From:
whizbang@midohio.net
Date: 2004-03-14 04:59:08 UTC
Subject: Megaesophagus-advice
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7706550.1079240348389.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Last Monday, my Boomer was diagnosed with Megaesophagus. I hesitated posti=
ng for advice before this, because had you asked me on Monday, I would have=
predicted he would be gone by the weekend. Surprisingly, he is still here=
. I could really use some help. =
I have several questions and I would appreciate any and all advice.
I have been doing 4 hour around the clock feedings. These are force feedin=
gs. He will not take anything on his own - including water. The exception=
to this is the chamomile tea, slippery elm and honey mixture I got off the=
Miamiferret.org site. This warm mixture is the only thing he will take on=
his own.
I am feeding the mush mixture I also got off this site, but he HATES it. I=
t is a battle to get it down him. I am lucky to get 15-20 cc?s down him at=
a feeding. I know he needs more than this, so I am looking for another po=
ssible mixture to try feeding him.
He is on liquid Zantac. The dosage is .1ml twice daily =BD hour before mea=
ls. My question is since he is eating 5 small meals a day instead of just =
two meals, should the Zantac be given before each meal or should I stick to=
the prescription as it?s written?
Also, should I limit to the amount of chamomile/slippery elm tea mixture he=
gets? Like I said, this is the only thing he will take on his own.
He is also on Clavamox as he had surgery last week. I was fairly certain h=
e had a blockage. Unfortunately, the exploratory did not find anything and=
he continued to deteriorate after that. It was several days after that we=
discovered the Megaesophagus. =
My question is: Is there another antibiotic he should be on? I had read p=
erhaps treating with flagyl. Is this required since he is on the Clavamox?=
I had also considered putting him on Propulsid. My vet and I discussed thi=
s, but since he was so weak and neither of us expected him to live more tha=
n a day or two, I decided to wait on this. I saw the X-ray and the esophag=
us is huge. We both felt that at that point, it would do little good. But =
Boom is a little stronger than he was at the beginning of the week and now =
I am considering this. Is this a treatment which will help me maintain him=
?
I have also heard that injectable Tagamet and Reglan may help. Would this =
be in addition to the Zantac or instead of it? Should I try this and if I =
were to take the info to my vet, what would the dosage be?
Boom is still very weak and at this point and I am amazed each moring that =
he is alive. But I still don?t know if he is going to make it. Is there a=
nything else I could be doing for him?
Thank you for any and all help! My vet is a wonderful man and he is more t=
han willing to listen to ideas I bring him. Anything that will help will b=
e appreciated!
Judy Cooke
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