Vomiting

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby call2arms » April 16th, 2009, 7:26 pm

It's always good to start earlier to investigate (definitely look into CareCredit, it can be a lifesaver)... Just as a logic point, him not keeping down his meals for whatever reason will eventually make him lose weight and become weak and more susceptible to everything else.

This has been going on long enough (I think) that it really warrants to check things out now, and not later. Poor guy, I hope he does ok. Vomiting is just not fun.
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Postby blabsforbullies » April 16th, 2009, 7:33 pm

Oh geeze, the cost can be variable, depending on how many xrays are taken.... :|

But I agree, it is best to rule out the most serious stuff first, and then sweat the small stuff later :neutral: (or as my Mom used to say, "I don't sweat the petty stuff, but I do pet the sweaty stuff"... yeah, she was a cool chick with a poor sense of humor at times LMAO ). I have rarely seen a food allergy manifest itself this way, but I never say never. I am still leaning towrds either a motility disorder, or something in the stomach that blocks the outflow at times, and at other times, lets things pass. I don't give a lot of creedance to what the vomit consists of (or what it smells like), because I have seen it go every which way in every which scenario! :squint: Dogs don't read the books when it comes to this stuff... or ever, for that matter! :wink:


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Postby madremissy » April 16th, 2009, 7:34 pm

cheekymunkee wrote:It can be a partial blockage and in that respect I do think a barium test is warranted because you will want to get it out ASAP if that is the case. Knock the serious stuff out first, if it is clear then worry about the smaller, none life threatening stuff. While it is not a cheap test it is much cheaper than dealing with infection, possible removal of organs and ruptures by putting it off and looking for other answers.



I agree. Hope you can get the answers you need soon.
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Postby Marinepits » April 16th, 2009, 7:54 pm

Dog_Shrink wrote:One of the biggest tell tale signs that he has a GI blockage is that his vomit will literally smell like poo. If it's not coming out one end it'll come out the other.....


Not necessarily. Mac's vomit never smelled like anything but bile and kibble and he ralphed for a couple of days before the blockage was found.

If this is a partial blockage, enough food may be able to get through his system to make him poop normally, but the majority of the food is being vomited up instead.

cheekymunkee wrote:It can be a partial blockage and in that respect I do think a barium test is warranted because you will want to get it out ASAP if that is the case. Knock the serious stuff out first, if it is clear then worry about the smaller, none life threatening stuff. While it is not a cheap test it is much cheaper than dealing with infection, possible removal of organs and ruptures by putting it off and looking for other answers.


Exactly. In this situation it is better to be safe than sorry. If this is some sort of blockage and something ruptures and your pup requires emergency surgery, you'll be paying for A LOT more than just a barium series.

call2arms wrote: Just as a logic point, him not keeping down his meals for whatever reason will eventually make him lose weight and become weak and more susceptible to everything else.


Mac was only about a year old when he got his blockage. For a couple of months before that Dr Blabs and I wondered why he wasn't thriving, even though he was active, eating well, and every system appeared to be functioning normally and he wasn't in any pain. When the blockage was discovered and Mac had surgery, Dr Blabs guesstimated that the tennis ball had been in his stomach for quite some time (probably a couple of months) and it prevented Mac from absorbing his food properly before it started to move into his intestine . If I remember correctly, it became lodged at the joining point between his large and small intestine. The tennis ball was covered in hair and nasty debris when she removed it, and the debris actually had to be cut away before we found the tennis ball.

Once the blockage was removed and he recovered from his surgery, he had a belated growth spurt and gained nearly thirty pounds in a matter of months. I shudder to think just how LARGE he would be now if that tennis ball hadn't stunted his growth. :shock:
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Postby blabsforbullies » April 16th, 2009, 8:11 pm

Dog_Shrink wrote:What about you Dr. Blabs... what's your take on the Glickman study???


Sorry for the delay.... :wink:

I would have to see the studyin it's entirety, whether or not it was peer reviewed, how many subjects were in the study, etc. I haven't heard of it prior to this discussion, and, unfortunately, haven't really had a chance to do due dilegence with respect to whether or not this study was a valid one. :sad2:

So, in short, I don't know! :confused:
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Postby Malli » April 17th, 2009, 5:12 am

Your veterinarian should be able to give you an estimate of charges(after an exam).There will be a low end and a high end, depending on how your dog does.

You should also look at this from the worst case scenario and make sure you can afford the surgery (they should be able to do an estimate for this once they do the xrays), too. Not trying to be morbid, just practical, here.

Even if this turns out to be a minor blip, I suggest you look into Pet Insurance and/or some kind of credit card for your dog; what if something were to happen like a fall, a broken leg, or a car accident? We just can't predict everything, so for those of us (myself included) that tend to not be "made of money" we gotta get our "back up" plan organized ;)
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Postby ma67cpe » April 17th, 2009, 12:47 pm

Thanks everybody for the well wishes, prayers, and suggestions.....

Our vet (rated one of the best in Dallas, btw) suggests trying one more thing before the Barium. We are on a home cooked diet of hamburger and rice. No vomiting since 9pm last night. If we can't get 48 hours with no vomiting the Barium study will need to happen Monday of next week. We still haven't really discussed the price, but I am most likely going to use Care Credit. I'll update when something else happens, but please keep sending up prayers for my baby Max!!
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Postby Marinepits » April 17th, 2009, 3:21 pm

Fingers, toes, and paws crossed!
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Postby Malli » April 17th, 2009, 7:04 pm

good thoughts for a simple fix! :)
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Postby Dog_Shrink » April 17th, 2009, 7:56 pm

ma67cpe wrote:Thanks everybody for the well wishes, prayers, and suggestions.....

