We've had a few nights where Sidney regurgitated - but WAY more where he hasn't. I like to think it's because of the routine we have worked out based on our trial and error over the past year and a half. Many dogs don't need any medicine for this from what I hear. We worked with our DVM to figure out what worked for Sidney. Sidney may not need any - but what we are giving him seems to work, or at least it isn't making matters worse. We have tried different routines with his meds.
SUCRALFATE
At first we gave Sidney his Sucralfate 2x per day (EVERY DAY) to soothe his esophagus. That really was a lot of work from a timing standpoint on our end. Now, we just give it to him when he's having bad periods of regurgitation episodes.
METACHLOPROMIDE AND BETHANECHOL
For his digestion meds, we started with Metachlopromide 3x per day - 30 minutes prior to meals. That worked OK. But not as good as we liked, so we decided to try 5mg of Bethanechol 2x per day - 30 minutes prior to meals (we hide the pill in Knox Blox). At first we made the mistake of giving him Metachlopromide AND the Bethanechol - that just made him much worse. It's either one or the other. So we discontinued the Metachlopromide and changed entirely to Bethanechol. We also started Bethanechol in 10mg doses (that seemed too much for him). So we have since went down to 5mg doses, which has worked well for us. We have always had Sidney sit in the Bailey Chair for 7-10 minutes after he got his meds. Maybe it's because we started Bethanechol when he was a puppy that it seems to help. I'm honestly not sure if it does, but since everything is working well - we are going to continue it. Better safe than sorry.
PRILOSEC OTC
The final med that we give Sidney EVERY DAY is Prilosec OTC (or a generic). He gets the pill in his evening meal. I feel like it has helped eliminate night-time regurgitation, or at least has helped decrease it significantly.
While it hasn't always been easy, it seems what we are doing is working for Sidney. If and when the routine stops working successfully, we will just figure out the next routine that works best. Maybe it will be a different med - or no meds at all. Who knows? But for now, I am happy with how great Sidney is doing despite this cruel condition.
