Puppy diagnosed with megacolon

[bjh]

Originally Posted by kalina82

i'm not sure what would be the best diet for her. All i know is that W/D worked for my friends cat with this problem. Yeah its not the best food rated here on YT but it does do its job. Maybe you can call that vet people on here talk about when they need diet changes. I think WYlie's mom knows the vets info.

the medication your gonna stop, is that the cisapride?

Yes, the medicine is Propulsid which is the same as Cisapride. The problems is not really her diet because her stools are not hard, she just can't poop because her stomach muscles won't contract enough for her to even push out the soft poop.

[toke]

Hi,

I'm so sorry you're going through this. My first Yorkie turned out to have megaesophagus...sounds like the same thing in a different spot. This was in the 80's and I took her to Angel Memorial, which is a big deal animal hospital, here in Mass.

Anyway, they told me nothing was to be done...she'd starve because the food would stay in her esophagus and never make it to her stomach. That they had kept large dogs alive using a centrifuge, but it wouldn't be practical at home. No kidding? Sheesh.

Prognosis aside, I kept her going for 4 years, despite the naysayers. All I did was feed her, then pick her up...hold her vertically...then gently pound her back. I could feel the big bulge in her throat (where her food was just sitting)...then I'd hear this big kind of glopping sound, and down it would go. If I didn't do this, she'd eventually regurgitate the food. Her esophagus just wouldn't contract and do the job on it's own.

All this rambling on is merely to make the point that maybe you could do a similar thing to encourage her colon? Possibly a firm rotation (in the proper direction...not sure what that is) with your hand, on her lower abdomen? The poop is there...just is not moving along, right?

By the way...megaesophagus is not what killed my Josie. It was a combination of many other organ failures...

Don't lose hope...maybe you can actually deal with this, with a little ingenuity.

[toke]

Hmmm. I just read that this is not necessarily a congenital condition like Josie's, as I had assumed. Maybe some kind of inflammation...at least a treatable condition? That sounds a bit more promising, huh? I sure wish you and your little Pixie well.

[Sugar's Mom]

i have never heard of it in pets but my older son was born with it. We fought with his bowel problems almost all his life. he is 44 now and has had a colostomy for about ten years. Only then did they find out it was a megacolon.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by toke

Hmmm. I just read that this is not necessarily a congenital condition like Josie's, as I had assumed. Maybe some kind of inflammation...at least a treatable condition? That sounds a bit more promising, huh? I sure wish you and your little Pixie well.

When Pixie was 6 weeks old her anal glands ruptured. Just over night her whole bottom turned into a horrible infected mess. I thought I would lose her then. That vet said he had never seen anything like it. We treated the infection. I also told the vet then that she seemed to have problems pooping. He checked her and said her colon was open, I guess that vet did not know about megacolon. The second vet I took her to diagnosed the problem and he thinks it was the megacolon that caused the anal gland infection. Pixie has 5 brothers and 1 sister and they are as healthy as can be and normal size. This is the down side of being a breeder. No all puppies are perfect and healthy. Actually, little Pixie has crashed several times from hypoglycemia. I am trying to do all I can for her. She is so precious.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by toke

Hi,

I'm so sorry you're going through this. My first Yorkie turned out to have megaesophagus...sounds like the same thing in a different spot. This was in the 80's and I took her to Angel Memorial, which is a big deal animal hospital, here in Mass.

Anyway, they told me nothing was to be done...she'd starve because the food would stay in her esophagus and never make it to her stomach. That they had kept large dogs alive using a centrifuge, but it wouldn't be practical at home. No kidding? Sheesh.

Prognosis aside, I kept her going for 4 years, despite the naysayers. All I did was feed her, then pick her up...hold her vertically...then gently pound her back. I could feel the big bulge in her throat (where her food was just sitting)...then I'd hear this big kind of glopping sound, and down it would go. If I didn't do this, she'd eventually regurgitate the food. Her esophagus just wouldn't contract and do the job on it's own.

