Megaesophagus for 7 Years old small Yorkshire Terrier

[JackABCD]

My dog had just been diagnosed to have Megaesophagus.
He acctually had this problem for about 1 year now but just had been diagnosed recently.

Could someone can explain to me about this desese, it looks like a difficult desease.
Is there any solution for this problem ? any surgery can be done fix it ?

Thank you,
Jack

[joe199]

If I am not confusing conditions, My 9 year old Yorkshire Terrier has been diagnosed with this by x-ray and was on cortisone for 2 weeks while he was having a very bad spell. This is when they cough and cough and it is as though they are going to choke to death right?  I was told surgery is possible by my vet but not necessary as there will always be some air that passes and it is impossible that the dog cannot die from the condition but rather some owners can not take the noise and stress is causes them and elect for the pet to have surgery. My dog tends to do it after drinking or eating or getting overly excited. My vet gave me a trick that works. Try putting your hand over his nose to block the air for 5 or 10 seconds when you are around and it happens it stops the coughing wheezing right away. If you are not around while you are gone no worries it will stop on its own. My dog has had this for 6 years and he is very happy and healthy.

[deadgamegrrl]

I had a rescue bulldog (former breeding dog from horrific puppy mill barn) that had this, but I think it was relatively mild.  She didn't lose weight as she was able to adequately swallow most of her food, and she never had aspiration problems.  She would randomly regurgitate very small amounts of food & water several times a day.  We were trained that when she made the *clearing the throat* noise, we would raise our feet immediately.  Sometimes they were 'dry' when she was just hacking, and sometimes they were 'wet'.  After your feet got hit a few times you developed amazing reflexes!
Has your vet recommended any treatment or feeding patterns?
One thing you can do is try to keep them as vertical as possible to let the food settle down into the stomach. (Think eating upright like a human instead of on all fours like a dog.)
My bully lived to be 10 or 11 yrs old (elderly for a bully) so it didn't slow her down much, but I know in severe cases they often have to be on a feeding tube.

Good luck and let us know!