Out of options ... please help!
 

Our 17-month old baby has been throwing up or regurgitating his food for the past couple weeks (since Friday, Feb 15th to be exact). He has been to our vet and an internal specialist - and we still don't know what is going on! They attempted an endoscopy yesterday to look at his intestines and take biopsies, but the opening from his stomach to his small intestine is too small - so they couldn't see anything beyond his esophagus and stomach, which appear to be fine.

Symptoms:

- for the past couple weeks he regurgitates (literally stands up and the food comes up, no retching) his food anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours after eating ... this has happened anywhere from every couple hours to every 3 or 4 days --- and we can't seem to find any rhythm or reason to when he does this

- he has had 2 incidents of vomiting (as opposed to regurgitation), both were in the morning and involved mostly or all bile, so we are pretty convinced those were caused by an empty stomach

- his energy level has always been pretty good overall, he was a little down after the first couple days (but after a trip to the vet for a couple days, lots of fluids and a change to I/D, he has since been fine)

- at the beginning of all this he had a dark stool, so they thought he had some intestinal bleeding and treated him for an ulcer ... his stools have since returned to normal and there is no other signs of bleeding

- he has never lost his appetite through all this

- he has never had diarrhea

- his stools have been normal and on schedule for the last week to 10 days

Extra information:

- he was eating Canidae (chicken and rice), he has been eating I/D blenderized for the past week and a half - he gets about 3 TB 3 times a day

- he has never really been given any people food, and ate Buddy Biscuit treats before this all happened

- since getting sick, he only eats the blenderized I/D, a couple TB of applesauce and about 12 cheerios every day

- he has not lost any weight through all this, in fact, as of last check he actually gained weight

Tests he has already had (all of which have come back normal)

- x-rays to check for obstruction

- complete blood work

- check of stool for parasites, etc.

- urine tests to check for kidney stones

- undergone de-worming (just in case)

- ultrasound

- barium test to check for obstruction (he was x-rayed when the barium was at various points in his system, including esophagus, stomach, intestines)

- attempted endoscopy (could not complete due to small anatomy)

- checked tear output for some reason?

- numerous physical exams by numerous vets, including internal specialists


:confused: At this point we just feel helpless! The specialist said that the only thing left to do is biopsy his intestines, but since he is too small for the endoscopy, the only way to take biopsies is to open him up. I do not want to do this unless we have exhausted all other options.

Does anyone have any ideas? Anything would be appreciated ....

:( I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to let you know that we will be thinking about your baby. I'm sure someone on this board will be able to help. I know you must be worried sick!!

I would like to welcome you to YT. I am so sorry that your little baby is going thru this. Poor little tyke. I will pray that he gets better and doesn't have to have surgery.

Oh I wish I had some experience to draw on for you. But I will also offer some hugs and prayers and continue to bump your thread up until someone with some good experience comes by. There are so many knowledgable people here.... it's just making sure your thread gets seen by them.

Keep us in the loop. Good wishes from our house to yours.

I hope he improves and you don't have to have the surgery.

If his appetite is good and he is not losing weight I would hesitate to do something invasive. he may just have an extremely sensitive stomach.

Poor baby:cry: You must be so worried and frustrated:( I'd hesitate to do surgery, honestly, though that is just my opinion. I hope and pray that he gets better on his own.

Hopefully someone here might have some answers:confused:

I am so sorry your baby is sick. I have no experience/advice to offer but just wanted to welcome you and let you know that I will be praying for your little one. Please keep us updated.

Welcome. I have no advice to offer but sending well wishes and prayer for your baby...

I don't have any answers really but has a bile acid test been done? Have you tried feeding homecooked for a few days to see how he does?

I will keep you in my thoughts. Please update us on his condition. I just read a thread about a puppy swallowing a penny and the havoc that created.

I don't have any suggestions but wanted to let you know we'll be thinking of you...hoping he's feeling better soon.

I'm so sorry you are going through this! All I can offer are prayers and well wishes.
This is a great place to come for advise and to draw strength from.
I hope that nothing invasive needs to be done and that the answer comes soon.
Until then you guys will be in my thoughts.
regards

I remember reading the following. Just sending it as an FYI for you to see if this might be something. If the links do not work. Can you google the information.:animal-pa

Megaesophagus:::What is Canine Megaesophagus?:::

Megaesophagus (Esophageal Dilation) ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.

I just wanted to send you some hugs! I'm sorry your Yorkie is having a hard time. Hopefully it is just a sensitive stomach. I would also avoid surgery if possible. I really hope he feels better soon!

Welcome to YT. Sending get well wishes to your baby.

