[valtown]

Unfortunately, Gastric Dilatation & Volvulus (gastric torsion, bloat, twisted stomach) is a condition I know a little too much about. I lost my heart & soul, Micah, to this almost 3 years ago. It was a tragic ending to a very beautiful life!! A year later Black Jack suffered from the same condition but it wasn't as severe. But let me point out to those of you that aren't familiar with this condition, it is VERY severe in all cases & you must seek medical attention immediately for your pet! Now, since I've given you some background info, here comes the questions. Black Jack continues to be nauseated frequently with no vomitting. It comes & goes in spurts. I've been told that it's gastritis & acid reflux which makes sense; however, I'm beginning to wonder if it's not a symptom of anxiety. I've read that anxiety can increase the symptoms of gastrits & acid reflux so I just want to know if any of you are familiar with this. He never vomits just becomes nauseated at random times. He will lick his lips and drool for at least an hour, sometimes more. And he wants to be right under me during these episodes. He's on something similar to Prilosec & I've also been told to give him Rolaids. He does seem to start feeling better once he begins to pass gas or belch. But like I said, I'm leaning more toward this all being symtoms of anxiety. I believe that if I can decrease the anxiety these other symtoms might decrease as well. I guess this is one of those chicken or egg situations; which came first? Any ideas or opinions on this are greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

[CorkyMax]

I had a scare with my Golden Retriever/Cocker Spaniel mix once so I looked up more on this problem and even though you prob. have studied up on it--Here is a link that may tell you some things--Be sure to scroll all the way to bottom of page---a lot of info in this article. Hope it answers some of your questions as well as give you info you might not know about.
Bloat in Dogs

Here is another link that tells you how to treat in an emergency---A have to try to save your dog yourself when/if you can't get to a vet fast enough---I don't know if I could do it but if your dog is going to die before you can get help!! and you need help fast on this condition! I think you'd have to be very careful though! In your case, heaven forbid that it will ever be necessary, you might want to study on this and have the necessary 'equipment' on hand where you could get to it at a moment's notice. So especially see the heading Emergency--- in this link: Understanding Bloat and Torsion ( Gastric Dialation Volvulus - GDV )

You can find a lot of sites on this ---Just put dogs/bloat in your browser.

[valtown]

Thank you so much for the additional info! With Micah there were no symptoms until it was too late. He'd had a problem with his esaphagus since he was a puppy so the symptoms he did show I thought were just related to that because he'd had those symptoms his whole life. I later found out after I lost him that because of his esaphagus problem Micah was more succeptable to having GDV. He had to have emergency surgery but didn't make it through the night. With Black Jack, I knew the symptoms & we were able to catch it early. He had the surgery & has done fairly well since then. Micah's stomach had completely twisted off on both ends & had bloated. Black Jack only had a small twist on one end of his stomach & never bloated. Losing Micah was the hardest thing I've ever dealt with. I was totally devastated because it was so sudden & I still have a very hard time with it to this day. But I try to look at it this way...By losing one I was able to save one. Black Jack's stomach was tacked down so it can't twist again but there's still always the possibility that he could still bloat. So as a result, I totally freak out when he has these episodes of nausea. I'm trying my best to figure out why he does this. I journal the days & times, if he's eaten or not, if he's overly nervous, etc., but I just can't pinpoint it. It's like a puzzle that I can't figure out & I get the feeling that his vet just thinks I'm overreating. I've about decided that I'm going to get a 2nd opinion.