vomiting poodle

[gracieTsu]

Hi all, I just found your site while searching in desperation.. My poodle, Gracie, has been throwing up off and on for 6 months. She has had many test, x-rays, barium liquid and food studies without anything wrong. After cerenia injection at emergency visit and fluids etc then vet has her on 25 mg benidryl, tagamet, reglan 2 times a day she got better for a few months. Now she is throwing up all night every night. First with a little food in it then bile and foam with horrible retching. It is soooo sad!! After reading about the issues with cerenia I am afraid to give it to her...not to mention I cannot afford it forever....8-(  She has always 'burped up' her water after drinking a bit much since she was 6 weeks old. I read about the Ipecac but that is what they used to give kids to make them throw up (when necessary) so how does that work?   Does anyone have any questions while I wait for the vet to call me back? I cannot stand to see her so sick. She is such a loving dog. Thanks!!

[Jaybay]

Cerenia IS terribly expensive.  I have a dalmatian with a twitchy stomach too, but not to the extent of your poor poodle.  A 25 mg phenergan tablet takes care of it in about 20 minutes.  Phenergan is generally prescribed for humans, but my vet OK'd me using my personal prescription for the dog.  He only gets going once or twice a month.

I also used it for a dog I lost to kidney disease.  She experienced the same kind of retching and vomiting you describe.  When reglan quit working, I tried the phenergan and the results really were markedly better.  It's an old medication with a generic equivilent and shouldn't be any more expensive than the reglan.

Frankly, I've never been impressed with reglan for people OR dogs.  Now it's under fire from several lawsuits for tardive dyskinesia and other lasting side effects.  This medicine was only FDA approved for short-term use of (I think) 6 weeks.  Once it hit the market, doctors prescribed it long term and problems are cropping up.  Reglan is metabolized in the kidneys, and with my dog in kidney failure, she couldn't metabolize it.  The reglan built up to a toxic dose in her bloodstream and her eyes rolled in her head, she visibly shook for hours while she panted and restlessly paced at the same time.  Benadryl can help shut down those symptoms until it wears off.  But talk about scary!

[proandzan]

Ask your vet for Remeron...It's antidepression for human, but anti nausea and appetite stimulate for dogs.  It works for my 14 years old chihuahua.  Good Luck!

[gracieTsu]

thank you for your post!
this vomiting has been off and on for 6 months...
she has had extensive blood work. all great results there. i have had poodles with pancreatitis and that was what i first asked the vet about but everything checked out fine....then the xrays checked out fine...vomiting continued and i asked for a barium study on her..he did a liquid and a solid food with barium over 8 hours and 20 xrays and all was okay...we started cerenia and she got better. then it came back and we started reglan, tagamet, and benidryl. after this last week of 4 nights of throwing up several times at night he increased the reglan to 10 mg. he suggest we may want to do a scope from both ends and due biopsies since he cannot find any reason for the vomiting. has anyone had this done to their dog? is it safe?

[ginger899]

I agree that it's best to get your dog tested for all possible causes of this mysterious vomiting before simply trying a Homeopathic treatment on him. At least if you get a definite diagnosis, you'll know more clearly what you're dealing with.

Anyway, the dosage for Homeopathic meds are usually the 6c potency 2 tabs every 2 hours in acute cases, for 6 doses. Then when the symptoms start to lessen, cut down to 3 times a day.....then 2 times a day....in relation to any improvement. As soon as the dog appears better, stop dosing. Only start dosage again if the symptoms return.
It is the same dosage for any weight of dog.
Try not to handle the tablets. Shake them out of the bottle, crush them between 2 spoons into a powder. This tastes mildly sweet, certainly not unpleasant. The powder can either be licked up from the spoon by the dog, or added to a little water, which can then be drunk all up (not a whole dishful, or you would find it hard to know if the full dose had been taken)
Homeopathic meds are totally harmless and without side effects. Like I said (as long as there isn't any major undiagnosed health issue going on) -they can work extremely fast and extremely successfully.

[Jaybay]

Has your dog been tested for liver, kidney or pancreas problems?  Where this kind of vomiting is concerned and a mechanical problem ruled out, that's where I'd be looking next.

There are cheaper meds to treat nausea.  Since cerenia is so new, it's very expensive right now.  Reglan can sometimes be helpful, depending on the cause of the nausea.  Phenergan works wonders on my dogs and is also very cheap.  While phenergan is usually prescribed for people, our vet tells us it can be used safely for dogs.  Since I have terrible nausea and vomiting troubles myself, I always have some in the house for the occasional doggie illness.

There is always something else to try, so don't be afraid to ask.  And don't forget to post back and let us know what your vet says.  :-)

[gracieTsu]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR POST!  CAN YOU TELL ME THE DOSING PER/POUND?
THANKS, KIM.

[ginger899]

You could definitely try HOMEOPATHIC IPECAC.
With a homeopathic remedy, it is diluted to such a degree that mysteriously, the same substance that would CAUSE the symptoms, can heal them when diluted like that!

Now....don't ask me HOW it works, because I haven't a clue. Scientifically, it shouldn't! But I have seen many cures especially with animals with Homeopathic medicines.