kelpiegirl Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Two nights ago, one of my dogs presented with a very upset stomach- she vehemently tried to vomit, and licked the floor, and was generally just in pain. She has had this before- even once we went to the emergency vets. Usually Pepcid helps, but that night, nothing did- it just had to ride out on it's own- which it did in a couple of hours. It is starting tonight again. I gave her a pepcid, and let's hope it works. I know it will mean a vet visit, but I think we will have to scope her- check her stomach for ulcers. Any other ideas what this could be? She has an empty stomach when this happens, and always at night, and after having a particularly active day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippin's person Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 The vet once told me with one of our puppies, who kept throwing up early in the morning (like at 4 or something), that sometimes they need something more to eat--that the stomach acids irritate their stomachs and that's what causes them to throw up. We started giving him a nighttime snack and it stopped the vomiting. Maybe something like that is going on with her--particularly if this happens on an empty stomach after a lot of activity. Sorry to hear it--you just wish sometimes that they could tell us what's going on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Wild Child Posted December 16, 2007 Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 If she does have some gastritis, then she might need something like Pepcid everyday for awhile to help control it. I have another friend who also has to give her dog a bedtime snack to control upset in the morning. My Golden apparently has seizure activity that affects his stomach resulting in some distress. Putting him on Pepcid everynight at bedtime has helped. I also had him scoped about a year ago when we were trying to figure out what was going on. It does require anesthesia, but otherwise did not seem that hard on him. The vet doing it was also able to take some samples from slightly inflammed areas. The plan was also to check out the upper part of the small intestine as some inflammation there could affect the stomach, but couldn't get the scope through the sphincter. I dropped him off in the morning and then picked him up mid-afternoon. If your dog continues to have problems, it might be worth asking about doing an upper GI. I think it was about $200 to do my Golden. Here's hoping a nighttime snack will help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted December 16, 2007 Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 Performance dogs CAN get ulcers and gastric reflux, so the scope is a thought; a Pepcid ought to help that a bit, but maybe not immediately, and if an ulcer is present you might have to treat for a little while (and/or require something more than just Pepcid alone). Also, have you had bloods run? A little bout of pancreatitis might produce those signs (and while pancreatitis in dogs is USUALLY stimulated by a high-fat meal, it isn't ALWAYS, and a Pepcid would not be expected to relieve that.) There is an in-house canine pancreatitis test now, which is more accurate than the old standby amylase tests, and of course you can always send out a canine lipase to a lab. Hypoglycemia is also a reason for vomiting to occur which would not be relieved by a Pepcid. Hypoglycemia is more common in puppies, but some adult dogs get it too. There are of course tons of possibilites, but those would be the places I'd be looking first, if it were my case. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted December 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 Her activity is mainly in her head That is, she is, um, a bit over-active. The thing that is most significant to me is how hard she tries to puke. She starts by licking her nose, then swallowing (like every second), and looks generally really upset, and painful. She gets even more active trotting from room to room. When she tries to puke, it is so loud, loud enough so that the cats scatter- sort of like a mix of a kettle drum and moan. She just really feels like she has to puke, but there is nothing in there. She is, btw, the same dog who ate a non-edible toy when she was 1.5, and had to have surgery to remove that and fill from her stomach and small intestine. The toy was in there for 3 weeks, so I wonder if that could have set her up for an ulcer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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