Sheilagh

Have you tried to cut back on what he eats? I know that Diesel doesn't eat that much in a day. It is good that he has a good appetite tho. Maybe cutting back on what eats a little will help. I hope he starts to feel better soon. I just re-read your post. Since getting sick he really hasn't been eating that much. Poor thing. I really hopes he feels better and doesn't need the surgery.

Oh my gosh. Are you near a vet teaching hospital at all? I wonder if you should consult w/ a teaching hospital before doing anything else. I know an MRI would be pricey - but have they mentioned that?

And, I don't blame you for hesitating to proceed with such invasive procedures. He's already been through quite a lot. This is pretty much where we were almost 6 years ago with my Mozart (mix Shih-tzu/Maltese/Silkie). He's always had some digestive problems; but it progressed as the years passed; until in his eighth year, he was throwing up daily. We tried every vet-prescribed commercial dog 'food' that was recommended - he continued to throw up daily. So, I tried home cooking (boiled chicken, rice, carrots mostly). He continued to wretch. We're talking hard wretching. Not just *gack* some spit-up. I know how you feel! It is so very helpless. I look back now, and don't really understand how he even survived that year. The vet wanted to do exploratory surgery on him; and, I just could not do it. So, I prayed (yes - prayed): God, this is YOUR creature, and I believe you care about him. Please, please help me help him! I don't remember how I found the egroup for RAW feeding; but, I did. Very loooooong story short: We switched to prey model feeding. He is now 13y/o. I think(?) this October he will be 14 :). Did the switch fix everything perfectly? No...but, he's still with us, and not regurgitating his food daily. He does throw up sometimes; but, NOTHING like he did - and, all dogs do spit up some. We have seen other benefits, as well: The arthritis that had him dragging his rear end when he was just 8y/o, is now just a bother when the weather is bad. And, he is 13y/o! The vets can't believe his teeth for his age - it's "a good thing" :D.

Also, many folks on YT feed the pre-packaged RAW medallions; which would certainly be easier on digestion than ANY kibble. You might try this route - especially if prey model feeding is a bit overwhelming for you. I had no choice. I am convinced Mozart would not be with us had I not switched to a species appropriate diet.

For my opinion: I would take all grains, vegetables and fruits out of his diet. These items are difficult to digest for canines, because their systems are not designed to handle them.

I hope we hear good things from you!

Update: Wed, March 5
 

I can't express to you how much all your kind words and wishes to my family. I sat Bogart on my lap last night and read him all the posts. It is just so strange because most of the time he appears to be perfectly healthy. If he didn't weigh about 4 pounds I might not worry as much, but I just know how quickly these little ones can take a turn for the worse.

At this point we are just trying to wait out this spell and see what happens. Exploratory surgery will, hopefully, be our last option. He threw up twice yesterday - around 7am immediately after he woke up (some bile and a little food) and then he regurgitated a small amount of his food at 10am yesterday morning as well.

We are switching him to a little less food and trying to slow down how quickly he eats (although this is unlikely the cause because he often gets sick several hours after eating). He is still eating I/D and we removed the applesauce and cheerios so that we can remove as many unknown variables as possible. The vet specialist called us last night (he is so perplexed by this) and suggested that we remove all poultry from his diet and see how it handles it. Anyone else have a yorkie allergic to poultry? We are going to check with our vet today and see how she feels about switching him to Canidae, Lamb and Rice. The problem is that the I/D contains poultry and I am not sure that we can take him off that yet. He has been on I/D since he got sick a couple weeks ago and we have no idea if he can hold anything else down at all! We are going to just try playing with his diet some and seeing what works - maybe looking into home cooking and a raw diet ... so 'Abbie's Mom' I may be in touch if that's ok.

On a side note, we would potentially rest on the hopes that this is just a bug or that he has a sensitive stomach, but this is the second time he has had a spell like (they call is "chronic vomiting") in his short 17 months. About 10 months ago he was really sick throwing up and super lethargic, they were convinced he had an obstruction of some sort so they did surgery - and found nothing. Although it was just horrible to put him through that, we were lucky that he was much better post-surgery ... for some reason? So the vets are concerned because this appears to be some kind of a chronic condition that may come and go over time?

Wylie's Mom - no, they have not suggested an MRI. Are you thinking about something specific?

MyAngel - we must be on the same wave-length because I was convinced it was mesoesophagus. But they did the barium test and literally watched the food and barium move down his esophagus without any problems, so they ruled that out? But I am still not convinced it couldn't be something related to that condition ....

EllieMay - no, a bile acid test has been done. I asked my vet about it and she said that his symptoms are not consistent with a liver problem (other than the vomiting, which is a sign of just about everything) and that on other signs point to liver problems. Maybe I should demand one?

