Question Details
Old Lab
by Cathy L. - April 20, 2009
Hi Steve-

I have an old lab patient who is being treated for chronic low back pain and paresis (disc changes on rads). She seems to have some neck pain as well, no films of that area. She is clearly kidney def- I fist put her on DHJST, which made her warmer and worsened her stiffness. Then XFHMY, same result. BGT for her muscle spasms and blood def signs made her restless, hotter in the evening, stiffer.

She developed some cognitive signs recently, so I tried her on Zou Gui Wan for advanced yin def and SWT to support blood and move some stasis. Owner felt she was somewhat better, then more sore after a few weeks. I read that th ZGW could cause stagnation over time, since it was so tonifying, so we switched her to LWDHW and SWT 50/50 on 3/18.

It's unlcear whether she's better again, as she is quite weak and sore in her rear- sits to eat, can't hold pottie position for very long.

She gets regular chiro and acup. care; seems to be much better for 24-48 hrs, then back to her normal level of dysfunction. She has occ. fecal incontinence.She is better on non-steroidal meds.

Last exam (several weeks,:)

-bad breath
-T: red
-P: weak, deep
-hypersensitive to palp of LS area, tail base.
-shuffles all four, mod paresis, trips occ. on circling.decreased proprioception, esp. rear
-voracious appetite
-hearing loss 50%
-hotter in evening

I asked to owner to try some ess. oils for pain and Hypericum homeopathic.

So I'm thinking she has some damp heat, blood stasis, advanced kid yin def?

Wondering if I might be missing something herb-wise, or if this 15 yr old dog is doing as well as she can!

Thanks so much..

:)Cathy
Replies
by naturevet
April 20, 2009
Hi Cathy,

I like your assessment. If the dog had Damp Heat first as the 'root' condition, it will eventually create Yin deficiency or dryness if present for a long period of time. So we could look at the mild improvements on Zuo Gui Wan as being due to a rehydrating, or an addressing of the 'branches' of the condition. Now we can perhaps see the root materializing, and if it's Dampness, then Zuo Gui Wan as a tonic suddenly would stop working. What I would look at next is Si Miao San. Damp Heat, Yin Deficiency and Blood stasis are all somewhat addressed by its design. It's also excellent for lumbosacral pain and lower limb issues. I'd try that next. You may find that a combination of Zuo Gui Wan and Si Miao San works best.

Hope that helps!

Steve
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