View Question

Colitis

by dr. rita - November 25, 2009

(I am not sure if my previous submission went through, so my apologies if this is a repeat...)

Thank you for your thoughts on this case. Sophie is an 11 1/2 yo G Shep X. Thru'out her life she experienced a few problems including the occ. episode of dermatitis and PTD. Until Aug 2009 when she was presented for bloody, smelly, mucoid diarrhea and vomiting (and +++ gut sounds). Over the following 2 months, the colitis would persist almost daily in spite of: famotidine, metronidazole, amoxil, probiotics, and bland commercial diets. The U/S was nsf, fecals (incl. culture) neg, the owner is reluctant to use steroids b/c Sophie becomes aggressive. They do not wish to pursue biopsies/endoscopy. Her TP was sl. decreased and she had lost 3 kg. And that is where I came in.

My findings were as follows: Her tongue was pale with a thin white coating, the edges were sl. swollen. Her pulse was sl. broad with a slippery quality. The L pulse stronger than the R. She is fearful of firecrackers, a fitful sleeper. She is not good with other dogs or drunk men in the street. She seeks coole places. Her coat is dry.

Dx: Damp Heat, Spleen Def, Blood Def, and Yang Def.

We started with a homemade cooked diet (the family is very reluctant to feed raw although it has been suggested). She seems to respond best to elk and yucca. (we have tried turkey, bison, white fish, potatoes, rutabagas, and turnips). We have also been adding Metamucil and Tylosin and have recently begun Vit B12 injn's. Over the last month, the frequency of these episodes has decreased signigicantly. She has has 2 relatively minor occurences of colitis. She does continue to vomit approx. once weekly.

I was thinking of WLT but am concerned that she may be too hot for that. (as I type this I realize that I should recheck her tongue and pulse as she has been on the diet for a month). I can use Yunnan Bai Yao during a bloody episode.
Would SMS be a better choice? What are your thoughts on how to handle this case.

Thank you so much. I appreciate this forum.

Rita

by naturevet

November 25, 2009

Hi Rita,

We appreciate being appreciated...!

This dog would seem to make a good police dog, since it can't handle drunks in the street. Unless of course it's good with them in cars.

Where on earth does the owner live, such that in a limited history taking, one of the things that pops up is the reaction of dogs to people who are sauced out of their gourd. I'll tell you one thing, it doesn't sound like a good 'hood. Probably bad enough to give me colitis, too. But I digress...

I was surprised to see the bitter agents like metronidazole didn't accomplish much. With those pulses, I would have expected the colitis to improve. Si Miao San, which acts similarly, is okay to try, especially given the pulse, but that lack of response to metronidazole makes me wonder if it would work. Perhaps, now that such a healthy diet is in place, the SMS would make short work of the rest of the problem.

There's one other strategy that goes with that pulse, and that is one of astringing. Sour herbs also can stop diarrhea at the same time they tone the pulse and help to minimize inflammation and fluid loss across epithelia. You can test this by trying the dog on about a tsp twice a day of Schizandra for a few days or so. If the stool were to improve further, then you'd have confirmation that astringing is the appropriate action to take. A formula that does this is Shen Ling Bai Zhu San. A single western herb that does this which is specific to colitis is Agrimony.

Of course, as you said, all this is somewhat moot. The dog must have changed substantially on the diet, producing a new pulse. If the dog were in my hands, I'd do another physical examination first, paying particular attention to that pulse, before I tried anything, given the history of such a sensitive digestive tract.

But that gives you some ideas, in the event the pulse is the same.

Steve

by dr. rita

November 25, 2009

thank you!

You must be logged in to reply

CuredCases.com