All this rambling on is merely to make the point that maybe you could do a similar thing to encourage her colon? Possibly a firm rotation (in the proper direction...not sure what that is) with your hand, on her lower abdomen? The poop is there...just is not moving along, right?

By the way...megaesophagus is not what killed my Josie. It was a combination of many other organ failures...

Don't lose hope...maybe you can actually deal with this, with a little ingenuity.

Thank you for sharing you story. You sound like a wonderful loving person to care for helping your baby like you did. I had never hear of megaesophagus either. I will try what you suggest about massaging her lower colon. It sure can't hurt to try.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by Sugar's Mom

i have never heard of it in pets but my older son was born with it. We fought with his bowel problems almost all his life. he is 44 now and has had a colostomy for about ten years. Only then did they find out it was a megacolon.

Dee, apparently megacolon is more common in cats than dogs. It makes me wonder how many puppies might die from it because it is going undiagnosed. Pixie would have died long ago because of all the hypoglycemia episodes she has that are related to her megacolon problem.

That is sad that your son had those problems all his life. I can only imagine what you went through. At least he finally found out what it was. Is he doing okay now with the colostomy?

[cashsmommy]

good luck and keep us updated, your story may help others later!

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by bjh

Yes, the medicine is Propulsid which is the same as Cisapride. The problems is not really her diet because her stools are not hard, she just can't poop because her stomach muscles won't contract enough for her to even push out the soft poop.

what exactly does the cisapride do?

There is a medication for the bladder they makes it contract when animals are having trouble regaining control over their bladder after a serious injury (hit by car type stuff with smashed pelvises). I wonder if there is a drug that does this for the colon? a drug that helps the colon muscles contract to push poop along ya know?

[TLC]

How about some Children's Vanilla Pedisure ~ This will help the Hypo and the not wanting to eat, while ensuring she is getting the needed nutrition...
You may need to syringe force it

I use BioPectin for bulk fiber with Roxy.

You may also need to play around with the Lactulose dosing...

[bjh]

Originally Posted by kalina82

what exactly does the cisapride do?

There is a medication for the bladder they makes it contract when animals are having trouble regaining control over their bladder after a serious injury (hit by car type stuff with smashed pelvises). I wonder if there is a drug that does this for the colon? a drug that helps the colon muscles contract to push poop along ya know?

Yes, from what I have read propulsid to help the muscles of the colon contract more forcefully. I guess I should keep her on it even though I can't tell it is helping any. I read some reports that it works well on cats but no good on dogs.

It was used on humans until they discovered it was causing heart problems. This is what I found about it that worried me:

Propulsid (Cisapride)
Propulsid was approved by the FDA in 1993 and was used primarily to treat gastric reflux in children. Heart rhythm disturbances had appeared in clinical trials, but not in animal studies. By 1995, heart rhythm deaths in children became evident through adverse events reports. The drug remained on the market with five label changes, until being withdrawn in 2000 after causing over 300 deaths.18

More proof that us humans are guinea pigs.

[kalina82]

yeah that is worrying information and i don't blame you for being wary. This is a tough situation. If your uncomfortable with the meds, stop it and continue with the other things like the lactulose and metamucil. its hard to decide what to do since there isn't a lot of information out there on dogs with megacolon. maybe after trying those two things for a while, if not a lot of information is shown, try changing the diet as well.

the pedialyte suggestion was good too. or adding some type of sugar to the drinking water.

you said the hypoglycemia episdoes were related to the megacolon? how so? because she feels full and doesn't want to eat?

[bjh]

Yes, it is hard to get her to eat. I think she does feel full. I force some food down her every few hours. I am giving her K-9 Blue Lite which is a electrolyte solution.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

I just wanted to say how sorry I am that your precious little one is going thru this. She is a cutie. I hope that there is something that can be done. Hugs to you and your little one.

[toke]

How is tiny Pixie doing?