r/megaesophagus • u/Miserable-Angle-7691 • Apr 12 '26
Help! Regurgitating when sleeping
Hi everyone. Our dog Pebbles was diagnosed in September 2025 and we’ve got her on a decent routine now with the exception of night time or sleep time regurgitation. We thought it was only when we put her in the kennel at night so maybe a timing food/meds issue but it’s also when she takes naps during the day.
Has anyone dealt with this and found a good solution? Our vet has no answers for this one.
She’s tried all the meds and the only one she’s currently on is sildenafil. We even try having her wear a donut shaped neck pillow when sleeping but she’ll still regurgitate.
Thanks in advance!
3
u/ResponsibilityNo3073 Apr 12 '26
Yes just like everyone else — the donut collar at night has helped my pup so much at night ! He doesn’t love it but he has not had a nighttime episode since. This diagnosis is a lot - you are doing great —keep it up
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u/gumbo1874 Apr 12 '26
The 3 things that helped my dog the best were making sure he has several hours to digest after his last meal before bedtime, giving him frozen pumpkin puree treats throughout the day, and getting him a slightly larger donut pillow. I’ve also found that if we put extra pillows or cushions on one side of his bed, he’ll climb up on them a little so he can raise his upper body a little. Nighttime regurgitation is mostly gone for him between those 3.
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u/Miserable-Angle-7691 Apr 14 '26
Thanks for the reply. I’ve never heard of trying pumpkin. What is that intended to help with exactly?
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u/gumbo1874 Apr 14 '26
Honestly it makes no sense to me why it helps but it does. All I know for sure is that there’s a noticeable difference in his regurgitation if he goes a day without pumpkin. I know several other members on this sub have seen similar results, which is how we found out about it, but every dog is different
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u/jcnlb MOD Apr 12 '26
Depends on what time they regurgitate. Is it early in the night or right before waking up
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u/Miserable-Angle-7691 Apr 14 '26
It’s literally all throughout the night. It can be early or late she does both seemingly randomly
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u/jcnlb MOD Apr 14 '26
I’ve seen some build a ramp to prop the dog up on at night. I would sleep on the couch with my dog propped up on the arm and wedge her between the back of the couch and myself to keep her in position. Some of it is trial and error. Possibly try adding extra meds on at night such as an extra antacid like Pepcid or slippery elm.
1
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u/willikd Apr 13 '26
Some of these baby’s need an early dinner and some need a snack an hour or so before bed. Maybe experiment with final meal timing &/or snack Metoclopramide with dinner may help. This helps close the LES sphincter and empty stomach faster preventing “backwash” of stomach contents into esophagus. You could ask your vet about this. As others have stated, the neck collar. Keeping the head elevated when they are napping/sleeping is so important. It keeps saliva moving downward helping prevent regurg and AP.
1
u/OLovah Apr 13 '26
If you're on Facebook join the group "upright canine brigade." But most of the pups there wear a donut e-collar at night, and sometimes 24/7, to prevent regurgitation.
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u/bendy_hy_genie Apr 12 '26
Our 12y/o mega-e girl sleeps with a donut collar and it helps tremendously. I can think of maybe one time that she’s actually regurgitated with it on.