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Originally Posted by Desiree1027  Thanks for all the info. I was so interested because Dezi, who has the digestive issues, always seems to swallow alot when she's not feeling well. It seems like what we might do if we had heartburn or indigestion. I have always felt it was an acid issue.
What did you mean by "when the air makes it's way out, a little acid comes with it"? Does she throw up? I am in the process of making appointments for an ultrasound and barium study because I think she might have ulcers.
The last bout with diarrhea and loss of appetite came with black stool which I was told was from digesting blood.
It was the first time I had seen that with her and also the worst bout with whatever this is.
I keep thinking about it and if she has ulcers, it would explain a lot but I still think it started as and continues to be IBS type stuff but I worry that it may have caused ulcers. She is a worrier and a stresser.
Thanks for sharing the details, I appreciate it.  |
When my vet said "when the air makes it's way out" he explained that he meant little burps. I never hear her make a burping noise, but apparently her having a little burp that I don't hear is what brings the acid up with it....so all I hear is that gag/hack noise.
I do human ultrasounds for a living (I'm a sonographer), and I've always wondered what on earth vets could be ultrasounding for when it has to do with bowel?? (Someone told me once that they did an ultrasound on their dog who had chewed up the towel that was in the crate with it and started having a lot of vomiting. The ultrasound didn't show anything, but another test showed that a piece of the towel was causing a blockage in the intestines.) Ultrasound doesn't see through air or bone, therefore you can't see the stomach or bowel (intestines) or image bones. (With the exception that we can see the appendix in humans, and the pylorus [a muscular valve from the stomach to the colon] in infants only...because they have a liquid only diet and most bottles minimize the amount of air they swallow.) I think the barium study sounds like a good idea, but I'd decline the ultrasound. I think it would be a waste of money. If the barium study is inconclusive, then I'd have her scoped.....that's a really good way to look for ulcers in the stomach and colon. The barium study will show you things like diverticulitis, etc... I'm sure the black (tarry) stool probably means she has some kind of bleeding in her colon, most likely a bleeding ulcer I would think.
If you have any more questions, I can ask tomorrow at work....there's a physican who comes to my clinic to oversee contrast injections. Besides ultrasound (me), we also do x-ray, MRI, and CT, so that physician and the CT/MRI techs could probably answer more questions about those types of test....ultrasound is what I know most about, though I've picked up a few things from being around the other imaging modalities. (The Oklahoma State U. veterinary school/clinic has brought dogs to us for MRI's--after hours of course
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