3 yr old French Bulldog who at 6 months old had endoscopy for FB removal from stomach and awakened with severe dysphagia, drooling and abnormal gait. His tongue protrudes to the right now and quivers. There is significant thick, ropy saliva from both sides of mouth and he has difficulty breathing as well as swallowing. Neurologists have localized lesions to hypoglossal nerve, brainstem and a T3-L3 myelopathy. He is fed in Bailey chair (raw) and has had 5 episodes of aspiration pneumonia (most occurring in Dec or Jan).
I have treated him 5 times now and within about 10 minutes of starting acupuncture, he miraculously dries up and breathes with ease. It mostly seems to be tonifying BL 20, 21, ST 36 and sedating GB 21 (and a point about 1-2 cun cranial to that point). BL 17 S also helps immensely with pulse and tonifying BL 18. Tongue is swollen and purple, pulse deep, soft weak.
He definitely gets worse when storm fronts move in with moisture and loves to be warm. When he gets worse he gets irritable and has CP deficits in forelimbs. He cannot produce a strong hack or cough.
We have been trying lachesis 30 C which helps and tends to make the saliva very airy and foamy rather than ropy. And in general, his mucus is much less tenacious since starting treatment.
We started WLT first visit, then added SRT. Both have helped. I tried Bu Yang Huang Wu Tang because of the deficiency and stasis, BL17 and BL 20 but it didn't seem to help much...
I looking at GB 21 with windstroke and loss of speech and he does look like a stroke patient. He is pretty happy, silly dog with committed owner.
Anyway, would love your thoughts on diagnosis - I see severe SP qi deficiency, damp, blood deficiency and stasis (BL18T is very consistent). Also, any guidance on the lachesis potency?
Thanks,
Marnee