# Senior Golden Dry Retching



## nfrench1

Hi my golden retriver is almost 13 and shes been dry retching and breathing wierd after she eats. She will retch and gag but nothing will come out. Especially after drinking water and eating. We took her to the emergency animal hospital about a week ago because we thought she had a twisted stomach but thank god she didn't. They took an xray of just her stomach and a blood test and found she has very high levels of something in her liver. We were told to give antacid medicine but her hacking/ dry retching is getting worse and now this morning she was retching and hacking right after she woke up and she coughed up a little bit of white stuff. Hayley is so sweet and we are so worried. Please let me know if anybody has any ideas of whats going on or has similar issues. I am very desperate to find out what is wrong with her!

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## GoldenCamper

Just a thought but I would the vet about the possibilities of Laryngeal Paralysis, Megaesophagus, perhaps Myasthenia gravis.

Not sure of course but those things jumped to mind first. I wish your girl well.


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## Dallas Gold

I am very sorry. Please take your girl back to the vet as soon as you can. I had a similar situation with our 13 1/2 year old Golden boy once and it turned out to be advanced hemangiosarcoma.


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## hotel4dogs

My Tiny, who is 16+, does the same thing sometimes.
If she has high liver enzymes, she may have an upset stomach in the morning. 
How is her appetite? Is she still eating well? If so, perhaps a small meal right before bedtime would help her.
What are they doing for the liver enzymes? 
In March I took my girl to the vet because her appetite was decreasing. They ran the liver values, and they were literally off the charts. The vet said she either had liver cancer, or her liver was "really pissed off about something". Because of her age, we decided against ultrasounds and biopsies, and instead put her on metronidazole and amoxicillin in case her liver was inflammed. It has helped quite a bit, and bought her a lot more quality time with us.
Additionally, we started her on ursodiol (actigall), which is used for liver failure in dogs and humans, and finally also on sam-E and milk thistle. We've had to stop the sam-E because she takes tramadol for pain, and you can't give both at the same time.
My Tiny still does the retching and gagging once in a while. We haven't found the cause, but she's been doing it for months with no ill effects.
Hope that helps. Good luck with your old girl. Best advice I can give you is be her advocate, take her back to the vet and INSIST they try some things to get those liver enzymes back down.


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## GoldensGirl

Welcome to the Forum, despite the worries that bring you to us. I hope you find the support that you are seeking.

Our vet once asked me if Charlie ever dry retched as you describe. He didn't at the time, but I asked what it would signify if he did. The vet said that behavior is often a symptom of tumor in the abdomen that the dog senses and is trying to get out. 

When Charlie did begin to dry retch later, an ultrasound showed a large mass on his spleen. We got him into surgery the next day for a splenectomy and were lucky that the mass was benign.

My Joker, who is almost 13, had an emergency splenectomy last summer. That was also benign and he is again a happy boy. 

I so hope that you and Hayley are equally fortunate. Please keep us posted.


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## AmberSunrise

Consider bringing her to a different Emergency Vet if possible - they tend to have a lot more problem based experience and equipment for diagnosis. This of course is a generalization but around my area seems to be true.

Good luck.


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## nfrench1

Thankyou for your reply. Im so glad your dog turned out alright. Do you know how much the operation to take out the spleen was?

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## nfrench1

Thank you all for your concerns! Im doing some more research and praying. I have an idea now that it has to do with her spleen because the results of her xrays and blood tests did show that. Unfortunately we are not able to take her back to the vet so Im trying to diagnose her myself. Her appetite is fine but the retching is occasional throughout the day. I plan to give her less food throughout the day because this happens worse after eating a big meal. Thank you again and I please pray for my Hayley! 

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## Dallas Gold

It's going to be dependent on your location. Here in Dallas, in 2010, when our second boy needed a splenectomy, it cost around $2500 by the time you added in the cost of the surgery, the overnight monitoring at an ER hospital, and follow up visits to take blood samples and labs for checking hematocrit and other levels. We got a hemangio diagnosis with him as well. We had him for another 4 months after that surgery and we made many many happy memories during that time.


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## Karen519

*nfrench*

nfrench

Praying that your girl feels better soon. Many vets have Care Credit, a credit card that you pay no interest on.


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## MikaTallulah

You could go to a specializist or Emergency room vet like someone else recommended for a better/more complete workup!


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