Can sildenafil help my dog with megaesophagus stop regurgitating?

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Megaesophagus is not a fatal condition in itself. However, it can lead to aspiration pneumonia from aspirating food which can be fatal. There is a new study out of Italy that discusses the use of Sildenafil (viagara) used to treat megaesophagus with very promising results. I would discuss this with your veterinarian to see if this would be a good option. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello. Sildenafil does not cause any known stomach issues, so no real precautions are needed, but it never hurts to give a medication with a little food ( unless it specifically says to give on an empty stomach ). Sildenafil has no know precautions like this. Kidney failure definitely can cause nausea & vomiting. You may need to discuss the use of anti-nausea medications such as Cerenia to keep Memi comfortable. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Sildenafil is safe to use in dogs with kidney failure. This will help manage the hypertension. If the hypertension is not managed, the hypertension will damage the kidneys further. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

It really depends on lots of circumstances. How severe is the megaesophagus (ME), the type of food, how well they tolerate the food, how much (volume) and how often do they eat, the cause of the ME, etc. Bailey Chairs will help some patients with ME, but not every dog will benefit from its use. It would be best to discuss this with your vet, though, since they will have a better idea as to the cause and severity of Kiwi's ME. But if she is not regurgitating frequently (daily or weekly), it seems like what you are doing is working pretty well!

Viagra (sildenafil) is sometimes used ["off-label"](https://www.petcoach.co/article/veterinarians-allowed-to-prescribe-extra-label-drugs/) in veterinary medicine to treat pulmonary [hypertension](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/hypertension-in-cats-and/). Dogs were used in the original safety studies for Viagra, so it's considered pretty safe for them. The upper limit of the published dose for an 11lb dog would be about 15mg given orally 2 to 3 times daily. The dose ingested would be considered an overdose. You may see a rapid heart rate, and possibly weakness from a drop in blood pressure. If you see any abnormal activity such as weakness, collapse, etc. please seek veterinary attention right away.

Sadly his long term prognosis is probably not very good if he is regurgitating water in addition to food. Some dogs can be managed for awhile with elevated feedings, and at some point a low profile gastric feeding tube might be an option. If the megaesophagus is caused by a vascular ring anomaly then the prognosis could be good with surgery, but this is usually obvious on a chest x-ray.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Rooney has been diagnosed with megaesophagus. This means that the esophagus is abnormally enlarged/dilated, and does not move food down toward the stomach appropriately. This can make dogs more prone to regurgitating their food or water, meaning the food or water falls from their mouth after eating/drinking. Dogs with megaesophagus are more likely to develop aspiration pneumonia, which can be life-threatening. The type of food is not as important as how you feed Rooney. It will be important to feed Rooney in an upright position, and offer him meatballs of wet dog food one at a time. There are specific dog feeding chairs, called Bailey chairs, that you can purchase online, that help dogs with megaesophagus eat upright. I hope this is helpful!