Persistent Undiagnosed Vomiting (LONG)

[sherrim]

We have a 17 month old female boxer who has been having vomiting spells starting when she was around 12 months old. She would and will vomit up to three times per day, always about 10 hours after her last meal. The vomit itself was usually undigested food and some bile. She was vomiting so much for almost a month that we actually had her trained to throw up in the shower stall. We knew she was going to be sick when to starting salivating and hanging around near the bathroom. It was sad and pathetic.

Initially, the veterinarian thought it was a digestive reaction to the Ivermectin she was taking to cure a severe case of Demodex. At the time the vet put her on canned Medi-Cal Gastrointestinal formula which seemed to help a little (vomiting only once every few days). Coincidentally, the vomiting did stop when she stopped the medication -- so we think, OK problem solved.

Again in December, and no longer on the medication, she began the vomiting again, same type of vomit, same time periods. The vet did not do any diagnostic, but said that boxers have sensitive digestive tracts and put her back on the "gastro" formula food. Again, the problem stopped, so back on her normal meals she went.

About three weeks ago the vomiting began again and our vet recommended her to an internal medicine specialist. He didn't seem concerned (like this is crazy) and wants to continue to treat her clinically with "gastro" formula foods.

Aside from the obvious, that we need to switch veterinarians, what should we be asking about, what sort of diagnostics etc. Has anyone had this sort of problem with their baby? We have full insurance coverage so cost won't be a factor. We're really scared that something very serious is being overlooked!!!

Any suggestions appreciated!

Sherri

Tae
Flashy female fawn
October 4, 2000
Docked & Cropped

 

[VTbxrFan]

Definitely see another vet -- ideally a specialist. Perhaps you can get a referral to your nearest vet school -- they can be a great help because over the years, they see many different things that the average vet might not come across.

 

[myrocky]

Yes go to another vet and get their opinion. Rocky had bouts of vomiting as well when he was younger and I could not figure out what the problem was. He would regurgitate his entire meals sometimes 12hours after he had eaten. By this I mean his food was not digested at all. You could see the whole kibble peices just like they would of been in his bowl. He did not seem to be sick and was not lathargic in any way. He had a good appetite and was drinking water just fine. I talked to my vet about it suggesting he might have an allergy to corn. I got blown off because he said there is no way to get around having corn in dog food. I didn't beleive him and went off on my own to find answers. I did some research on my own and thought he might be allergic to corn and corn products. From research and the help of BW I decided that he indeed was allergic to corn. I switched him to a corn product free food and he has not vomited since last year.

 

[Barron's mom]

I know exactly what you are going through because Barron went through the exact same thing!

Barron kept vommiting his meals and I kept bringing him back to the vet for further examination. Once...they even kept him overnight for observation (the longest night in mine, and Barron's life!). I finally wrote to BW and received wonderful advice; particularly from Tulsa-Dan, who told me to have the vet conduct a full blood panel, which I did, and revealed a mild case of Pancreatitis. Naturally, I lost all trust in the vet who failed to diagnose him and switched to another vet, who is wonderful with Barron. She recommended I switch Barron to Innova and give him a snack before bedtime to hold him over until his next morning feeding. I've also limited his snacks to Old Mother Hubbard, because they come close to the ingredients listed in Innova. Good luck and keep us informed!:p

 

[CarrieSw]

I know what you are going through. Our "Honey" had the same problem. Finally after bouts of pancreatitis and persistant vomiting, I took the advice of a boxer owner on this site and took her to Michigan State University. She had exploratory surgery and they found a stricture in her intestine. They did an intestinal resection. She has gained 13 lbs. since the surgery in January. Could be a possibility to look for. An upper GI may tell if there is a blockage. Best of luck to you. Hope you are as lucky as we are to have a healthy baby back.

 

[alaska]

a friend of mine had this problem with her dog, (doberman X) it ended up being that the dog had eaten a dish cloth, (whole) the dog was partially blocked, but once they removed it, he was fine after that and gained weight and stopped vomitting .