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Geriatric Dog

by cchcs21 - June 16, 2009

Hello!

Can you help with this case, please?

He is a 12 yo Yellow Lab mix M/N named Rusty.
The owners primary complaint is the arthritis. Here is the history:
Seeks out the cold tile floor and loves the snow.
Frequent dark eye discharge.
Frequent eye discharge - dark waxy or yeast. Always a yeasty odor present. Owner has to clean often.
He is stiff to rise, tires easily, gets worse after exercise and prefers to lie on hard surfaces. He is sensitive to touch in the hip area and owners avoid petting him there.
The BM and urination are normal and routine.
He has the typical lab appetite. (ravenous)
He eats Fromms Gold and Merricks Cowboy Cookout.
His supplements include: glucoseamine/shondriotin/MSM, aspirin, triple antibiotic ointment as needed for eyes and momentamax as needed for ears.
He is overall a happy dog who sleeps comfortably at night but seems to be uncomfortable throughout the day. The owners are concerned about the pain during the day and about recent changes they have noticed. He has developed several adenomas around the face and has several lipomas on the ventral thorax and abdomen. One year ago he developed a mild case of horners sydrome. His tongue is a purplish color.

I appreciate your help - I am just learning TCM and not confident in choosing the right formula. What would you suggest and just briefly, why? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

by naturevet

June 16, 2009

Hi there,

Tough case I see. Hopefully you'll have some success and will be encouraged to continue trying herbal medicine for your difficult patients.

Here are the essential elements I see that a successful formula would have to address:

Damp - signified by the tendency to numerous benign growths. We could even say Phlegm accumulations. Yeast issues indicate Damp, as does a chronic eye discharge.

Blood stasis - typically aggravated by exercise and better from NSAIDs (I assume they're helping). Tongue is also commonly purple and the pain fixed in location (such as the consistent hip pain that is being seen). If the stasis is in the Tai Yang (e.g. Bladder channel), then it will worsen as the channel fills with Blood, if the animal is still in the acute stages of inflammation.

Heat - prefers cool places. Hot animals often overheat and tire easily. They can worsen during the hottest time of day (noon-afternoon)

Based on all that, I would recommend Xian Fang Huo Ming Yin. The only hesitation I would have is if the Gall Bladder channel is especially affected, which is often the case in hip pain, but not always. The formula for that is Xiao Chai Hu Tang, in case the first recommendation doesn't go anywhere. For now, though, I'd try XFHMY, and possibly back it up with Si Miao San, with which it is synergistic in acute inflammation. Later on, we'll probably need to consider different formulas to resolve the case, as it morphs (hopefully) into a much milder lameness that improves with movement. But for now, I'd go with this more acute anti-inflammatory approach.

Hope that helps. Let us know how it goes!

Steve

by naturevet

August 11, 2009

Hi Sandy,

You faxed me that this dog is unchanged on the Xian Fang Huo Ming Yin and has since developed a dry cough heard when he is excited. The cough is certainly something that would clear up on Xiao Chai Hu Tang, as would the eye irritation, so given the hip involvement, that is my next recommendation. Often animals with Shao Yang problems act hot, at least in the upper body.

Please continue to let us know how it goes!

Steve

by cchcs21

August 12, 2009

Thanks Steve! FYI - I did get your forwarded email but not the original regarding your reply. The email is correct so not sure why this isn't working. I did add your email address into my contacts list so maybe that will help. I did also check my email spam folder and it wasn't there either. Gotta love computers....

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