Thank you again for all your prayers and good wishes. We are just hoping and praying that we can find the answer. I promise to keep your updated! But please, if you have any ideas, suggestions, thoughts, etc. - please let me know. We are so desperate and willing to do or try just about anything at this point.

Yes, I would demand one, especially before exploratory surgery. It is very likely that it will come back negative but you never know. He also was lethargic with his last episode and that is another symptom. I think all Yorkies should be tested anyway, so I don't think you'd be wasting time ro money to do it. Whenever a Yorkie gets sick in relation to food, there is no reason not to do one.

maybe a virus... have they tried giving him a antibiotic...? Gizmo has similar symtoms one time and they gave him a shot of baytril and some antibiotics by mouth.. it seemed to work...

This sounds just like my Bichon. Since I stopped feeding her chicken, she has stopped throwing up. She to would make no noise like they usually do, no heaving before hand. I feed her Natures Variety Medallions in Lamb, venison, rabbit, and beef.

As long as I stay away from chicken, she is fine...

I hope you find an answer.

update
 

Cindy 0721 - Yes, Bogart was on antibiotics and has completed a full course. He was also also some medicines to coat his stomach (they thought he had an ulcer at first), pepcid, and an anti-nauseous medicine.

Julie1760 - You are giving me hope! We are praying that it is as simple as a diet change. How old was your Bichon when the allergy developed? What gets me is that he has been eating poultry since we got him about a year ago - but I suppose you can develop an allergy at any time?

EllieMay - I will talk to the vet about an acid bile test tonight.

Thank you all for reading about our story and offering your thoughts and prayers. I will keep you updated.

Oh my what a post.. sending prayers and well wishes and also want to say welcome to YT. I know you will get lots of support on this forum..

Update, Thursday, March 6
 

Bogart made it through yesterday (Wed) with no problems. We are contemplating switching him to Canidae Lamb & Rice, but our vet is concerned that lamb isn't hypo-allergenic because lamb is frequently used now? Anyhow, we may try lamb in case he has a chicken allergy, and if that doesn't work we will consider a non-lamb & non-chicken based food. Any ideas or suggestions?

Once again, thank you all for your well wishes!

What are the vets goals with the diet?
Just to rule out allergies?

Have you looked into Natural Balance's allergy formulas?

To be honest EllieMay - the vet's goals are unclear. The only suggestion we received food-related was that maybe he was allergic to chicken. They are all pushing Science Diet and I want him off the I/D as soon as possible because I don't like Science Diet and I am pretty sure he has at least a mild allergy to to corn because it always make him itch.

All the vets we have seen (4 in total now, including an internal specialist) are at a loss for suggestions. One is saying "try removing poultry" - one is saying "lamb is no good because it is not hypoallergenic" - one doesn't think it is related to diet - and one thinks we should put him on Science Diet or Prescription Hills vension something or other.

We are just playing with his diet in an attempt to find an answer, and we figure that it can't hurt anything. As I mentioned before, he was on Canidae Chicken and Rice before this all started.

We are considering Canidae Lamb & Rice, Innova?, California's Naturals (or something like that), and Natural Balance. Does anyone have any opinion about those?

Just wanted to say.. I feel for you.. I have been going through the same thing with my Old English Bull Dogge.. He has always eaten Pedigree kibble then all of a sudden he started regurging it.. Everytime he ate.. He didnt' seem to be losing weight but he kept up with the regure if he put this food into him.. So my husband was a smart allic and bought some cheap food Kibbles and bits with breath savers in it.. And Bubba has not regured since.. I thought it was a floock I put him back on his pedigree and right after he ate he would regurge it again anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours.. He would just be walking open his mouth and out all the food and water he took in was everywhere. I had talked to his vet and told him I thought maybe mega E but the vet said if he can hold down junk food(meaning the kibbles and bits) then it is not Mega E.. Well I tried a different brand of kibbles and bits and he started regurging again.. So I am at the point I am stuck feeding him that junk... He loves it don't get me wrong I just would rather him have something with a little nutrition in it.. So far no regurge in over 3 weeks that is heaven.. OH and I tried the raw diet with him.. Hey it was bad enough making it for him but man when they regurge it is really bad..
Just wanted to let you know you are not alone here.. Welcome to Yorkie Talk hope you like it as much as I do.. Please give your baby a belly rub from Babybear and I..

To me this sounds like either Liver shunt, a nervous condition, (stress) or something he has found outside that he's been eating on. I hope he isn't put thru another surgery. My Yorkies can't eat chicken either. They get nasty very loose stools. I home cook, and if I had your little baby I would be putting him on rice & ground beef. I don't trust any dog food.
I do hope you find the problem soon and it can be corrected without medications (which can cause lots of problems too) or surgery.