Mesentric Torsion

[butmanj2000]

We had a serious scare last night with our two year old Abbey. She began vomiting in the middle of the night and threw up 3 more times before 7am when I kenneled her. My wife called me at 11 and said she threw up again and we set up an appointment with the vet at 4:30. They x rayed her and determined she was full of gas. They told us to leave her for an hour and come back at 6 pm while they gave her an anti nausea injection. They told us to be prepared to drive her to an all night clinic an hour away for IV's if the gas did not clear up. Thats when they brought up possible Mesentric Torsion. She went on to day they had had a sad day today because they had to put down a Shepherd with the condition that morning. We went out and sat in the car for an hour taking turns crying about it and went back in to find out that her gas build up had markedly improved and that we could take her home. She seems ok today and we started giving her small amounts of water and food this morning. This is the second time she has had a gas build up problem.
Six months ago when this occurred I switched her food from a Purina Kibble to Wellness Original Grain Free. She has seemed to thrive on it. Right now we have been feeding her two cups in the am and 2 more at around 4 pm.
The vet is telling me that they don't know wihy this occurs with Shepherds and can't really give us any recommendations to try to prevent this from happening again. Looking for some good advice for our Abbey Girl

[RebelGSD]

This can be very serious, a life-threatening emergency. Since she is prone to bloating, I would do preventative gastropexy if she were my dog. This will prevent the torsion, twisting. Gas-X can prevent the gas formation, I am not sure whether long-term use is acceptable and whether it has long term side effects. Also, not sure whether the efficiency remains with daily use.

[1sttimeforgsd]

So scary, glad that your precious girl is ok. Do you limit her activity after she has eaten her meal? I keep mine inside for at least a 1 1/2 to 2 hours after their meal, from what I have read on here it can help in preventing bloat.

[butmanj2000]

This condition should not be confused with Gastric Bloat Sydrome or Toxic Gut Syndrome. This condition is a twisting of the intestines, not the stomach. Gas buildup is thought to be caused by a digestive problem starting in the Pancreas. The under performing Pancreas does not secrete enough enzymes for digesting properly. The gas fills the intestines and causes the twist which cuts off blood flow to the tissues and almost certain death. The mortality rate for this condition is almost 100%

[TANDB]

Wonder if the test to determine EPI would show anything.

Perhaps daily digestive enzymes would help?

Originally Posted by butmanj2000

This condition should not be confused with Gastric Bloat Sydrome or Toxic Gut Syndrome. This condition is a twisting of the intestines, not the stomach. Gas buildup is thought to be caused by a digestive problem starting in the Pancreas. The under performing Pancreas does not secrete enough enzymes for digesting properly. The gas fills the intestines and causes the twist which cuts off blood flow to the tissues and almost certain death. The mortality rate for this condition is almost 100%

[butmanj2000]

1ST Time, We were advised early on to split her feedings into two smaller meals a day. We also make her wait at least 30 to 45 minutes after exercise to feed her. But we have let her drink water. Maybe we should keep water away from her as well because when she runs.. its full bore.

[RebelGSD]

Your dog did not have any kind of torsion yet, gastric or mesenteric. She had gastric dilation, which can be a precursor of either. I really doubt that the vets can predict which one. Gastropexy will prevent gastric torsion and will probably reduce the chance of mesenteric torsion. You have to worry about both, considering her history.