26/03/2026
LUNA Update:
5yo spayed female Rottweiler with diagnosed megaoesophagus or was it???
Within a couple of weeks after being discharged from hospital Luna took a turn for the worst. She was struggling with energy, weight, breathing, reflux, vomiting and mild diarrhoea.
Luna's Mum and Dad needed to make a decision that if this was Luna's new normal then they would strongly consider euthanasia. Her quality of life was nothing like her former self.
I asked them to give her two more weeks. That by then we would have the answer we needed for them to make an informed decision about Luna's fate.
I spoke to Luna's Mum Sophia and learned that Luna was declining in health. I felt in my heart we had to get her to someone who has had experience with megaoesophagus cases.
I called around veterinary colleagues asking for the right specialist to help Luna and one name kept popping up as the recommendation - Dr Dennis Woerde.
I spoke with Dr Dennis about Luna's case and by chance he was able to see her the same day.
I received a call from Sophia after her appointment indicating some incredible news, after careful evaluating, Luna did NOT have megaoesophagus. 🥰🫶🙏
After introducing HBOT as an adjunct therapy her dramatically elevated Creatine Kinase (CK) levels dropped from over 18000+ to 2,688. But once we stopped HBOT they increased again to 18,809 - (Normal range is 89-467) over the next few of weeks.
Luna has been diagnosed with Polymyopathy.
Polymyositis in dogs is a noninfectious, typically immune-mediated, inflammatory muscle disease causing generalised weakness, muscle atrophy, pain, and sometimes swallowing difficulties. Treatment involves immunosuppressive medication, usually prednisone, with a generally favourable prognosis.
Key Clinical Signs
Weakness & Stiffness: A short-strided or "bunny hopping" gait, hesitation to exercise, and difficulty standing or walking.
Muscle Loss/Pain: Muscle atrophy (wasting), particularly in the head (masticatory muscles), legs, and overall body, along with muscle swelling and tenderness.
Digestive Issues: Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), excessive drooling (sialorrhea), and regurgitation, often linked to megaesophagus.
Other Symptoms: Lethargy, fever, voice changes and weight loss.
Luna ticked almost every box for Polymyositis.
Great news to share - Luna has gained almost 3kgs of her body weight back. She is 90% of her former self and we are working closely with Dr Dennis to give Luna every chance to recover.
NOW, it's definitely safe to say, Luna has a completely different outlook on life. She is thriving compared to when she first arrived to start HBOT.
If we didn't step up and help then maybe Luna's future would've sadly been very different.
Luna came in today for treatment and we snapped some pics to show Dr Dennis how well she is progressing. So we thought we would also update everyone at the same time on Luna progression. This girl still has many chapters of her story to still write.
Go Team Luna 🐾
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Meet LUNA:
5yo spayed female Rottweiler with diagnosed megaoesophagus & secondary aspirated pneumonia.
Everyone meet Luna. I would have to say this girl loves life but when life turned almost against her, she became a very sick girl fighting for her life.
She was taken to an emergency hospital to assist with the decline in her health and she was diagnosed with megaoesophagus. To make matters more complicated and challenging she ended up developing aspirated pneumonia.
She spent a week being nursed and encouraged to keep fighting on by the staff and her dedicated Mum Sophia who spent endless hours of regular visits supporting her baby girl.
When Luna first arrived to us she was very flat, depressed and her future was a little uncertain.
After her HBOT assessment she surprised us by taking herself straight to the chamber ready to go in. We lifted her in and she immediately laid down ready for her treatment. Like she somehow knew this was going to help!
When she returned back to the hospital the staff couldn't believe she was the same dog. She trotted into the reception and enjoyed her first calm and quiet night in hospital since her emergency admission.
We managed to progress her recovery so well she was discharged a couple of days later. She then spent her first night at home. 🙏
Over the weekend she struggled at times to settle in and regain her independence.
Monday she seemed energetic but her weight was declining (original weight was 33.10kgs and she had dropped to 26.40kgs.) her appetite was down making it difficult to help keep her weight stable plus she was drinking less and less.
She was great in session but she seemed different to the previous treatments. After her session was completed she needed to clear some serious congested mucous and saliva that had been trapped in her oesophagus.
The amount was excessive and this was only half of what she ended up clearing out. The other half came out at her follow up vet appointment half an hour later. 😥
The vet increased the frequency of her medications and since then I do believe she has been progressing forward.
When Luna was here today for her next treatment she was a completely different dog. Like I say in the video, "I have no words". I am hoping she has turned "that" corner and that her healing journey can truly begin.
We will keep you all posted on her progression and we keep our fingers crossed 🤞 she will make a full recovery. She still is high risk of aspirating again. So all care is being taken to aid her through her recovery.
Go Team Luna 🐾
