Monday, September 23, 2013

Monday Mischief: Mega What?

Happy Monday!  First of all, thank you to everyone who has asked about Zeus' trip to the vet on Thursday.  He was quite the happy little big camper when he found out we were going for and R-I-D-E...

dog in car

My big guy's "old man hack" had been getting worse and more frequent, so it was time to go in for chest x-rays.  We had one done last year that didn't show much.  Since then we had been trying to treat it with Pepcid once a day, plus we had also gone back to feeding twice a day, started adding some water to his food, and purchased an elevated dish.

Zeus' turn for a R-I-D-E #bigdog #dogstagram #love #smile

We arrived a little early and spent some time people watching in the waiting room.  When the tech came out to get Zeus for his x-rays, he did something he's never done before at the vet's office... he put all 4 brakes on... hard.  He just wasn't interested in going back there, but with a little persuasion from Mommy, off he went.

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After the x-rays were complete (btw, our vet's office has a nifty new digital x-ray machine that produces some stellar images), it was off to the exam room where we waited for Dr. C...

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I knew something was up as soon as she came into the room (never mind I had noticed they took blood while he was back there for the x-rays, which isn't typical). I'll admit, my heart sank and I knew for sure she was going to tell me she saw a tumor somewhere inside my big guy.  While the the x-rays did indeed show something, it was not a tumor.... it was his esophagus.  It's supposed to look like a thin pencil line, but Zeus' is very enlarged.  She said my boy has megaesophagus. Mega-what, you ask?  If you are interested in learning more, check out this article which is one of the ones Dr. C printed out for us before we left the office.

There are various tests we can do to figure out the underlying cause, however the majority of megaesophagus caes are idiopathic - meaning there is no underlying cause (which seems to be our trend for both Zeus and Lola's issues).  Patients are usually 5 to 12 years old (check) and a large breed dog (check).  Some causes include Cushing's Disease (which we tested for in March, 2012 when his liver levels were elevated - it came back negative), Thyroid Disease (which is why she took his blood on Thursday... the test came back normal) and Myasthenia Gravis.  The test for Myasthenia Gravis is pricey and our vet indicated she's never had one come back positive.  We skipped it on Thursday while we waited for the other blood work to come back, but now we will need to make a decision about going forward with this test.  Not having funds in your back pocket really stinks...  

The blood test also ruled out aspiration pneumonia at this time, however apparently this is common with megaesophagus cases.  Great...

So.. we have upped the Pepcid to twice a day and added Metoclopramide 2 - 3 times a day. Additionally, we now have to keep Zeus sitting upright for 10 - 15 minutes after eating, which for a 119 pound dog with arthritis is quite the task.  We had a fight the first time... a little the second... now we're getting much better at it, however my big guy really just wants to lay down after he eats.     

Oy... if it's not one thing, it's another. 

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8 comments:

Sue said...

Whenever I stand at the kitchen counter peeling fruit or chopping veggies the dogs all sit behind me waiting for something to fall. Maybe you can interest Zeus in helping uou prepare some goodies for 15 minutes a day.

tubby3pug said...

Oh my heart goes out to you Zeus is my favorite of your guys, dont tell the others because he reminds me of my old guy Norbert. Im so relieved he doesnt have a tumor. Ive noticed that Norbert sometimes coughs/hacks but its very infrequent maybe once or twice a week. Since its so infrequent I never really worried. It must be quite the task keeping him up, and I feel about the arthritis too as Norbert has that. Maybe one of those sling things or a walk after eating? Ive noticed with age Norbert tends to stand or like and rarely sits, he slips a bit when sitting for a treat. My older pugs are the same

urban hounds

2browndawgs said...

Poor Zeus. I knew a dog who had that. They never figured out what caused it in that doggie. Hope the medications bring some improvement.

Kathy R said...

Oh Zeus, we love you so!

Best wishes for good health, big guy!

Jo's World said...

Our best wishes to you, Zeus for managing this problem. I hope the meds help you a whole lot.

Sometimes I have a very little cough too, but its seldom and light.

Cheers,
Stella

SissySees said...

Oh, I like Sue's suggestion. We're crossing paws for the big guy - and you too.

Life with Wrigs said...

I'm glad you found out Zeus's problem. On the bright side, it's great news that there was no tumor or heart disease found. I hope the medication and adjustments to his eating routine will help! Sending Zeus lots of POTP get well wishes!

Susan and Wrigs

Marjie said...

I wouldn't choose to have the pricy test done, either, especially since it seems the treatment wouldn't change even if you had that diagnosis (which Dr. C says is an unlikely one in any event). I think Sue's idea is a good one. Baby Brutus loved apples, and Thor loved carrots, so I'll bet you could keep Zeus' interest with those goodies. I'm glad that it's a relatively benign problem, although it hurts to see our friends suffer...

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