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Infertility And Ovarian Cysts

by ericahawker - February 16, 2010

Hello--

One of my employees has a 3 yr old female German Shepherd that she is trying to breed. In Dec 09 they performed artificial transcervical insemination on her but it was unsuccessful. On ultrasound they found 3 ovarian cysts that were about 2 cm each. She normally is 6 mths between cycles, but the last 2 were only 4 1/2 mths apart.

On exam she is a very active dog with having a great appetite and normal thirst. She eats 50% raw, 50% grain free, high protein kibble. She prefers cooler temps and has a superficial, strong and toned pulse with a pink to slight lavender moist tongue. No other problems. I see heart fire in this dog as due to her high energy and she tends to be protective of the owner's young daughter, is very active and was occasionally growling on exam.

Based on this, I am considering Qi Bao Mei Ran Dan. Does this seem like a good choice?

Thanks!
Erica

by naturevet

February 17, 2010

Hi Erica,

My temptation would be to not use a tonic here. The pulse seems too strong, the dog too edgy, and the tongue too dark for a pure tonic. A strong toned pulse like that calls for a mover. I'd wonder about Xiao Yao San, or even Jia Wei Xiao Yao San, instead. It is a very effective formula for ovarian cysts in people, although women with cysts often aren't ovulating. The cysts secrete hormones in people that interfere with normal cycling, whereas this dog has no problem ovulating, apparently. So whether XYS will help a non-functional cyst that is not precluding ovulation is uncertain. But it fits well with the dog, and is a 'hormone balancer' due to its phytosterol content, so I'd say it's worth a try.

Steve

by johnk

March 25, 2010

Steve from a TCM point of view is an ovarian cyst Dampness or stagnation? So from your assessment would you be suggesting this is more a Liver stasis issue. As someone who does a lot of canine reproduction I tend to assess more of the canine patients as Liver Spleen issues than Kidney unless they are older. I stumbled by accident upon using Dang Gui Shao Yao San for problem female breeders. I say by accident as I used it for something else and then found the bitch cycled early and read up more on it when the owner questioned about safety in pregnancy and I found all this information about using it to stimulate ovulation and preventing abortion. I also would say that for a bitch to cycle 4 months after a mating is not all that uncommon and could you comment on the significance from a TCM point of view.

by naturevet

March 26, 2010

Hi John,

I usually see cysts as stasis issues, making my views consistent with yours that there is a LV SP issue going on. DGSYS has a strong moving effect, as well as harmonizing the LV and SP.

Thanks for your insight,

Steve

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