Research has shown that the situation of delayed gastric emptying or gastric motility issues is becoming more frequent amongst our canine companions. Sometimes, the condition is a secondary effect of an already existing underlying gastrointestinal disease. Delayed gastric motility is one of the three classifications given to the condition, and this comes with its possible causes.
Usually, when your dog eats, it is moved through the gastric tract through the contraction of stomach muscles, in a situation where the stomach is unable to contract, a situation known as stomach paralysis, where there are bacteria and indigestible particles that leads to vomiting, pain, bloating and a few other symptoms.
Delayed gastric emptying causes the stomach not to be able to contract to squeeze food and effectively push it into the small intestine in an effective manner, which could lead to nausea, vomiting, and increased pressure from gas. This disorder is highly uncomfortable, and it can also lead to other serious health complications like diabetes, because now, the time taken for food to pass from the stomach and intestine has significantly increased. Blood glucose can also increase since food is not being digested appropriately in the intestine.
Remember, I had mentioned earlier that delayed gastric emptying is a description of one of the three classifications of gastric motility issues. Let me quickly touch on the others. Accelerated form is the least significant of the categories, and it is usually related to surgery or medications.
Retrograde transit may be related to gastroesophageal issues like esophagitis, reflux, or enterogastric problems. Delayed transit is the third category that is related to several other conditions, like functional delayed gastric emptying. The symptoms associated with the condition are different based on health, age, and disorder. The most common clinical signs have to do with gas, nausea, stomach spasms, abdominal swelling, weight loss, throwing up after meals, and eating of strange items.
Different disorders, injuries, or illnesses can be triggers of diseases; it can be due to hereditary disease, birth defect, food poisoning, stress, intestinal obstruction, tumors or lesions, ulcers, and digestive inflammatory disease.
Your pet will be admitted to the hospital if they are severely dehydrated or malnourished, and IV fluid therapy, electrolytes, and special vitamins will be administered. Once the pet shows signs of being stable, the vet will design a therapy plan to control the gastroparesis episodes. Most times, the vet will design a special diet that will help control the symptoms felt, depending on the causes. In the case of an obstruction or a tumor, surgery will be required to remove it. The surgical procedure may have associated risks just like other surgeries, but there could be more problems if your dog does not get the surgery done.
Although the situation may not be so easy to handle, if you follow the instructions provided by your vet, use the right medications and diet, then it can be controlled easily. The chances of the condition caused by a tumor is low, but if it is caused by a tumor, it would be removed and sent to a lab, if it is not cancerous, the chances of recovery are good, but if it is, the dog affected may have to go through chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
