Bloat

[Ginny]

Thought I'd share my 2 different experiences with bloat with the hope that it might help someone and their dog at some future point.

My rescue girl, Bailey, bloated about 10 years ago and my sweet Addy bloated just 10 days ago. The 2 sets of symptoms were similar, but not the same.

Bailey had only 1 or 2 unproductive bouts of retching and couldn't settle. She had undergone an ACL repair 2 days prior and I thought she had picked up a virus at the vet's office. It wasn't until an hour or so later that it became apparent that she was extremely sick. Addy, on the other hand, continuously retched. Her stomach didn't feel that distended, but I immediately rushed her to the vet. During the 40 minute drive, she retched frequently. Her stomach still wasn't terribly large when we arrived and her gum color was good. X-rays showed bloat, but it was unclear as to whether or not the stomach had rotated. They desperately wanted to avoid surgery because of her uterine rupture 19 month ago. The vet tried tubing her while awake and sedated, but the tube wouldn't pass. When the stomach flips, a tube won't go in. I think Addy's stomach rotated immediately while it took a bit of time for Bailey's to flip.

A thought about bloat kits. I know many keep them around for emergencies, but if the stomach has flipped, they will not help and will delay help.

They did surgery on Addy and I'm thrilled to report that she is fine. I'm very lucky to have quickly gotten her help. Had she been in the kennel that night or had I not heard the retching, she would have died. Just this year, we have lost 2 Top Twenty dogs to bloat. This is a scary one folks and it's imperative that you act quickly at any hint of it ...

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Thanks for sharing Ginny, and I'm so glad for your quick thinking and that Addy is still here because of it!

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

Thanks so much for sharing. Elvis has started to randomly gag and if he does it more than twice in a row I immediately start to flip out. I think bloat is something we should all be hyper aware of because if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. There are some preventable measures but nothing is fool proof.

 

[lmfoltyn]

Bloat is something that is so scarey...anytime Jake's tummy gurgles or he doesn't eat I am so worried it is bloat. Thanks for sharing this information with us...glad your baby is good.

 

[Jager's Mom]

Thank you for sharing Ginny. I'm so sorry you had to go thru this. I'm happy that Addy is doing well.

 

[R Taft]

Ginny the "bloat episode your Bailey had sound very much like my k
Katy's.......The vet called it a stress bloat post surgery. She had just had her TPLO....what ever the cause it is scary and we have to be very quick with taking our dogs to a good vet. To be aware and know the "normal" of your dog is very important. And i think it is always better to take a trip to the vet that was not required than to be too late. I have also trained in some first aid for bloat as we live so far from the nearest vet. Have only dealt with one bloat in my own dogs and all was well. But have had to help a friend several times (quite often) with her wolfhound and one with great Danes. We need to be vigilant.......
We do all our first aid treatments on the way to the vet......we try to waste as little time as possible

 

[Ginny]

I tried the bloat pressure point, Ronnie. It didn't help.

Once, the full torsion occurs, it becomes critical to get help fast. Addy's occurred in the middle of the night. I worried like heck while the vet tried tubing, but fortunately no organ damage occurred during that time.

I plan to gastropexy her son because it does run in lines. Now I'm trying to find a good vet who does them arthroscopically...

 

[R Taft]

I think ones it is past a certain point, it is of no use (pressure point) I was great with katy as she was the stress bloat (just like colic in horses).....We do tubing on the way into the vets as i used to work in a Neonate ICU and have experience at tubing. When you have a long drive in and a driver, you try anything and everything..So far we have been very lucky with all the dogs

 

[DAWNMERIE]

It seems that both of these events happened shortly after surgery, is it possible that being put under (always worries me) or the meds had something to do with this, is there any connection in your opinions?

 

[robertjt]

Thanks for sharing Ginny and I'm so sorry for all you have experienced this past year. As Dawn asked, can this be related to the stress of surgery or certain meds? Something I should add to Fin's post-op care list.

 

[Milliejb]

Thanks for sharing Ginny. I'm so glad Addy is on the road to recovery!!

 

[Ginny]

Addy's previous surgery for the uterine rupture was 19 mo. before she bloated so I don't think there's a connection. Stress can be a contributing factor, however. We were gone for several days just before this. Given that Addy has always been attached to my hip, I'm sure being gone was stressful. I'm also wondering if the fact that the kennel help gave her too much sweet potato could have caused more dense stools and slowed the digestive process. Who knows? Nobody really. The important thing is to recognize the symptoms and act quickly. I feel sure that if I had waited even an hour before calling the vet, she would have died given the stomach's full torsion. Prior to opening her, the vet felt a large lump which she suspected was a tumor. It turned out that the lump was her spleen which was also twisted up. I feel so lucky my survivor girl pulled another miracle.

Ronnie, tubing on the way to the vet is a good idea if one, like you, knows what they're doing. Tubing at home, IMHO, isn't. As I said, if the rotation is 180 degrees, the tube won't enter the stomach to release the gas. If the dog has a gastropexy which holds, tubing at home would seem reasonable. Also, I tried the pressure points on both legs immediately with no relief...

 

[R Taft]

I fully agree Ginny...getting it early and being at a Vet who will be able to do something quickly is the only way......She was very lucky to survive if she also had a rotated spleen. I have a closer vet, but it would be a waste of time to go there as he does not do surgery after hours. So people must also realize they need to go to a place that can "DO" something, that they can do the surgery and have competent people right there available quickly.......

 

[takemebacktotulsa]

Gosh Addy is such a trooper. Thank goodness you were there and acted quickly. We opted for the gastropexy and while it provides just a little peace of mind, the thought of Willis bloating still scares the crap out of me. I wish we could find a way to prevent bloat from happening altogether.

 

[MC Sullivan]

Thank you for sharing. The spectre of bloat terrifies me so I try to be vigilant and learn what I can about it.

 

[Ginny]

I should also mention that Bailey's bloat post cruciate repair, was probably caused by a huge hair ball that blocked her pyloris. She was a licker. The vets think that the restarting of the digestive process post anesthesia caused the hair to consolidate and obstruct. She actually had to have another surgery a week after her bloat surgery because she wasn't able to keep anything down and was fading fast. That's when the hairball was discovered. Poor gal also battled pancreatitis because of the bloat. Bailey lived a miserable 2 yrs. after this and ultimately died of bloat while under the care of a pet sitter. Even with a gastropexy, bloat (not torsion if the pexy holds) can still occur and be deadly...