illness after the following: ivermectin based heartworm preventative,
Advantix, Frontlline topspot, NSAID's (Rimadyl & Previcox), vaccines -
DA2PP (no lepto or lyme), and Merial Rabies vacc. These have been
given separately and together - same reaction. The owner describes
multipe 72+ hr. stays at the hospital, on IV fluids after these
reactions which consist of blow-out liquidous diarrhea, profuse
vomiting, lethargy, inappetance, dehydration. She also has sensitivity
reactions to flavored, basted commercial treats (you know- the super
smelly bright red and yellow stuff...). She also is very reactive
(cutaneous) to bug bites/stings outside, landing her at the ER a few
times.
She has sought a 2nd opinion since the previous vet refuses to do
vaccine titers in the future and will not treat her without having
yearly vaccines an d q 6 mos. bordatella vacc. Her diagnosis was
chronic inflammatory bowel disease/ gastroenteritis, and Kona is to be
kept on Purina EN Rx diet for life.
Her owner says that between these reactions, she is fine, happy, seems
healthy, hungry, and putting on a lot of weight with EN . On PE she is
6/9 BCS, very soft, sweet personality, soft nonpainful abdomen. She
will hide in her crate when worried (after I pulled out my
stethoscope), but readily allows full exam . Her coat is quite n ice,
shiny, full, with some dark brownish pigmentation on her belly-no
lesions. Otherwise all normal. TCM exam: tongue is slightly smaller
than expected for her 90 lbs, very pink, no coating or abnormalities.
Her pulses are thin and deep, even - weaker intensity if anything. Her
afftect seems water-type, very much a family dog, good memory retention
per o., not a mean bone in her body.
Currently, we are weaning her diet back on to California Naturals
Chix/Rice LIGHT (21% Pro. 9% fat)- did well on this routinely, before
rx to E/N. We are cutting back to 2 - 2.5 cups daily from 3, and
adding 1 cup veggies ie green beans, some broccoli florets, celery, and
a frozen applesauce Kong at lunch, to prevent trash-snitching and
counter surfing. We are adding fish oil w/ ~600-700 mg EPA/day an d
considering home cooking in the future. She has been walking 45 min/
day and we are adding about 30-45 min ball-playing and fast walking 4-5
days/week.
She has been taking a probiotic OTC w/ 100 million active cultures/cfu
Lactobaccili (which if I recall, is a pretty low # of benign bugs for
a dog's GI...)
I am having trouble with a diagnosis for her pattern though... afraid
to commit! I feel she is somewhat Qi deficient, with phlegm
accumulation, and thought spleen qi def. but now not so sure. It seems
her immune system is actually SUPER competent to mount these whole body
attacks on any chemical stimuli. Help! Any herbal thoughts for her?
Right now, I am leaving well enough alone, but I want to strengthen her
stability before the next...who knows?
Thanks for help with this one,
Robin Valentine
Robin
Robin C. Valentine, VMD
Staff Emergency and Critical Care Doctor
University of Pennsylvania, 2002
Veterinary Hospital and School of Veterinary Medicine www.vet.upenn.edu
Emergency and Critical Care
Housecall and Relief Services available by appointment
Southeast Florida and Pennsylvania
Sanity is madness put to uses...
- George Santayana