Katy Update

Well, Katy didn't get better. She didn't want the second round of her breakfast and was still breathing funny and licking her lips. I ended up calling the vet at 9:30, and he said that there might be some food stuck in her esophagus and that was pushing against her lungs, and to just wait it out. He told me to call the specialist and ask about a refill on the Cisapride, since he didn't carry it. I called the specialist, but he was busy with a patient, and the receptionist got my number so he could call me back. He did, about 10:30, and I told him about all that had happened so far this morning. He recommended a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia, and agreed to refill the Cisapride when I told him how well it worked for her.

So we were off again. I dropped Katy off at our vet, and headed over to the specialist to pick up Katy's RX. And then I went home to wait with Max, who was pretty upset that he didn't get to go with Katy. At 3:30, the vet still hadn't called, so I did. Katy has pneumonia, which is fairly common in dogs with megaesophagus. When they throw up their food and/or water, it can get aspirated into their lungs, and get infected. Katy is back at home, and on antibiodics. The vet gave her a shot at my request before we left to get the medicine jump-started, and so I wouldn't have to cram any more meds down her throat today. Katy is breathing much better--no noise at all, and not labored, is not licking her lips, and is able to rest comfortably laying across Christa's lap.

Starting tomorrow, the antibiodics will have to be crushed up and mixed with her food to insure that it doesn't get hung up in her throat. Christa found a blog about a dog (hey, that rhymes!) that has megaesophagus, and through that I found a group on Yahoo! And have gotten a lot of ideas to try out on Katy. I have also learned that it is a lot more common than I thought, and that dogs can do fine and live a long time with the diagnosis.

UPDATE: Tuesday, 9:00am

The vet just called, and the radiologist that looked at Katy's x-rays agreed with our vet that she has pneumonia, and didn't see anything else. The blood work came back, and her white blood count is slightly elevated, so that means we caught it early. She goes back in 7-10 days for another couple of x-rays to see if the infection is clearing up or if we need to go another round of antibiodics.

Thanks for all your well wishes and continued good thoughts!