Our vet (rated one of the best in Dallas, btw) suggests trying one more thing before the Barium. We are on a home cooked diet of hamburger and rice. No vomiting since 9pm last night. If we can't get 48 hours with no vomiting the Barium study will need to happen Monday of next week. We still haven't really discussed the price, but I am most likely going to use Care Credit. I'll update when something else happens, but please keep sending up prayers for my baby Max!!


Maybe your vet would allow hamburger and Barley as a better option for a bland diet since the higher fiber would help "move things along" and has slightly more nutritional value.
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Postby madremissy » April 17th, 2009, 7:58 pm

ma67cpe wrote:Thanks everybody for the well wishes, prayers, and suggestions.....

Our vet (rated one of the best in Dallas, btw) suggests trying one more thing before the Barium. We are on a home cooked diet of hamburger and rice. No vomiting since 9pm last night. If we can't get 48 hours with no vomiting the Barium study will need to happen Monday of next week. We still haven't really discussed the price, but I am most likely going to use Care Credit. I'll update when something else happens, but please keep sending up prayers for my baby Max!!


Get that tummy settled down Max and quit worrying us so much. More good thoughts and prayers headed your way.
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Postby blabsforbullies » April 17th, 2009, 8:16 pm

Dog_Shrink wrote:Maybe your vet would allow hamburger and Barley as a better option for a bland diet since the higher fiber would help "move things along" and has slightly more nutritional value.


I don't think, temporarily, it is going to make that much of a difference. As for the fiber, as you know :wink: , it could go either way. :| It may move things along, and it may not. :neutral:

For the next few days, I wouldn't worry too much about rice vs. barley, especially since you have already started the rice. Changing things at this point may only complicate the situation. I think the big picture is that we all hope he does well and are pulling for no :puke: !!!! :dance:
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Postby mnp13 » April 18th, 2009, 12:40 am

Dog_Shrink wrote:
ma67cpe wrote:Thanks everybody for the well wishes, prayers, and suggestions.....

Our vet (rated one of the best in Dallas, btw) suggests trying one more thing before the Barium. We are on a home cooked diet of hamburger and rice. No vomiting since 9pm last night. If we can't get 48 hours with no vomiting the Barium study will need to happen Monday of next week. We still haven't really discussed the price, but I am most likely going to use Care Credit. I'll update when something else happens, but please keep sending up prayers for my baby Max!!


Maybe your vet would allow hamburger and Barley as a better option for a bland diet since the higher fiber would help "move things along" and has slightly more nutritional value.


Or maybe, just maybe, her vet wants her to feed hamburger and rice. Adding fiber to an already irritated digestive tract can backfire - both figuratively and literally.

One of the biggest tell tale signs that he has a GI blockage is that his vomit will literally smell like poo.

Why would it smell like poop? The "poop smell" comes from the reaction of enzymes in the intestinal tract. Food that is being regurgitated will have only been in the stomach, it might smell gross (like Ruby's rotten meat burps in the morning) but if it literally smells like poop there is a problem.

If it's not coming out one end it'll come out the other, and he will refuse food altogether after a certain point

Everything eventually comes out one end or the other. :| No all sick dogs refuse food.

Since he's still able to pass BM's this doesn't sound like a blockage to me. What kind of BM was it??? Formed? Soft? Runny? Bloody streaked?

When my parent's Standard Poodle had a corn cob in her stomach that was partially blocking the opening to her intestines she was still eating, and was passing plenty of BM's. Most were straight liquid and quite explosive, but things were moving through there. She was sick for over two weeks before she had her barium.

With very very few exceptions everyone here is a regular pet owner. We can speak from our own experiences and maybe talk about articles we have read or websites we visit, but we are NOT medical professionals. Even the medical professionals haven't seen your (general you) dog and can only go by your descriptions, which may or may not be the same observations they would make. EVERYONE should be VERY VERY careful about what advice they follow on this, or any, internet resource. Talking about nutrition and training is one thing, bloat is completely different. Bad diet advise might give your dog the runs, bad medical advise (though well meaning) can result in a dead dog.
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Postby call2arms » April 18th, 2009, 6:30 pm

I entirely agree with the last part Michelle, but I might add that, it's also up to the ''problem dog'' owner to take what's on here with a grain of salt, too.
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Postby Marinepits » April 18th, 2009, 10:26 pm

call2arms wrote:.....it's also up to the ''problem dog'' owner to take what's on here with a grain of salt, too.


Very true.

We can't control what the dog owner does with advice s/he reads on here, but we can and will control what advice is given on this forum.
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Postby ma67cpe » April 19th, 2009, 4:25 pm

Well finally some good news, although I don't want to jinx it... :wink:

We have not vomited since Friday morning around 3:30am!!! Thats close to 60 hours with no puke!!!!

Forgot to mention one thing - our vet added antacids (Pepcid) every twelve hrs.

He's been acting even happier and spunkier than normal. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS THUS FAR, AND PLEASE KEEP SENDING THEM UP FOR US!! We are going to continue to monitor him closely. I'll report with news whenever we have some.
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Postby Marinepits » April 19th, 2009, 4:30 pm

Pepcid can be a real life saver sometimes. When are you taking him off the Pepcid?
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Postby ma67cpe » April 19th, 2009, 5:46 pm

I don't know...she gave me a weeks worth :|
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Postby amazincc » April 19th, 2009, 8:28 pm

YAY for a good update! :clap:
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Postby Patch O' Pits » April 19th, 2009, 9:37 pm

I'm so glad to hear your good news! Sorry I didn't see this sooner!

Hugs for your cutie pie pup! I hope that solves the problem and everything stays GREAT!
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