ALWAYS more than welcome to contact me if you have any specific questions. :hug3:

Hope everyone is doing well! :wave2:
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Postby ArtGypsy » May 16th, 2010, 8:36 am

iluvk9 wrote:Another good night. :) Hopefully the pattern has been broken. Thank you for the good thoughts!

:confetti: :soExcited: :confetti: :soExcited: :confetti: :soExcited:

This thread was the first thing on my list this morning~~
GO HARLEY BIRD!! :dance:
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Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine
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Postby iluvk9 » May 16th, 2010, 12:34 pm

blabsforbullies wrote:I hope this helps a little. :| Joyce, you are ALWAYS more than welcome to contact me if you have any specific questions. :hug3:
Hope everyone is doing well! :wave2:


Thank you Dr. Blabs. :) I appreciate your opinion, and explanation, even if it is over the internet with the limited information I have given.


ArtGypsy wrote:GO HARLEY BIRD!! :dance:


Thank you! So far so good! I took him for a limited walk this morning, as he usually does 5 miles with me, but I didn't want to overextend him with the hot weather and his meds.
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Postby Malli » May 16th, 2010, 1:39 pm

go Harley!
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Postby airwalk » May 16th, 2010, 10:59 pm

Continuing to pray for no gaking!
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