Meet Aimee, the exclusively surviving member of her litter. While the friendly, spayed 3-year old black Labrador Retriever seems in down good health, a peek into her digestive tract proves otherwise.

She conflicts a rare, life-threatening disorder called megaesophagus. The condition undermines the muscular contraction of the esophagus and impairs its ability to move food slide down and into her digestive tract.

Most dogs inherit megaesophagus from their parents or arise it afterward due to other disorders such as hypothyroidism or the neuromuscular illness myasthenia gravis (a specify in which the dog’s body gives rise antibodies against its own nervous system).

Puppies with the disorder typically begin regurgitating soon later on they reach weaning age and begin eating solid food. The esophagus fills with food, becomes enlarged, and causes the puppy to regurgitate to get rid of the obstruction. This is what happened with Aimee.

Clinical signs (regurgitating during weaning) and radiographs (X-rays) of the chest help diagnose megaesophagus. If required, barium radiographs can distinguish between megaesophagus and other causes of regurgitation in weaning puppies (mainly two rare conditions: cricopharyngeal achalasia, an abnormality of the upper esophagus, or persistent right aortic arch, a congenital condition involving abnormal vessels of the heart).

There is no conventional cure or treatment for megaesophagus, and dogs afflicted with it often are euthanized, Conventional treatment involves feeding the puppy several small meals throughout the day. The dog should eat in an elevated
feeding position to help the food slide down. Some puppies do better with liquid or semi-solid meals. Occasionally, the veterinarian might suggest medications such as metoclopramide to stimulate the esophagus to increase motility and move food toward the stomach,

Aimee's owner looked for holistic treatment. Her first holistic veterinarian did acupuncture to stimulate the esophagus and prescribed several nutritional supplements such as Cardioplus, Catalyn, and Perplex to help nourish the muscular tissue of the esophagus.

Aimee managed to hold down her food most of the time during the following three years of acupuncture therapy and regular use of supplements,

When Aimee moved to my area, I continued acupuncture as needed (when her regurgitation increased) and used electroacupuneture in combination with the over-the-counter homeopathic remedies Phosphorus and nux vomica to relieve vomiting.

Presently, Aimee regurgitates only once every few weeks - usually when she drinks water too quickly _ as opposed to almost every day. Otherwise, she remains on nutritional supplements and is treated with acupuncture on an as-needed basis. Despite the odds, Aimee has nearly normal motility and functioning of her esophagus.