grab01
Posted : 3/5/2008 2:08:21 AM
Ginger developed megaesophagus after a serious gastrointestinal ailment last fall. The first week was rather horrid..she couldn't eat in a normal position, yet holding her upright also caused her problems and she regurgitated her food constantly. It was both worrying and stressful. After a week or two, though, she was able to eat her food from an elevated feeder. Now, she rarely regurgitates at all unless she raids food she shouldn't or accidentally eats too much. We keep a pretty close eye on her, so both are pretty rare in her case.
One thing to note is that canned food alone often isn't soft enough..mix it with water into a gruel form so she can lap it up. This often helps more food go down and reduces the chance of regurgitating, as it goes down better without sitting in the esophagus as easily. Over time you may be able to reduce the amount of water added..Ginger can have hers the consistency of a thicker oatmeal now, where at first it had to be very watery. Her weight is maintaining nicely..she'd dropped quite a bit of weight during her illness, so we were monitoring closely for awhile.
I think sometimes they just don't want to eat in the beginning, as they associate it with feeling unwell and regurgitating. Ginger, who has always been a food hound, went through that phase at first..everytime she ate, it came back up, so she just wasn't going to eat. (and THAT was more worrying!) Once we worked out a good consistency that allowed her to eat without regurgitating, she went right back to eating with gusto. Now, we have to watch to make sure she doesn't grab things she shouldn't, as she thinks she must eat all of the time