[Brian S]

@flowertina, any updates on the treatments you mentioned? Has it continued to be helpful over the long term?

Personally, the _only_ thing I’ve found to help my GSD is allowing her to eat grass (yes; I’ve tried all of the acid reflux solutions any vet has offered). I certainly have some concern about chemicals, pesticides, etc., so I try to take her to a place where I know they’re not used. One thing I’ve noticed is that allowing her to eat grass regularly seems to reduce both the frequency and intensity of the “attacks”. I tried The Honest Kitchen Superfood Pour Overs, which have a fair amount of leafy greens as part of the mix, but she turns her nose up at it.

With that in mind, actually, my girl tends to be quite a picky eater. I’m curious if any of y’all have any difficulty getting your dogs to eat. I have to use a topper (currently either Honest Foods bone broth, or low sodium canned salmon), otherwise she won’t touch her food until she’s famished. I recently recalled that this seemed to start around the time I switched her to Simparica Trio for heartworm prevention. I’d be interested to know what other folks are using for heartworm prevention, and whether it’s a chewable or topical.

[Florentina V]

@bgshacklett yes, actually we gave up the inhaler and together with my vet we opted to give her prednisolone (pill) every time she starts having a gulping crisis. Also, if she also starts to lick excessively, I add a gastric supplement, too (in my case, a gel-syrup we have called VetGastril). This always works and I make sure to have these pills available. Sometimes she can go for months without having any issues, then the episodes come back and she has one every month for some time. I did notice them to be more frequent in cold weather than in the summer months. Also, this winter season they have become more frequent and I don’t know if it’s age related (she’s 12) or the fact that I had to change her food, as she had some bladder stones removed and we need to make sure they won’t form again. My vet said that if the stomach is upset or more acidic, it will cause inflammation in the esophagus and trigger a new gulp crisis. So this is also an important part to manage in order to keep the disease under control. Maybe your girl has an upset stomach from the heartworm prevention and it triggers an inflammation in the esophagus. I personally use a Foresto collar for her and change it every 6 months, prior to the recommended 8 months. Simparica was very strong for her and would cause her to vomit. I’ve been using Foresto for years now and never had problems. Related to the disease, unfortunately my vet also said there is still no new information about this diagnosis. The only good news he could give me is that it seems research has found no link between follicular esophagitis and cancer, as this was an important concern. I always tell him to keep me updated if new information is found. Good luck, everyone!

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